Submitting your thesis at McGill requires strict compliance with the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) guidelines. A formatting error can delay your graduation: GPS reviewers check every thesis before it reaches your committee for final approval. This guide covers the official McGill thesis guidelines in force for the 2026 submission cycles, the two-step myThesis process, the available templates, and the mistakes that send theses back for correction.

Official Formatting Requirements (GPS)

ParameterRequirement
Paper sizeNorth American letter (8.5” × 11”), the usual format
FontConventional font, 12-point, 12 characters per inch
Line spacingDouble or 1.5
MarginsLeft and right margins of 1 inch
Abstract lengthMaximum 4,000 characters (text only)
Copyright noticeRequired: © [Your Name], [Year]
Title lengthMaximum 240 characters, nouns capitalized only
File namelastname_firstname_unitname_thesis.pdf
Submission formatPDF via the myThesis portal

Bilingual Abstracts: Required at McGill

McGill requires both an English and a French abstract in every thesis or dissertation. Key rules:

  • Text only, no images, special characters, chemical formulae, or mathematical expressions
  • Maximum 4,000 characters per abstract
  • Both abstracts must appear in the front matter
  • Order: English first, then French (or the language of the thesis first)

This is one of the most commonly missed requirements for students writing in English who don’t have a French-language support network. GPS accepts West European special characters in the abstracts, and nothing beyond that.

On pagination, GPS is deliberately flexible. The position of the page number is your choice, and pages carrying figures or illustrations may be numbered in the same sequence as the rest of the thesis or left unnumbered. What GPS does require is that whichever convention you pick is applied consistently from the first page to the last.

Thesis Structure Options

McGill accepts two formats:

Traditional Monograph

A single, integrated document organized by topic chapters. Most common for humanities and social sciences.

Manuscript-Based (Article-Based) Thesis

Central chapters consist of published or submitted articles. Requirements:

  • Connecting text must link the manuscripts in a logical progression from one chapter to the next
  • A general introduction and conclusion (or discussion) are required to form an integrated whole
  • Co-authored papers are acceptable with a Contribution of Authors statement
  • The candidate must be the first author of all included manuscripts
  • A minimum of two manuscripts is required for doctoral theses (one or more for Master’s)

A thesis cannot be a mixture of the two formats.

GPS is explicit about what each level has to demonstrate. A Master’s thesis must show familiarity with previous work in the field and the ability to carry out research, organize the results, and defend the conclusions in a scholarly manner according to the norms of the discipline. An exhaustive literature review is not always expected, since that varies by field. A doctoral thesis must be original scholarship and a distinct contribution to knowledge, and it must make clear how the research advances the field. Doctoral theses do not require prior publications, but they do require a Contribution to Original Knowledge statement.

Two approvals sit outside formatting and still block submission. Any research involving human participants, animals, biohazards, or radioactive material needs the appropriate ethics certification, and any previously published copyrighted material needs signed permission from the publisher. For a manuscript-based thesis, every co-author must also agree to the inclusion of the manuscript.

myThesis Submission: Initial and Final Deposit

Every McGill thesis passes through myThesis twice. The first pass is the initial submission, the version your examiners read. The second is the final deposit, the corrected version that becomes the official copy of record. Students routinely underestimate the gap between the two, and that gap is where graduation dates are won or lost.

Step 1, the initial submission

Open myThesis four to eight weeks before your expected submission date, complete the Intent to Submit Thesis form, and nominate examiners. Master’s students nominate two to four candidates. Doctoral students propose two internal examiners and two to four external ones. You cannot upload the thesis until a nominated examiner has accepted the invitation, so a slow nomination is a slow submission.

The upload itself asks for two files. The thesis goes in as a PDF named lastname_firstname_unitname_thesis.pdf, and the completed Initial Thesis Submission Checklist goes in as a supplemental document. Both abstracts must already be in the file, and your title must fit inside 240 characters with nouns capitalized only.

Uploading is not submitting. Your myThesis status has to read “Eval. Authorized by GPD” by 11:59 pm on the deadline date, which means your supervisor and your Graduate Program Director have both signed off. Chasing two approvals on the last afternoon is the single most avoidable way to miss a conferral date. You must also be registered in your degree program at the time of submission. A student who is no longer registered has to be readmitted before the thesis can be examined. Meeting the deadline puts you on the graduation list, but it does not guarantee graduation and does not exempt you from registration fees.

For doctoral theses, the examiners then have four weeks to evaluate, counted from the day they receive the thesis and not from the day you submitted. If both examiners pass the thesis, you move to the oral defence. GPS requires a minimum of six weeks between the initial submission and the defence, and sets no maximum. If the thesis does not pass, your transcript records “Thesis Requires Revision” and you have the option to revise and resubmit.

Step 2, the final deposit

Once the examination is complete, your myThesis status becomes “Pass awaiting finals”. You then upload the corrected version. This can be done at any time while you are registered, and the deadline is met when the status reads “Final Thesis Authorized by Sup.”, meaning your supervisor has approved the corrections. GPS approval of the final thesis is not required for the deadline itself, which is also why that supervisor-level status is enough to generate a letter of completion for a post-graduation work permit.

Do not let the final deposit drift. GPS expects it within a few weeks of the examiners’ reports, and at the very latest during the term following your initial submission. There is no separate graduation application to file afterwards.

Deposited theses are published on eScholarship, usually a couple of months after each submission deadline. If public access would compromise a patent application or other sensitive work, you select the withholding option in myThesis with your supervisor’s agreement, and GPS may allow the thesis to be withheld from electronic publication for up to one year.

The three deadline dates

McGill confers degrees three times a year, and each conferral has its own initial and final submission deadline. The three fixed dates are April 15, August 15, and December 15, for both the initial submission and the final deposit. Should one of them fall on a weekend or a holiday, the effective deadline moves to the next working day. A thesis may be submitted at any point in the year, but these dates decide which conferral you land on. Some academic units enforce earlier deadlines than GPS does, so confirm the exact date with your own department rather than assuming the GPS date applies.

Available Templates

LaTeX

There is no official McGill LaTeX template. However, a well-maintained community template is available on Overleaf:

Word

McGill does not provide an official Word template. Contact the GPS office directly for guidance:

Required Thesis Sections (front matter order)

  1. Title page (with copyright notice)
  2. Table of Contents
  3. Abstract (English)
  4. Abstract (French)
  5. Acknowledgements (optional)
  6. Contribution to Original Knowledge (required for doctoral theses)
  7. Contribution of Authors (required for manuscript-based theses; states the student’s and co-authors’ contributions)
  8. List of Figures (if applicable)
  9. List of Tables (if applicable)
  10. List of Abbreviations (if applicable)
  11. Introduction
  12. Chapters / Manuscripts
  13. Conclusion / Discussion
  14. References / Bibliography
  15. Appendices (if applicable)

Key GPS Policies

  • Copyright in the thesis belongs to the student. A copyright notice must appear on the title page.
  • GPS has issued guidance on AI tool use. Check the current GPS FAQ for up-to-date policies, as requirements evolve.

Language

  • Theses may be written in English or French.
  • Regardless of thesis language, both English and French abstracts are required.

Embargo

  • Students may ask, with their supervisor’s agreement, that the thesis be withheld from electronic publication. GPS may permit this for a period of up to one year, for reasons such as a pending patent application or otherwise sensitive research.
  • Students retain the rights to the data they generated. Written intellectual property agreements are expected between students, supervisors, and collaborators.

Official Resources

Most Common McGill Thesis Formatting Mistakes

  1. Missing French abstract: required even if the entire thesis is in English.
  2. Abstract exceeds 4,000 characters: GPS counts characters, not words; check this carefully.
  3. Special characters in abstracts: no formulas, symbols, or images allowed in either abstract.
  4. Missing copyright notice: must appear on the title page.
  5. No Contribution of Authors statement: required for manuscript-based theses with co-authored papers.
  6. Inconsistent font or spacing: GPS reviewers check formatting systematically.
  7. Confusing the two submissions: the initial submission is examined, the final deposit is published; uploading a file in myThesis is not submitting until the status shows the required approval.
  8. Title longer than 240 characters: the myThesis field is capped, and a long working title has to be cut before you can proceed.
  9. Nominating examiners too late: nothing can be uploaded until an examiner accepts the invitation, so start four to eight weeks ahead.

Sources: GPS thesis preparation requirements, GPS general requirements, Initial thesis submission, Steps for doctoral students, Steps for Master’s students, myThesis FAQ for students, Final thesis regulations and instructions, Thesis deadlines, Thesis FAQ, McGill Library Thesis Guide. Last verified: September 2026.