Convocation

Home » Policies and Guidelines » Convocation

General Information

Once all degree requirements are successfully completed, students are not eligible to continue registration. Delay of graduation is not permitted. Students are required to graduate at the ceremony immediately following completion of their degree requirements. The only exception applies to students who finish their degree requirements in December; they will be able to graduate in March (in absentia) or in June.

There are two convocation ceremonies: one in June, and another in November. There is also a third period in March, when degrees are conferred in absentia (i.e. without a ceremony).

Information about the ceremony date and other details, such as guest tickets, will become available prior to the convocation ceremonies. Please see the Office of Convocation site for specific dates.

Deadline to Meet Degree Requirements

Exact dates will be communicated via email before the end of each session. Please see the dates for all graduations (March, June, and November) on the School of Graduating Studies (SGS) website.

Degree Recommendations

When all requirements for a specific degree have been fulfilled, the Rotman School is required to submit a degree recommendation to the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) indicating that the program has been satisfactorily completed by the student.

Declaration of Degree/Diploma Completion – Rotman does not require students to fill out a Declaration of Degree/Diploma Completion as all students must graduate in the convocation following the term in which their program requirements have been met, with the exception of December finishers as noted above.

Ceremony RSVP, Gown Rentals, and Ticket Info

The Assistant/Associate Directors from each program will email eligible students pertinent information about convocation details, how to RSVP for the ceremony, and other logistical information.

Please note that the University’s Convocation Office will also email important information to the student’s email account entered on ACORN.

Name/Gender Changes

A student’s name as it appears in ACORN is the name that will appear on their diploma.

Students should review this information and verify that the spelling is correct as it appears in ACORN. If students need to make a change, please see instructions below.

First and/or Middle Name or Gender Changes

Complete the Change of Name or Gender Request Form
Legal name change documentation is not required
Submit the form to the Rotman Registrar’s Office (Room 214) – please note, you will be asked to provide your TCard

Legal Name Change

Complete the Legal Name Change Form
Submit the form and one of the following approved documents to the Rotman Registrar’s Office (Room 214)
- Name change certificate from an approved government agency (e.g. Office of the Registrar General)
- Birth certificate
- Government issued marriage certificate, divorce decree or court issued separation document
- Citizenship card issued by an approved government agency
- Permanent resident card
- Canadian passport
- International passport

After changing your name, you will need to ensure your name is updated in other university systems:

Email: Visit the UTORid webpage to request a change to your email address.
TCard: Your TCard must match your current name on ACORN or Quercus. See the TCard Office for more information.

Note:

Your UTORid cannot be changed, even after you change your name on your official academic record. Your UTORid is only used by you, it cannot be used to identify you to university staff or instructors.

Students who wish to avoid some of the challenges mentioned above might consider changing their name back to their formal legal name before graduation. Or alternatively, students can set a Display First Name to be used on a variety UofT services by clicking here.

For more information about name change deadlines prior to convocation please visit the Office of Convocation website.

Transcripts

Official transcripts issued by the university are requested via ACORN. The University Registrar’s Office Transcript Services site provides answers to many FAQs, however, please note:

The university makes grades available to all students across the university at the same time (mid-September for HY Summer courses, mid-January for Fall courses, and mid-May for Winter/Spring courses)
The specific dates are clearly indicated on the grades release emails sent by the Registrar’s Office and/or your Quercus program resources page
Transcripts ordered before these dates will show all grades for the current term as IPR (In Progress), even though the grades show on a student’s PGR
For the “Degree Conferred” notation to appear on the official transcript, requests must be made the day after the convocation ceremony

International Students – Post-Graduate Work Permits, Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program

Pending the successful completion of all degree requirements by the end of April, students may be interested in applying for the Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) or the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).

Instructions about the application process and university documentation needed are listed below. Please pay special attention to the important deadlines and application requirements.

In order to apply for the PGWP, students need the Confirmation of Degree Letter from University of Toronto. This letter may only be processed by the School of Graduate Studies (SGS), not Rotman, and only once final grades have been submitted to SGS. Rotman cannot, under any circumstances, issue these letters.

Given that Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada requires time to process PGWP applications, SGS has agreed to grant an exception to Rotman candidates studying on a student visa and will release the Confirmation of Degree Letters as per the schedule below.

Note: Students may email (preferred method) the Confirmation of Degree Requirements form to SGS, and letters will only be sent electronically according to the schedule below. While email requests are preferred, students may also drop off their requests at SGS.

Confirmation of Degree Letters

SGS prepares these letters for both Master’s and Diploma students who require confirmation that all degree requirements have been met. Students must have:

Completed all requirements for their program
All final grades released by the Registrar’s Office
Emailed the Registrar’s Office requesting an early degree recommendation

Note: The above applies to December finishers, and other students who may not be part of a cohort. For the majority of students, the pre-established deadlines listed below will apply. To request a letter, fill out a School of Graduate Studies (SGS) Request for Confirmation of Degree Form, and submit it to SGS Student Services.

SGS will do a program and fees check. Students should ensure they do not have an outstanding balance.

For June and November convocations, please see the sections below.

To Get the Letter

Letter REQUEST Guidelines:

Complete the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) Confirmation of Degree Requirements form.
Students are encouraged to email these requests to SGS well in advance of the deadlines below, ahead of grades being released. Letters will be sent out on the dates below when all grades have been processed and received by SGS.
Requests must be received by SGS by 4:30 pm EST (Eastern Standard Time) as follows:
- June Graduation
  - MBA (FT, AM, PM, EMBA, GEMBA-Dual, and GEMBA-HLS) – 4:30 pm EST (Eastern Standard Time) on Monday, May 13, 2024
  - MFin – 4:30 pm EST (Eastern Standard Time) on Monday, May 13, 2024
- November Graduation
  - MFRM and MMA – 4:30 pm EST (Eastern Standard Time) on Monday, July 15, 2024

Requests received by SGS after the above deadlines will be available in accordance with SGS processing times. No exceptions.

Peak periods (September, October, April, and May): 15 to 20 days business days (not including weekends and holidays) from acknowledgement of receipt email from SGS confirming they have received the letter request
Normal periods: at least 5 days (not including weekends and holidays) from acknowledgement of receipt email from SGS confirming they have received the letter request

Letter RECEIPT/DELIVERY Guidelines:

Letters will be sent by email as a single PDF file to your email address as it appears on ACORN. Students will only get one email. Please ensure the email on ACORN is accurate and current. SGS will send the letters out as per the schedule below:

June Graduation
- MBA (FT, AM, PM, EMBA, GEMBA-Dual, and GEMBA-HLS) – Wednesday, May 22, 2024 by 4:30 pm EST (Eastern Standard Time)
- MFin – Wednesday, May 22, 2024 by 4:30 pm EST (Eastern Standard Time)
November Graduation
- MFRM and MMA – Monday, July 22, 2024 by 4:00 pm EST (Eastern Standard Time)

Questions? Please contact your Assistant/Associate Directors. Due to the busy time, SGS will not reply to individual emails from students.

Important: Once students have obtained the Confirmation of Degree letter from SGS, they can then apply for the Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) through the IRCC website.

Note: Students may email (preferred method) the Confirmation of Degree Requirements form, and letters will only be sent electronically according to the above schedule. While email requests are preferred, students may also drop off their requests at SGS.

Need an official letter before the established deadlines?

Please see the Confirmation of Registration section below.

Important:

Please note that no alternative arrangements or exceptions will be made.
Official transcripts ordered prior to the official university date to view grades for the previous term will show grades for that term as IPR (in progress). The Preliminary Grade Report (PGR) students are able to obtain from the Rotman portal/HUB is not official.
Only transcripts ordered after the actual graduation date will have the Degree Conferred notation on them. Transcripts must be requested via the University Registrar’s Office Transcript Services.
All letter requests are student-initiated via the appropriate SGS form. We cannot request letters on behalf of students.
SGS will not send out letters to students with arrears owing.
The Office of Convocation sends out emails to all graduating students with important information prior to Convocation. If you have not updated your email address, please do so at your earliest convenience as you may miss out on important information.
If you have any questions about the PGWP or the OINP programs, or other immigration matters, please contact the university’s International Student Immigration Advisors (ISIAs) team.

For any non-immigration questions, please contact the Registrar’s Office.

Confirmation of Registration Letters

Students who need a letter now to present to employers, to invite relatives to attend convocation, etc. need to request a Confirmation of Registration letter.

On the form under “Custom Request”, students may enter the following:

[StudentName] is expected to complete their [Program] degree requirements by April/September 202X, with the expectation of graduating on XX June/November 202X.

We cannot confirm that this letter will be accepted by immigration; students must confirm this with their Immigration Advisors.

Please note that Confirmation of Registration letters:

May be requested at any time
Are issued to current and past students (alumni)
Will include the dates the student was registered in the program and other information as indicated on the form
Are not accepted for PGWP, OINP, etc. programs
Request form is found on the SGS website under Confirmation of Registration.

For any other questions (i.e., non-immigration), please contact the Registrar’s Office.