Policies and Procedures

The following rules apply to Theses, Dissertations and Graduate Projects:

1.  Students must be classified before they can be given permission by the department to enroll in a Thesis/Project (698) course.
2. The Thesis must be an individual effort. However, the University recognizes that there are circumstances that warrant group graduate projects. In such instances, a signed addendum by each student and by the culminating experience committee chair must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies. The addendum must identify the names of other authors and describe the project and responsibilities of each author. The division of responsibilities specified must be reviewed, endorsed and evaluated by the students’ committee chair, signed by each student and subsequently approved by the Associate Vice President of Graduate Studies.
3. Students must contact their graduate coordinator to determine the maximum number of required culminating units.
4. Students must be registered during the semester in which they expect to graduate.
5. If a student fails to successfully complete/defend the Thesis/Dissertation or Graduate Project, or any part of it, the student will be disqualified from the master’s program in the department and normally not allowed to take the Comprehensive Examination option, if that option exists.
6. Guidelines: The Thesis, Dissertation and Graduate Project must be prepared according to the guidelines set forth by the Office of Graduate Studies and available online. All Thesis, Dissertations, Graduate Projects or Abstracts must be uploaded through the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation website.
7. Time Limit: Theses and Projects must be completed, filed and approved within 2 years of the first enrollment in culminating experience. In some situations, a student is given an “RP” (Report in Progress) grade for work in progress (see Grading System). The “RP” will be converted to a “credit” or “letter” grade once the culminating experience has been approved.