Graduate Degree Requirements
Requirements Applicable to All Master's Degrees
Candidates must satisfy all university degree requirements and all requirements
established by the master's program faculty. Specific departmental degree requirements
are listed under the respective graduate programs in this catalog.
General Requirements
The following requirements apply to all master's degrees:
- A candidate must have earned a minimum of 30 graduate credits.
- Only graduate courses may apply toward the degree.
- A graduate student may apply up to six credits of C grades in graduate courses
and must have a grade point average of at least 3.000 on the degree application.
The GPA calculation excludes all transfer courses and George Mason Extended Studies
credits not formally approved for the degree.
- A candidate must have completed at least 18 graduate credits at the university
after having been admitted to degree status.
- A candidate must have completed at least 24 credits at the university, of which
- a maximum of 6 credits may be in master's thesis research (799) or in master's
project research (798);
- no more than 12 credits may have been earned through enrollment in nondegree
status or through Extended Studies enrollment before acceptance in a degree program;
- no more than 6 credits may be transfer credit for course work taken before admission,
with credit earned in nondegree status or through Extended Studies enrollment reduced
accordingly (exceptions are noted under individual degree programs);
- a maximum of 6 transfer credits may be taken after admission to the university.
Time Limit
A student must complete all requirements for the desired master's degree or postbaccalaureate
certificate or diploma within six years from the date of initial registration as
an admitted (degree or provisional) graduate student. A graduate student who terminates
enrollment and later is granted permission to re-enroll may not count the six-year
time limit as beginning on the date of re-enrollment.
Thesis and Nonthesis Options
Requirements regarding a thesis vary with the degree program. A number of master's
programs offer both a thesis and nonthesis option. The same quality of work is expected
of students regardless of their chosen option. For further information, consult the
section on degree requirements under each degree program.
Master's Thesis
When a thesis proposal has been approved by the appropriate department, the department
chair sends the collegiate dean or director a copy of the thesis proposal, including
the approval signatures of the master's thesis committee members. The student may
enroll in the thesis research course (799) at the beginning of the next semester.
Students must register for three credits per semester until they reach the last three
required credits. Once they have only three credits remaining, students must enroll
for one credit per semester until graduation. To be considered a full-time student,
the advisor and department chair must certify each semester that the student is working
full time on his or her thesis.
The master's thesis committee is named by the candidate's department chair, who
also designates a member of the graduate faculty from that department as the thesis
committee chair. The committee is appointed after consultation with the candidate
and the advisor, and consists of at least three persons, two of whom must be members
of the graduate faculty, and one of whom may be from outside the department. At least
two committee members must be members of the graduate faculty.
The thesis committee chair is primarily responsible for directing and guiding
the candidate's research and writing activities. The student is responsible for keeping
all committee members informed of the scope, plan, and progress of both the research
and the thesis.
Students selecting the thesis option should obtain a copy of the Guide for Preparing
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Projects from the course materials store in the
Johnson Center. Students may register in the thesis course (799) only after a thesis
proposal has been submitted and approved as prescribed in the guide. Any student
not in attendance at the university who is preparing a thesis under the active supervision
of a member of the faculty, or who wishes to take an examination, must maintain continuous
registration for at least one credit per semester.
Thesis Submission
The original and one copy of the thesis with two original signed cover sheets
must be deposited with the college/school/institute dean or director on or before
the date specified below:
| November 15 |
January graduation |
| March 31 |
May graduation |
| July 15 |
August graduation |
Requirements Applicable to All Doctoral Degrees
Candidates must satisfy all university degree requirements and all requirements
established by the doctoral program faculty. Specific program degree requirements
are listed under the respective doctoral programs in this catalog.
General Requirements
The minimum requirements that follow apply to all doctoral degrees. Programs may
impose stricter requirements. A doctoral candidate must
- acquire a minimum of 72 graduate credits beyond the baccalaureate degree, with
the following limitations:
- no more than 24 credits in doctoral dissertation research (999) or doctoral
proposal (998) combined,
- no more than 12 transfer credits taken after admission to doctoral degree
status;
- pass a written and/or oral doctoral candidacy (qualifying) examination;
- obtain approval for a final oral doctoral examination from the doctoral dissertation
committee, the department chair, and the dean or director of the school, college,
or institute. Approval by Ph.D. program directors varies among disciplines. Candidates
should check with their college/school/institute; and
- apply no more than six credits of C grades in graduate courses and have a minimum
grade point average of 3.000 on the degree application. The GPA calculation excludes
all transfer courses and George Mason Extended Studies credits not formally approved
for the degree.
The number of credits required by a doctoral degree program may be reduced by
a maximum of 30 credits if a master's degree or other appropriate credits have been
earned before admission. These credits should be noted on the program of study.
Residence
All doctoral students are required to spend a minimum of two consecutive semesters,
not including the Summer Term, in continuous registration. The doctoral program of
study must include a minimum of 36 graduate credits taken at George Mason University
after admission to degree status.
Time Limit
Doctoral students have six years from the time of admission to become advanced
to candidacy. Students have five years from the time of advancement to complete their
dissertation.
Dissertation Committee
By the time that a doctoral student is advanced to candidacy, the dean or director
of the college/school/institute appoints a dissertation committee upon recommendation
by the department chair or institute director. The committee consists of a professor
from the department of the student's major and at least two other members of the
faculty, one of whom must be from outside the student's department. Additional members
may be appointed who are not members of the graduate faculty or who are from outside
the university.
Student-initiated changes in the composition of the dissertation committee may
occur only with the approval of the dean or institute director in consultation with
the committee; such changes would be for extenuating circumstances only. Faculty
may resign from a dissertation committee with appropriate notice; such resignations
must be submitted in writing to the dean or institute director.
For a dissertation to be approved, all committee members are expected to sign
the dissertation. If a committee member refuses to sign the dissertation, the student
or any member of the committee may petition the unit dean or institute director for
a review and ruling to resolve the stalemate. The dean/director may seek the advice
of outside reviewers to provide assessment of the work. The final decision is that
of the unit dean or institute director.
Doctoral Research Skill Requirements
Some doctoral degree programs require demonstration of proficiency in a research
skill: a reading knowledge of the research literature in a foreign language, knowledge
of a computer language, knowledge of statistical methods, or knowledge of a research
tool specific to the discipline. Research skill requirements are included with the
degree requirements for the specific doctoral degree. Where demonstration of research
skills is required, certification that this requirement has been met must be completed
for advancement to candidacy.
Program of Study
Normally before the end of the second year of graduate study, but no later than
consideration for advancement to candidacy, a doctoral student must submit a program
of study for approval by the dean or director of his/her college, school, or institute.
The program of study must include major courses and supporting courses to be completed,
research skills required, subject areas to be covered by the candidacy examination,
and a proposed date for the candidacy examination. Program of Study forms are available
from each program's doctoral coordinator. Any changes in the programs of study must
be documented with an amended Program of Study form.
Advancement to Cadidacy
Advancement to candidacy implies that a doctoral student has demonstrated both
a breadth and depth of knowledge in the field of study and is capable of exploring
problems on the boundaries of knowledge.
The candidacy examination includes a written part and may include an oral part,
depending on the particular doctoral program. Doctoral students should consult the
degree requirements for each doctoral program to determine whether an oral portion
is required, whether it is judged separately or with the written portion, the number
of times a failed candidacy examination may be repeated and any time limits for repeating,
and any time limits for attempting the candidacy examination.
Before doctoral students may be advanced to candidacy by the unit dean or director,
they should have completed all course work required by the program faculty, have
been certified in all doctoral research skills required, have passed the candidacy
examination, and have been recommended by the doctoral supervisory committee or the
program coordinator.
Doctoral Dissertation
A dissertation is required for the doctor of philosophy degree and most professional
doctoral degrees. The dissertation is a written piece of original thinking that demonstrates
doctoral candidates' mastery of the subject matter, methodologies, and conceptual
foundations in their chosen fields of study. This is generally achieved through consideration
of a problem on the boundaries of knowledge in the discipline.
The director of the dissertation committee is primarily responsible for directing
the doctoral candidate's research and guiding the preparation of the written dissertation.
After the dissertation committee is appointed, the student should begin discussions
with the director to define a suitable problem for the dissertation. Before the student
may enroll in doctoral dissertation research (999), the dissertation proposal must
be approved by the dissertation committee and evidence of its approval sent to the
unit dean or director for approval. Before that time, the student may enroll in proposal
research (998).
ontent and general format of the doctoral dissertation may be found in the which
is available in the course materials store in the Johnson Center. The guide also
includes information on the number of copies required, and submission of the dissertation
for approval by the dissertation committee and the unit dean or director. Consult
your doctoral coordinator to determine which additional reference manuals are appropriate
to your discipline.
Continuous Dissertation Registration
Registration for doctoral research proposal courses (998) and doctoral dissertation
courses (999) must be completed during early registration or by the end of the schedule
adjustment period. If this date is missed, students must register for these courses
the following semester.
All registration for doctoral dissertation research (999) must be planned with
the dissertation director and doctoral coordinator in the college, school, or institute.
Students must register for a minimum of three credits per semester (six credits per
semester is required to be considered full time) until the last three dissertation
credits are reached. Once the student has three or fewer credits remaining, a student
may register for one credit of 998 or 999 and be considered a full-time student as
long as his/her advisor and department chair certify each semester that the student
is working full time on the proposal or dissertation.
Doctoral Defense
As soon as all degree requirements have been satisfied, including the completion
of the doctoral dissertation, the doctoral candidate may arrange with the dissertation
committee to schedule the doctoral defense. Defense fliers or notices must be circulated
two weeks before the defense date.
The oral defense should demonstrate the candidate's maturity of judgment and intellectual
command of the chosen branches of the candidate's field of study.
At the close of the final defense, the dissertation committee makes final judgments
for approving the dissertation. The doctoral candidate is responsible for making
all required changes promptly, securing the signatures of the director and other
members of the dissertation committee, and submitting the original and required copies
to the graduating candidate's school, college, or institute for approval by the unit
dean or director.
Dissertaion Submission and Fee
Two original copies on 100 percent cotton bond and one photocopied copy of the
dissertation must be deposited with the unit dean or director. In addition, submission
of the dissertation to University Microfilms International is required; a fee of
approximately $50 is paid by the student for this process. All copies of the dissertation
must be submitted and fees paid before the doctoral degree is awarded. Dissertation
due dates are as follows:
| November 15 |
January graduation |
| March 31 |
May graduation |
| July 15 |
August graduation |
Return to Academic Policies
Return to Catalog Index |