The approval process

Graduate program and course proposals, modifications, and deletions must be submitted via the CGPS Service Desk.

Once received, our team works with proponents to ensure rigor and quality are reflected within the proposal prior to being submitted to CGPS governance channels. Once approval is received by CGPS we guide the proposal through the university curriculum governance processes on behalf of academic units.

The unit may assume that the course has been approved if a Notice of Challenge has not been received from the Office of the University Secretary. Units will not receive notification that the Course Challenge period has expired.

  • Please refer to the Authority for Approval Chart on the Academic Programs Committee website for the levels of approval required for different types of curricular changes.
  • When developing new and relabeled courses, please contact prereqsupport@usask.ca for numbers that have been unused for at least 10 years.

Dual degree programs

Dual degrees shall exist through an agreement, or memorandum of understanding, with the partner institution that has been approved by the CGPS, and signed by the dean and the provost. Only existing approved programs can be offered as dual degree programs. New programs, or existing programs where the degree requirements are being changed, must first complete the appropriate academic approval process before being offered as a dual degree program.

The degree parchment and/or transcript from USask will state “University of Saskatchewan, in partnership with “partner institution name”. The agreement with the partner institution will require that the partner institution include a similar notation on their transcript and/or parchment.

Academic units must include the following articles when developing a dual degree agreement:

  • statement of admission requirements;
  • listing of all programmatic requirements including exam and course requirements;
  • listing of each institution’s courses eligible for transfer credit by the partner institution;
  • statement indicating that the thesis must be written and defended in English;
  • list of faculty at partner institution that meet the requirements for membership as an adjunct professor in CGPS and thus are eligible to supervise graduate students.
  • statement indicating students will be jointly supervised by a faculty member from each institution, and, that the supervisory committee will have four members, two from each institution.

For more information, please contact gradprograms.academicaffairs@usask.ca.

New course proposals

New course proposals must be submitted to the CGPS for consideration and approval. New course proposals must include the following:

For questions and/or to submit completed proposal packages please contact: gradprograms.academicaffairs@usask.ca 

Course modifications or deletions

Revisions to existing courses range from minor changes in title as the course is described in the Catalogue, to major redesign of course content or course deletion.  These must be submitted to the CGPS Graduate Programs Committee for consideration and approval.

Course modification or deletion proposals submitted to the CGPS must include the following:

For questions and/or to submit completed proposal packages please contact: gradprograms.academicaffairs@usask.ca 

Exam exemptions

USask policy requires the final examination in a graduate course to count for at least 30% of the final grade, unless an ‘Exam Exemption’ has been requested and approved by the CGPS.

To request an Exam Exemption on an existing course, complete the Exam Exemption for Existing Course form and submit it to gradprograms.academicaffairs@usask.ca on behalf of the Graduate Academic Affairs Committee for consideration and approval.

Special topics courses

A Selected Reading or Special Topic Course (898, 899) is a course for one or a few graduate students focusing on areas for which there is no regular graduate course or for filling deficiencies in the research program and must be pertinent to the candidates’ goals.

A Selected Reading or Special Topic Course can be taught twice. For subsequent offerings, the course must be regularized according to the procedures outlined above for New Course Proposal.

The following must be submitted to CGPS prior to the first offering of a selected reading or special topic(s) course:

  • Graduate Course Proposal: SPECIAL TOPICS (898,899) form must be submitted.
  • The special topics course must conform to the academic requirements and standards of regular graduate courses, including the rules of Student Appeals in Academic Matters.
  • Students and professors in Selected Reading and Special Topic courses are expected to meet regularly for at least 13 hours per credit unit.
  • If the proposed instructor is not a member of CGPS, a recent CV must be included with the form.
  • A Course Outline (syllabus) with Reading List must be included. If undergraduate lectures are included, submit the undergraduate course outline and include information on what additional activities make this a graduate level course.

The course syllabus must include the following:

  • The course title (NOT “Special Topics”)
  • Clearly stated course objectives
  • A weekly course outline with reading list
  • A description of the activities for evaluation and the percentage of total marks for each activity
  • The University of Saskatchewan Grading System (for graduate courses)
  • A statement on academic integrity
  • Links to AES examinations support and other student supports
  • Enrolment limit

Submission deadlines: 

  • August 15: For courses offered Term 1 (Sept. to Dec.) 
  • August 15: For courses offered Term 1 and Term 2 (Sept. to April)
  • December 1: For courses offered Term 2 (Jan. to April)
  • April 1: For courses offered for Spring/Summer (May to Aug.)

Graduate programs, courses, and special topics processes have all transitioned to the Service Desk. Find e-forms here.