New: Thesis Drop-in sessions available for March only.

Final Thesis Regulations and Instructions

Final Thesis submission is required for the final, corrected copy of the thesis to GPS.

  • You can submit your final thesis in myThesis at any point, as long as you are registered and your myThesis status says “Pass awaiting finals”. It may take a few days after your oral defence to reflect this status.
  • A final thesis is considered submitted to GPS after it has been approved online by the supervisor(s). Once the myThesis status is at “Final Thesis Authorized by Sup.”, there is no need to contact GPS to approve the final thesis- GPS approval is not required by this deadline and may occur a couple of weeks after the student thesis deadline. This does not impact students. When GPS approves, the status changes to: “Final Thesis Authorized by GPS”.
  • Students are strongly encouraged to upload their final theses for online supervisor approval well in advance of the term deadline for final thesis submission; the final thesis should be at “Final Thesis Authorized by Sup.” by the thesis deadline.
  • Students who submit their final thesis do not apply for graduation. For more information about graduation and convocation, see the Graduation and Convocation website.

To produce confirmation letters (“expected graduation”, “confirmation letters for Post-Graduate Work Permit applications”), your myThesis status must be at “Final Thesis Authorized by Sup.” GPS approval of the final thesis is not required. Instructions on producing letters are below.
 


Final thesis submission guidelines for students and supervisors

Please review these guidelines in their entirety before submitting your final thesis. These guidelines are for students and supervisors, providing steps for submitting and approving final theses in myThesis.

You should also consult the FAQs below.


Frequently Asked Questions

How do I produce letters confirming my expected graduation or for my post-graduate work permit application?

See instructions on this webpage on how to produce letters of completion or for the PGWP.

 

Can I change my name?

Students can make minor changes (e.g. accents) to their name using the Minerva Name Change Form. In order to legally change their name, they must contact Enrolment Services.

 

Can I withhold my thesis from publication?

Yes. Theses are commonly published on eScholarship a couple of months after each thesis submission deadline. This means, if you submit your thesis in July, your thesis will be published around November. If you do not want to have the thesis electronically published shortly after your submission, for reasons such as a concern about the disclosure of patentable rights, then you should check off yes when prompted about withholding the thesis in myThesis.

GPS may permit the thesis to be withheld from electronic publication for a period of up to one year.

Keep in mind:

  • You must provide a solid reason to withhold the thesis (e.g., a patent pending) and your supervisor must be in agreement.
  • Your request to withhold the thesis cannot come after your final thesis submission is approved by GPS.
  • You will be asked to provide a “release date”. The latest date you can indicate is a year from your submission date. Your thesis will be released to the McGill Library shortly afterwards, and your thesis will be published within a couple of months of the release date (based on the McGill final thesis publication timelines). Once a final thesis is released by the McGill Library, it will feature on eScholarship and be available online.
 

Where do I get information about convocation?

Convocation is the ceremony where diplomas are distributed to graduating students. McGill has two convocations a year, one in the Spring (May/June) and one in the Fall (October/November). You will see information about your convocation in Minerva, under Graduation Approval Query, about a month prior to the convocation ceremonies.

For more information, please visit the Graduation and Convocation website and consult the Convocation FAQs.

Questions? Contact your graduation program coordinator. If they are unable to answer, you may also reach out to the Convocation Office.

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License.
Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, McGill University.

Back to top