Graduation

The University holds commencement exercises at the end of the spring semester. Those who graduate in the preceding summer session or fall semester are eligible to attend along with those who graduate in the spring semester. In addition, the Graduate School holds a Convocation at the end of the spring semester at which master’s and doctoral degree candidates are individually recognized.

Graduation under a Particular Catalog

Degree requirements may be changed from one catalog to the next. Students are normally bound by the requirements of the catalog in force at the time of their first registration; a student may choose, however, to fulfill the requirements of a subsequent catalog. If students do not fulfill the requirements within six years of their first enrollment in the Graduate School, they are then bound by the requirements of a subsequent catalog. Students may choose the catalog in effect in any year in which they are enrolled in the Graduate School, within the six-year limit.

Procedures of Graduation

Candidates for Master of Business Administration and Master in Professional Accounting degrees should consult advisers in their program for graduation procedures. All other degree candidates must follow the procedures below. More information -- including detailed guidelines, deadlines, and forms -- is available from the Office of Graduate Studies.

Master’s Degree Candidates

Must:

1. Be registered in the Graduate School in the semester or summer session in which they plan to graduate.
2. Submit the online Master’s Graduation Application, Program of Work, and post-graduation employment information via the Graduate School website by the published deadline; if their graduation is postponed, they must submit a new online Master's Graduation Application in their subsequent semester of graduation.

Those pursuing a master’s degree under with thesis or report option must also:

1. Have completed the Intellectual Property (Copyright) Tutorial. If candidates' research involves human subjects, they must have provided evidence of ethical review by the departmental review committee and, if appropriate, by the University Institutional Review Board. The Institutional Review Board form should be attached to the Statement of Research with Human Participants form.
2. Submit the thesis or report to the supervising committee by the deadline the committee establishes.
3. Upload the final thesis or report in electronic format to the submission site by the published deadline.
4. Submit the signed Master’s Supervising Committee Approval form and all other required forms associated with degree certification to the Office of Graduate Studies by the published deadline.

Doctoral Degree Candidates

Must:

1. Be registered in the Graduate School in the semester or summer session in which they plan to graduate.
2. Have completed the Intellectual Property (Copyright) Tutorial. If the candidates' research involves human subjects, they must have provided evidence of ethical review by the departmental review committee and, if appropriate, by the University Institutional Review Board. The Institutional Review Board form should be attached to the Statement of Research with Human Participants form.
3. Submit the online Doctoral Graduation Application via the Graduate School website by the published deadline; if their graduation is
   postponed, they must submit a new online Doctoral Graduation Application in their subsequent semester of graduation.
4. Provide each member of the Dissertation/Treatise Committee with a copy of the dissertation or treatise by the deadline the committee establishes.
5. Schedule the final oral examination with the Office of Graduate Studies.
6. Pass the final oral examination. 
7. Upload the final dissertation in electronic format to the submission site by the published deadline.
8. Submit the signed Report of Dissertation Committee form and all other required forms and fees associated with degree certification to the Office of Graduate Studies by the published deadline.