Graduation-Application for Degree or Diploma

Students who expect to receive a degree must complete the online graduation application by the deadline noted in the academic calendar. All graduate students must have been advanced to candidacy by the deadline for their final project type before they will be eligible to apply for graduation.

After the student applies for the degree, the School of Graduate Studies checks the academic record to ensure that the student is eligible to graduate. A new application must be filed if the student fails to graduate.

Students applying to earn a master's or doctoral degree must be registered for the term in which they expect to receive their degree. Students applying to earn a certificate are not required to be registered for the term in which they expect to receive their certificate.

Candidacy for Degrees

Admission to the School of Graduate Studies does not imply admission to candidacy for an advanced degree. The rights to candidacy can be earned only by demonstrating the preparation for and ability to pursue graduate work and by fulfilling requirements prerequisite to candidacy. Those requirements are described in detail for each degree. Advancement to candidacy does imply that the student has been judged by the advisory committee and the dean to have satisfactorily completed much of the formal coursework and examination requirements and to be fully qualified to pursue the remaining, usually more independent, portion of the degree work.

Deadlines 

Thesis and Dissertation

  • Students completing a thesis or dissertation must be advanced to candidacy by the last day to add/drop a course in the semester prior to the expected graduation term.

Non-Thesis

  • Students completing a non-thesis project requiring IRB approval must be advanced to candidacy by the last day to add/drop a course in the semester prior to the expected graduation term.
  • Students completing a non-thesis project not requiring IRB approval must be advanced to candidacy by the last day tot add/drop a course in the semester they expect to graduate.