Graduate Degree Requirements

1. Curricular requirements: Completion of published curricular requirements for the degree with a minimum cumulative quality point average of 3.0 for graduate work completed at Fredonia.
2. Time limit requirement: Completion of all degree requirements within a five-year period beginning in the admission semester unless an extension has been approved by the department. Graduate students are expected to make reasonable progress, as determined by the department in which they are enrolled, toward the completion of their degree requirements. The Academic Standings process will identify students who are not making reasonable progress, and they may receive warning letters, be placed on academic probation, and/or be required to withdraw from their programs.
3. Capstone Research Experience: All degree programs require a thesis, comprehensive examination, capstone project or portfolio, or other evidence of students' advanced mastery of their fields. Some degree programs may require the formation of a graduate committee in the student's major and related fields of study for the purpose of assessing the capstone project. Committee members are often appointed by the chairperson of the major department.

   Information concerning the capstone requirements for individual programs is listed in each department section. Students must familiarize themselves with the guidelines of the department, school, college, and/or university. It is the student's responsibility to know and meet the requirements of their individual majors. Students should consult their faculty advisor for information about their final project.

   Each master's thesis must be prepared in accordance with a set of uniform instructions and time limits available in the student's department. In general, signature-ready thesis work is due in the student's department three weeks before the desired graduation date (approximately April 20 for May graduation). Department deadlines may vary.

4. Thesis: For those programs that require a thesis as the capstone experience, copy of each thesis must be reviewed in advance and approved by the Associate Provost for Graduate Studies before the graduate student is approved for graduation. If changes are required, a student will need to make them before degree conferral. Graduate students beginning work on thesis research or thesis writing should obtain the university-wide thesis guidelines well in advance.
5. Fulfillment of Residence requirement: A candidate for the master's degree must have completed at least 21 semester hours of graduate work in residence, i.e. in courses offered by Fredonia rather than credits transferred from other institutions.
6. Recommendation of the department: The department in which the student is majoring will forward a recommendation form to the Graduate Studies Office upon student completion of all requirements and thesis.
7. Application for degree: The application for the graduate degree must be filled out by the degree candidate and filed with the Registrar's Office at least three months prior to the expected date of completion of all degree requirements.