Graduation & Convocation

Updated February 5, 2025

The University schedules three graduations each year (June, November and March). Once a student has completed all program requirements they will be put forward to graduate at the next convocation.  Except for those who complete their requirements by December, students must convocate during the next convocation ceremony.

Convocation

Students must graduate at the ceremony immediately following completion of their degree requirements. Delay of graduation is not permitted. You must graduate once all degree requirements have been completed.

Information on time, location, and tickets for convocation ceremonies are normally emailed to the student’s UTOR email account approximately three weeks prior to convocation. Please ensure your address is correct in ACORN. You are encouraged to check this website regularly as information concerning dates and deadlines may change. Further details can be obtained at the Office of Convocation.

In order to meet degree requirements, your thesis must be submitted to the digital libr​​ary repository​.

June convocation: If program requirements are completed and grades received by the SGS deadline in April.

November convocation: If program requirements are completed and grades received by the SGS deadline in September.

March convocation (in absentia): Students who have completed program requirements by the end of the Fall Session and meet the SGS deadline in January for grade submission can elect to graduate in March (in absentia) and have the diploma mailed at the end of March (there is no formal convocation ceremony in March) or wait until June to graduate and receive the diploma at the June convocation ceremony.

Please visit the Office of Convocation web site for information about gown and hood arrangements, ordering tickets, ceremony dates, etc. prior to graduation.

ALL eligible graduands must indicate through ACORN whether they with attend or not attend their ceremony.

Submitting an Intent to Graduate

After the course drop deadline has passed for each session, the FIFSW will invite potential students to submit an Intent to Graduate form. Please note that FIFSW does not use the Request to Graduate function through ACORN.

While the FIFSW Registrar’s Office will verify your eligibility to graduate including ensuring you have passed all required courses this term, completing the Intent to Graduate form will assist us in our process.

To check if you are in good progress to graduate, please use Degree Explorer.

Name on Diploma

Your name as it appears in ACORN is the name that will appear on your diploma. Your name on the title page and abstract of your thesis must also be exactly the same as the name that appears in ACORN.

Name Changes

To change your name/gender, please complete this Change of Name or Gender Request Form. Questions? Please contact SGS Student Academic Services at graduate.information@utoronto.ca.

Name Accents

If your name requires accents, please download and complete the appropriate convocation Name on Diploma form by the appropriate deadline set by the Office of Convocation. Please note that this form is only for accents.

If the necessary change(s) are not made by the deadline for name changes set by the Office of Convocation, there is an $80.00 fee to have a new diploma printed. Please note the deadlines are quite early; typically mid-September for November Convocation and early February for March (in absentia) and June Convocation.

Outstanding Fees

Students who have outstanding fees will be permitted to attend convocation. However, such students will not receive their diploma, and a financial hold will be placed on the student’s financial account and transcripts and confirmation of degree letters will not be released until fees have been paid. Students with outstanding fees who are attending the ceremony will receive an empty envelope, which will be identical to the other envelopes containing diplomas. Please note that owing a balance of degree fee is the exception to the diploma hold rule.

Fees for doctoral students in their final year are based on the date the final thesis is submitted to SGS. Fees are adjusted by the end of the month. Refer to Graduate F​​ees for complete details.

Quercus, course syllabi and other materials

Students are encouraged to download and save course materials from Quercus for their own records.  You can also save a copy of your practicum evaluations form the PAS system. This is especially important for documents such as course syllabi and practicum evaluations as they are often requested from licensing bodies.

The SGS calendar is also an important document to have saved for your personal records.  Please find the calendar relevant to your start year through the SGS site.

The FIFSW maintains a repository of the course syllabi, however, retrieval of such documents requires time.  Other information, such as program outcomes, may not be retrievable by us.

While there are currently no plans to restrict access to Quercus or purge accounts for graduates, you are strongly encouraged to save these course materials by June 1^st as the courses may be made inactive by the instructors.

Confirmation of Degree Requirements Letter

We understand that many of you may want to begin the registration process with OCSWSSW or other organizations that will require confirmation of degree requirements. SGS prepares letters for both master’s and doctoral students requesting confirmation that all degree requirements have been met, prior to Convocation but AFTER all your grades have been submitted. To request such a letter, complete the Confirmation of Degree Requirements form and submit directly to graduate.information@utoronto.ca after the grade release date. Please note that SGS can only produce these letters after all final grades have been approved by them. For June 2025 convocation, the earliest date to request the letter is April 16, 2025.

There is no charge to students for letters, but please allow five business days (or more during peak periods).

For international students, once you have obtained the Confirmation of Degree letter from SGS, you can then apply for the Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) through the IRCC website.

OCSWSSW registration

As of September 1, 2024, students who are graduating with a degree in social work or a diploma in social service work will no longer be able to register prior to their convocation.

OCSWSSW registration can only begin after your convocation, when your transcript reflects the convocation date.

Request a transcript AFTER your convocation; for registration purposes, your transcript must confirm that the credential (the degree) has been awarded.

For international students, once you have obtained the Confirmation of Degree letter from SGS, you can then apply for the Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) through the IRCC website.

It’s important to remember, that only College registrants can use the title “social worker”/ “registered social worker” or “social service worker”/ “registered social service worker”. Registration is also required if you represent or hold yourself out as a social worker or social service worker. You should withhold using such titles an designations until after your registration is complete. You can visit the OCSWSSW site for more Information on the Titles and Designations: What you need to know.

U of T email account

After you graduate, your student email address will change to your.name@alum.utoronto.ca. You can continue to access your alumni account with your UTORid and password. Messages sent to your student email account will be forwarded to your alumni account for two years after graduation so you have ample time to alert your contacts.

Learn more about the University of Toronto alumni email account page.

ACORN access

You are still able to access your ACORN account as long as you have a valid student number and PIN. Alumni can use ACORN to order transcripts and view their academic records. To learn more about ordering transcripts, visit Transcript Services.