A student with a double major may drop one of the majors before taking either comprehensive examination only if he/she has a UNC grade point average of 3.00 in the major being dropped. Once a student has taken the comprehensive examination for one of the majors, neither major can be dropped.
Courses and Credit Hours
The university requires a minimum of 30 semester hours for a master's degree. This includes at least 24 semester hours of discipline content courses. Chemistry and Biological Sciences master's programs require a minimum of 20 semester hours of discipline content courses. Programs may have requirements that exceed the minimum standards established by the university.
A maximum of three semester credits of 513 (Professional Renewal) may be counted toward the master’s degree.
Transfer Credit
Master's and Specialist Degree Policy. Students must complete a minimum of 24 credits through the University of Northern Colorado as part of their master's degree or post-master's specialist degree. Thus, students can transfer up to six (6) credits from another accredited institution, that offers graduate degrees, into a 30 credit hour master's or specialist degree program. If the program requirements exceed the minimum 30 credits, students are allowed to transfer additional credits as determined by the school or program faculty. Students without a master's degree must complete 48 semester credit hours at UNC of the 60 required credits for a specialist degree. Students are encouraged to check school policies regarding transfer of credit.
These policies allow programs that exceed the 30 credit minimum for a master's/specialist to establish school transfer limits and guidelines that exceed minimum requirements. As long as the minimum number of credits through UNC are observed, transfer credit allowances to students will be determined by program faculty and can vary on a case by case basis. The Graduate School will not approve students for graduation with fewer than the required UNC credits.
Program Requirements
Comprehensive Examinations
Thesis Committee
Each master’s student who will be writing a thesis must have a thesis committee of at least two members from within their school or program. The thesis committee must be comprised of faculty members who have Doctoral Research, Graduate Faculty or Graduate Lecturer status.
Master’s Thesis in Lieu of Comps
Whether the master's thesis is to be completed as an additional program requirement or as a project in lieu of the written comprehensive examination, a thesis committee of at least two graduate faculty members is required. If the thesis is in lieu of the written comprehensive examination, school procedures for determining comprehensive examination eligibility are to be used prior to conducting the thesis research and at least two signatures from graduate faculty members must be obtained to indicate the successful completion of the thesis.
If the master's thesis is required in addition to the comprehensive examination, the student needs only to submit the thesis signed by two graduate faculty members to the Graduate School upon completion. The Graduate Dean will be the final approval signature on the thesis.
If the student plans to complete a thesis, whether in lieu of the comprehensive examination or in addition, the student must register for a minimum of six (6) semester hours of 699-Thesis. No more than six hours of thesis may be applied to the minimum credit requirements of a student's program.
Written Comprehensive Examinations
Each master's degree and specialist degree student must pass a written comprehensive examination or otherwise show competency in the discipline by successfully completing a specified equivalent that has been approved by the Graduate Council (thesis or project in lieu of comprehensive examinations). Defense of a project or thesis in lieu of comprehensive examinations is equivalent to administering the comprehensive examination.
The major school is responsible for determining the student's eligibility for taking the examination as well as scheduling the time, date, and place of the examination. This examination or its approved equivalent may not be taken until the student has:
- been granted regular admission to the program
- completed school-specified course requirements
- maintained a GPA of at least 3.0 in their program
- received approval from the program advisor.
Application. The student will apply in the academic school office for the written comprehensive examination or to defend the thesis before the thesis committee. The comprehensive examination permit is valid only for the semester that it is issued. The program advisor must be consulted for information regarding examination format, procedures, time, date, and place.
Students should not wait until they have been notified of comprehensive examination results before applying for graduation. If the student plans to graduate at the end of the semester in which he/she takes the comprehensive examination or completes the approved equivalent, the student must apply for graduation within the published deadlines.
Once the comprehensive examination session begins, it is considered a take of the examination. If the student leaves the examination session and does not return, the examination will be considered taken and the exam will be evaluated accordingly and reported to the Graduate School.
Results. Once the examination has been evaluated or the project/thesis has been defended (project for Specialist students), the program advisor must return the signed report form to the Graduate School indicating a pass or failure of the examination. If the student plans to graduate, this must be done on or before the published deadline to submit the results of the written comprehensive examination for that semester.
A retake may not be scheduled during the same semester that the original examination was completed. Failure of the retake of the examination or its equivalent will result in the termination of the student's degree program.
Results must be reported to the Graduate School within one semester or be retaken.
Filing the Thesis (Master’s). All students must follow the program and Graduate School guidelines for writing the master’s thesis, found on our website at http://www.unco.edu/grad/.
After committee members sign off on the thesis, an electronic copy of the thesis and four (4) original signature pages should be submitted to the Graduate School for an editorial review and dean’s approval at least 4 weeks, (28 calendar days) prior to the requested graduation date. The Graduate School shall give the student all changes and corrections that must be made before the student turns in the final thesis. The Graduate School will confer the student’s degree once we have received the final version and the specific forms for binding and billing, mailing and publication (optional). More detail about the final submission procedures can be found on the Graduate School website (http://www.unco.edu/grad/)
Graduation Application
All master's and specialist students must apply for graduation www.unco.edu/grad/forms/pdfs/MastersAndSpecialistGraduationApplication.pdf no later than the end of the semester preceding the semester that a student plans to graduate. The schedule of deadlines for the Graduate School can be found at www.unco.edu/grad/forms/deadlines.html. The student has the responsibility for determining that the application has been filed with the Graduate School. The Graduate School will not process a graduation application that is not signed by the student and program advisor.
If the student does not complete all requirements for the degree and, therefore, does not graduate at the end of the proposed semester, the application will be placed in the deferred file. The student must give written notice to the Graduate School when he/she wishes to appear again on the tentative list of graduates.
All graduating students are encouraged to attend graduation. Those students participating in the graduation ceremony are required to wear appropriate academic regalia. Diplomas are not issued at the graduation ceremony. All Graduate students must complete a Diploma Request Card at www.unco.edu/grad/forms/gradCard.asp. The diploma will be mailed to the address provided by the student on the Diploma Request Card . Failure to provide a current mailing address could result in a delay in receipt of the diploma. No diploma will be issued until all requirements for graduation have been met.
Plan of Study
The program listed in the university Catalog will serve as the plan of study for master's programs.
Written requests for changes or substitutions in the plan of study must be signed by the program advisor and submitted to the Graduate School. Students should take the responsibility to make sure any deviations from the Catalog are documented in their Graduate School file. Schools are also encouraged to identify any deficiency courses a student must complete at the time of screening for admission.
Research Requirements
Master’s and Specialist research policy . Student’s must complete at least one course in research methodology designated as appropriate to the discipline and approved by the Graduate Council. Courses numbered XXX 622 (Directed Studies) shall not be used as a substitute for the research course.
The Graduate School will not waive this requirement but can approve an appropriate substitute research methodology course. The program advisor must provide a written request to substitute an alternative course, a syllabus for the course, and rationale for the requested substitute to the Graduate Dean in the form of a "Graduate Student Petition for Exception". If the student earned a graduate degree from an accredited institution within the last five years in which an equivalent research course was taken, the program advisor must provide a written request to waive the UNC research requirement based on the previous course work completed.
Time Limit
The maximum time allowed for the completion of the master's degree is five calendar years beginning with the first semester of enrollment after admission has been granted. However, program time limits are adjusted to reflect approval of transfer credit or unclassified hours. Student must complete the degree within five calendar years beginning with the earliest work counted in the program (which would include transfer credit and unclassified hours).