The Senate of the University confers a degree or a diploma to students who have fulfilled all requirements of the relevant program or diploma, and who have complied with all applicable University regulations.
C-9.1 Programs requirements
All graduate degree and graduate diploma students must complete the Senate-approved program requirements that apply at the time of their admission into their program.
To obtain a graduate degree or diploma, students must successfully complete the majority of the requirements of their program while enrolled in a graduate diploma or graduate program at the University of Ottawa or at Saint Paul University.
C-9.2 Registration for degree
In order for their names to be submitted to the Senate, students who expect to complete their degree requirements must fill in the Registration for Degree and Request for Diploma form and send it to the Office of the Registrar no later than March 31 for spring convocation, and no later than September 15 for fall convocation.
All final grades required to complete the degree requirements must be received by the faculty before May 15 for students registered for spring convocation, and before September 15 for students registered for fall convocation.
When registering for convocation, graduate students enrolled in a thesis-based program must meet the deadline for submitting the final version of their thesis to uO Research, in order to be included in the convocation ceremony. This is required irrespective of whether the student intends to attend the ceremony.
Students are responsible for ensuring that they meet all of their degree requirements.
C-9.3 Medals
The University recognizes student merit by awarding several distinctions at convocation.
Governor General’s Gold Medals - graduate level
At the graduate level, three gold medals are awarded each year at the spring convocation ceremony.
One is awarded to the student who has submitted the best doctoral thesis in one of the following schools or faculties: Telfer School of Management; the faculties of Arts, Social Sciences, Law or Education. The second medal is awarded to the student who has submitted the best doctoral thesis in the faculties of Science or Engineering. The third medal is awarded to the student who has submitted the best doctoral thesis in the faculties of Health Sciences or Medicine or in an interdisciplinary program.
Recipients are chosen by a selection committee under the authority of the Office of the Vice-Provost of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
C-9.4 Obtaining an official document
A student who has an outstanding balance or other financial obligations to the University cannot obtain any official document from the University (certification, transcript, diploma, etc.) attesting to the completion of a degree or diploma.