Graduate Degree Program Policies and Procedures

Graduation Requirements

Application for Graduation

Students must complete the online application for graduation after meeting with their academic advisor or program office. The procedures and deadlines for submitting this application are listed in the online Comet Calendar and the Academic Calendar. Students are encouraged to apply for graduation prior to registering for their last semester. Students who apply after the posted deadline may be required to pay a nonrefundable late fee. Completion of the graduation application is an acknowledgement upon completion of all degree requirements, the student will graduate at the end of the semester. Students cannot withdraw the online application for graduation once it has been submitted. The University reserves the right to graduate any student who has satisfactorily met all requirements for graduation. All in-progress courses on the academic record must contain final grades prior to certification and posting of final graduation status. Once the graduation grade point average (GPA) is set, any change of grades or repeat of coursework affect only the overall GPA. In order to receive a diploma, a student must pay all accounts due the University.

Graduation under a Particular Catalog

General and specific requirements for degrees in graduate programs may be altered in successive catalogs. Students are normally bound by the requirements of the catalog in force at the time of their first registration; students may choose, however, to fulfill the requirements of a subsequent catalog with the permission of their Program Head. If students do not fulfill the requirements within six years of their first enrollment in the Graduate School, they are then bound by the requirements of a subsequent catalog. Students may choose the catalog in effect in any year in which they are enrolled in their graduate program, within the six-year limit.

This regulation applies only to the specific coursework and the number of semester credit hours required for the academic degree. If there are any requisite courses not available, they will be substituted by the program with the approval of the Graduate Dean.

Administrative requirements such as minimum grade point requirements for the major's core courses can change for all students with the issuance of a new catalog.

The student should be aware that operating regulations, procedures, and tuition and fees can be changed at any time. These are not bound by any catalog.

Graduation Under Priority Deadlines

Students who have completed all other coursework and simply have only to complete their dissertation or thesis may elect to graduate under Priority Deadlines. These deadlines allow a student to graduate without enrolling in their graduating semester, as long as they complete their dissertation or thesis requirements within the first half of the semester.

Students hoping to graduate under the Priority Deadlines are subject to the following rules:

• Students must meet the deadlines published by the Office of Graduate Education for each semester.
• Students must apply to graduate in their graduating semester by the deadline published in the Academic Calendar.
• Students must have been enrolled in the preceding long semester (students may graduate under Priority Deadlines in the Fall semester if they were enrolled in the preceding Summer semester).
• Students will be subject to a nonrefundable/nontransferable fee.

If a student applies to graduate under Priority Deadlines and does not meet the deadlines or other requirements, they must enroll in the second 8-week session of the semester.

Priority Deadlines are offered only during the Fall and Spring semesters.

Graduation under In Absentia Registration

In absentia registration for graduation provides an opportunity for a degree candidate to register for the semester in which the degree is to be completed without taking formal coursework, for the sole purpose of removing an incomplete grade (I).

• Students removing an incomplete grade must apply to graduate by the graduation application deadline in the Academic Calendar.
• Students removing an incomplete grade must meet all degree requirements at the end of the semester in which they apply to graduate in order to receive their degree. A student with an incomplete grade in any course will not be eligible to graduate.

In absentia registration requires a nonrefundable/nontransferable fee.

Graduation Ceremonies

Commencement

Commencement ceremonies are held at the conclusion of each spring and fall semester. There is no summer commencement ceremony.

Students who meet graduation requirements in a summer semester may participate in the graduation ceremony offered in the following fall semester. Students who meet graduation requirements in a fall or spring semester may participate in the graduation ceremony offered that semester only.

Any questions regarding the commencement ceremonies should be directed to the Office of the Registrar.

Doctoral Hooding Ceremony

The Doctoral Hooding Ceremony is held at the end of each semester. This event is different and separate from the Commencement ceremony. Any questions regarding the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony should be directed to the Office of Graduate Studies. (See graduate.utdallas.edu)