A student's catalog year is defined by the semester in which they first enroll after gaining admission to their current program.

Students must submit a plan of study to finalize all aspects of their degree completion. Submission of the proposed plan of study requires that the conditions of admission (if any) to the program area have been completed. A plan of study will not be approved until these admission conditions have been completed (including but not limited to prerequisites). Students should submit their proposed plan, identifying the completion option and proposed coursework, by the end of the second semester of enrollment in the program. Some programs may have earlier deadlines for submitting the plan of study. Early submission of the plan is vital to successful degree completion.

The plan of study is developed in conjunction with the advisor and signed by the candidate, the advisor (and advisory committee members, if applicable), the graduate coordinator or chairperson of the major department, and the dean of the Graduate School. All academic work completed and planned for the degree must be included in the plan of study at the time of submission. Undetermined electives can be indicated as “Elective – TBD” on the plan of study.

The process of filing an acceptable plan of study is not complete until the student has received a copy of their approved plan of study from the Graduate School. If notification has not been received within three weeks of submitting the plan to the Graduate School Office, please contact the degree audit staff to inquire about the status of the plan review and approval.

Excess hours beyond the program requirements are not permitted on a graduate plan of study. A variation of one or two hours can occur due to slight variations in course offerings, but a graduate plan of study may not exceed the program requirements by any significant amount.

Students may make changes to the plan of study that are necessary because of enrollment changes, determination of elective courses, or other circumstances by submitting a revised plan of study form and indicating the necessary revisions. 

Failure to submit an acceptable plan of study in a timely manner may result in a delay in graduation or loss of credit planned for use in the program. Students will not be able to file an Application for Degree or Application for Graduate Certificate unless an approved plan of study is on file for the corresponding program. 

Students may not include a graduate-level course on their plan of study that has been previously taken as an undergraduate-level enrollment. No course in which a grade below C (2.000) was earned can be included on the plan of study. In order to graduate, the GPA for all plan of study courses, AND for all graduate level coursework, must be a 3.000 or above.