Formatting Your Thesis: Approval Page

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Requirements 

  1. Use the Approval page template linked below to create a copy or copies to be signed by your committee.
  2. Complete the unsigned Approval page in the library's thesis template (page ii). Examples of signed and unsigned pages appear at the bottom of this page.
  3. All information must be identical and accurate on both versions of the Approval page.
  4. For submission, upload a .pdf of the signed Approval page to the Thesis Registration System.

Approval page template

  • Do not insert the signed Approval page into the thesis as page ii.
  • Check with your department's graduate program assistant to confirm committee members' information (member's name, committee role, position in department).
  • If you are printing and binding multiple copies of your thesis (personal copies or departmental copies) and you wish to include signed Approval pages, ensure your committee members sign multiple pages. 
  • Both signed and unsigned Approval pages must be numbered page ii.

Content and details

The Approval page contains the following elements:

  1. Title
  2. Degree
  3. Committee Type
  4. Committee Membership
  5. Date

Title

Consult your committee and the style guide you are using for help formatting the title.

Degree

The degree should appear on one line. The discipline may be added if preferred.

Examples:

  • Master of Arts 
  • Master of Science (Chemistry)
  • Doctor of Education
  • Doctor of Philosophy (History)

Committee types

  • ​Examining Committee - for degrees that require a thesis defense
  • Supervisory Committee - for degrees that do not require a formal thesis defense, e.g: M.Eng, M.Pub

Committee membership

Each committee member must be identified with three elements:

1. Name Karen Eliot
2. Committee Role Supervisor
3. Academic Role Professor

List of Committee Roles

Member

Required Details

Additional details

Chair

Name
Academic role

No signature required

Senior Supervisor

Name
Committee role
Academic role
Signature

 

Co-Supervisor 
(as defined in Graduate General Regulations 1.6.5)

Name
Committee role
Academic role
Signature

Add department (if from another department)

Supervisor(s)

Name
Committee role
Academic role
Signature

Add department (if from another department)

Examiner

Name
Committee role
Academic role
Signature

Add department (if from another department)

External Examiner

Name
Committee role
Academic role
Signature

Add department (if from another department)
Add institution (if from another institution)

Academic roles include: Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Professor Emeritus, Professor Emerita, Adjunct Professor, Senior Lecturer, Sessional Lecturer, Limited Term Lecturer.

  • If a committee member is from the home department, do not write the department on the Approval page.
  • If a committee member is from a different department or institution, add this information to their academic role e.g.:
1. Name Albert Einstein
2. Committee role External Examiner
3. Academic role Professor Emeritus
Department of Physics
Princeton University

Administrative titles or honorifics (Associate Dean, Canada Research Chair, etc.) are not required on the Approval page.

Date Defended / Approved

For defended theses, record the defense date.  For undefended theses, use the approved date.  

Signatures required

Effective March 17, 2020:

Due to the remote defense participation procedures put in place in response to COVID-19, the following amendments will be made to signature requirements for approval pages:

  • Departments should continue to use their existing approval page templates
  • Only the committee Chair is required to sign the page, next to their name (see the interim approval page example). Please see the requirements outlined below regarding acceptable signature types
  • The Chair should note how the other committee members participated in the defense on the lines adjacent to their names (e.g. By videoconference, By teleconference, By written consultation). Initials for these remote participation lines are not required.

Interim approval page example

  • Original signatures are preferred. While electronic signatures are permitted, signatures that have been typed using a signature-style font are NOT permitted.
  • Approval pages must be signed by 50%+1 of the committee.

When Unable to Obtain a Committee Member's Signature:

If a committee member is absent, include a statement on their signature line and obtain an alternate signature or initials:

  • By video conference or By teleconference
  • By written consultation

If the Senior Supervisor is absent, the alternate signature must be provided by the department chair, graduate program chair, or Dean of Graduate Studies.

If another committee member is absent, the defence chair or senior supervisor can provide the alternate signature.

Emails from absent member(s) giving revision requirements or approval should be kept in the student's department file.

(Updated 3/14/17 in consultation with the Dean of Graduate Studies' office)

Errors on a signed approval page

If there are errors on a signed Approval page, you must correct the errors, print a new Approval page and obtain all signatures again.

If you cannot obtain all signatures on a single page, you may send separate pages to individual committee members and combine the pages into a single pdf for upload.

Sample approval pages

For an extended essays Approval, follow the appropriate Master's project format.