The MRP & Thesis Process

Proposal Stage

All students in the major research paper (MRP) or thesis stream are required to write a research proposal that is approximately 10-20 double-spaced pages (about 250 words per page), depending upon whether they are pursuing the thesis or MRP option.

Before beginning your proposal, it is important to sit down with your advisor to discuss particular content and length requirements and to discuss more detailed specifics about the proposal. It is strongly encouraged that students have a draft of their proposal submitted to their advisory committee before the start of the spring semester.

The student should discuss appropriate timelines with their supervisor to ensure that this occurs. After that, you will meet with your committee to discuss ways to strengthen your proposal.

When your committee has approved your proposal, they will sign a proposal approval form (available from the graduate program assistant). The graduate coordinator will also review this research proposal and sign the approval form. At this time, you are ready to proceed with your research.

A copy of your proposal and the signed approval form should be given to the graduate program assistant for your file.


Developing, Submitting & Defending Your MRP or Thesis

It is very important to remain in close contact with your supervisor (and committee member as appropriate) when working on your MRP or thesis. It is also important to be disciplined in managing your time and working on researching and writing your project.

You should anticipate having to submit multiple revisions of material, so it is important not to underestimate the amount of time it will take you to produce a finished product. Your advisory committee (which includes your advisor) determines whether your thesis is ready for oral defense or, in the case of MRP students, your paper is ready for a final submission.

Your MRP advisors will determine whether your paper is ready for a final submission. Based on the Graduate Calendar, your advisory committee is required to thoroughly review and comment on drafts of written material and to provide feedback to guide the student in satisfactory completion of the work.

Students should expect to submit at least two drafts of their MRP or thesis to their entire advisory committee. When students have successfully completed their thesis proposals or MRP proposals, the graduate coordinator must approve them.

Advisory committee members are required to inform the student of the approximate time it will take for submitted written material to be returned with comments. If the expected time exceeds the normal two-week turnaround (e.g. due to an absence from campus, an unusually heavy workload, or other reasons), advisory committee members must provide the student and the advisor with an estimate of the time required.

Students are responsible for learning about all appropriate deadlines, dates and regulations associated with registration and graduation requirements and are strongly encouraged to establish, as a goal, the completion of their MRP or thesis well in advance of the deadline date for submission of their thesis or the grade for the MRP.

The procedures for submitting your completed thesis and for the oral defence examination are in the graduate calendar. In addition, the thesis submission procedures can be found on the Graduate Studies website.

Students should thoroughly read the University’s policy on responsibilities of advisors, advisory committees and graduate students.


The Finishing Touches

If you have written a thesis, a set of forms provided by the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies at the time of the final defense must be completed and filed with that office. In the case of an MRP, only a Recommendation for Graduation form needs to be filed.

The Recommendation for Graduation form is prepared by the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies upon receiving a memorandum from the department indicating that your work has been completed. The form is then signed by the department chair and returned to the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies. Students do not submit this form.

Once a student has successfully defended their thesis, an e-copy is uploaded to the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies Atrium.

The CCJP program does not require a hard copy of your thesis (or MRP), but please email a digital copy to the graduate program assistant. The Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies does not require a digital copy of a student MRP, just a thesis.

When students are ready to graduate, they submit the Application to Graduate form and, if eligible, an Early Completion Rebate form.