All students registered in a thesis program must submit an annual progress report.
 
Students who receive scholarships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) or from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) must also submit progress reports.

The student must submit the progress report to the thesis supervisor by submitting a Service Request accessible through uoZone.

The supervisor will then assess the student's progress. He or she will decide if the report is satisfactory or not, by comparing the objectives achieved by the student with the objectives established in the previous progress report. 

If the student does not reach these objectives, the progress report could be deemed unsatisfactory.  It is therefore important that the student communicates with his supervisor throughout his studies in order to ensure an adequate progression of the academic path and the research. It is also possible that, following a meeting or a consultation, the student and the thesis supervisor decide to modify the objectives established during the last progress report. If this is the case, both must agree with the changes.

Once reviewed and approved by the thesis supervisor, the report will be submitted to the administration for verification and final approval.  The progress report will then be noted in the student's file.

First report: During the second year of the program, specifically during the 4th term. Some faculties or units may however require a progress report before the 4th term.

Following reports: One report per year until the submission of the thesis. If the progress is unsatisfactory, a report may be required more frequently.

Please note:

• If the student has been granted an extension to complete the program, he or she will have to submit a progress report each term.
• If the student is requesting a leave of absence, he or she must submit a progress report at the same time in order for the request to be approved.

A progress report may be deemed unsatisfactory by the thesis supervisor or by the administration. 

A report can be unsatisfactory for several reasons. For example:

• The thesis supervisor thinks that the student should be more advanced in the research;
• External factors are influencing the research;
• The objectives achieved by the student are not sufficient and/or are not aligned with the established objectives;
• The research findings are not clear or do not support the thesis sufficiently.

In the case of an unsatisfactory report, the student will be informed of the imposed recommendations to follow. For example:

• Submit a detailed study plan;
• Establish more detailed goals with the thesis supervisor;
• Meet with a thesis committee.

Please note:  After being informed that the report was unsatisfactory, the student will be asked to submit a new progress report that must be satisfactory before the next term. Students who receive two unsatisfactory progress reports during their studies shall be withdrawn from the program.

If the student fails to submit a progress report, the access to registration will be blocked until the student remedies the situation. Not registering could have major financial impact and may eventually lead to the student's academic file being closed without further notice. 

Any scholarship may be suspended or cancelled.

• The student must stay in touch with the thesis supervisor and meetings should be frequent to ensure the supervisor is well informed of the student's progress;
• uOttawa encourages students to prepare self-evaluation reports on a regular basis and give them to the supervisor for feedback;
• After each meeting, the student could make a summary including items discussed and the progress reached;
• At the end of each meeting the student and the supervisor should plan the next meetings and establish objectives to be met. If possible, set the date of the following meeting.