Chemistry PhD thesis defence timeline

#	Step	Timeline	People involved	Details
1	Thesis writing and review	Ongoing until submission to committee	Student, Supervisor	You should be submitting your draft material to your supervisor as you are preparing your thesis. They will provide you with guidance on writing and material presentation. As a courtesy to your committee, you should inform them you are in the writing stage. Please view Thesis formatting and the Faculty of Science Thesis defence & submission information.
2	External examiner and internal/external request	2 terms (8 months before defence date)	Supervisor, Chemistry Grad Office (CGO), Faculty	Your supervisor should be contacting and submitting your potential external examiner request form and CV for review to the CGO, and then faculty. If this request is not approved, then another potential examiner must be found and nominated. At this time, your supervisor should be contacting an internal/external examiner for the defence, as this person must be included in the nomination form. Only after these two potential members are confirmed can you set up your defence date.
3	Set defence date	8+ weeks before defence	Student, CGO, (Supervisor and Defence Committee)	In order to prepare the paperwork for your defence the following information is required: Specific date and time must be agreed upon by entire committee (including external and internal/external). See CGO to book time and room. To meet end of term deadlines, allow at least two weeks to make changes and complete all requirements after defence. Know whether defence is open or closed well prior to defence date to allow for proper completion of all pertinent paperwork. Refer to Closed defence guidelines. A complete, confirmed list of committee members. Complete the Defence request form no less than 8 weeks prior to the defence. University closures and holidays DO NOT count.
4	Pre-reading by committee	2+ weeks prior to submission to Faculty of Science	Student, Supervisor, and original committee	You must provide your original committee with a copy of your thesis. Please notify your committee at least two weeks prior that they will shortly be receiving a thesis for pre-reading. They have two weeks in which to read the thesis and provide minor comments/corrections and their approval for the thesis to go forward for defence. You will then have them notify yourself and the Graduate Coordinator (via email). You cannot submit your thesis to the Science Faculty Graduate Office until this has been done.
5	Provide your thesis to the Faculty of Science	6+ weeks before your defence	Student, Faculty Grad Office	Your thesis must be completely finished following Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) standards prior to re-distributing it to your committee. You are required to submit an electronic version of your thesis to Science Dissertations at least 30 business days prior to the chosen defence date, no later than noon of that day. Submissions received less than 6 weeks prior to the arranged defence date will require the defence to be rescheduled. Note that university closures and holidays DO NOT count. Please email Science Dissertations if you have any questions on these deadlines. For more information and submission instructions, please visit Thesis defence & submission information.
6	Distribution of thesis to your committee and internal/external	6+ weeks before your defence date	Student, Faculty	Science Dissertations will distribute a soft (electronic) copy of the thesis to all members of the examining committee once the thesis has been formally deposited in the Faculty of Science Graduate Office.
7	Apply to graduate	When setting defence date	Student	You must Apply to graduate approximately one month prior to the completion of your degree requirements. Your application to graduate must be completed in the term you complete your degree requirements.
8	Thesis defence
9	Post defence required thesis changes	After defence	Student, (Supervisor, Committee)	The committee may complete paperwork after the defence in which they may suggest changes which need to be completed prior to submitting your thesis. This form will be provided to Krista by the Chair, and can take 3+ days. You will receive a copy. Make all changes required by your committee. If your changes need to be approved by your supervisor or whole committee (category B) you will need to have the second page of your Thesis Acceptance Form signed and returned to Krista. Review Thesis regulations!
10	Upload to UWSpace	After changes completed and approved	Student	Once your supervisor has notified Science Dissertations that all corrections are made to their satisfaction, and Science Dissertations tells you to upload your thesis, you can then proceed to upload the thesis. Following the thesis regulations link, use the link on the right to upload your thesis to UWSpace. If you have had a closed defence and/or you wish your thesis to have limited circulation, when uploading your thesis to UWSpace ensure that “YES” is selected from the drop-down list on the “Submit: Describe Your Item” page. This step must be completed on time to meet the end of term, 100%, or 50% deadlines. Note: your abstract will be visible to everyone, even if circulation is limited. If you apply a short-term (4 months) or long-term (one year) restriction to your thesis, it is critical you choose “YES” to the “Patent/Copyright or Publications Pending” question.
11	Thesis reviewed by GSPA	Within 1 week of being submitted to UWSpace	Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs	Your thesis will not be reviewed by GSPA until they have received your Thesis Acceptance Form. The GSPA will contact you if this is the case. The GSPA will review your thesis and send you changes to make (usually 2-3 days). Be sure to check your UW email as that is how the GSPA will contact you with changes.
12	Submit thesis changes to UWSpace	As soon as possible	Student	Make all changes suggested by the GSPA and re-submit to UWSpace.
13	Thesis approved and uploaded	1-2 days after GSO changes are approved	Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs	GSPA will upload your approved thesis to the online Faculty of Science Theses and Dissertations Collection and the Chemistry Grad Office is then notified.
14	Application to graduate processed	After thesis approved/uploaded by GSPA	CGO/Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs	For June convocation all steps must be completed by April 30th. To convocate in October, they must be completed by August 31st. If those days fall on a weekend, the deadline is the preceding Friday. Refer to Important dates and refund deadlines.
15	Printing and binding your thesis	After thesis is approved and uploaded by GSPA	Student, W Print	This step does not have to be completed in order to be “program completed,” but should be done shortly after your thesis is accepted if you or your supervisor wish a copy. Should you wish a bound copy for yourself or your supervisor, printing and binding should be done by W Print on campus. Students are responsible for the cost of the copies, but, in some cases, supervisors will pay for them to be printed. Talk to your supervisor.