Graduate Program Completion Requirements

University Graduate Degree Requirements

Years to Complete Degree

1. A student has a period of six years from date of entry into the College of Graduate Studies to complete requirements for a master’s degree. Only course work, including transfer credit and credit by examination, completed within the immediate past six-year period will apply toward the master’s degree. Petitions to extend the time period to complete a master’s degree must receive the approval of the departmental/program graduate committee. Petitions to extend the time period to  complete a master’s degree up to ten years do not require review and approval by the College of Graduate Studies Petitions Committee. However, if a petition for an extension to up to ten years is denied at the departmental level, the student may appeal the denial to the College of Graduate Studies Petitions Committee for review and disposition. A petition to extend a master’s degree period beyond ten years must be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies Petitions Committee for review and disposition. Such petitions must show compelling reasons for the extension, and must document course-by course the currency of the work beyond the ten-year statute of limitations.
2. A student entering a doctoral program, either having received a master’s or professional degree from another institution or having interrupted his or her studies at Cleveland State University upon receipt of the master’s degree for more than one year, must complete doctoral degree requirements within ten calendar years from the date of entry into doctoral studies. Petitions to extend the ten-year period to complete a doctoral degree must receive the approval of the departmental/program graduate committee and must be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies Petitions Committee for review and disposition. Such petitions must show compelling reasons for the extension, and must document course-by-course the currency of the work beyond the statute of limitations.
3. A student who enrolls consecutively in a master’s then doctoral program without interruption of at least one academic year following receipt of the master’s degree must complete doctoral requirements within ten calendar years from the date of admission to the doctoral program. Petitions to extend the ten-year period to complete a doctoral degree must receive the approval of the departmental/program graduate committee and must be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies Petitions Committee for review and disposition. Such petitions must show compelling reasons for the extension, and must document course-bycourse the currency of the work beyond the statute of limitations.

Course Requirements

4. A student who is a candidate for a master’s degree must fulfill the College of Graduate Studies’ residence requirement of having earned at least sixteen credit hours of acceptable graduate credit (with course grades of B or better) while enrolled at Cleveland State University.
5. Of the minimum thirty credit hours required for graduation with a master’s degree, only eight credit hours of 400-level courses can be used to meet graduation requirements. The 400-level courses may not be offered by the department or program in which the master’s degree would be awarded. No 100- to 300-level courses may be applied toward a graduate degree. The remainder of the course requirements must be graduate-level (500-to-800-level) courses.
6. Subject to departmental approval, nine graduate credit hours of transfer credit may be applied toward the requirements of a master’s degree, and no more than one-third of the total graduate hours required for the doctoral degree may be transfer credit for doctoral students. (See Transfer Credit and Credit by Examination policies earlier in this section of the Catalog.) Petitions to extend transfer credits should be submitted to the departmental/ program graduate committee. If approved by the departmental/ program graduate committee, such requests do not require review and approval by the College of Graduate Studies Petitions Committee. However, petitions for acceptance of more than nine hours of transfer credit, which are not approved at the departmental/program level, may be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies Petitions Committee for review and disposition. Not more than one-half of a student’s total graduate degree program may be a combination of transfer credit and credit by examination.

GPA Requirements

7. Achievement of at least a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average for all courses taken as a graduate student, including 400-level undergraduate courses, is required for graduation. All grade-point averages are carried to two decimal places (unrounded). The University Graduate Council has determined that the minimum 3.0 grade-point average required for graduation cannot be waived via petition.
8. A maximum of six credit hours of 500- to 800-level work graded on an S (satisfactory) basis may be used to meet degree requirements. Excluded from this requirement are courses that are graded only on an S/U or S/F basis.
9. A maximum of eight credit hours of work at the C-level for 400-level and above courses may apply toward graduate degree requirements. If permitted by program.

Graduation

10. A graduation application must be on file for the term the student intends to graduate for the posting of the degree to occur. There is no backdating of degrees. An application received after a term ends will be processed for the next term and the student is responsible for adhering to all requirements of the final term of graduation.
    
    In general, degree candidates should apply for graduation two semesters before their expected graduation date. Specific graduation application deadline dates may be found at http://www.csuohio.edu/enrollmentservices/registrar/graduation.html. Graduation applications can be obtained from Campus411.

Participation in Commencement

The University holds a Commencement ceremony in May for individuals who have completed all degree requirements by the end of the spring semester, and in December for those who have completed all degree requirements by the end of the summer and fall semesters.

Students are encouraged and expected to attend Commencement.

Doctoral students may not participate in the University commencement ceremony unless they have completed all of their required course work and have successfully defended their doctoral dissertation prior to the commencement exercise.

In order for a Master’s Degree student to participate in the University commencement ceremony, he or she must have completed all course work required to fulfill degree requirements and have defended the thesis or completed any required exit project, capstone course, or other exit requirement for the degree.

Completion of Certificate and Licensure Programs

1. A student has a period of six years from date of entry into the College of Graduate Studies to complete requirements for a graduate certificate or graduate licensure program. Only course work, including transfer credit and credit by examination, completed within the immediate past six-year period will apply toward program completion.
2. A maximum of one-third of graduate certificate or graduate licensure program requirements may be satisfied with Cleveland State University course work taken at the 400-level. Only 400-level courses taken from a department or program other than the one awarding the certificate or licensure may be used to meet completion requirements. No 400-level courses taken by a student as an undergraduate may be used to meet graduate certificate or licensure requirements.
3. Subject to departmental/program approval, a maximum of one-third of the requirements for a certificate or licensure program may be satisfied via transfer credit. (See the Transfer Credit Policy earlier in this section of the Catalog.)
4. Subject to departmental/program approval, not more than one-third of the requirements for a graduate certificate or licensure program may be satisfied via Credit by Examination. (See the Credit by Examination Policy earlier in this section of the Catalog.)
5. No 400-or-above-level course work with a grade of C may be used to meet graduate certificate program requirements. A maximum of six credits of 400-or-above-level course work with a grade of C may be used to meet licensure program requirements.
6. Not more than 50 percent of the required credits for a graduate certificate or licensure program can be satisfied by a combination of:
   1. 400-level courses;
   2. graduate transfer credit; and
   3. credit by examination for 500and-above-level courses.
7. No course work taken on an S/F, S/U, or audit basis may be used to satisfy graduate certificate or licensure program requirements.
8. A minimum grade-point average of 3.0 for all 400-and-above-level work is required to satisfy licensure program requirements. A minimum grade-point average of 2.75 is required to be awarded a graduate certificate. Individual graduate certificate programs, however, may set the minimum GPA requirement at a higher level for the completion of their particular graduate certificate programs.

Graduate Certificate Students:

Graduate Program Directors complete and submit to the College of Graduate Studies [telephone (216) 687-9370] Graduate Certificate Completion forms. Forms should be submitted at the beginning of the semester of the anticipated date of program completion. Graduate Certificate Completion forms may be downloaded from the College of Graduate Studies Web site at http://www.csuohio.edu/gradcollege/students/forms/index.html#certificate. They are also available from the College of Graduate Studies.

The College of Graduate Studies will notify the Graduate Program Director and the involved student when Certificate program requirements are met, as well as instructing the University Registrar to record the Certificate award on the student’s academic record.