Oct 14, 2024  
School of Graduate Studies Calendar, 2020-2021 
    
School of Graduate Studies Calendar, 2020-2021 [-ARCHIVED CALENDAR-]

Sessional Dates 2020-2021


DEADLINE DATES FOR GRADUATE PROGRAMS FALL TERM WINTER TERM SUMMER TERM
September - December 2020
September - October, 2020 (1HF)
November - December 2020 (2HF)
January - April, 2021
January - February, 2021 (1HF)
March - April, 2021(2HF)

May - August, 2020

May - June 2021 (1HF)

July-August 2021 (2HF)

On-Time Registration Tuesday, July 7 to
Tuesday, August 4
Thursday, November 26 to
Thursday, December 10
Thursday, April 1 to
Thursday, April 15
Class Start Dates * Classes begin on or after September 2, 2020- check with program for details Classes begin on or after  January 4, 2021- check with program for details Class start dates vary - check with program for details
Late Registration (late fees apply) August 5 to
 September 9
December 11 to
January 4
April 16 to
April 30
Final Dates to Add Courses:
  Multi-term Courses September 25    
  Single-term or 1HF Courses September 25 January 22 May 14
  2HF Course October 23 February 26 June 25
Final Dates to Drop Courses: **
  Multi-term Courses February 24 July 26  
  Single-term Courses November 13 March 19 July 16
  1HF Courses October 7 February 10 June 9
  2HF Courses December 9 April 7 August 5
Final Dates to Submit Grades:
  Multi-term Courses   May 3 September 3
  Single-term Courses January 4 May 3 September 3
  1HF Courses October 23 February 26 September 3
  2HF Courses January 4 May 3 September 3
Final Date to Submit Results of Incomplete (INC) Grades for Previous Term with Permission of Associate Dean

March 5

July 9 November 5

Thesis

  FALL 2020 SPRING 2021 FALL 2021
Final Date to Initiate Thesis Defence in Mosaic*** June 26
 
January 20
(Health Sci.)
 February 3
(All others)
June 25
Final Date to Submit Master’s Theses to Departments (Prior to Defense) August 7 March 5 August 6
Final Date to File Theses with Graduate Studies and Complete Degree Requirements****  
  - Faculty of Health Sciences September 28 April 1 September 27
  - All Other Faculties September 28 April 23 September 27

The University welcomes and includes students, staff, and faculty from a wide range of cultural, traditional, and spiritual beliefs. As per the Policy on Academic Accommodation for Religious, Indigenous and Spiritual Observances, the University will arrange reasonable accommodation of the needs of students who observe religious holy days other than those already accommodated by ordinary scheduling and statutory holidays. For more information, please refer to https://www.mcmaster.ca/policy/Students-AcademicStudies/AcademicAccommodation-Observances.pdf

Graduate students may only enroll in undergraduate courses with the approval of their supervisor or graduate program. Students are responsible for meeting the deadlines and requirements of the undergraduate course as presented in class and in the undergraduate calendar. Graduate students will be graded under the graduate grading scale. 

Programs may establish earlier deadlines to add/drop courses but these dates must clearly be communicated to students. Please note that the last date to cancel a course or registration with no academic penalty is not the same as the last date to be eligible for a refund.

 

*The precise dates of commencement of courses are determined by the program; students are urged to contact their program for details. SGS maintains the 13-week graduate instruction period; however, if a course does not fall into the traditional 13-week period, the graduate program will inform students of important dates and deadlines in the course syllabus. There is no official fall break or reading week for graduate students (except MBA). Students should check with their program and their course instructor(s) as to whether classes will be held during these periods. Please see sections 1.3 (Responsibilities of Graduate Students to the University) and 2.5.6 (Vacations) of the calendar for more information.

**All courses on a student’s record after these dates will require a grade. Exceptions require submission of an In-Program Request Form. Graduate programs may establish earlier deadlines for completion of course work and may prescribe penalties for late completion of work and for failure to complete work, provided that these penalties are announced at the time the instructor makes known to the class the methods by which student performance shall be evaluated.

***Please note the following black-out periods in which standard Ph.D. defences cannot be scheduled: December 14th to January 8th inclusive and August 16th to 20th inclusive.  Please refer to the SGS website for information about the timeline for scheduling your defence with these dates in mind.

****A final thesis is the corrected, approved version of the thesis which is uploaded to MacSphere following the Final Oral Examination. Note there is no grace period at the end of December or April for final thesis submission and completion of degree requirements.

Convocation Dates

Please consult the link below for convocation dates:

https://registrar.mcmaster.ca/grad/dates/