Dates & Steps to Graduate

The Application for Graduation is now available online. To be eligible to apply graduates will need to have completed or be in progress of completing 18 units. Students should apply a year in advance of their intended graduation date. Students eligible to apply will receive an email. A $47 fee is required.

Online Graduation How to Guide (PDF) 

Students eligible to apply for graduation will receive an email from the Office of Graduate Studies with information regarding how to complete the online application. To be eligible students must be classified and completed 18 units OR be classified and be in progress of completing 18 units. This application will initiate a graduation evaluation which advises students of existing requirements for their degree. Graduate students are required to be enrolled the semester in which the degree is to be awarded.

Graduation Deadlines:

Below are the reinstatement deadlines, failure to miss the deadline will result in students reapplying for next semester.

Graduate students need to be aware of the Thesis/Dissertation deadlines, to be able to meet the requirements to submit their thesis.

Students submitting a thesis/project/dissertation: Submitting a date change form will ONLY change your date on Solar. Students must modify their grad date in the Electronic Thesis/Dissertation system [ETD] by the planning form deadline of the anticipated semester/term of graduation. 

IMPORTANT: Failure to meet any of the deadlines results in changing your graduation date to the next available semester, and you will be required to register for A&R 601 for $250. 

Thesis & Dissertation Deadlines

Classification:
There are University as well as departmental requirements for classification; please see the Graduate Student Handbook and your graduate coordinator for more information.

Application for Graduation (form available online):
Students must apply for graduation the semester before they plan to graduate, please see deadlines. The Application for Graduation is now available online. To be eligible to apply graduates will need to have completed or be in progress of completing 18 units. Students should apply a year in advance of their intended graduation date. This form indicates what requirements you still need to complete.

**FOR STUDENTS NOT TAKING COMPREHENSIVE EXAM ONLY

Register and complete the Project Planning form in the Electronic Thesis Dissertation (ETD) system:
Students who are not taking a Comprehensive Exam must register and file a Project Planning Form.

The registration process in the ETD system includes identification of the the semester/year in which the student plans to graduate, submission of the student’s working thesis/project title, and classification of the academic program where the student is completing the degree.

The Project Planning form requires the student to select their committee chair and two additional committee members.  Students are responsible for making sure their committee members submit an electronic approval to serve on their committee.  In addition, the Graduate Coordinator of the program must approve the committee before the student can move to the Preliminary draft stage in the Electronic Thesis Dissertation system. 

The Project Planning form deadline can be found on the Graduate Studies’ website under Thesis/Dissertation and Graduate Project Deadlines.

Culminating Enrollment:
Students who have already received an “RP” grade in 698 (thesis/project), but still require an additional semester to complete their thesis or graduate project may enroll in the Culminating Enrollment with department approval. This form allows the student to remain enrolled in the University and provides library privileges, but not health center services, and has no unit value. The fee is $250.00 and must be paid to Cash Services once the Office of Graduate Studies has determined that the student is eligible to enroll in the Culminating Enrollment. In order to enroll, a student must have: applied for graduation (or, if previously applied for graduation, file a date change form with Admissions and Records, $8 fee), completed all requirements in their program and their student standing is advanced to candidacy.  

Students who receive Financial Aid:
Graduating students are required to complete a “Loan Exit Counseling" session. Failing to complete the mentioned session will prevent the Office of Graduate Studies from ordering the student’s diploma.

To complete the LOAN EXIT COUNSELING survey visit http://www.studentloans.gov

Advance to Candidacy:
There are University as well as departmental requirements for advance to candidacy; please see your graduate coordinator for more information.

Application for Graduation (form available online):
Students must apply for graduation the semester before they plan to graduate, please see deadlines. The Application for Graduation is now available online. To be eligible to apply graduates will need to have completed or be in progress of completing 18 units. Students should apply a year in advance of their intended graduation date. This form indicates what requirements you still need to complete.

Register and complete the Project Planning form in the Electronic Thesis Dissertation (ETD) system:
The registration process in the ETD system includes identification of the semester/year in which the student plans to graduate, submission of the student’s dissertation title, and classification of the academic program where the student is completing the degree.

The Project Planning form requires the student to select their committee chair and two additional committee members.  Students are responsible for making sure their committee members submit an electronic approval to serve on their committee.  In addition, the Graduate Coordinator of the program must approve the committee before the student can move to the Preliminary draft stage in the Electronic Thesis Dissertation system. 

The Project Planning form deadline can be found on the Graduate Studies’ website under Thesis/Dissertation and Graduate Project Deadlines.

Students who receive Financial Aid:
Graduating students are required to complete a “Loan Exit Counseling" session. Failing to complete the mentioned session will prevent the Office of Graduate Studies from ordering the student’s diploma.

Electronic Thesis/Dissertation Website Login Page:

• https://academics.csun.edu/etd/login