Graduate students in research programs must be registered in the dissertation, thesis, major paper, or internship until completion of all research requirements for their degree. The research requirements are not considered complete until the student has completed the final oral defence AND has deposited their final Committee-approved post-defence document with the graduate studies office.
At the beginning of each term the Faculty of Graduate Studies sets a grace period, "Phase I" (one) with deadlines to allow eligible research students to complete their final oral defence and/or the post-defence Deposit with the graduate studies office without having to register and pay tuition fees for that term, provided the rest of the degree requirements have already been completed in prior terms and that they meet the Phase I eligibility criteria outlined on this page.
Students who do not meet the Phase I eligibility criteria and deadlines must register in the current term in the dissertation, thesis, major paper, or internship paper, in order to complete the final oral defence and/or the post-defence deposit with graduate studies. A second deadline, Phase II (two), for 50% refund of the current-term base tuition, is available for eligible students who have missed the Phase I grace-period deadline, provided they meet the eligibility criteria and deadlines as outlined on this page under 'Phase II".
The Phase I and Phase II defence and deposit deadlines are posted each term on the important dates for graduate students.
To meet the Phase I eligibility criteria for Summer term 2025, the student:
(1) must have completed all coursework and other program requirements in prior terms i.e. prior to Summer term 2025.
(2) must have been registered for the previous term, Winter term 2025, in the dissertation, thesis, major paper or internship.
(3) must have submitted before the defence their document to graduate studies for pre-defence format checking within the required deadline: at least 2 weeks prior to a Master's defence and 4 weeks prior a PhD defence;
(4) must complete the Defence no later than May 12th, 2025;
(5) must complete the post-defence Deposit no later than May 20th, 2025;
(6) must have applied to graduate in the Spring 2025 convocation by Registrar's Spring 2025 deadline.
Research students who are aiming to complete their dissertation/thesis/major paper/internship requirement within the Phase I grace period must not register* for Summer term 2025 in the dissertation/thesis/major paper/internship. Provided they meet the above Phase I eligibility criteria and deadlines, upon completion under Phase I, the final grade for the dissertation/thesis/major paper/internship will be assigned to the previous term, Winter term 2025.
*Note: students receiving OSAP or Tri-Council awards should ensure they are compliant with the terms and conditions of their award.
Research students whose final oral defence is held after May 12, 2025, or who have defended but have not completed the post-defence Deposit by May 20th and do not meet the Phase I eligibility criteria:
-
must register in the dissertation/thesis/major paper/internship course for Summer term 2025 by the academic add/drop date for Summer term 2025;
-
will not be eligible to graduate in Spring 2025 convocation (must apply to graduate in the next convocation in Fall 2025).
-
will remain registered for Summer term 2025, with the final grade assigned to the same term, Summer term 2025, upon completion
-
will be considered for 50% base tuition refund (Phase II) for Summer term 2025 provided they meet the Phase II eligibility criteria and complete by the Phase II deadline as outlined on this page under section titled "Phase II".
Phase I general information:
Phase I (one) is a grace period at the beginning of each term, to allow eligible research students to complete their final oral defence and deposit their dissertation/thesis/major paper/internship document with the Graduate Studies office without having to register or pay tuition fees for that term, provided the rest of the degree requirements have already been completed in prior terms.
Students must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- The student must have completed all coursework and other program requirements in prior terms;
- The student must be registered in the previous term (e.g, to be eligible for Phase I for Summer term 2025 the student must also have been registered in Winter term 2025) in one of the following:
- Doctoral dissertation - course number xxxx-9980
- Master's thesis - course number xxxx-8970
- Master's major paper - course number xxxx-8960
- English creative writing project - course number ENGL-8940
- Kinesiology internship or Political Science internship - course number xxxx-8950.
- The student must have obtained format approval by Graduate studies office prior to the defence (as outlined on the pre-defence Format checking instructions), as well as complete the final oral defence and the post-defence submission ('deposit') with Graduate Studies by the posted deadlines for the term. The Phase I deadlines for each term are posted on the important dates for graduate students.
Research students who meet the Summer term 2025 Phase I eligibility and are on track to complete the Defence and post-defence Deposit within the Phase I deadlines for Summer term 2025 must not register for Summer term 2025 in the dissertation/thesis/major paper/internship. Students should consult with their academic program for guidance on their research progress and registration.
Provided they meet the Summer term 2025 Phase I eligibility and deadlines, upon completion the final dissertation/thesis/major paper/internship grade will be assigned to the previous term, Winter term 2025.
*Note: students receiving OSAP or Tri-Council awards should ensure they are compliant with the terms and conditions of their award.
Students whose final oral defense is held after May 12th, or who have defended but have not deposited their post-defense document with graduate studies by May 20th, 2025 do not meet the Phase I eligibility requirements and must register for Summer term 2025 in the dissertation/thesis/major paper/internship course by the academic add/drop date for Summer term 2025.
Review details posted on the important dates for graduate students.
Students receiving OSAP or Tri-Council awards should ensure they are compliant with the terms and conditions of their award.
Graduate entrance scholarship holders must maintain fulltime registration throughout the duration of the scholarship. If a student completes the degree requirements within the Phase I period of the term they will not be registered in that term, therefore they will not be eligible to receive a scholarship for that term.
Phase II (50% base tuition refund):
Students who do not meet the eligibility for, or who have missed the first deadline, Phase I (one), must register and will remain registered in the current term. The final grade for the dissertation/thesis/major paper will be assigned to the current term.
The second deadline, Phase II (two), is an additional period to allow eligible research students to obtain a partial tuition refund of 50% of the base tuition fees for that term when they complete their final oral defence and the post-defence Deposit with the Graduate Studies office by the posted Phase II deadline, provided the rest of the degree requirements have already been completed in prior terms. Review the full Phase II eligibility criteria.
The Phase II adjustment involves:
- assigning the final grade for the dissertation/thesis/major paper to the current term; and
- 50% reduction of the base tuition fees assessed for the current term.
Note that any interest for unpaid tuition for the current term will NOT be removed. Note also that incidentals/ ancilary fees are not included in the base tuition so there will be no refund of incidentals/ancilarry fees for the current term.
The Phase II relevant deadlines are posted each term on the important dates for graduate students.
Students must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- The student must have completed all coursework and other program requirements in previous terms
- The student must be registered for the current term only in one the following:
- Doctoral dissertation - course number xxxx-9980
- Master's thesis - course number xxxx-8970
- Master's major paper - course number xxxx-8960
- English creative writing project - course number ENGL-8940
- Kinesiology internship or Political Science internship - course number xxxx-8950.
- The student must also be registered in the previous term (e.g. to be eligible for Phase II tuition refund for Fall term 2024 the student must also have been registered in the Summer term 2024) in one of the following:
- Doctoral dissertation - course number xxxx-9980
- Master's thesis - course number xxxx-8970
- Master's major paper - course number xxxx-8960
- English creative writing project - course number ENGL-8940
- Kinesiology internship or Political Science internship - course number xxxx-8950.
- The student must have obtained format approval by Graduate studies office prior to the defence (as outlined on the pre-defence Format checking instructions), as well as complete the final oral defence and the post-defence submission ('deposit') with Graduate Studies by the posted deadlines for the term. The Phase II deadline is posted each term on the important dates for graduate students.
In accordance with the above criteria, to be eligible for Phase II for Winter term 2025, the student (1) must have completed all coursework and other program requirements prior to Winter term 2025; (2) must be registered for Winter term 2025 only in the dissertation, thesis, major paper or internship; (3) must have been registered for Fall term 2024 in the dissertation, thesis, major paper or internship; (4) must have obtained formal approval from Graduate Studies before the defence, and must complete the final oral defence and the post-defence deposit with Graduate Studies by February 14, 2025.
Graduate entrance scholarship holders who complete the degree requirements within the Phase II tuition refund deadline and maintain their scholarship eligibility will be able to retain their scholarship for the term.
Students receiving OSAP or Tri-Council awards should ensure they are compliant with the terms and conditions of their award.
Students who do not meet the eligibility requirements for the first phase, Phase I (one), must register for the term by the academic add/drop date for that term.
Fees are assessed upon registration and payable by the posted due date for that term.
Provided a student has registered and paid the fees for the term, if they meet the eligibility for Phase II (two), 50% of the base tuition fees for the term will be refunded.
Note that any interest for unpaid tuition for the current term will NOT be removed. Note also that incidentals/ ancilary fees are not included in the base tuition so there will be no refund of incidentals/ancillary fees for the current term. If a student has registered but has chosen not to pay the fees for that term, the student will be responsible for any applicable interest for unpaid tuition.
If you have met the Phase II eligibility requirements and deadline, the Faculty of Graduate Studies will request a 50% reduction of the base tuition fees for the current term. The tuition reduction and refund process is initiated by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and not by the student.
Note that any interest for unpaid tuition for the current term will NOT be removed. Note also that incidentals/ ancilary fees are not included in the base tuition so there will be no refund of incidentals/ancilarry fees for the current term.
After the cashier's office has processed a 50% base tuition reduction, any resulting refund will be credited back to your student account. When you see the credited amount posted on your account, follow the information on the cashier's website about how to request a refund.
Phase I & Phase II dates are posted each term on the important dates for graduate students.