Evaluation Timeline and Official Documents
Warning about the Length of the Thesis Examination Process
The thesis examination process involves several administrative and academic steps and requires the intervention of many people. Based on the average time required to complete the process, from initial to final submission, you should allow around 4 months for a master thesis, and around 5 months for a doctoral thesis. However, various issues may arise at any step, which can extend the process beyond these averages.
The Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales cannot guarantee the duration of a particular thesis examination, nor can it offer accelerated processing.
Please keep this information in mind prior to proceeding with an initial submission, especially if you have a graduation deadline to be met (e.g., to obtain a scholarship, to start a new program or job, to renew a study permit, etc.).
| Steps | Processing time |
|---|---|
| Initial submission | The date on which you send a complete evaluation file to FESP becomes the official date of initial submission. To be complete, your file must include
You must submit two versions of your Master's or Doctoral thesis to the FESP (evaluation@fesp.ulaval.ca): a Word, ODT or LaTeX version and a PDF file. If your initial submission file is incomplete and the initial submission deadline has passed, you will be required to register for the following semester and remain registered throughout. |
| Initial submission processing | You will immediately receive an automatic acknowledgment of receipt. FESP will process your initial submission and communicate with you by email within 5 to 10 business days. |
| Beginning of the evaluation process | Thesis examiniation process starts when FESP receives:
|
| Master’s degree - Evaluation period granted to evaluation committee | Review time may vary from 4 to 8 weeks, depending on time of year. |
| Doctoral thesis - Evaluation period granted to evaluation committee | Review time may vary from 6 to 12 weeks, depending on time of year and the number of pages in the thesis. |
| End of the evaluation process | Upon reception of the last examination report, FESP will send you an email to communicate the result and all the examiners' reports. |
| Doctoral thesis defence | The oral defence is scheduled. FESP suggest to allow a 10 business days between reception of the reports and the defence in order to give student sufficient time to prepare. |
| Invitation to proceed with final submission | You will be invited to proceed with final submission of your corrected manuscript within 8 weeks. |
| Final submission processing | You will immediately receive an automatic acknowledgment of receipt. FESP will process your final submission and communicate with you by email within 5 to 10 business days. |
| Awarding of diploma | Your diploma will be issued that same month if:
FESP communicates by email upon graduation with the students concerned by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Honour List |
| Graduation | FESP doesn’t manage this step. |
Official date of initial submission
The official date of initial submission is the date on which you transmit your complete evaluation file to FESP, i.e., a Master's or Doctoral thesis compliant with the applicable rules of presentation and publication, as well as the required documents and forms.
The date of transmission becomes the official date, regardless of the number of days it takes FESP to process your initial submission (5 to 10 business days, depending on the time of year).
If you initial submission is incomplete and the initial submission deadline has passed, you will be required to register for the following semester and remain registered throughout.
The official initial submission date can be used as a reference if you have a specific deadline to meet (e.g., for the payment of a success award).
To obtain a certificate
It is possible to request a certificate to certify your:
- Initial submission
- Final submission
- Thesis defence
You must make your request using this form.
A fee of $10 per certificate is requested.
A period of 48 hours is necessary to produce the certificate in an electronic format.
In the event of a discrepancy between the French and English texts, the French version prevails.