Submit your thesis or practicum

Please ensure you meet the following deadlines and requirements shown in the table to graduate in May, October, or February. 

Submit your thesis and practicum early 

Experience has shown that students who leave the distribution of their theses and practica until the deadline shown often have difficulty getting their work approved in time. They then must have their convocation postponed to the next graduation. 

For this reason, students are strongly encouraged to submit their theses and practica well in advance of the dates noted below.

Table notes:

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all requirements are delivered to the Faculty of Graduate Studies office by the deadline noted.

• Students cannot be added to the potential graduand list after Graduate Studies receives the list of potential graduands from departments.
• When a submission date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

Submitting your Ph.D. thesis for examination

Before submitting your thesis to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for examination, your advisory committee must verify that they have read the complete thesis and provided you with a detailed review and comments, including any necessary revisions, via the Approval to Proceed to Ph.D. Thesis Examination form. This form must be signed by all parties and submitted alongside the thesis. The thesis will be eligible for examination if no more than one (1) member of the advisory committee does not support proceeding to the formal examination and if the department/unit indicates on the form that they are in support of proceeding to the examination. Once the Approval to Proceed to Ph.D. Thesis Examination form is signed by all parties and the thesis is ready for examination, you must submit it to the Faculty of Graduate Studies via the Graduate Studies Hub. Below are complete instructions on how to submit your thesis to the committee and for what to expect after your thesis has been submitted.

Instructions

The Ph.D. thesis examination process is located on the Graduate Studies Hub Sharepoint site, which is accessible to all faculty, staff, and students. This is the method Ph.D. students use to submit their thesis for official distribution to their examining committee.

To access the thesis submission form, you will need to:

1. Log in to your Office account using your University of Manitoba student credentials (i.e., example@myumanitoba.ca).
   • If you accessed the login page from a link to the Graduate Studies Hub, you will be directed to the Graduate Studies Hub home page once you have logged in using Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
   • If you accessed the login page from another link (e.g., portal.office.com), you can navigate to Sharepoint from the Apps waffle menu and search for the Graduate Studies Hub using the search bar at the top of the screen.
2. From the Graduate Studies Hub home screen, select the “Ph.D. Thesis Examinations” button or navigate to the page from the navigation toolbar at the top of the screen (under “Program Requirements”).
3. Select “Submit your Ph.D. thesis for examination”. This link is available in multiple places along the right-hand side of the screen and will open in a new tab in your web browser upon selection.
4. In the new tab, select the ”Submit Thesis for Ph.D. Distribution” link at the top of the screen. This will open another new tab in your web browser called “Ph.D. Thesis Portal”.
5. Student Information: Enter student and program information (i.e.: email, program, anticipated graduation date, etc.)
6. Thesis Information: Enter thesis title and abstract. Use the ‘Select File’ buttons to upload a PDF version of your thesis and completed ‘Approval to Proceed to PhD Thesis Examination’ form.
7. Committee of Examiners: Enter the names, departments/units and email addresses of your examiners.
8. Review all information entered for accuracy and ensure that the correct documents are uploaded. When you are ready to submit the form, select the “Submit” button at the bottom of the screen. You will receive a confirmation email shortly after the thesis has been submitted.

Your Student Program Assistant is available if you have any questions. 

Thesis examination process

Students should check their @myumanitoba.ca email account regularly as
continuous information is emailed to students throughout the distribution process.

Once a thesis and the “Approval to Proceed to Ph.D. Thesis Examination” form has been submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies:

1. The student will receive an email confirming that their thesis has been received. Email notification is also sent to the department/unit support staff to inform them that the student has submitted their thesis to the Faculty for examination.
    
2. Email notification is sent to the advisor/co-advisor to request that they submit the names of three (3) distinguished scholars from outside The University of Manitoba with particular experience in the field of the thesis research and significant Ph.D. student supervisory/examination experience to serve as the external examiner. Recommendations must be submitted via the link included in this email and must include:
   • A CV of each of the prospective external examiners; and
   • A short statement explaining:
     The rationale behind the recommendations; and
     The prospective external examiners’ qualifications (if not already explicit on the CV). This includes a current list of their scholarly publications and research activities and, importantly, their experience with Ph.D. student supervision/examination (e.g., Ph.D. students they have supervised to completion; Ph.D. students they are currently supervising; experience serving as external examiner for Ph.D. examining committees).
      
   Advisors and/or departments/units must contact the prospective external examiners to obtain this information and determine if they are available to review the thesis. The external examiner will be chosen by the Faculty of Graduate Studies Associate Dean and will remain anonymous until the external examiner’s report is received.
    
3. Once the submission has been reviewed by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and an external examiner has been chosen by the Associate Dean, the thesis examination will be initiated. Email notifications will be sent to:
    
   • Internal and external examiners providing them with a link for accessing a .pdf copy of the candidate’s thesis (and supplementary files if applicable) and instructions for submitting their report. Internal and external examiners are requested to submit their detailed reports within four (4) weeks. The Faculty of Graduate Studies will email individual examiners a reminder if their report hasn’t been received after four (4) weeks.
      
   • The student and advisor/co-advisor to inform them that the thesis examination is now in progress. They are reminded that while the thesis is undergoing review, no communication is permitted with examining committee members regarding the thesis until all internal and external examiner reports have been received.
      
4. Once all examiner reports are received, they are distributed via email to the advisor/co-advisor, internal examining committee members and the Department/Unit Head. The advisor/co-advisor is/are asked to share the reports with the student. They are also provided with information concerning scheduling the Ph.D. Oral Examination. Please see the “Guidelines for Ph.D. Oral Examinations (PDF)" document for information concerning scheduling the oral defence.

Please see “Doctor of Philosophy General Regulations” for complete information regarding the Ph.D. thesis examination process and procedures.

All theses and practica are submitted electronically to MSpace, the University of Manitoba digital repository. Here they become searchable and available to a worldwide audience.

You must submit your thesis or practicum to the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) by the deadlines indicated in the Academic Schedule in the Graduate Calendar to be eligible for graduation for a specific graduation period. The Faculty of Graduate Studies does not provide extensions for thesis or practicum submissions.

You submit your thesis or practicum to MSpace following the approval of the work by the examining committee and the completion of any revisions required by that committee. The digital copy is required for the University of Manitoba library and remains the property of the University of Manitoba.

To convocate, you must pay all outstanding university fines and fees (library, parking, tuition, etc.) and your file must not be on hold.

• Submit one electronic copy of your thesis or practicum according to the instructions on the MSpace website. Ensure there are no missing pages in your document. Submit additional files separately.
• You will be asked to agree to the MSpace license before your submission can be completed.

Submit together to the Graduate Studies Office:

• The original Thesis/Practicum Final Report form. This is signed by your examining committee after you have successfully defended and/or completed your thesis and practicum revisions.

PhD students:The Faculty of Graduate Studies provides the form to the PhD Oral Chair, and the chair should return it to FGS following the oral examination.

• The Thesis Release form – this is a copyright license declaration form that you must complete in MSpace when your submit your thesis.

• A copy of the Ethical Review Board approval letter (if applicable) received from the Research Ethics Board and any other pertinent access approval forms (if applicable).

It is your responsibility to provide copies of your thesis or practicum to your department and for personal distribution.

Please see Expectations and obligations in a deposit for more information.

Delay before your thesis appears on MSpace

After you post your e-thesis, it goes into the MSpace submission pool. Your e-thesis will appear in MSpace after a Graduate Studies staff member has reviewed and accepted it.