Sep. 9, 2025
Chair/Director Role in Advisor Selection and Faculty Workload
The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) will sign off on advisor changes for graduate students. As appropriate, the DGS will inform the department chair or responsible person for workload assignments in programs that are within a department for workload assignment purposes.
Sep. 10, 2020
Scheduling Exams
Exams (e.g., qualifying, comprehensive, thesis/dissertation defenses) are to be administered only when MU is officially in session. If an exam requires a written and oral section, both can only be administered during a regular semester session, i.e., the period between start and end date (including exam week) of Fall, Spring, and Summer sessions, excluding holidays and weekends. It is important to note that some faculty members are 9-month employees, thus a student and their advisor should discuss with committee members their availability for the comprehensive examination during the Summer session.
Jan. 27, 2020
Full- and Part-time Enrollment
Full-time enrollment for graduate students is defined as enrollment in 9 credit hours per semester in the fall and spring semesters and/or 4.5 hours in the summer session. Full-time enrollment for doctoral candidates, beginning the semester after the successful completion of their comprehensive examinations, is 2 credit hours in the fall and spring semesters and/or 1 hour in the summer session. Guidelines may differ for international students based upon visa requirements. Without special permission of the Dean of the Graduate School, the maximum number of credit hours in which a graduate student may enroll is 16 credit hours per…
Oct. 23, 2018
Comprehensive Examination
A doctoral student must successfully complete the comprehensive examination within a period of five years beginning with the first semester of enrollment as a PhD student. Individual departments or area programs may stipulate a shorter time period. The comprehensive examination consists of written and oral sections. It must be completed at least seven months before the final defense of the dissertation. The two sections of the examination must be completed within one month. For the comprehensive examination to be completed successfully, the doctoral advisory committee must vote to pass the student on the entire examination, both written and oral sections,…
July 31, 2018
Freedom to Publish Thesis and Dissertation Research
Freedom to publish and share results are major criteria for assessing the appropriateness of any research project, particularly those involving graduate students. Consistent with the mission of the University of Missouri, the integrity of a student’s academic/research experience shall be preserved, including the ability to complete and publish a thesis or dissertation in a reasonable timeframe and to freely publish, present, or otherwise disclose the results of research both within the academic community and to the public at large. The University precludes assigning to extramural sources the right to keep or make final decisions about what may or may not…
March 7, 2018
Academic and Departmental Probation, Termination, and Appeals
Probation Departmental or program probation may occur at any time during a student’s work toward a graduate degree. All graduate departments/programs are required to formulate their own academic standing policies, establishing a tailored framework aligned with the unique characteristics of their respective graduate programs, while adhering to the fundamental principles outlined by the Graduate School. These guidelines should be made available to students from their entrance into the graduate degree program. If a student is authorized to diverge from progress guidelines established by either the department/program or the Graduate School, this must be documented in written form and endorsed by…
March 6, 2018
Choosing an Advisor
Doctoral A doctoral student is assigned an advisor upon admission. However, this may or may not be the individual who advises the student’s dissertation project. In that case, the student selects an advisor or co-advisors by mutual consent from doctoral faculty members who are dissertation supervisors in the department or area program in which the major work is planned. Doctoral advisors must be members of the doctoral faculty. To determine whether a faculty member has doctoral faculty status, refer to the list of faculty in each academic program in the University catalog. Students can change advisors during their doctoral…
March 6, 2018
Educational Specialist Process
ELPA, LTC and SISLT process Step 1: Advisor assignment Upon admission, the academic department will assign a faculty advisor to the student. Before registering for courses each semester or session, the student consults with the advisor to determine appropriate courses to fulfill program requirements. If an advisor is unable or unwilling to continue to serve in this role, the academic program, led by the director of graduate studies, will ensure that a replacement is assigned. Step 2: Form an educational specialist advisory committee An educational specialist advisory committee includes three faculty members from the student’s academic department, including the advisor.
March 6, 2018
Graduate Certificate Plan of Study
A Graduate Certificate Plan of Study form must be submitted to the Graduate School at least one term before the conferral of the certificate. Graduate School staff will update the plan of study form with grades from the student’s last term if necessary. The original form becomes part of the student’s official academic record. Note: If a student completes more than one graduate credential at MU, they may use a course for no more than three formal credentials (e.g., a master’s, doctoral, specialist, and/or dual degree; certificate, minor). Transfer credits For stand-alone graduate certificate programs, a maximum of…
March 6, 2018
Master’s Degree Plan of Study
After performing satisfactorily for a minimum of one semester, the student completes the Plan of Study for the Master’s Degree (M1) form (or the Plan of Study for the Dual Master’s Degree (DM1) form if the student is enrolled in a dual master’s degree program) with the advisor’s assistance. The form is forwarded through the 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…