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MS non-thesis graduation procedures
Registration
Remember to register for at least the minimum number of required credit hours in the quarter in which you wish to graduate:
- If you are self-funded, at least 3 credit hours (also applies to company/government-funded students--confirm minimum hours with funding source).
- If funded by a GRA or Fellow position (this would include making use of a Fourth Quarter Fee Authorization):
- Minimum of 9 credits for MS students funded by GRA,
- Minimum of 15 credits for MS students funded as a Fellow,
- 3 credits for PhD student who has passed the PhD Candidacy Exam, regardless of GRA or Fellow status. [Go to more about post-Candidacy enrollment limits.]
Applying to graduate
MSE students must complete the form below to recieve an Application to Graduate. Upon submission of this form, the MSE Graduate Studies Coordinator will review the student's academic status. A hard-copy summary of the student's status and further instructions will be placed in the student's 479 Watts Hall mailbox.
Please download the Application to Graduate form referred to in the Student Status Summary, obtain the necessary signatures, and submit the Application to Graduate to the Graduate School (247 University Hall) by the second Friday (________________) of the planned quarter of graduation.
Note: all date references below assume that the student wishes to attend Commencement on (________________).in the quarter for which s/he applies to graduate. Details about End-of-Quarter (i.e., after Commencement) deadlines are provided at the bottom of this page.
Based upon completion of the Candidacy Exam
There are no forms for you to submit other than the Application to Graduate form, which must be submitted by the second Friday (________________) of the quarter in which you wish to graduate. The only specific requirement for you to receive your MS non-Thesis degree is to register for at least 12 credit hours (or 15, if a Fellow).
Your submission of the Application to Graduate form to the Graduate School--as well as the results indicated on your Candidacy Exam Report form--placed you on the list of MS degree recipients for Commencement. The only fees involved with the MS non-thesis degree are for gown rental/purchase and hood purchase (prices available through the Graduate School, 292-6031).
And you're done!
Download Graduate School deadlines for submission (PDF, 36K) found on the Graduate School web site, www.gradsch.ohio-state.edu. Dates assume that you wish to attend Commencement in that quarter. If you do not wish to go through Commencement you must inform the Graduate School, 292-6031. However, in the case of the MS based on Candidacy Exam, the only relevant dates are the Application to Graduate form submission date and Commencement.
MS non-thesis as a final degree
Your submission of the Application to Graduate form will generate one form, the Master's Exam Report form. This is sent by e-mail from the Graduate School to the department's Graduate Studies Coorindator, typically during the third to fourth week of the quarter. The MSE Graduate Studies Coorindator will distribute the form to your advisor.
You must schedule a defense of your written document with the members of your Master's Examination Committee by the third Wednesday (________________) prior to Commencement.
- Your exam committee is to be made up of at least two MSE faculty members, one of whom is your advisor.
- If you are co-advised by two MSE faculty, a third MSE faculty member must be included.
- People from outside the MSE dept. may also be included on your committee. If they are to be voting members, you must request that the MSE Graduate Studies Committee petition the Graduate School to allow the person to take part. Please include the prospective committee member's resume/CV with your request. Please make your request of the GSC at least three weeks in advance of the exam.
- These committee members should have been listed on your Application to Graduate form; if there is any change in the committee's membership, your advisor must inform the Graduate School in writing before the committee meets.
- A room and time may be reserved with the staff in 477 WA. Available rooms include 184 WA, 145 FL, and 177 WA.
It is at this defense that the Master's Exam Report form is signed by the examining committee.
The signed Master's Exam Report form (indicating Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory performance) must be taken to the Graduate School no later than 4:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday (________________) prior to Commencement. The Graduate School does not need a copy of the written document defended before your committee.
And you're done! Please review the MSE dept. exit procedures with the Graduate Studies Coordinator.
The only fees involved with the MS non-thesis degree are for gown rental/purchase and hood purchase (prices available through the Graduate School, 292-6031).
Download Graduate School deadlines for submission (PDF, 36K) found on the Graduate School web site, www.gradsch.ohio-state.edu Dates assume that you wish to attend Commencement in that quarter. If you do not wish to go through Commencement you must inform the Graduate School, 292-6031.
Summary of Commencement deadlines for MS non-thesis as final degree
The following deadlines apply if the student wishes to attend Commencement in the quarter requested. Commencement occurs on the Sunday following Finals Week (________________); all dates below include the Wednesday of Finals Week. [For students seeking an MS based on Candidacy Exam completion: only the Application to Graduate submission deadline (and Commencement) apply.]
- Application to Graduate form: to be submitted to the Graduate School by the second Friday of the quarter.
- Master's Exam: to occur no later than the third Wednesday before Commencement. The exam must occur during normal university business hours and may start no later than 3:30 p.m. The Master's Exam Report form is to be submitted no later than 4:30 p.m., unless prior arangements have been made with the Graduate School's Graduation Services Office (292-6031).
- Master's Exam Report form: to be submitted to the Graduate School no later than the third Wednesday before Commencement by 4:30 p.m.
- Other final requirements: other miscellaneous items--the Graduate School will inform you of these, if any apply--are to be submitted to the Graduate School no later than the second Wednesday before Commencement by 4:30 p.m.
Commencement
As regards specific Commencement ceremony procedures, those who have submitted an Application to Graduate by the second Friday of the quarter will receive a Commencement Information Packet from the Graduate School. This will provide details on the ceremony, including your numbered assignment in the Commencement line.
This packet is mailed out in mid-quarter to your local address (therefore it is very important that you provide the Graduate School with your current local address).
Any questions about the ceremony should be addressed to the Graduation Services Office within the Graduate School, 292-6031.
If you must delay graduation
Missing Commencement deadlines.
You may find that you are unable to complete the final requirements in time to meet the Graduate School deadlines for submission. If so, you will not be permitted to take part in Commencement. Please inform the Graduate School that you will not be attending current quarter Commencement by contacting the Graduation Services Office at the Graduate School, 292-6031.
End-of-quarter graduates.
If the Commencement submission deadlines are missed, you have until the last business day (________________) before the start of the next quarter (________________) to submit all required items (forms, fees, documents, etc.). If this final dealine is met, you will receive the degree during Commencement at the end of the following quarter. If requested, the MSE department can provide a verification letter confirming completion of all degree requirements.
Registration for the next quarter.
If the required items are not submitted by the last business day before the start of the next quarter, you must register for at least three credit hours (see minimums below) and resubmit an Application to Graduate using the MSE on-line request form. The Application to Graduate form must be received at the Graduate School by the second Friday of that quarter (________________).
Minimum required credit hours.
A student's funding status and other factors will determine the minimum number of credits for which the student must register in the the quarter of graduation.
- If you are self-funded, at least 3 credit hours (also applies to company/government-funded students--confirm minimum hours with funding source).
- If funded by a GRA or Fellow position (this would include making use of a Fourth Quarter Fee Authorization):
- Minimum of 9 credits for MS students funded by GRA,
- Minimum of 15 credits for MS students funded as a Fellow,
- 3 credits for PhD student who has passed the PhD Candidacy Exam, regardless of GRA or Fellow status. [Go to more about post-Candidacy enrollment limits.]
Questions?
Please e-mail the MSE Graduate Studies Coordinator, go to 477 Watts Hall, or call 292-7280 with any questions.
You may also wish to contact the Graduation Services Office in the Link to the Graduate School (opens new window), 247 University Hall, at 292-6031.
