MSc Program Guide

To remain in good academic standing, all courses - including research courses - need to be completed with a letter grade of B- or higher. The Department may recommend to the School of Graduate Studies the termination of registration and candidacy of a student who fails to receive a satisfactory grade. Students must adhere to the specific requirements in their sub-discipline. In addition, make sure to review SGS guidance on Understanding Good Standing and Satisfactory Progress. It lays out expectations regarding coursework completion and program length and time limit.

If there are challenges that may be hindering your progress, there are options:

Master's students may transfer to the doctoral program after completing one year of graduate study without writing a thesis. Student must have fulfilled two graduate half-course equivalents (excluding CR/NCR courses, research and seminar courses and CHM3000) with an academic standing of at least B+. All residence and course credits obtained in the first year are then applied toward the doctoral requirements.

To request to transfer to the Ph.D. program, submit the required documents to the Chemistry Graduate Office as ONE PDF file by the first Friday in July.   Using the file naming convention Last Name, First Name_PhDTransfer, upload the documents here in the following order:

  • Program Transfer PDF form from the SGS website. The degree postcodes for MSc and Direct/Transfer PhD are CE MSc and CE PHD U, respectively.  Do not exclude the courses taken in the first year.
  • A letter of request (maximum one-page, free form) for a direct transfer to the Ph.D. program. Please indicate the month and year of first registration in the master's program, courses to date, projects involved in and reason(s) for transfer to the doctoral program; 
  • One-page research proposal for the doctoral program;
  • A web printout of your UofT academic record from ACORN; and 
  • A letter of support from the academic supervisor highlighting the student's research progress and achievements, along with their commitment to providing funding for the duration of the student's program. Supervisors may directly upload their letter to the designated online folder.

Students in the master's program who wish to continue on to the doctoral program and complete a master's thesis may apply for dual registration for one session. The student will be engaged in full-time PhD studies and part-time master's studies. Only the appropriate PhD fees will be charged. The period of dual registration will be either September 1 to January 31 or January 1 to April 30. Dual registrants are expected to complete all degree requirements for the master's program by the end of the period.

To request dual registration, the Chemistry Graduate Office requires the following documents by the first Friday in July:

  • School of Graduate Studies graduate on-line application. Please contact the Chemistry Graduate Office to acquire access to the website.
  • "Offline" payment form. Payment will be processed by the Department.
  • Two letters of recommendation including one from MSc supervisor, curriculum vitae and ACORN print out of the UofT transcript uploaded to the SGS graduate on-line application system. 
  • A letter of support from the doctoral supervisor, confirming their commitment to providing supervision and funding for the duration of the student's doctoral program, regardless of whether the student is joining a new group or remaining within the same group.
  • Students are advised to discuss the potential second reader (or third reader for those who are co-supervised) for the thesis with their supervisor at least two months prior to the submission date. Submission deadlines are set by School of Graduate Studies (SGS); please refer to the sessional dates for the academic year. Reader(s) must be a tenure stream professor and hold a Graduate Faculty Membership at UofT. 
  • Once identified, contact the non-supervising reader(s) to confirm if they are willing to evaluate the thesis and provide them the proposed timeline. Ensure that the allotted time is sufficient, especially if they have other commitments. Reader(s) must be given at least two weeks (excluding holiday closures) to review the thesis.
  • Before releasing the thesis to the non-supervising reader(s), student must receive approval from their supervisor or co-supervisors.
  • Formatting, submission, copyright, and the deadline guidelines are available on the SGS website. The chemistry department does not provide separate guidelines. For writing support, consult Writing at UofT and Graduate Centre for Academic Communication (GCAC).
  • Student must receive the approval from the supervisor before releasing the thesis to the second reader.  
  • Upload the MSc Thesis Submission PDF Form at least three weeks before the SGS submission deadline. This will notify the Graduate Office of the MSc candidate's intention to graduate in the upcoming deadline and prompt a review of whether the student has fulfilled their degree requirements. There is no need to request graduation through SGS, and no function exits on ACORN for this purpose. 
  • Reviewers upload their letters of support to CHM SharePoint at least 9 business days before the SGS submission deadline. The timeline is subject to adjustment in accordance with SGS deadlines for the graduate units. MSc candidates are responsible for sending the follow-up emails to their readers.
    • Letters of support are free-form; there is no form or template.
    • The letter of support from the supervisor or co-supervisors must include the thesis title, confirm that the thesis is acceptable in partial fulfillment for the MSc degree, and verify that revisions from the non-supervising reader(s) have been completed. If applicable, it should also confirm whether the MSc candidate is qualified to proceed towards doctoral studies.
    • The letter of support from the non-supervising reader(s) must include the thesis title and confirm that the thesis is acceptable in partial fulfillment for the MSc degree.
  • The Graduate Office can only begin preparing the SGS MSc Degree Recommendation once all the letters have been received. Without the Degree Recommendation from our office, SGS will not be able to confirm the student's eligibility to graduate in the upcoming graduation cycle. 
  • Theses are submitted electronically to SGS ProQuest by the deadline set by SGS. Approval from all required readers must be obtained prior to submission. Refer to Producing Your Thesis on the SGS website. Carefully follow the SGS' instructions. Theses that do not conform to the formatting guidelines will be rejected and negatively impact eligibility to proceed with graduation. Enquiries related to thesis submission should be redirected to the MSc Completion Office.
  • The department does not require a copy of your thesis.
  • Students requesting an embargo on the release of their thesis must submit a restricted thesis release form, signed by both the author and the Graduate Chair. Submit the form to chem.gradcoord@utoronto.ca to obtain the signature. 
  • If a student requires a letter of completion from SGS before their official graduation date, they must request it directly from SGS using this form. Graduate units are not authorized to issue this letter. SGS will provide it once the approved and correctly formatted thesis has been uploaded to the repository. 

Master's students who finish the degree program requirements in less than the defined program length (ie. less than 3 months), regardless of registration option, will be subject to a balance of degree fee. Please make sure to review the School of Graduate Studies' website.

The MCB is a financial aid program aimed to assist master's students who must register beyond the program length (ie. 6 sessions full-time) required for their degree, in order to complete a minimal amount of work remaining due to unanticipated factors beyond their control.  For more information on eligibility and application, please visit the School of Graduate Studies.