Graduate School

Milestones

Use the flow chart to understand the major milestones for your degree.

Doctoral Degree Flowchart

The degree completion steps and deadlines section on this page provides details and a timeline for completing your degree.

Number of credits

• All doctoral degree programs require a minimum of 108 graduate credits.
• At least 36 graduate credits should be devoted to the preparation of the thesis.
• A minimum of 27 regular, non-blanket credits must be included on program of study. (Courses without a zero in the middle, for example 503). No more than 15 credits of blanket-numbered courses, other than thesis, may be included in the minimum 108-credit program.
• All graduate student programs of study must consist of, at a minimum, 50 percent graduate stand-alone credits.
• The remaining credits may be the 500 component of 400/500 slash courses.
• If a minor is declared, it must consist of at least 18 credits or 15 credits for an integrated minor.

Time limit

Effective beginning with students matriculating fall term 2016, all work toward a doctoral degree, including coursework, thesis (if required), and all examinations, must be completed within nine years of the indicated start term on the Departmental Action Form. Extensions of this time limit may be requested by submitting a petition to the Graduate School.

Continuous enrollment

Minimum registration

You must be registered for a minimum of three graduate credits, or on an approved leave of absence, until all degree requirements are completed. To avoid registering for the term following your defense, submit the final corrected and signed thesis or dissertation to the Graduate School before the first day of the term following the term in which you defend. For details on this policy see "Continuous Enrollment: 1. Minimum Registration" in the Catalog.

If you are not using university facilities or faculty time during the summer then you may not have to enroll for the summer session. Please refer to the Continuous Enrollment Policy in the Catalog, and work with your program, to determine if this applies to you. During summer session, a minimum registration of 3 credits is required for graduate assistants.

Leave of absence

A completed (with signatures) Leave of Absence Form must be received by the Graduate School at least 15 working days prior to the first day of the term for which leave is being requested. Unless on an approved leave of absence, all graduate students in degree and certificate programs must register continuously for a minimum of 3 graduate credits, excluding summer session, until their degree or certain certificate is granted or until their status as a credential-seeking graduate student is terminated. If a student is granted a leave of absence during a term, however, they must also withdraw from the term. See the Catalog for more information on Registration Requirements.

GPA requirements

A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 is required for all courses taken at OSU as a graduate student and for courses included in the graduate program. Grades on transfer courses will be included in the calculation of the program GPA, but will not affect the GPA of courses taken at OSU. You must meet the minimum GPA requirement before scheduling the final oral exam.

Grievance procedures

Please visit the grievance procedures page for information.

Concurrent degrees and dual majors

Learn about earning concurrent master's degrees or pursuing a dual major.

Graduate assistantships

An assistantship provides a monthly salary, tuition remission, and an institutional contribution toward mandatory fees and the graduate assistant-only health insurance premium in exchange for service as employment. Learn more about assistantships.

Establishing your committee and Graduate Council Representative

A minimum of five members of the graduate faculty, including two from the major department/program, one from each declared minor field, and a Graduate Council Representative are required. The major professor is one of the two members representing the major department/program. The committee can be completed with graduate faculty from other programs who have been nominated to serve on doctoral committees for the student’s program. Visit the committee page to learn the committee requirements and how to select a GCR.

Exams and meetings

Program of study meeting

The Graduate School requires doctoral students to hold a program of study meeting with their committee. A program of study meeting form must also be signed and submitted to the Graduate School by the GCR who will attend this meeting. These meetings are not scheduled in advance with the Graduate School. Prior to a program meeting, students need to:

1. Be registered in the term of the program meeting
2. Select a GCR from a list provided by the Graduate School
3. Schedule the meeting with all committee members.
4. Make the Doctoral Program Meeting Checklist available to meeting participants. The Graduate Council Representative will complete and sign this form and return it to the Graduate School.

Thesis proposal meeting (program dependent)

A formal thesis proposal meeting is recommended but not required by the Graduate School. It is required for some majors. This meeting should be held with the student’s doctoral committee prior to the start of any substantial doctoral thesis research.

Preliminary examinations

Doctoral students must pass a comprehensive preliminary examination to determine the student’s understanding of their major and minor fields and also to assess the student’s capability for research. Students must enroll for a minimum of 3 credits during the term they take a written or oral preliminary exam.

At least one complete academic term must elapse between the time of the preliminary oral examination and the final oral examination. If more than five years elapse between these two examinations, the candidate will be required to take another preliminary oral examination.

Find the full policies regarding preliminary exams in the Catalog.

Final exam

1. Have a minimum GPA of 3.00 on both your program of study and cumulative graduate transcript.
2. Have completed all coursework on the program of study with a minimum grade of "C".
3. Contact members of the committee to arrange the date, time and place, then schedule the exam with the Graduate School not less than two weeks before the examination using the Exam Scheduling Form.
4. Submit one examination copy of the pretext pages of the thesis to the Graduate School at the time you schedule your exam. Pretext pages are found on the Thesis Guide.

The exam should be scheduled for two hours. The first part is the thesis defense portion and is open to all interested parties. After the thesis defense portion of the exam, the examination committee may exclude all other persons and continue with the examination of your knowledge of your field.

Remote access at committee meetings

It is generally expected that all members of graduate committees should be physically present at all required graduate committee meetings (i.e., program meetings, preliminary examinations, and final examinations). However, it is permissible for the student, and/or committee members to participate from a remote location provided the conditions listed below are met:

• Advance agreement of the student and all committee members has been obtained.
• All participants join in with two-way audio and video connections; audio-only connections must be approved by the major professor if the video connection is not possible. When the student is the remote participant, his or her connection must be an audio and video connection.
• Any visual aids or other materials have been distributed in advance to the remote participants.
• The committee members participate in the complete meeting, discussion, presentation, and evaluation.
• The student is responsible for making arrangements.

Tips for meetings

Check out our tips for scheduling a final exam committee meeting.

Degree completion steps and deadlines

  Watch the degree completion video.

Clear all remaining degree requirements

You must remove or make arrangements to remove all program deficiencies (e.g., courses with Incomplete grades, missing transcripts for recent transfer courses) before taking the final oral or written examination. All program deficiencies must be removed before your degree is certified. All incomplete grades on your Program of Study (with the exception of research/project credit in lieu of thesis) must be removed prior to your final exam. Courses to remove deficiencies cannot be taken on an S/U basis.

Final deadlines

 If you want your diploma for the current term complete the following degree requirements by 5 p.m. on the dates listed first under each term below.

 If you need more time, but do not want to register for the next term, please complete the following degree requirements by 5 p.m. on the dates listed second under each term below. This will result in getting your diploma in the following term.

Degree requirements to complete by dates below:

• Apply for graduation by filling out a diploma application
• Successfully complete your final exam or defense
• Upload final thesis to ScholarsArchive (if applicable)
• Submit final thesis or dissertation documents by 5 p.m. on the dates below

Summer Term 2024

• Degree Deadline for Summer Term

  September 6, 2024^*   

• Degree Deadline Without Registering for Fall Term

  September 24, 2024   

Fall Term 2024

• Degree Deadline for Fall Term

  December 13, 2024   

• Degree Deadline Without Registering for Winter Term

  January 5, 2025   

Winter Term 2025

• Degree Deadline for Winter Term

  March 21, 2025   

• Degree Deadline Without Registering for Spring Term

  March 30, 2025   

Spring Term 2025

• Degree Deadline for Spring Term

  June 13, 2025^*   

• Degree Deadline Without Registering for Summer Term

  June 22, 2025   

Summer Term 2025

• Degree Deadline for Summer Term

  September 5, 2025^*   

• Degree Deadline Without Registering for Fall Term

  September 23, 2025   

* If you plan to participate in commencement while finishing spring or summer term, please follow the commencement deadlines.