Graduation Requirements for Master's Students

Step 1: Check with your school or graduate support staff for deadlines and guidelines for degree completion.

Step 2: (Only for students completing a thesis-option master's degree) Review KU Thesis & Dissertation Formatting Requirements early! See our formatting page for more details. All theses must meet these requirements prior to publication in ProQuest and KU ScholarWorks. Students are strongly encouraged to attend a formatting workshop prior to the defense.

Step 3: Submit the following University-level requirements for graduation.Individual schools and the College maintain their own graduation requirements, so they may expect documentation in addition to what is listed here.

  1. Application for Graduation(AFG)in Enroll & Pay.
    • If you have submitted an AFG and need to postpone graduation to a later semester, contact your department's graduate support staff member to rescind your initial AFG. Once rescinded, you can resubmit the AFG for the correct semester.

**NOTE: #2 - 4 are only required for students who complete a thesis-option master's degree.** 

  1. Thesis Acceptance Page (submitted directly to the graduate administrator in your school/College)
    • The acceptance page must be signed by your committee chair (and co-chair, if applicable)
    • Formatting requirements, sample documents, and templates for this page are available on the KU Libraries Thesis & Dissertation Formatting Guide.
       
  2. ScholarWorks Thesis/Dissertation Release (Embargo) Form  (submitted directly to the graduate administrator in your school/College)
  3. Submit your final, approved, & correctly formatted thesis to ProQuest.
    • Further details about submitting the thesis electronically is available on the Submission page.

 

Step 4: Plan and apply to participate in recognition events and University Commencement (optional).

  • Schools, programs, and departments may have individual recognition events for their students. Please check with your school/College for information about these ceremonies.
  • The University's Commencement ceremony is organized by the Chancellor's Office to recognize all the KU graduates for the corresponding year. This event takes place once a year in May.

Thesis Quick Links