Your requirements for graduation (as they pertain to thesis submission) have been fulfilled once you have completed the following:

• within the Thesis Registration System:
  • registered information online about your thesis,
  • uploaded an electronic copy of your thesis,
  • uploaded any supplemental files, and,
  • uploaded any digitally-signed licences and documentation
• submitted your Thesis Package to the library, including the required forms.

After your thesis is submitted to the library, it is examined in two stages: the intake stage and the audit/approval stage. Any corrections that may be required will not delay your graduation.

Graduate Assistants and the Dean of Graduate Studies office are notified of thesis submissions.

Intake stage

It may take up to one month for your thesis to move through this stage, depending on how you delivered your Thesis Package to the library.

If problems are found with your thesis or accompanying forms at the intake stage, you will receive an email detailing the problems and asking you to make the necessary changes within a reasonable time. 

Once the changes have been made, you will need to upload a new copy of the PDF version of your thesis to the Thesis Registration System and submit two hardcopies of each of the pages affected by the modifications you made.

While you must complete the requested changes, having to make changes to your thesis does not affect when you graduate.

Upon completion of this stage, you will receive an email from the Assistant for Theses.

Audit/approval stage

It may take up to four to six months for your thesis to move through this stage.

If problems are found with your thesis or accompanying forms at the audit stage, you will receive an email detailing the problems and asking you to make the necessary changes within a reasonable time.  

Once the changes have been made, you will need to upload a new copy of the PDF version of your thesis to the Thesis Registration System and submit two hardcopies of each of the pages affected by the modifications you made.

While you must complete the requested changes, having to make changes to your thesis does not affect when you graduate.

After approval, the printed copies are bound like a book and placed in the library's book stacks and at the SFU Archives.  The web-based or electronic copy is made available via the library's online systems.  The print and online versions are findable through the library's catalogue unless a postponement of publication was approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies office.

Upon completion of this stage, you will receive an email from the Assistant for Theses.

I found an error in my thesis.  Can I correct it?

Changes may only be made to selected pages that the Assistant for Theses has requested from you.

Changes not requested by the Assistant for Theses cannot be made to your thesis after your supervisor "signs-off" on your thesis or after you have submitted your thesis to the library. 

However, if you find a significant error that you feel must be changed, instruct your supervisor to email the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies requesting authorization to make the changes.  The email must provide the following. 

• specific details of the required changes,
• the justification for such changes, and
• the page numbers that are affected.

If the change is deemed significant, the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies will inform the Assistant for Theses that the changes can be made.  If there are only a few errors, two copies of each of the affected pages can be resubmitted. 

Please ensure that each affected page starts and ends with the same text/content as the original page.

If the whole thesis has been affected, then substitution of the complete thesis must also be authorized.

How can I obtain a bound copy of my thesis for personal use and/or my department's use?

Bound copies of a thesis can be purchased from the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) Copy Centre. Please make arrangements with staff at the Copy Centre for pick-up of bound copies of your thesis.

The library does not bind theses for departments or individual students. The library is not responsible for department or student bound theses.

How can I direct others to find my thesis at the library?

See Finding University Theses and Projects from SFU.