Master’s Degree Requirements
Program of Studies
Not less than 30 credits of graduate courses must be successfully completed while regularly enrolled as a graduate student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. For programs that include a thesis, up to 6 hours of Non-Topical Research may be counted toward the 30-hr requirement. The program should be arranged in consultation with the professors concerned, approved by a faculty advisor of the major subject or department, and then be approved by the dean in a formal degree application submitted by the appropriate deadline for the semester you wish to graduate. The courses may all be in one subject or department, but the candidate may, with the approval of his or her advisor, elect a limited number of appropriate courses offered in other departments. Only graduate courses (courses taught by members of one of the graduate faculties of the University) may be counted toward a graduate degree, and no extension, correspondence, home-study, or transfer courses will be counted toward the degrees of Master of Arts and Master of Science. Courses applied for a Master's degree from one department may not be used to fulfill requirements for a Master's degree in a second department of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Following the course descriptions for each department will be found statements of any special requirements in that department for the M.A. or M.S. degree.
Foreign Language Requirement
Some graduate degree-granting departments have a foreign language requirement. Consult your department to see if you if you must fulfill such a requirement. Also, consult our language requirement examinations page
Thesis
Departments may include a master's thesis as one of the degree requirements. Detailed instructions on the subject and method of the thesis are available from departments. The physical standards for the thesis and the deadlines for submission are the same as those for the Ph.D. dissertation.
Final Examination
A candidate must receive a satisfactory standing in a final examination, oral or written or both, conducted by two or more faculty members designated by the department in which the candidate is working. The result of the examination, with the names of the examiners, must be reported by the chair of the examining committee to the Graduate School no later than two weeks before final exercises.
Time Limitation
All work for the master's degree must be completed within five years from the time of admission if the work is done primarily during the regular academic session and within seven years if the work is done primarily in summer sessions. In special cases, upon approval of the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, out-of-date work may be revalidated by examination.
Master’s of Fine Arts
The Master of Fine Arts program is offered by the Departments of Drama and English. Specific requirements are listed following the course descriptions for these two departments.
Master's Degree in Summer Session
In order to receive graduate credit for any courses taken in the summer session, all graduate students must conform to the same formalities for admission and registration as for the regular session. Applications for admission, accompanied by official transcripts, should be mailed in advance to the Graduate Enrolled Student Office. After these formalities have been completed, the student must also register. See the Summer Session web site for information about the registration procedure.
Any one of the master's degrees described on this page may be obtained by properly qualified persons in four full summer sessions of residence, the equivalent in time of the regular session. Except by special permission of the dean and the committee concerned, not more than two graduate courses may be taken in each summer session and credited toward the 24 credits of graduate courses required for the master's degree. Graduate students in the summer session must complete all requirements for their master's degrees within seven summers, or seven calendar years when a part of the work is taken in the regular academic year.
The requirements stated above for regular session students apply also to students in the summer session, with the exception of having different deadlines for submission of theses and of degree applications. All requirements must be met for graduate degrees in the summer session and a final report made to the Graduate School from the department at least a week prior to the date for the awarding of degrees
