Academic Progress

A doctoral dissertation must be a dissertator’s own work. If it is the result of research enterprises in which others have collaborated, a substantial portion must represent the dissertator’s own contribution and the other research participants must be identified.

Effective September 1, 2017, dissertations must acknowledge contributions received from other individuals, including co-authors of published work that appears in the document, such as in designing the research, executing the research, analyzing the data, interpreting the data/research, or writing, proofing, or copyediting the manuscript.

Publication of the doctoral dissertation is required. The university uses ProQuest UMI ETD Administrator to publish the dissertation electronically and on microfilm and to publish an abstract of the dissertation in Dissertation Abstracts, a monthly publication. Dissertators must pay the cost of processing the dissertation and publishing the abstract by ProQuest.

All doctoral dissertations are reviewed by the Graduate School’s Office of Academic Services. More information can be found on the Graduate School’s Completing Your Degree webpage.

Most master’s theses at UW–Madison are not published through ProQuest, although a student may choose to do so. If students want to publish their master’s thesis through ProQuest, they should contact the Graduate School’s Office of Academic Services.

See Copyright, Deadlines

Students with disabilities are encouraged to inform their faculty advisor and instructor of their need for disability-related accommodations in a timely manner. Implementation of reasonable accommodations is a shared faculty and student responsibility. Faculty, either directly or in coordination with the McBurney Disability Resource Center, are expected to work with students to identify and provide reasonable accommodations.

The McBurney Disability Resource Center provides disability-related services and accommodations to undergraduate, graduate, professional, special and guest students. The Center works closely with students and faculty on the provision of reasonable accommodations to ensure access to the learning environment. The Center makes referrals to other campus offices or community resources for non-classroom accommodations such as housing, transportation, personal care attendants, etc. Students should contact the Center upon admission to begin the eligibility for services process. Early notice is essential in order to have services and accommodations in place prior to the start of the semester.

McBurney Disability Resource Center
702 West Johnson Street, Suite 2104
608/263-2741 (voice)
608/225-7956 (text)
mcburney@studentlife.wisc.edu

See Discrimination

A computerized graduate degree summary is not prepared for graduate students (e.g. the Degree Audit Reporting System, or DARS). Students’ programs, particularly their advisors, are responsible for ensuring timely fulfillment of Graduate School and program requirements. Students should consult their program’s satisfactory progress criteria in their program’s student handbook, or in the Graduate Guide.

Students and programs can check academic progress using the Graduate Student Tracking System.

See Advisor, Satisfactory Progress

Graduate students who complete all degree requirements at any point during a term remain officially enrolled and retain student status through the official degree conferral date for that term, as determined by the Secretary of the Faculty and posted as conferral date on the transcript. Degrees are granted three times per year in May, August, and December. The official conferral date can be found on the Office of the Registrar’s Dates & Deadlines webpage.

Funding for graduating students

Graduate assistants, fellows, and trainees may remain on the payroll until the end of the term, as stated above, or may be removed if necessary for a change of status (e.g. to a postdoc or academic staff position) or end of grant funding. If a student is removed, the Bursar’s Office will check with the Graduate School to confirm graduation at the end of the given term and will maintain tuition remission for appropriately funded students if the student remains on payroll through the dates listed below:

• Doctoral candidates: through the date of dissertation deposit or through the official conferral date of term
• Non-thesis master’s candidates: through the completion date stated on warrant or through the official conferral date of term
• Thesis master’s candidates: through the date thesis is received by the Memorial Library or through the official conferral date of term

International students: contact International Student Services for guidance on the degree completion date and its impact on the visa status. The dates listed above may be different for international students.

Window Period degrees

The “Window Period” is the time between the end of one degree period and the beginning of the next. Students are eligible to complete their degree requirements during the window period if they were registered for the previous semester (fall, spring, or summer). If all degree requirements are met by the end of the window period, a student’s degree will be granted for the following semester. Students will not have to register or pay fees for the next semester.

Students receiving window period degrees may remain on payroll and retain student status only through the dates listed below:

• Doctoral candidates: through the date of dissertation deposit or through the last day of the window period
• Non-thesis master’s candidates: through the completion date stated on warrant
• Thesis master’s candidates: through the date thesis is received by the Memorial Library

International students: contact International Student Services for guidance on the degree completion date and its impact on the visa status. The dates listed above may be different for international students.

See Certification of Graduation (or ‘Degree Completion Letter’), Graduation

For master’s students

In lieu of enrollment, the Graduate School may approve payment of a degree completion fee for a master’s degree candidate who has completed all of the degree requirements except thesis defense, comprehensive examination(s), presentation of a final project, or removal of an incomplete grade. To be eligible students must have submitted their final thesis or project paper to their advisor while they were enrolled. This fee is comparable to 2 graduate credits at the current resident tuition rate. This fee is established annually and assessed per semester. Students should ask their program to submit a Degree Completion Fee Request Form to the Graduate School on their behalf before the beginning of the semester when students are completing a master’s degree. After the Graduate School approves the request, the fee will be added to the student’s account. Students must pay the completion fee before the program requests a warrant.

For dissertators

The Graduate School requires all dissertators to maintain continuous enrollment (see the continuous enrollment policy for dissertators). Dissertators must enroll in the semester(s) in which they defend, submit their dissertations, and graduate (see enrollment requirements for dissertators). In rare circumstances where this is not possible, a degree completion fee is assessed to recognize the inevitable use of university facilities (including faculty and staff time) up to and including the successful defense and submission of the dissertation. The fee is equal to 12 times the current per-credit dissertator rate in effect at the time the dissertation is submitted. The fee is assessed at the time dissertators are ready to complete the degree and is based on the resident or nonresident tuition status dissertators had at their last term of enrollment. If dissertators break enrollment and then reenter and enroll for less than 4 continuous terms before completion, they will pay a prorated rate (the 12-credit fee minus all continuous enrollment credits paid since the time of readmission). If enrollment is broken, but a dissertator reenters and enrolls for at least 4 continuous terms, then a completion fee is not assessed. Students must pay the completion fee before the program requests a warrant

See Continuous Enrollment Requirement for Dissertators, Enrollment Requirements

The Graduate School acts as the academic dean’s office for all graduate students. If a student needs a dean’s approval or authorization, they should contact the Graduate School Office of Academic Services at gsacserv@grad.wisc.edu.

Students are not allowed to enroll for more or fewer credits than indicated for a course in the Schedule of Classes.

For more information and questions, contact the Office of the Registrar or Graduate School Office of Academic Services. Demos & Tutorials for course changes are available here. For instructions on how to late add/change/drop a class, visit the Late Enrollment/Late Course Change/Late Drop section.

See Auditing Courses, Course Changes, Dean’s Approval, Late Enrollment/Late Course Change/Late Drop, Pass/Fail, Variable Credit Courses, Tuition and Fee Information

Committees advise and evaluate satisfactory progress, administer preliminary and final oral examinations, evaluate a thesis or dissertation, and/or sign a degree warrant. A student’s program arranges a committee with appropriate expertise to afford the breadth and depth needed in degree examinations. The responsibilities of individual committee members are determined by the program. The executive committee (or its equivalent) of a program/department is responsible for approving the composition of all graduate committees. The final warrant request which includes committee membership must be submitted to the Graduate School at least three weeks before the examination date. Students should consult their advisor and their program’s student handbook for the specific function of degree committees in their program.

Use this online tool to help you determine whether the proposed committee would meet the following criteria.

THE GRADUATE SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATE COMMITTEES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

For doctoral committees/final oral examination committees:

1. The chair or one of the co-chairs of the committee must be graduate faculty¹ from the student’s program.  (Note:  Faculty who retire or resign retain graduate faculty status for one year and can serve as chair or a co-chair during that time.)^4,5
2. The committee must have at least four members. The committee must have members from at least two University of Wisconsin—Madison graduate programs.^3,5   
3. Three of the committee members must be UW–Madison graduate faculty or former UW–Madison graduate faculty up to one year after resignation or retirement.
4. At least three committee members must be designated as readers.⁶
5. The fourth member and any additional members may be from any of the following categories, as approved by the program executive committee (or its equivalent): graduate faculty, faculty from a department without a graduate program¹, academic staff² (including emeritus faculty), visiting faculty, faculty from other institutions, scientists, research associates, and other individuals deemed qualified by the executive committee (or its equivalent).
6. All committee members have voting rights. To receive a doctoral degree, students cannot receive more than one dissenting vote from their committee on the final degree warrant.

For MFA final committees:

1. The chair or one of the co-chairs of the committee must be graduate faculty¹ from the student’s program.  (Note:  Faculty who retire or resign retain graduate faculty status for one year and can serve as chair or a co-chair during that time.)^4,5
2. The committee must have at least four members.
3. Three of the committee members must be UW–Madison graduate faculty or former UW–Madison graduate faculty up to one year after resignation or retirement.
4. The fourth member and any additional members may be from any of the following categories, as approved by the program executive committee (or its equivalent): graduate faculty, faculty from a department without a graduate program¹, academic staff² (including emeritus faculty), visiting faculty, faculty from other institutions, scientists, research associates, and other individuals deemed qualified by the executive committee (or its equivalent).
5. All committee members have voting rights. To receive a MFA degree, students cannot receive more than one dissenting vote from their committee on the final degree warrant.

For master’s thesis committees:

1. The chair or one of the co-chairs of the committee must be graduate faculty¹ from the student’s program.  (Note:  Faculty who retire or resign retain graduate faculty status for one year and can serve as chair or a co-chair during that time.)^3,5
2. The committee must have at least three members.
3. Two of the committee members must be UW–Madison graduate faculty or former UW–Madison graduate faculty up to one year after resignation or retirement.
4. The third member and any additional members may be from any of the following categories, as approved by the program executive committee (or its equivalent): graduate faculty, faculty from a department without a graduate program¹, academic staff² (including emeritus faculty), visiting faculty, faculty from other institutions, scientists, research associates, and other individuals deemed qualified by the executive committee (or its equivalent).
5. All committee members have voting rights. To receive a master’s degree, students cannot receive more than one dissenting vote from their committee on the final degree warrant.

For master’s non-thesis committees:

1. The committees must have at least one graduate faculty¹ from the student’s program.^3,5
2. To receive a master’s degree, students cannot receive more than one dissenting vote from their committee on the final degree warrant.

Footnotes:
¹ Graduate Faculty: The UW–Madison Faculty Policies and Procedures 3.05 contains the policies and exceptions regarding the graduate faculty status.
² Academic Staff: The UW–Madison Faculty Policies and Procedures 3.05H contains the policy related to academic staff serving on the committees.
³ Program: Programs are officially approved courses of study and research leading to a master’s or doctoral degree. They may be administered from within a disciplinary department or across departments by an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary cluster of faculty. Some programs have official areas of concentration within them (called named options or subplans) at the master’s and/or doctoral levels. Both programs and named options appear on the student’s transcript. Some programs have unofficial tracks, specializations, or concentrations, but these are not listed on the transcript. Contact the program’s graduate coordinator for more information.
⁴ The advisor does not have to be chair of the committee, although it is often the case. Moreover, the co-advisors/co-chairs will be designated in the dissertation document.
⁵ Note that affiliate appointments may be used to satisfy this requirement.
⁶ Readers: Committee members who commit themselves to closely reading and reviewing the entire dissertation. The rationale for specifically designating non-reader status is to facilitate faculty participation in dissertations without automatically expecting the level of commitment associated with deeply engaging a PhD thesis. Given faculty workloads, designating a non-reader in some cases may permit faculty participation where engagement would otherwise be impossible. As long as the Graduate School minimum of at least three committee members that are readers is upheld, programs will remain in compliance with Graduate School policy. Programs may choose to have stricter requirements.

See Advisor

Degree Level (Plan)

A student may change their degree level, for example, if students with a master’s degree plan have completed their master’s degree and want to continue in the same program for the doctoral degree. To change degree level, see Applying to Add/Change Program, Plan, or Named Option.

Named Option (Sub-Major)

A named option is a formally documented sub-major within an academic major program. Named options appear on the transcript with degree conferral. The Graduate Faculty Executive Committee approves official named options. Many programs may also have unofficial specializations, concentrations, or tracks; unlike named options these do not appear on the transcript. Find more information on named options. To report a change in degree named option, see Applying to Add/Change Program, Plan, or Named Option.

For questions, please contact the Graduate School Degree Coordinator.

See Applying to Add/Change Program, Plan, or Named Option, Programs (or ‘Majors’)