Leave of absence
A leave of absence may be granted by the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office for maternity or parenting reasons or for health reasons (see Graduate Calendar for information). Such a leave must be requested on a term by term basis and may be granted for a period of up to 52 weeks. Students and Postdoctorals must make a request for such a leave in writing to their department and submit a medical certificate. The department shall forward the request to the GPSO.
Students and Postdoctorals who have been granted such a leave will have to register for the term(s) in question and their registration will show as "leave of absence" on their record. No tuition fees will be charged for the duration of the authorized leave. Research supervisors are not obligated to remunerate students on leave. A student on leave of absence during the Fall term must register for an active term of study in the Winter term (at least) in order to apply for graduation. A student on leave of absence during the Winter and/or Summer terms must register for an active term of study in the Fall term (at least) in order to apply for graduation.
Parental or familial reasons
During a leave of absence for parental or familial reasons, a student will not be eligible to take courses but he/she may request and expect guidance on thesis and research work and will have free access to the University's academic facilities. Library services will continue to be available by registering at the Circulation Desk of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library (McLennan-Redpath). In special circumstances, familial leave may be considered by the GPSO for a student when a close family member is ill.
Health reasons
During a leave of absence for health reasons (see Graduate Calendar for information), a student will not be eligible to request guidance on thesis and research work or to take courses. He/she will not have access to the University's academic facilities but library services will normally continue to be available by registering at the Circulation Desk of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library (McLennan-Redpath).
A medical certificate must accompany such leave requests.
Withdrawal
Departments have the right to ask students to withdraw from the program if progress is not satisfactory, or if they have failed a course required for their program, or for lack of performance in research.
Any student who withdraws from the University must complete a Withdrawal Form.
Reinstatement
Students who have not been registered for a period of up to two years but who have not officially withdrawn from the University by submitting a signed Withdrawal Form to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office are eligible to be considered for reinstatement into their programs.
Starting Fall 2014, students wishing to be readmitted will now be able to apply for readmission by completing and submitting the Request for Readmission webform. This new procedure is in line with the process currently in place for requests for reinstatement and as a result students will not be charged an application fee when submitting a request for readmission.
If an individual has not registered for a period of more than two years, his or her student file will be closed. These individuals and those who have formally withdrawn may be considered for admission. Applicants' admission applications will be considered as part of the current admission cycle, in competition with other people applying during that cycle and in accordance with current graduate admission procedures and policies.