Master’s Plan of Study & Degree Requirements

Choosing an Adviser

The student selects a consenting adviser from faculty members of the academic program in which the major work is planned. Before registering for each semester or session, the student consults the adviser concerning a program of courses.

In the event that an adviser retires or leaves MU, he/she may continue to serve as the student's main adviser unless there is written academic program policy prohibiting such an arrangement. If an adviser is unable or unwilling to continue to serve, the academic program, with the leadership of the director of graduate studies, will assist the student to ensure that a replacement is found.

Filling Out the Plan of Study Form

After performing satisfactorily for a minimum of one semester, the student, with the adviser’s assistance, completes the Plan of Study form (pdf) that outlines the plan of study for the student's graduate program. The form is forwarded through the academic program's director of graduate studies to the Graduate School for approval.

The Plan of Study form must be filed with the Graduate School by the end of the student's second semester of enrollment. Upon approval of the program by the Graduate School, the student is a candidate for the degree.

Making Changes

If changes must be made on a student's Plan of Study form, a Plan of Study Substitution form (pdf) is used.

Minimum Degree Requirements

Your academic program may have more requirements; the following is a campuswide minimum.

The student's program must include a minimum of 30 hours of graduate credit beyond the bachelor's degree (or its equivalent). Fifteen hours of the 30-hour minimum must be selected from courses numbered at 8000 or 9000 level; no more than 40 percent of the 30-hour credit requirement can be satisfied by a combination of special investigations, Research, Readings and / or Problems courses.

Grades

The candidate must have completed all graduate work attempted at MU with a GPA of 3.0 (A=4.0) or better. Review the policy about grades for more information.

Graduate Examination & Theses, Projects, Manuscripts, Portfolios

Each candidate must pass a final examination to demonstrate mastery of the fundamental principles of the work included in the course of study offered for the degree. If the program includes a minor, the minor adviser will be a member of the final examination committee and will examine the candidate over course work taken in the minor.

Students expecting to present a thesis, manuscript, project, portfolio semester must be enrolled (learn more about how to stay enrolled). Students who have a financial aid or visa situation should check with Financial Aid or the International Center respectively before registering for the Graduate Examination option. Failure to do so could cause serious consequences for the student's financial aid or visa status.

Thesis Option

Where a thesis is presented in partial fulfillment of graduation requirements, students must form a thesis comittee. After the successfull defense of the thesis,the three members of the student's committee must sign the Report of the Master's Degree Examining Committee (pdf), which is then forwarded through the academic program's director of graduate studies to the Graduate School. Learn more about the Master's Thesis

Non-Thesis Option

Where no thesis is presented by the candidate, the final examination committee, composed of three members from the academic program, is designated by the academic program's director of graduate studies with the approval of the Graduate School. The Report of the Master’s Examinig Committee (pdf), signed by the director of graduate studies, is forwarded to the Graduate School. All candidates for the MA or MS degrees must complete either a thesis or a substantial independent project that cannot be coauthored.

Counting Special Credit

Correspondence Credit

Although correspondence or extension course credit earned at any other campus is not accepted by the Graduate School, the School will accept up to eight hours of correspondence courses that are authorized for graduate credit and offered by MU's faculty through the Center for Independent Study at 136 Clark Hall.

Transfer Credit

A maximum of 20 percent of the number of credit hours required for a student's degree may be graduate credits transferred from another university, including another campus of the University of Missouri system upon the recommendation of the adviser, the approval of the academic program director of graduate studies and the Graduate School.

Note: the above represents a change in policy and becomes effective for graduate students beginning their master's programs during the fall semester 2001. Students who began their master's programs prior to the fall semester 2001 have the option of using the above regulation or the regulation in place at the time they began their degree program.

The Office of the Graduate School will need to make the final review of the transfer request to determine if the credit meets the minimum guidelines. If so then the Graduate School will process the request so that each transfer course will appear on the student's transcript.

How to Proceed

1. The request or transfer credit must first be approved by the student's adviser and director of graduate studies.
2. Once approved the student submits his/her Plan of Study or Course Substitution form to add the transfer work to the Plan of Study along with an unopened, official transfer transcript if one is not currently on file with the Graduate School.
3. Once the Graduate School has received the request it will be reviewed to determine if minimum requirements have been met. If approved then the Graduate School will process the request so that the transfer credit appears on the MU student record.

Minimum Requirements

1. Transfer course work will still be less than eight years old by the time the master's degree is conferred.
2. The transfer course work was taken for graduate credit and clearly marked as such on the transfer transcript complete with credit hours and a grade.
3. The transfer course work is limited to no more than 20 percent of the total course work on the student's Plan of Study form.
4. The transfer course work is from a regionally accredited institution in the U.S. or an overseas institution that is recognized by its country's Ministry of Education as a graduate degree granting institution.
5. The transfer course work is not extension or correspondence credit. (see policy on correspondence credit above)

Credit Toward a Second Master's Degree

A student who has completed one master's degree at the University of Missouri or elsewhere may, upon recommendation of the adviser and approval by the academic program's director of graduate studies and the Graduate School, present a maximum of eight hours of credit earned in the previous program toward a second master's degree.