Joint Degrees policy
A joint degree consists of one graduate degree with two programs. A student completing a joint degree writes one thesis or dissertation and receives one diploma. Students can earn a joint master’s or a joint doctoral degree. Such degrees are relatively rare. Students should inquire with each program prior to enrollment to see if additional policies exist that would restrict the ability to complete a joint degree.
To apply for a joint degree a student must submit a proposal for the degree to the Graduate School along with an electronic Add/Change/Discontinue Program Request. A student must be admitted to the second program. An appropriate Associate Dean of the Graduate School reviews all such proposals.
Students must submit the proposal before they complete the coursework and no later than the beginning of their second year of graduate study.
The joint degree proposal must address the following issues:
- Reasons for seeking a joint degree, rather than following the traditional program/minor curriculum (for doctoral programs that require a minor) or double degrees curriculum (for master’s programs).
- Coursework necessary to satisfy each program’s requirements; two separate course lists required.
- The required content of each program’s portion of the degree requirements in the proposal (for example, preliminary exam arrangements for the doctoral degree or a joint thesis required for the master’s degree, etc.).
To receive a joint degree, students must:
- Be admitted to both programs, with approval of their proposal from both programs;
- Complete the degree requirements in each program as outlined in the proposal;
- Fulfill the Graduate School’s minimum graduate residence, degree, and coursework (50%) credit requirements.
- Be recommended for the degree by the faculty co-chairs/advisors from each program and the program director from each program, approval signatures required.
Once a joint degree proposal has been reviewed and approved, any and all changes must be submitted to the Graduate School for further review.
For further details about joint degrees, contact the Graduate School Office of Academic Services.
See Double Degrees, Dual Degrees: Graduate and Professional Combination, Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement, Minimum Graduate Degree Credit Requirement, Minimum Graduate Residence Credit Requirement, Special Graduate Committee Degrees, Appendix 5 – Double, Joint, and Dual Degrees at a Glance
Incompletes policy
Students who are unable to complete coursework by the end of the semester may request from the instructor the assignment of the temporary grade of “I” (Incomplete). Students making a request for an I grade must have been carrying passing grade until near the end of the term. If the Incomplete grade is granted the student should complete the missing work as soon as possible. Students who receive an Incomplete grade will receive a warning message from the Graduate School, reminding them that students are not permitted to graduate with an Incomplete grade on their transcripts. Graduate students are allowed the subsequent semester of enrollment to complete the coursework before the Graduate School will place the student on academic probation. Programs may impose more stringent rules for satisfactory progress.
In consultation with the program, students may be dismissed from the Graduate School for failing to complete coursework and receive a final grade in a timely fashion.
Students with outstanding Incomplete grades may not receive dissertator status or be granted a degree.
If the work is no longer relevant, the instructor of a course is no longer at the university, or a change of program makes completion of the work unnecessary, students may be allowed to receive a Permanent Incomplete (PI) for the course. The instructor of the course or their advisor submits a grade change request with an explanation or reason, changing the grade from I to PI. The Office of the Registrar also converts any incomplete grade over 5 years old to PI. Students may graduate with PI’s on their transcript.
Unresolved Incomplete grades lapse to a grade of Permanent Incomplete (PI) after five years.
See Permanent Incomplete (PI) Grade, Probation, Satisfactory Progress
Graduation policy
To receive a master’s degree, students contact their program coordinator at the beginning of the term in which they intend to graduate. The program coordinator will check that they have met program requirements and will request a warrant from the Graduate School on the student’s behalf. Students need to be enrolled in their program and taking a minimum of 2 credits (graded courses taken at 300 or above; audits and pass/fails do not satisfy this requirement) during the term in which they intend to graduate. For more information and deadlines visit the Graduate School’s Completing Your Master’s Degree webpage.
Doctoral candidates’ major programs should request a final doctoral warrant at least 3 weeks before the anticipated date of their final dissertation defense. Doctoral candidates must be enrolled during the term in which they intend to defend or graduate. For more information and deadlines visit the Graduate School’s Completing Your Doctoral Degree webpage.
See Certification of Graduation (or ‘Degree Completion Letter’), Deadlines, Degree Completion Fee, Degree Conferral/Payroll End Dates, Dissertation and Thesis Standards and Publishing, Dissertation Defense (Final Examination)
Graduate/Professional Certificates policy
Graduate/professional certificates are available to all degree-seeking graduate and professional students (GRAD, LAW, MED, PHARM, VMED careers) and may be used by doctoral students in meeting their breadth requirement (see policy on Breadth Requirement in Doctoral Training). Graduate/professional certificate programs coordinate teaching and research among scholars active in interrelated disciplines. Consult the certificate program regarding recognition of program completion. Certificate programs monitor their own course and satisfactory progress requirements.
Students wishing to pursue a certificate must submit a request to add it to their academic career through the Add/Change/Discontinue application process in the MyGradPortal. This should be done as soon as a student knows they wish to add the certificate and before completing the classes for the certificate. The certificate must be on the student’s academic career before the prelim (doctoral students) or degree warrant (master’s students) is requested.
A list of all graduate/professional certificates with specific information for each is available in the Graduate Guide on the Graduate/Professional Certificates page.
See Capstone Certificates
Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirement policy
The Graduate School requires that students maintain a graduate grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) for all graduate courses (excluding research) to receive a degree. Many programs impose higher standards. Students should check with their program.
When a graduate student’s cumulative GPA drops below a 3.0 for one semester, they are notified via email (copy to grad coordinator) that they are placed on academic probation, and an enrollment hold is placed on the following semester. Students on academic probation cannot continue enrolling until the probationary semester’s grades are reported and their cumulative GPA is above a 3.0.
Courses taken for audit (S/NR), credit/no credit (CR/N), or pass/fail do not affect the GPA. Research courses graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) basis do not impact GPA. However, U grades are monitored by the Graduate School for satisfactory progress. A Permanent Incomplete (PI) grade does not impact the GPA. A No Report (NR) or Incomplete (I) grade does not impact the GPA, but in a graded course this is a temporary grade, indicating the instructor has not yet submitted a final grade.
See Auditing Courses, Credit/No Credit Grades, No Report (NR) Grades, Pass/Fail, Permanent Incomplete (PI) Grade, Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) Grades, Appendix 3 – Grading System, Appendix 4 – Grade-Point Average Calculation
Five-Year Rule policy
Students have five years from the date of their preliminary examination to take their final oral examination and deposit their dissertation.
See Preliminary Examinations, Time Limits
Final Oral Examination (Defense) policy
The final examination (often called “defense”) normally covers a student’s dissertation and areas of study. Students may not take the final examination until they have satisfied all other requirements for their degree. Students’ records must be cleared of incomplete grades and progress grades (other than research) before they can take the final exam.
Doctoral students have five years from the date of passing their preliminary examinations to take their final examination and deposit their dissertation. Arrangements for the final examination and the examination committee’s approval of the dissertation are the responsibilities of the student and the program. The graduate program coordinator must submit the final doctoral warrant request to the Graduate School at least three weeks before the final examination.
After the graduate program coordinator submits the doctoral degree warrant request, the Graduate School will review this request and send the approved doctoral degree warrant to the graduate program coordinator. The final warrant should be printed out and committee member signatures should be obtained the defense. To pass the examination, students must receive no more than one dissenting vote from their committee. A missing signature is considered a dissent. Once the final warrant has been signed, an electronic copy should be uploaded in the administrative documents section of the ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator website. The original signed hard copy of the final warrant should be kept with the student or the graduate program coordinator. For further information, visit the Graduate School’s Guide to Preparing Your Doctoral Dissertation.
See Preliminary Examinations, Time Limits
Family Leave policy
Although the Graduate School does not have a formal leave of absence policy for pre-dissertators, there are a number of family-friendly practices and resources for students considering taking a leave of absence for birth or adoption. Many departments and programs also have local policies. Students should consult with their program coordinator, advisor, and the Graduate School’s Office Academic Services as early as possible in their planning process.
Please visit the Graduate School’s Family and Parent Resources webpage for additional information.
See Compassionate Tuition Adjustment, Leave of Absence
Exit Surveys policy
The Graduate School surveys all students graduating with a doctoral or master’s degree. The survey collects information on academic experiences, advising, and future plans.
Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED): The SED is a federally-sponsored national survey of individuals receiving research degrees from all U.S. institutions and the results are used to assess characteristics and trends in doctoral education. The SED is to be completed by PhD students, not DMA, DNP or AuD students.
Graduate School Doctoral Exit Survey (DES): The Graduate School surveys all students graduating with a doctoral degree. The DES collects additional information on academic experiences, e.g., advising and other academic support.
Master’s Degree Completion Survey: All students completing master’s degrees are asked to answer a brief online survey about their plans for employment or for additional education. Students will receive an email with a link to the survey at the time of the final warrant request.
The doctoral exit surveys must be completed before submitting your dissertation electronically. Each individual survey will provide a certificate of completion once you have submitted the survey. The individual certificates of completion should each be saved as PDF documents to be uploaded in the administrative documents section of the ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator website.
Directions for completing the doctoral surveys are in the Graduate School’s Guide to Preparing your Doctoral Dissertation.
See Final Oral Examination (Defense)
Dissertator Status policy
Dissertator is a unique fee status for students who have completed all requirements for a doctoral degree except for the dissertation. To be eligible for dissertator fee status, a student must:
- Pass the preliminary examination(s);
- Satisfy the doctoral minimum graduate residence credit requirement;
- Complete all minor requirements, if the major program requires a minor;
- Complete all program requirements except the dissertation;
- Clear all Incomplete grades or Progress grades in non-research courses (progress grades in 990 research may remain);
- Earn at least a 3.0 cumulative graduate GPA;
- Return the signed and dated preliminary exam warrant to the Graduate School.
Dissertator status is effective at the start of the semester following completion of all dissertator requirements for the doctoral degree except for the dissertation. In order to initiate the change to dissertator status, the prelim warrant must be sent to the Graduate School in a timely fashion. Students can check on dissertator status by contacting their graduate program coordinator. All dissertator requirements must be met before the first day of classes to be a dissertator for any given semester. If all dissertator requirements are completed before the first day of classes but the signed prelim warrant does not reach the Graduate School by that deadline, the student can still become a dissertator that semester. Submit the warrant to the Graduate School as soon as possible and enroll for at least 3 credits (usually 990 research) for that semester. Removal of Dissertator Status: A dissertator who enrolls for more (or fewer) than 3 credits will be removed from dissertator status for the fall or spring term in which the enrollment is not exactly 3 credits. During the summer, however, an enrolled dissertator may ask their advisor to request an overload of 1-2 additional credits in a short session and still retain dissertator fee status, if the course is related to dissertation research or professional training that is not offered in regular semesters. The removal of dissertator status may have the following consequences:
- Graduate assistant (TA/PA/RA) stipend rates may have to be adjusted to the non-dissertator rate, or percent limitations
- Fees are assessed at the non-dissertator rate
- Full-time status may change to part-time, possibly affecting loan deferral, visa status, etc.
If a dissertator wants to pursue a graduate degree or certificate in another area, the dissertator fee status will be discontinued and regular graduate fees will be assessed, with possible consequences listed above. Find more information about the tuition and fees for a dissertator and non-dissertator on the Bursar’s Office Tuition and Fees webpage.
See Addition/Change of Program, Plan, or Named Option, Enrollment Requirements, Maximum Levels of Appointments, Minimum Graduate Residence Credit Requirement