Careful planning of a degree program is important for all graduate students, and especially vital for those who spread graduate
work over more than one year. For this reason, incoming graduate students need to know their responsibilities as well as those
of the program and the Graduate College.
Student Responsibilities Each student is responsible for meeting the specific degree requirements outlined in this catalog and the deadlines published
under “Academic Regulations,” also in this catalog.
Graduate Advisor Students have a graduate advisor (also called a major professor). This advisor and the graduate student work together in the
active pursuit of knowledge and research. Theirs is an in depth relationship on academic matters. The graduate student receives
guidance from this advisor as well as from the examining and thesis or dissertation committee when appropriate.
Graduate Coordinator In addition, each program has a graduate coordinator whose duties include informing graduate students about the policies,
practices, and deadlines of the Graduate College. This person is responsible for monitoring the academic progress of each
student throughout his or her degree program. The graduate coordinator also provides various kinds of written certification
of a student’s degree progress which are subsequently posted in the official records of the Graduate College and Office of
Registration and Records. Specific requirements about the various steps in matriculation toward the degree are available from
the program’s graduate coordinator and the Graduate College.
Graduate College The Graduate College serves primarily as a monitor of the student’s progress toward a degree and is the coordinator of activities
that are beyond the scope of the program.
