An exercise in making a time line


Meeting deadlines by making time lines.


Making a time line for completing you graduate degree.

1) Decide when you want to finish. Considerations:
  • convocation deadline
  • term deadlines
  • fees deadlines
  • next employer's needs.
2) Add other sub-deadlines to meet your thesis deadline. Working backwards, add the following to your time line:
  • last date for thesis submission,
  • last day for your oral defense (a minimum of two weeks before your submission deadline)
  • last pre defense advisory meeting (a minimum of two weeks before your defense)
  • complete thesis (a minimum of two weeks before your last advisory meeting)
  • ideal times for submitting the papers for publication (as soon as each is completed)
  • completion of data analysis
  • completion of experiments etc.
3) Add other deadlines and their sub-deadlines. Add things like:
  • times of scientific meeting deadlines (when to start and finish poster)
  • course deadlines (study period for exams, study period for comprehensive exam study period)
  • scholarship applications
4) Prioritize competing items and reorder so as to time things correctly.  

Copyright © 1995
Tutis Vilis
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
University of Western Ontario
London Ontario Canada

Created 28 Sept 1995
Last updated 10 January 2007
Comments welcome: tutis.vilis@schulich.uwo.ca