Doctoral Thesis Guidelines

Your doctoral thesis is the culmination of your investment in advanced studies and rigorous research in your field of study. It is the pinnacle of your doctoral program, and the most far-reaching undertaking in your studies. Although the thesis is indisputably significant, it is also important to remember that the doctoral thesis is just one of many steps along your career path and should therefore be well-defined and manageable.

The doctoral thesis has been historically written as a unified work in some disciplines, or a publication-based thesis in other disciplines. Today, there is a growing acceptance of more flexible formats and structures that aim to enhance professional practice or that include creative scholarly artefacts such as film, audio, visual, and graphic representations. There is also growing recognition of the need to welcome Indigenous forms of knowledge building and dissemination.

The decision about the structure and format of the student’s doctoral thesis should be made by the supervisor and the supervisory committee members and be informed by the practices in the specific discipline and the student’s academic and professional goals.

The Guidelines for the Doctoral Thesis have been designed to help you and your supervisory committee by identifying the required academic criteria of the doctoral thesis and by describing the various available formats and structures that are accepted by the School of Graduate Studies.

Faculty and Departmental Guidelines

While the Guidelines for a Doctoral Thesis provide an overarching summary of the required academic criteria for your doctoral thesis, some Faculties and Departments have a more specific description of discipline-specific requirements. Talk to your supervisor about specific requirements for your department of Faculty.

Contact Us​

Program Completion Office, Doctoral
School of Graduate Studies, Room 110, 63 St. George Street
416-978-5258
sgs.doctoral@utoronto.ca