Graduating Students

Students who expect to finish and graduate (whether pursing the Thesis or the Exam Option) are responsible for completing and submitting all of the necessary paperwork in a timely manner. Failure to do so may result in delayed graduation and additional fees. You can download a handy checklist of the different steps you need to take here. 

• Students must be enrolled in the semester during which they want to graduate. To that end, they enroll in MAST 600, or Master's Candidacy. Once you have been admitted to masters candidacy, continuous enrollment in candidacy status is required for Fall, Spring and Summer (only one term of registration is required in summer terms).
  

• Students must submit an Application to Graduate during the first two weeks of the semester in which they want to graduate. Applications to graduate are submitted via Ulink. Please note: Students should submit an application to graduate even if they are not completely sure they will be graduating in that semester.

• By mid-semester students must submit a Thesis/Exam Committee Form, signed by all thesis or exam committee members and the Chair of the History Department. The form is available here. See the Guidelines for M.A. Thesis/Exam in the History Department for additional information about this process.

• During the semester in which students intend to graduate, they need to set up an appointment with the Director of Graduate Studies to go over the entire process and review their records to ensure that all requirements other than the thesis or exam have been met.

• When a room, date and time for your M.A. thesis defense or the oral portion of the M.A. exam has been set, the student must notify the Director of Graduate Studies, at least two weeks before the defense/exam. The Graduate Director has to notify the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies about these dates. To make room reservations, see the Program Assistant for Graduate Studies in the History Department.

• Prior to their M.A. thesis defense or M.A. exam, students need to make an appointment with the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies to verify their record and ensure that they have met all requirements other than the thesis/exam. Thesis students need to consult the University's Guidelines for the Processing and Preparation of Theses.

• Once the student has passed the M.A. thesis defense or the M.A. exam, the student has to deliver the original, signed approval form (Thesis or Exam) to the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies. A copy of the form stays with the Director of Graduate Studies. Thesis students need to make sure that their thesis is submitted online before the deadline. Thesis and exam students need to make sure that they have paid all dues to the University and have left a current address with the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies. They will be notified via postcard about the procedures to obtain their diploma. See here for details.