When you are preparing your thesis for degree completion, you may want to consider completion dates for each step and still graduate before the deadline that is important to you. This could be the convocation deadline, or the 100% and 50% refund deadlines. Students who do not follow these recommended deadlines may not have their thesis approved by the GSPA in time to meet the convocation or refund deadlines.
Note: Even if you do follow the recommended degree completion deadlines, if your committee has major changes for you to complete, you may not meet these deadlines.
For assistance in determining thesis completion timelines outside of the convocation deadline, or the 100% and 50% refund deadlines please consult the Degree Completion/Defence Date Planner.
Blackout Dates and Holidays
There is a blackout period for comprehensive examinations and defences in the last two weeks of each term. There will be no comprehensive examinations or PhD thesis defences during this period. UW Space final uploads are acceptable.
The blackout period is necessary and is supported by the Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs Office as a result of limited faculty member availability to attend and to chair examinations during this time period.
In exceptional cases where committee members and/or external examiners are available only during the blackout period and the examination is required to be completed by the end of the term, the supervisor must contact the Engineering Graduate Studies Coordinator - PhD. All requests to hold an examination during the blackout period must be approved by the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs before they can be scheduled. In addition, if the request for an exam in the blackout period is approved, the supervisor will be required to find a Chair for the comprehensive examination or defence from outside the home department.
Blackout dates count toward the 25 business day display period, holidays do not.
Winter 2024: Monday, April 15 - Friday, April 26
Spring 2024: Monday, August 19 - Friday, August 30
Fall 2024: Monday, December 9 - Monday, December 23