Master's Degree Checklist
Graduation Deadlines
Master's Checklist Overview
To be considered a degree candidate in a given semester, all degree requirements must be fulfilled and required documentation submitted no later than the University-wide Application for Graduation deadline.
The University has also established an early degree completion deadline that some students may wish to take advantage of. This deadline falls approximately two weeks after the start of the Fall and Spring semesters and one week after the start of the Summer session. Enrollment is not required for early deadline candidates.
The checklist below provides a general overview of master's graduation requirements.
1. Apply for Graduation
Submit your application for graduation in Enroll & Pay. This crucial step ensures you are on the College's radar as a prospective graduate and that you receive important graduation-related information. Your Graduate Program Coordinator can easily cancel your application if you miss the graduation deadline or decide to graduate in a future term, so the application is risk free. Apply early!
2. Consult with your Graduate Program Coordinator
Meet with your Graduate Program Coordinator early in the semester to review graduation requirements and processes specific to your department. The exam/defense scheduling process can take weeks to months, so plan accordingly.
3. Pass your exam/defense
You must pass your final exam/defense to be eligible to graduate. This requirement does not apply to master's programs designated as coursework only.
4. Submit your graduation documents in Canvas (Thesis Only)
You must submit all graduation-related documents to COGA via the My Graduation Checklist Canvas site by the graduation deadline to be eligible to graduate. We will add you to this course prior to the start of the semester (if you have an active Application for Graduation) or when your department submits your exam date and information for pre-approval; whichever comes first. See the My Graduation Checklist section below for more information.
Items to submit: signed acceptance page, ETD Release Form, ProQuest submission confirmation
5. Submit your properly-formatted thesis to ProQuest (Thesis Only)
Submit the PDF version of your thesis to the ProQuest submission site. It is critical to comply with all ProQuest and University formatting standards when preparing your submission. We cannot approve your Application for Graduation if your document contains formatting errors.
6. Complete your classes
The College will check to ensure you have no incomplete or waiting grades on your record, your cumulative graduate GPA is 3.0 or higher, and you earn a grade of Satisfactory Progress (SP) in your final thesis hour (if applicable).
"My Graduation Checklist" for Master's Thesis Students
The My Graduation Checklist course in Canvas is your online hub for all instructions and resources related to degree completion and graduation. Please thoroughly read all instructions in the site and track your completion of requirements closely.
COGA will add you to the My Graduation Checklist Canvas site at one of these times, whichever comes first:
- Prior to the start of the semester if you have an active Application for Graduation in Enroll & Pay. We strongly encourage you to submit an Application for Graduation prior to the start of the semester in which you intend to graduate so you can get access to the information and resources in your Graduation Checklist site as early as possible!
- When your department submits your final exam date and information for pre-approval
You will receive an invitation to the site via email as soon as we add you to the course. If you can't locate that email, you can simply Log in to Canvas and the site will be available as one of your current courses.
COGA will use your My Graduation Checklist to verify that you submit all graduation requirements by the deadline. You cannot graduate if you do not submit all requirements by the graduation deadline.
*Non-Thesis students: This Canvas course is designed to collect thesis-related requirements for master's thesis students. If you are not completing a thesis, we will not add you to this course as you do not need to submit anything in Canvas.