Draft a timeline for the major stages of development and completion of your thesis or dissertation

Successful completion of research based graduate programs is primarily dependant upon effective communication between supervisor (advisor) and student. Beyond regular meetings between student and advisor, a useful tool is the timeline. This tool works on the adage “Plan Backward - Implement Forward”. Impediments to successful completion of a graduate program often arise from miscommunication (lack of information) and failure to communicate expectations. The timeline assists on both of these fronts. Students have expectations, as does the advisor, and the Faculty of Gradate Studies for that matter. Just like the best laid plans, expectations also change with time and information.

Although the actual timeline for completion of your graduate thesis or dissertation will be shaped, in part, by your progress and your program's formal requirements, you should begin to think about the process and contents of your thesis or dissertation as early as possible. After determining the topic for your research, there will be a number of stages of subsequent work to include in your timeline. These include:

1. Preparing your proposal
2. Conducting your research
3. Writing the thesis/dissertation document
4. Sharing the research outcomes with others

In preparing the timeline, try to estimate the amount of time and resources you will need to move through each stage. It is important to keep your proposed timeline sufficiently flexible in order to allow for uncertainties that may influence your progress toward completion.

Periodically sitting down and hashing out a timeline increases the likelihood of success. The starting point is the endpoint – either convocation or last date for thesis submission to graduate studies. Work backwards in time through various tasks and deadlines such as thesis revisions, ethics submissions, vacations, etc.