Master's Plan A Degree Requirements

Policies and Procedures
Note: The academic policies on this page are referenced from the School of Graduate Studies Catalog. The catalog is the official text. While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of this page, the catalog is the authoritative source of information for graduate degree completion and graduation requirements.

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NOTE: The information below is cited from Section 8 of the School of Graduate Studies Catalog.

  • The following is what graduate students pursuing master’s degrees are required to complete per University and School of Graduate Studies policy.
  • Due to the variability of each graduate degree, a program may have additional steps, forms or specific requirements not listed below.
  • Students should contact their Graduate Program Coordinator to make sure they are aware of all program requirements, required forms, timelines, and for official degree completion guidance.

Master’s Plan A Option:

The Master’s Plan A option requires students to prepare and defend a thesis, which is a significant piece of original research or a new perspective on existing knowledge.

Credit Hours Requirement:

The minimum requirement for a master’s degree is 30 semester credits. Certain programs may have higher credit requirements for some master’s degrees.

Residency Requirement:

The School of Graduate Studies does not have any academic residency requirements for graduate students, but departments and colleges may impose residency requirements in their programs as they see fit.

Thesis Credit Requirements:

Master’s Plan A students must complete a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 15 semester credits of thesis research (course 6970) as part of their Program of Study.

Some degree programs may require creative project credits in addition to, or instead of, research credits.

NOTE: Registration for thesis credits should correspond with the semesters during which the research is actively conducted, and faculty supervision is provided.

Publication Policy for Degree Completion:

  • The School of Graduate Studies recognizes that scholarly publications are a vital component of graduate training and may be essential for post degree success. Publications or manuscripts of which the student is a co-author may be included if the committee determines that the student made a substantial intellectual contribution to the work.
  • Permission to include a publication or manuscript in a thesis/project does not depend on the order of authorship.
  • Any included publication or manuscript must be a logical component of the overarching theme or themes addressed by the entire thesis/project, which, as a whole, must represent the student’s individual and original effort.
  • The student is responsible for obtaining reprint permission from the copyright holder for any published works included as part of the thesis/project.
  • A program or faculty mentor may require manuscripts to be submitted for publication as part of its degree completion requirements. However, because publication timelines are often subject to external factors, actual acceptance/publication of a manuscript cannot be a degree requirement, and time to degree cannot be extended to accommodate publication of a manuscript.

Establish a Supervisory Committee and Submit an Approval (SCAF) Form

NOTE: The information below is cited from Section 5 and 6 of the School of Graduate Studies Catalog.

Purpose

The SCAF establishes a graduate student’s supervisory committee and routes to all required reviewers for approval.

Committee Participation

  • All full-time USU faculty/staff on a committee must be approved graduate faculty.
  • External, adjunct, emeriti, or limited-affiliation individuals require separate ad hoc approval from the Department Head and the Vice Provost for Graduate Studies.

RCR CITI Training Requirement

Required before submitting the initial SCAF for the following students:

  • MS/A (thesis), MA, MFA students.
  • Any student funded by NIH, NSF, or USDA-NIFA.

For more information about the Responsible Conduct of Research Training, please check out the USU RCR website.

Submission Deadline

  • Submit by end of the 2nd semester.
  • Changes to a committee can be made by submitting a Supervisory Committee (SCAF) Revision Form.
  • No changes to the committee within 6 weeks of the final defense.
  • NOTE: If the SCAF form does not have all required committee roles filled and the completed RCR training (if required), it will be denied.

Approvals Required

  • Student
  • Major Professor
  • Committee Members
  • Department Head
  • Vice Provost of Graduate Studies

For further details about supervisory committee requirements, please review SGS Catalog Section 6: Supervisory Committees.

Finalize and Submit a Program of Study (POS)

NOTE: The information below is cited from Section 7 of the School of Graduate Studies Catalog.

Purpose

The Program of Study outlines a graduate student’s approved coursework and must meet degree-specific credit and level requirements. NOTE: Graduate Certificates do not require a POS.

Credit Requirements

  • Minimum 18 credits at the 6000-level or above.

Coursework Restrictions

  • Courses below 5000, undergraduate prerequisites, and audited courses cannot be included.
  • Continuing graduate advisement, individual home study, and military science credits are not acceptable.

Creating the Program of Study

  • Students work with the GPC to create the POS in DegreeWorks, entering planned coursework in the Plans tab.

Submission Deadlines

  • Submit by the end of the 2nd semester, after the SCAF.

Revisions

  • All changes require a formal POS revision.
  • Students should work with their Graduate Program Coordinator, who updates DegreeWorks and submits the revision through ServiceNow.
  • The major professor and department head must approve revisions.

Approvals Required

  • Major professor
  • Department head
  • Committee Members
  • School of Graduate Studies

To view required forms by degree type, please see the Academic Forms page.

NOTE: Students should not wait until their final semester to submit required forms, as doing so may delay graduation. Timely submission of all required forms is essential to ensure all degree requirements are met without complications.

Review Requirements for the Thesis

Before beginning any work on their thesis, students must review and understand the requirements in the SGS Catalog Section 12: Thesis, Dissertation, Plan B Paper/Project Requirements. This information is also delineated on the Thesis, Plan B Paper/Project, & Dissertation Requirements page.

  • Students should work with their supervisory committee to finalize a topic and a research plan for their thesis.

Master’s Degree Time Limit

  • A master’s degree must be completed within six years of entering the degree program.
  • Additional time may be requested by the student’s committee and submitted to the Vice Provost of Graduate Studies for review.

Policies and Procedures
Note: The academic policies on this page are referenced from the School of Graduate Studies Catalog. The catalog is the official text. While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of this page, the catalog is the authoritative source of information for graduate degree completion and graduation requirements.

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