Program of Study Request Form: M.S. Thesis
Program of Study Request Form: M.S. Thesis
No
DEGREE: ________________
M.S. PROGRAM: _______________________________
Food Science THESIS/NON-THESIS: Thesis
MASTERS STUDENTS ONLY
COURSEWORK INSTRUCTIONS
The student should supply appropriate information regarding courses taken and proposed, utilizing the WSU Catalog, Graduate School Catalog,
WSU academic records, and official transcripts from other institutions. Transfer credit, if requested, should be reported exactly as it
appears on the original transcript. Transfer credit hours should be reported in semester hours and/or will be converted by the Graduate School. For
complete information regarding the Program of Study and coursework requirements, including the Transfer Policy, please consult the Graduate School
Policies and Procedures, available at www.gradschool.wsu.edu/policies-procedures.
Many program requirements exceed those described below. Work with your Academic Coordinator to ensure you meet all applicable graduation
requirements. In all cases, students must comply with the minimum standards of the Graduate School and of their individual program.
For All Degrees: Graduate students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA at all times and must hold a 3.0 cumulative GPA and 3.0 GPA among courses
listed on the Program of Study in order to graduate. The program may not include any courses graded Pass/Fail, courses not approved for graduate
credit, or courses that are audited. The student must complete any graded course listed on the Program of Study with a grade of C or higher; the
student must repeat any course listed on program in which they earn a grade of C- or below. Courses on the program in which the student earns a B-
or below may not be removed from the program.
M.A./M.S. Thesis: The thesis degree program must consist of not less than 30 hours of approved graduate credit including a minimum of 21 hours
of graded coursework and 4 hours of 700 Master’s Research. Of these 21 hours of coursework, the student may use up to 6 credits of non-
graduate level credit (300 or 400 level) with the approval of their department.
M.A./M.S. Non-Thesis: The non-thesis degree program must consist of not less than 30 hours of approved graduate credit including a minimum of
26 hours of graded coursework and a minimum of 4 hours of 702 Master’s Research. Of these 26 hours of coursework, the student may use
up to 9 credits of non-graduate level credit (300 or 400 level) with the approval of their department.
All Other Master's Degrees: Requirements for all other master’s degrees are described in the Graduate School Catalog and in the graduate student
handbook issued by each program.
Ph.D. and Ed.D.: The core of the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) and Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program requirements vary by program. Of
the minimum 15 hours of core graded coursework required on the Program of Study, none may be from non-graduate level courses. For programs
with a larger core, no more than 9 credits of non-graduate credit (300 or 400 level) may be used with the approval of their
department. Many doctoral programs have minimum requirements that exceed those described above; verify the required number of letter
graded credits for your specific program with your academic coordinator. In all cases, students must comply with the minimum standards of their
doctoral programs.
Seminar courses numbered 500 or above that are graded on a scale of A-F may be used as part of the student’s core program. Courses graded S/F
may not be applied towards the graded core. Additionally, only those courses graded on a scale of A-F taken in pursuit of the master’s
degree and/or transfer courses at a level equivalent to 500-level courses and applicable to the doctoral core program should be listed. Any
course included in the doctoral program in which a student earns a grade of C- or below must be repeated for a new grade of C or above before
taking preliminary or final exams.
In addition to the core requirement, the program shall show research and additional studies. This includes Independent Study (600) and Doctoral
Research (800 – minimum of 20 hours), and any additional graded or S/F courses taken at WSU. Credit in this category, plus that in the core
program, must total at least 72 hours. Additional credits may be required by some programs.
COMMITTEE INSTRUCTIONS
Proposed committees must meet all Graduate School requirements (sumarized below) as well as any requirements listed in the program's
bylaws. For additional information, please see the Graduate School's Policies and Procuedures, available at www.gradschool.wsu.edu.
MASTERS COMMITTEE REQUIREMENTS
• The committee must include at least three WSU faculty members and all members must hold a degree of comparable level to the degree sought by the student.
• If program bylaws ARE NOT on file: The chair and at least one committee member must be tenured or tenure track faculty who are also members of the
graduate faculty in your graduate program; the third member must be graduate faculty in your program, but is not required to be tenured or tenure track faculty.
• If program bylaws ARE on file: At minimum, the committee must include one tenured/tenure track faculty member who is graduate faculty in your graduate
program; the second member must be graduate faculty in your program, but is not required to be tenured/tenure track faculty; the third member can be from
inside or outside your graduate program, does not need to hold graduate faculty status, and does not need to be tenured/tenure track faculty; the chair must be
tenured or tenure track in the graduate program unless specified otherwise in the bylaws for your specific graduate program.
IN ALL CASES:
• Experts outside of WSU and faculty from other institutions may serve on committees as a fourth member – you are required to attach a completed “External
Committee Member” form when including someone outside of WSU as a committee member.
• For any non-WSU committee member, or for any member who is not tenured/tenure track and is outside of your graduate program, please attach a vitae and
include a rationale below to be reviewed for approval by the Dean of the Graduate School.
• Any exception to the committee composition requirements outlined here, or to program bylaws, requires an Exception to Policy request to provide official
documentation of the rationale for the policy exception.
• Program bylaws are available at www.gradschool.wsu.edu/bylaws; this document contains important committee composition requirements for your program. It
is important that you review these guidelines with your committee chair when proposing your committee.
____________________________________________ _____________________________________________
DEPARTMENT CHAIR SIGNATURE AND DATE STUDENT SIGNATURE AND DATE
____________________________________________
MINOR DEPARTMENT CHAIR SIGNATURE (If Applicable) AND DATE
RATIONALE FOR NON-WSU OR NON-TENURED/TENURE TRACK FACULTY OUTSIDE THE GRADUATE PROGRAM:
Some areas of inquiry require approval before you may use certain subjects or materials for your research.
Please complete the following questions to determine if your research may require institutional review:
Does your research involve human subjects, including asking individuals to complete a survey?
Does your research involve any animal subjects?
Does your research involve biohazardous or radioactive materials?
If you answered “Yes” to any of the above questions, your research may require institutional review. Please contact the Office of Research Assurances
(www.ora.wsu.edu) for information. Evidence of institutional review, or an exemption statement, will be required before scheduling a final exam.
COURSEWORK: Graded (A-F) If transferring coursework from another institution, please submit the course syllabus along with this form
Course Prefix Course Title Credits Grade Sem/Year Taken WSU Instructor or name of Institution
and Number (Chronological Order) if requesting transfer credits
0
21
Subtotal Credits of Graded Coursework: ____________
INCLUDES ALL PAGES
32
Total Credit Hours: ____________
INCLUDING ALL PAGES
GRADUATE SCHOOL USE ONLY
IF YOU NEED ROOM FOR MORE COURSEWORK, PLEASE USE AND ATTACH THE FOLLOWING PAGE
C
Updated 10/14/2019 O Page 3 of 4
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Select One
PROGRAM OF STUDY REQUEST FORM
ADDITIONAL COURSEWORK IMPORTANT: WHEN USING THIS ADDITIONAL PAGE, YOU
MUST MAKE ONE CHANGE IN ANY CREDIT NUMBER FIELD
ADD THIS PAGE TO YOUR PROGRAM OF STUDY IF YOU NEED ON PAGE 3 TO REFRESH THE DOCUMENT'S CREDIT TOTALS.
MORE SPACE TO LIST YOUR GRADED OR S/F COURSEWORK
COURSEWORK: Graded (A-F)
Course Prefix Course Title Credits Grade Sem/Year Taken WSU Instructor or name of Institution
and Number (Chronological Order) if requesting transfer credits
0
Subtotal Credits of Graded Coursework: ____________
THIS PAGE ONLY
COURSEWORK: Recognized by the committee but cannot count toward degree’s requirements:
List any such courses in this space – examples include prerequisites, old coursework, or any credits completed that the committee wishes to recognize on the
student’s record, but that will not be counted towards completing degree requirements