Current Students
What Are the Steps to Graduate?
Classification:
Students must be classified within their first 12 units of graduate coursework. There are University as well as departmental requirements for classification; please see the Graduate Student Information Booklet and your graduate coordinator for more information.
Formal Program:
Once classified, a student may submit the Formal Program. This is a department specific form that lists all of the classes that are required for the Master’s degree. This form must be approved by an advisor, the department Graduate Coordinator, and Graduate Evaluations.
Application for Graduation (form available online):
Students should apply for graduation the semester before they plan to graduate. The application and $47 fee should be submitted to Admissions and Records (located in the lobby of Bayramian Hall). There is no deadline for applying, however, the later you submit the form, the later your Graduate Evaluator will be able to send you a Master’s Degree Graduation Evaluation. This form tells you what requirements you still need to complete, or what paperwork you must turn in for your file.
Project Planning Form:
Students who are not taking a Comprehensive Exam must file a Project Planning Form. There is no deadline for this form but it must be filed before the student has their preliminary format check.
Culminating Experience:
Students who have already enrolled in 697 (comprehensive exams) or 698 (thesis/project) and were given a grade of “RP,” but still require an additional semester to complete the comprehensive exam or continue working on their thesis or graduate project, may enroll in the Culminating Experience with department approval. This form allows the student to remain enrolled in the University and provides library privileges, but not health center services, and has no unit value. The fee is $230 and is paid to the College of Extended Learning. In order to enroll, a student must have: applied for graduation (or, if previously applied for graduation, file a date change form with Admissions and Records, $8 fee); classified standing, and filed a formal program with the Graduate Studies Office. Enrollment is required in the semester the degree is awarded.
Download Steps to Graduate (.pdf)
*A note on commencement: Participation in the ceremony does not confer a degree.