Procedures and Forms

Transfer Hours
Courses taken at other schools and/or as a special student at CU can be transferred toward the MA degree, up to 9 credit hours. The university from which the transfer course was taken must offer a degree comparable to the one sought at UCB. The “Request for Transfer Credit” form (available in the School of Education Office of Student Services) should be completed, signed by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, and sent to the Graduate School after one semester as a graduate student. The request must be accompanied by an official transcript. Because the relevance of transfer credit must also be judged in relation to a student’s total program, the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies may request that the student’s Degree Plan be submitted before approving transfer work. Courses at another university will not be transferred if a grade less than a B was received in the course. Extension courses taken at another university and correspondence courses may not be transferred.  The transfer of credit request must be received in the Graduate School no later than at the beginning of the semester of graduation.

Continuing Education
Once a student is admitted to a graduate program, prior course work taken through the UCB Division of Continuing Education may be counted toward the MA if the instructor is a member of the Graduate Faculty and the course work is appropriate to the student’s program.  These courses are considered transfer and are counted towards the nine (9) credit hours transfer limit.

Maximum/Full Time Course Loads
The maximum course load for a graduate student at the University of Colorado at Boulder is 15 hours each Fall or Spring semester. Summer session students are advised to take no more than six hours; the maximum load is nine hours; within this limit, students may not take more than six hours in any five week summer term or no more than three hours in any three week summer term. A full time load during the Fall or Spring semester is five or more semester hours of 5000 or above level courses, or eight semester hours of mixed-level course work. A full-time load during the Fall or Spring semester is five or more semester hours of 5000 or above level courses, or eight semester hours of mixed-level course work.

Pass/Fail and No-Credit Courses
No course work to be applied toward an advanced degree may be taken pass/fail. A graduate student may not take any course at the 5000 level or above on a pass/fail basis. Course work to be applied to an advanced degree may not be taken for no credit.

Course Validation
If required to validate coursework, students may pick up validation forms and guidelines concerning validation of courses from the School of Education Office of Student Services Course validation must be done by a member of the Graduate School faculty. Course validation is usually done in one of the following ways: (1) retake the course final examination, (2) prepare a paper on course content, or (3) take an oral examination over course content. In some cases retaking the comprehensive examination in a specific area may validate outdated courses. The student’s advisor and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies make the decision as to whether this is possible for a given student. If retaking a comprehensive examination is used to validate outdated courses, the exam must cover the course content of all courses being validated.

Deadlines for Graduation
A deadline sheet for graduation may be obtained from the School of Education Office of Student Services or from the Graduate School. All deadlines must be met to ensure graduation during a particular semester.

Diploma Card
The diploma card, available from the School of Education Office of Student Services and at the Graduate School office, is the official notification to the Graduate School of your intent to graduate during a given semester. Only students who have submitted a diploma card by the deadline will be permitted to graduate during that semester. If the student does not graduate during the semester for which a diploma card has been submitted, a new diploma card must be submitted. Diploma cards are not retained beyond the semester indicated for graduation on the card.

Admission to Candidacy Form
The admission to candidacy form, containing the student’s formal degree plan, is available in the School of Education Office of Student Services and is to be submitted along with a diploma card and an exam request card at the beginning of the semester the student will be writing the comprehensive exam. The admission to candidacy form must be reviewed and signed by the student’s advisor and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies before it is sent to the Graduate School for approval.  Please submit this form to the Graduate Program Assistant by announced deadlines.

Applicants for the MA must have this form signed and submitted to the School of Education Office of Student Services a minimum of 3 months before taking the comprehensive examination. Note: this time requirement is in advance of the deadline listed on the application form itself to allow for processing in the School of Education before submission to the Graduate School. Specific deadlines are posted in the School of Education Office of Student Services each semester.

Thesis Prospectus (For MA Plan I students)
Each thesis student must have a three member departmental thesis advisory committee. The thesis advisory committee may be the same as the original advisory committee, but changes are permitted. The thesis prospectus, which is reviewed and signed by the advisory committee, must be on file in the School of Education Office of Student Services at least three months before the oral examination (thesis defense). If the proposed study involves human subjects, the student must obtain the approval of the Human Research Committee. Procedures for this process are available in the School of Education School of Education Office of Student Services A copy of the Human Research Committee approval of the proposed research must accompany the signed prospectus when it is submitted to the School of Education School of Education Office of Student Services.

Thesis Specs may also be requested via email at: gradinfo@spot.colorado.edu

E-Mail
E-mail is our official means of communication with continuing students. Please read our e-mail policy statement. Students will be held responsible to the information conveyed within those official messages.

Incomplete Grades
Incomplete grades constitute a contract between a candidate and his/her instructor. Please see our policy on incomplete grades.

Petitions
Candidates may appeal any academic decision, including admissions decisions, course grades, and results of comprehensive examinations. Please see our policy on appeals.