Managing your continuous activities

What is a continuous activity?

Continuous activities are courses or research activities that can be completed over the span of multiple terms. Enrolment appears on your transcript each term, until completed, to maintain continuous enrolment status required for graduate programs. Refer to your course sequence to confirm how many terms of enrolment your department recommends for your program, for each activity. 

Most master's thesis-based programs include a thesis project or proposal, and some include a comprehensive exam.

Most doctoral programs include a thesis project or proposal, and all include a comprehensive or oral examination. 

Enrolment in courses other than the thesis

For each course (activity), your first enrolment must be completed manually. Enrolment can be completed in uoZone, before the last day to enrol. 

Once you have enrolled for the first time in a continuous activity, you must maintain continuous enrolment until the activity is completed and a final grade has been recorded. 

Re-enrolment to these courses is not automatic. For each term, until you have completed the activity and obtained a final grade, you must log in to uoZone and enrol in your courses before the last day to enrol. 

Enrolment in the thesis

When you are ready to begin your thesis, you must manually enrol in the thesis course (THM 7999 for master's programs, and THD 9999 for doctoral programs). Enrolment can be completed in uoZone, before the last day to enrol.

After your first manual enrolment in the thesis, all subsequent thesis enrolments will be completed automatically, unless you have a hold on your account. In this case, you will need to manually enrol once the hold has been resolved. 

All students receive an email notification indicating whether their automatic thesis enrolment for the following term was successful, or whether further action is required before enrolment can be completed manually.

The objective of the comprehensive examination is to assess whether the student has a thorough understanding of their research field as a whole. The examination may cover topics directly related to the doctoral candidate's research, as well as broader issues, debates and concepts relevant to their discipline.

The Office of the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies defines the comprehensive examination as follows:

The Comprehensive Examination allows students to demonstrate their ability to:

• demonstrate broad knowledge in the field of research and a global view on the subject;
• integrate the concepts, principles and theories they have studied during their coursework;
• demonstrate the required knowledge to undertake and complete their research project; and
• present and defend their written work.

Before undertaking the comprehensive examination, ensure you have the competencies and knowledge expected, as outlined in the guidelines.

Most doctoral programs and some master’s programs require students to submit a formal thesis proposal. Normally, this is completed after the completion of the comprehensive examination. Please consult your course sequence to confirm in which order to complete the activities, and how many terms of enrolment your department expects for your program. 

The proposal serves as a planning tool, helping refine the research topic or central question and outlining the sources that inform the project, as well as, where applicable, the methods for data collection and analysis. Research completed during this stage provides a strong foundation for the thesis, making it important to maintain accurate citations and references from the outset.

Some programs require a formal proposal presentation as part of the approval process. Please verify with your supervisor to review expectations.

Depending on the nature of the research, additional approvals, such as ethics clearance, may also be required. While the thesis supervisor can provide guidance, students are responsible for obtaining all necessary approvals.

For more detailed information on thesis proposals, consult the Thesis Handbook.