Graduate Degree Requirements

Graduate Degrees & Certificates: An Overview of Policies, Regulations & Requirements

Prerequisites for All Graduate Degrees

Graduate work in any academic unit must be preceded by sufficient undergraduate work in the field or a related one to satisfy the chair of the department that the student can successfully conduct graduate work in the chosen field.

A student is expected to have sufficient command of the English language to enable the student to organize subject matter and to present it in credible written form. Any faculty member may at any time refer a student to the Reading/Writing Center of the Department of English for noncredit remedial work.

Editing Services and Statistical Assistance

The following guidelines have been approved by the graduate policy committee:

University regulations are quite clear concerning plagiarism and inappropriate assistance; these regulations apply with particular force to theses and dissertations: “...violations of the Academic Honor Policy shall include representing another's work or any part thereof, be it published or unpublished, as one's own” - Office of Faculty Development and Advancement website, Faculty Handbook. Appendix A: Florida State University Academic Honor Policy;
The ready availability of editing services and statistical assistance, and in particular of computer and statistical research design assistance, must not be seen as a substitute for required training and/or coursework;
Professional editing services may not become a substitute for faculty advisement and should be confined to language structure;
The major professor must be informed and concur before a student seeks assistance in any or all of the editing or statistical assistance areas, and faculty concurrence should be documented as part of the student's record. The particular scholarly work in question should be reviewed prior to such assistance, so that issues of scholarly form and content have been dealt with in advance of the use of such services. The student must confer with the major advisor before incorporating any advice obtained through the above-mentioned services into written work;
In all cases, such assistance must be noted in the acknowledgments accompanying the final version of a paper, thesis, or dissertation.

Review of Theses, Dissertations, and Treatises

Theses, treatises, and dissertations are expected to reflect original work. The review of academic integrity should be completed prior to the defense. Faculty may choose to use appropriate plagiarism checkers and peer review tools with early drafts of these manuscripts as an instructional aid in advising students on matters relating to plagiarism. Issues of plagiarism and copyright should be addressed prior to submitting the manuscript to The Graduate School for manuscript clearance. The approvals of all committee members appearing on the online Defense Decision Form constitute testimony from the committee that they are satisfied that the thesis, dissertation, or treatise meets FSU's standards of academic integrity as described in the FSU Academic Honor Code and appropriate steps have been taken to assure that this is the case.

Language of Theses, Dissertations, and Treatises

The typical language of the thesis, treatise, or dissertation is English. Under special circumstances the Major Professor, the Academic Unit Head, and the Supervisory Committee may approve writing the body of the thesis, treatise, or dissertation in a language other than English, if doing so is essential for scholarly reasons. Lack of sufficient English competency is not an acceptable justification for using an alternative language. The Major Professor shall immediately notify the Dean of the College and the Dean of the Graduate School for all cases where such approval has been granted. Notification requires completion of the ETD Alternative Language for the Dissertation/Treatise/Thesis Form found on The Graduate School's website. All committee members must be completely proficient in the alternative language. It is the responsibility of the Major Professor and the Supervisory Committee to ascertain that the candidate's thesis/dissertation is written in acceptable English or an alternative language, in an appropriate scholarly style. All non-English-language dissertations, treatises, or theses must have the preliminary pages and main section headings in English. This would include the content of the title page, committee page, acknowledgments, abstract and biographical sketch. All main section headings, including chapter and appendix headings, must be in English, but chapter/appendix titles may be in the chosen language.

Language of the Defense: The defense shall be conducted in English.

Guidelines for Restrictions on the Release of Theses, Dissertations, and Treatises

The free and open dissemination of the results of research conducted at Florida State University is required if the University is to contribute effectively to the education of its students and to the body of human knowledge. Conflicts can develop among the interests of research sponsors, research directors, and the students doing the research. To ensure that the interests of all parties are protected, the following guidelines should be observed.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) as well as treatises must be made available in their complete and original format as a condition of undertaking graduate study at FSU. The completed ETD will be archived in the FSU Libraries' Digital Repository and by ProQuest. Students will select an access condition provided by The Graduate School to make their manuscript available for review by other scholars and the general public. Publication of the manuscript through standard media for scholarly work is also encouraged. Note: Manuscripts cannot be subdivided into chapters and disseminated under different access options.

Worldwide Access. Recommended to all of our students. This option makes the ETD freely available worldwide via the FSU Libraries' Digital Repository. It should be noted that some publishers may see a conflict with this level of distribution prior to publication.

Embargoed Access (Twenty–four Months). Recommended to students who have a patent application in process or who want to restrict access to the ETD for a limited amount of time in order to pursue commercial interests or other publication. During the embargo period, only meta-data will be available in the FSU Libraries' Digital Repository and on ProQuest. After the restricted time period, the document will be made freely available through worldwide access (option above) in the FSU Libraries' Digital Repository and on ProQuest according to the publication option selected by the student during manuscript clearance.

The maximum delay in the release of a thesis, treatise, or dissertation to the FSU Libraries' Digital Repository and ProQuest shall not exceed twenty-four months from the date the thesis, treatise, or dissertation is approved by The Graduate School. In special circumstance, the Dean of The Graduate School may grant an additional delay of forty-eight months in twenty-four month increments, if the case is made that the delay is in the best interest of all parties or if publication or commercial interest in the document is still ongoing. Such a request must be submitted at least one month prior to the expiration of the original period of delay.

The initial request for such a delay must be submitted to the Manuscript Clearance Portal by completing the Embargo Request section of the Manuscript Access Agreement Form. This request must be approved in the Manuscript Clearance Portal by the major professor (or co-major professors, if applicable), the Manuscript Clearance Advisor, and the Dean of The Graduate School. The department or program chair, or dean of the relevant college may endorse the request if the major professor is retired, deceased, etc.

The FSU Libraries' Digital Repository, in cooperation with The Graduate School, may provide restricted access to ETDs at FSU (i.e., Campus Community-Only Access) in select circumstances. Students may request that full access to their ETD be limited to people connected to FSU's network.

Please note that approval for Campus Community-Only Access is not automatic. Students must provide “reasonable justification” for their request. Also, in order to be granted Campus Community-Only Access, students must receive approval from their major professor (or co-major professors, if applicable) on the online Manuscript Access Agreement Form.

Final approval may be granted by the Dean of The Graduate School only after the online Manuscript Access Agreement Form is submitted to The Graduate School's Manuscript Clearance Portal with appropriate approvals and justification. This online form is reviewed by the Manuscript Clearance Advisor at The Graduate School before being reviewed by the Dean.

It should be recognized that adherence to this policy does not constitute a guarantee that information in the sequestered thesis, treatise, or dissertation will not be disseminated by means other than the written manuscript.

Note: Students should not suffer delays in their normal academic progress, including the final defense of the thesis or dissertation, as a result of a desire to delay release of the thesis or dissertation to the library.

Information about access issues related to electronic theses, treatises, and dissertations may be obtained from The Graduate School.

Graduate Students Enrolled for Two Degrees Simultaneously

Under certain special circumstances, it is possible for a student to work concurrently on two degrees in two different departments/units. Students intending to do this must be accepted by both departments/units. A Dual Enrollment Request Form, showing endorsement by both department/unit heads and dean(s), as appropriate, must be sent to the Dean of The Graduate School (or designee) for approval. The Dual Enrollment Request Form can be found on The Graduate School's website. Once approved, the Office of the University Registrar will be notified of the dual registration. Dual Enrollment Request Forms must be submitted for review/approval at the correct time to ensure proper advisement, prior to the graduate student completing 12 hours in the second degree program and before the student has reached the final semester and applied for graduation so there are no delays in graduation clearance.

Note: Initial admission to a graduate program at Florida State University must be to one program only. After the first semester, the student may apply and be accepted to the second degree program desired.

Second Graduate Degrees

University policy prohibits the awarding of more than one degree from a specific degree program due to the overlap of core requirements of that degree program. Students should seek guidance from their advisors or their college when choosing to pursue a dual degree. This policy applies to both current and readmitted students.

Combined Bachelor's/Master's Pathways, Joint Graduate Pathways, and Dual Degrees

Note: If a student is effectively removed from a combined pathway or joint pathway, then there will be no sharing or double counting of credit hours. Any graduate coursework previously taken and shared/double-counted will no longer apply.

Combined Bachelor's/Master's Pathways. Combined bachelor's/master's pathways provide academically talented undergraduate students an opportunity to complete both a bachelor's and a master's degree. Upon approval, a combined bachelor's/master's pathway allows for up to 12 graduate hours to be shared with, or double-counted toward, an undergraduate degree program.

Joint Graduate Pathways. Joint graduate pathways provide qualified master's students with an opportunity to earn two master's degrees or master's/professional degrees from two academic degree programs. Joint graduate pathways share academic content that allows a student to expand their breadth of knowledge and content expertise to include additional domains not covered in a single degree. All post-baccalaureate degree programs must have at least 30 unique hours of coursework. Upon approval, joint graduate pathways allow graduate/professional courses in excess of the 30-hour minimum to be shared with, or double-counted, toward both degree programs.

Dual Degree Programs

Dual degrees are two degrees earned simultaneously when a student is accepted by both departments/programs and is approved by the appropriate academic deans and the Dean of The Graduate School (or designee). A student must be admitted to one academic program initially, and after the first semester, may apply and be accepted to the second degree program. There is no formal relationship between the two degree program requirements in a dual degree situation.

To ensure that students entering a second graduate degree program receive timely and effective advisement on a program of study approved by the second department, admission to the second graduate degree program must be approved before the student completes more than twelve credit hours of coursework that are counted in that department toward the second graduate degree. In special circumstances, students may petition their academic deans for an exception.

This limit of twelve credits earned only applies to students admitted to their first graduate degree program in the Fall 2014 semester and onwards.

Dual Enrollment Request Forms must be submitted for review/approval at the correct time to ensure proper advisement, prior to the graduate student completing 12 hours in the second degree program and before the student has reached the final semester and applied for graduation so there are no delays in graduation clearance. The Dual Enrollment Request Form can be found on The Graduate School's website.

Graduate-Level Certificate Programs

The university offers a variety of certificate programs, which consist of an organized curriculum of courses that lead to specific educational or occupational goals. Credit hour requirements for each graduate-level certificate may vary from 12 to 21 graduate hours. A list of all of the certificate programs offered by the university is available in the Academic Degree and Certificate Programs chapter of this Graduate Bulletin. In accordance with the Academic Standards Policy in the Graduate Bulletin, all graduate students pursuing a graduate-level certificate must achieve a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 (“B”) or better across all graduate courses applied toward the graduate certificate (5000-level or above) in order for the graduate certificate to be awarded.

These certificate programs are generally considered professional in nature and the completion of these programs are noted on the student's official university transcript, if the following conditions are met:

The student must apply and be admitted into the certificate program to be officially recognized as pursuing the program by the university.
1. Some certificate programs may be restricted by degree level or offered only to degree-seeking students, while others are open to all enrolled graduate and post-baccalaureate non-degree students.
2. The admissions criteria may include previous educational background, grade point average, or other qualifications.
3. For formal admission requirements and procedures, students should contact the department offering the certificate program.
The student must apply to the certificate program prior to completing the second course in the program.
1. Completing the certification program coursework without proper admission to the program could jeopardize future enrollment opportunities in certificate program courses or the recognition of the completion of the certificate program by the university.
2. Once the student has been admitted to the certificate program, the department/unit will notify the Registrar's Office, so it is reflected on the student's official academic record.
3. Once the student has completed the last course required for the certificate program, the department/unit will notify the Registrar's Office and the certificate will be posted to the student's official transcript.

In the event that the student completes a degree program prior to completing the requirements for the certificate, the student would be required to be readmitted as a degree seeking or non-degree seeking student to complete the certificate program.

Note: Completion of undergraduate courses will not count toward a graduate certificate. Additionally, students completing an undergraduate degree may not enter a graduate certificate program unless they are admitted as a degree-seeking graduate student or post-baccalaureate non-degree student. Undergraduate students cannot start taking graduate courses for the graduate certificate until the bachelor's degree is awarded.

Continuance and Graduation of Master's and Doctoral Students

Academic Standards

A graduate student is not eligible for conferral of a degree unless the cumulative grade point average is at least 3.0 (“B”) in formal graduate courses (5000-level or above). 4000-level courses may be credited toward a graduate degree but cannot count in a student's minimum thirty total semester hours of graduate credit or graduate GPA. No course hours with a grade below “C–” will be credited on the graduate degree; all grades in graduate courses except those for which grades of “S” or “U” are given or those conferred under the provision for repeating a course will be included in computation of the average. All conditions of admission must be met; in addition, there are usually other departmental requirements which must be met.

Faculty Academic Judgment

Master's Degree

Successful completion of coursework constituting the student's program of studies, comprehensive exam, master's project, or thesis does not guarantee continuance in a master's degree program or award of the master's degree. Faculty judgment of the academic performance of the student is inherent in the educational process in determining whether the student should continue to be enrolled or be awarded the master's degree, or whether admission into a higher-level degree program is warranted.

Doctoral Degree

Successful completion of coursework constituting the student's program of studies, comprehensive exam, preliminary exams, defense of prospectus, and defense of dissertation does not guarantee continuance in a doctoral program or award of the doctoral degree. Faculty judgment of the academic performance of the student is inherent in the educational process in determining whether the student should continue to be enrolled, admitted to doctoral candidacy, and awarded the doctoral degree.

Registration for Final Term

For doctoral students and master's students in a thesis-type program, registration shall be required in the final term in which a degree requiring a thesis, dissertation, or treatise is granted, in accordance with the policies stated in the ‘Thesis' and ‘Dissertation' sections of this chapter as well as the “Standard Full-Time Load and Underload Definition” section of “Graduate Academic Regulations and Procedures” in the Graduate Bulletin.

If a non-thesis student needs only to complete the comprehensive examination in a term and did not register for the examination in the previous term, registration must be requested from the Office of the University Registrar stating the department and the name of the examination. The student must pay the “examination only” fee. If the student has not been enrolled for the previous two terms, readmission is required before registration.

Clearance for Degrees

A student should apply for graduation online at https://my.fsu.edu (under the “Academics” tab) in the term that the student anticipates completing the degree. The application window is available in the academic calendar for the applicable term. If a candidate applied for graduation in a previous term but did not complete the degree, the application for graduation will be carried forward to the subsequent term.

A student's manuscript must be cleared to graduate; however, students also must meet departmental and University requirements before they can graduate. A manuscript is considered cleared if the Manuscript Clearance Advisor has approved the formatting of the manuscript AND all online forms have been completed in the Manuscript Clearance Portal. Students should become familiar with the University's manuscript formatting and clearance requirements before writing their thesis, dissertation, or treatise. A variety of resources for the manuscript clearance process are available on The Graduate School's website. The Manuscript Clearance Advisors are also available for scheduled office hours if a student has questions regarding formatting and the manuscript clearance process.

All theses, dissertations, and treatises must be electronically submitted to The Graduate School via the ProQuest Website; hard copies or submissions via e-mail or any other electronic method will not be accepted. Students should submit their manuscript to The Graduate School via ProQuest at the same time that the manuscript is submitted to the committee prior to the defense (but no later than the initial, pre-defense manuscript submission deadline in the semester of intended graduation). This initial submission is reviewed by the Manuscript Clearance Advisor, who then provides the student with a reviewed copy of the manuscript that shows formatting corrections to be made before submitting the post-defense version of the manuscript. After the defense, students submit the final content-approved version of their manuscript via ProQuest, incorporating changes requested by their supervisory committee as well as those requested by the Manuscript Clearance Advisor. Students not meeting these deadlines will be considered graduates of the following semester. If an extenuating circumstance arises, in which a thesis, treatise or dissertation student requires a non-substantive edit to be made to the formatting of their post-defense manuscript (prior to the final manuscript clearance deadline) and they are unable to make the edit on their own, then an Exception Request can be submitted by the student to The Graduate School for consideration. If the Exception Request is approved, the Manuscript Clearance Advisor will be permitted to make the minor edit as specified by the student to the manuscript for the student.

Manuscript Clearance Deadlines

Students must meet the semester deadlines for Manuscript Clearance in order to graduate. In addition, students must meet the criteria described in the Examination in Defense of Thesis and Examination in Defense of Dissertation sections by or before Manuscript Clearance deadlines to graduate.

Semester Deadlines. Four deadlines are posted per semester as follows:

Last day to submit doctoral dissertation or treatise for pre-defense (initial) format review
Last day to submit master's thesis for pre-defense (initial) format review
Last day for submission of successfully defended, final content-approved thesis, dissertation, or treatise and completion of all required online forms
Last day for thesis, dissertation, and treatise students to receive an e-mail from Manuscript Clearance confirming final clearance

The relevant pre-defense (initial) format review deadline is the date by which students must submit their manuscript to the Manuscript Clearance Advisor for a pre-defense (initial) formatting review. Manuscripts will not be reviewed and counted as an initial submission under the following conditions: 1) not submitted via the ProQuest ETD website; 2) poorly formatted based on The Graduate School's guidelines, or 3) otherwise appears incomplete (e.g., multiple sections omitted). While it is understood that content will likely change after the defense, it is expected that manuscripts submitted for the pre-defense (initial) format review are at least 90% complete and have been formatted in full accordance with the criteria in the most recent version of The Graduate School's formatting guidelines.

The post-defense deadline indicates the date by which students must submit the post-defense, final content-approved version of their manuscript to ProQuest ETD and ensure completion of all required manuscript clearance forms in The Graduate School's Manuscript Clearance Portal by 11:59 p.m. ET. Although students cannot complete all forms in the Manuscript Clearance Portal directly, they are ultimately responsible for ensuring their committee has completed the needed approvals. Please note: Additional formatting revisions are often required after this date for final manuscript clearance to be completed, but content changes are prohibited. The last deadline is the date by which any post-defense formatting revisions (only those required by the Manuscript Clearance office) should be completed and “Official Final Manuscript Clearance” should be granted in the Manuscript Clearance Portal.

Contact the Manuscript Clearance Advisor (clearance@fsu.edu) for any questions regarding the clearance process.

Policy for Awarding Degrees

Florida State University helps students meet their academic goals by monitoring academic progress toward their degree. If a graduate student has completed their respective degree requirements, the academic dean of the student's program confirms this, and the student is eligible to be awarded the degree, the University reserves the right to award the degree. Once the degree is awarded, the student must be readmitted to Florida State University to enroll in any courses.

Graduate students pursuing dual degrees in different disciplines must obtain formal approval of their academic dean, following established University procedures for such approvals. The student's degree program, not the major, will appear on the diploma. A list of degree programs is available in the “Academic Degree and Certificate Programs” chapter of this Graduate Bulletin.

Should the University invoke its prerogative to award a degree once a student has completed all stated degree requirements, the student may appeal this decision. If the student can demonstrate that continued enrollment is necessary to achieve his or her academic goals, the appeal may be granted. Reasons such as, but not limited to, desire to continue financial aid, participate in student activities, and access student services do not constitute legitimate academic reasons for appeal. The student's transcript will reflect both the degree program and the major when degrees are posted.

Any graduate student who wishes to appeal for continued enrollment, thereby postponing graduation, must submit a written request to the student's academic dean no later than ten class days after being notified that the University is invoking its right to award the degree. This appeal will be reviewed by a committee composed of the student's primary academic dean the Dean of The Graduate School, and the University Registrar. The committee must find evidence to support the student's claim of a legitimate academic need in order to grant permission to continue taking courses.

Once a degree has been awarded, all coursework leading to that degree is considered final and not subject to change. “Incomplete” grade changes or any other grade changes should be submitted prior to the posting of the degree. Grade changes or withdrawals for coursework that applies to the awarded degree may be considered only in cases of documented University error or in cases where the courses in question are documented as applying to a degree that is still in progress.