Below is a description of the necessary steps towards graduation. Students should consult the Graduate School website for specific dates regarding candidacy, examinations, and graduation. In preparation for graduation, all students should follow the Graduation Checklists provided by the Graduate School: |
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Skirted Highlanders charging field artillery batteries in the South African Boer War. This stereographic print was made circa 1900. Library of Congress. |
Graduate Forms & Checklists
Filing for Candidacy
In the semester prior to the semester in which M.A. students expect to graduate (typically, after 15 or more credit hours) they must complete an Application for Candidacy.
At the time they apply for candidacy, students should have a thesis director with whom they have discussed a proposed topic of research. Students should also consult with their thesis director and the graduate coordinator in order to assemble a thesis committee. Thesis committees consist of the thesis director plus two other members of the faculty. Once this committee has been chosen, its composition may not be changed without the written approval of the graduate coordinator and department chair.
Thesis Defense/ Oral Examination
Each student is responsible for completing a final draft of the thesis in a timely fashion and making reasonably certain that the thesis director and other committee members are likely to approve the final version. The thesis defense—also know as the student’s “oral examination”—must be scheduled with the graduate coordinator no less than two weeks prior to the exam date. The defense must be scheduled using a Request for Master’s Examination.
Students should be sure that the department’s administrator has all information necessary to complete the Thesis Approval Form (for M.A. students) or the Non-thesis Master’s Examination Report for M.A.H.T. students) prior to the day of the defense. For a detailed description of the process of preparing and submitting a thesis, please see the “Thesis Guide” on this website or the History M.A. Handbook.
Graduation
Students are responsible for paying the graduation fee at the registrar's office early in the semester that they plan to graduate. You can complete the Application for Degree through the Registrar's website. |
