Master's Program Guidelines
University Requirements
Please also see the Graduate Catalog for additional details on all academic policies and procedures as well as degree requirements and services & resources available to graduate students at Ohio University. View the Graduate Catalog.
Registration
As a master’s degree student, you must register for at least .5 credit hour in any semester in which you receive service from the university including the semester in which you graduate. Service includes review and approval of your thesis, professional project, e-portfolio, or comprehensive exam by your committee and the Scripps College of Communication Dean’s Office.
If you have completed all academic requirements for graduation, have submitted your thesis or professional project (if applicable) and fully approved before the first day of the semester in which you plan to graduate and are not receiving any services from the university, you do not have to register for that semester but must still apply for graduation and pay the application fee.
Tuition and Fees
You can find a current listing of graduate student tuition and fees at the Office of the Bursar website. The Graduate College also has information on the cost of attending OHIO.
Meeting Deadlines
Deadlines for submitting the thesis, e-portfolio, comprehensive exam, or professional project are strictly followed. Current academic year deadlines for students submitting a thesis are on the Thesis and Dissertation Services (TAD) website via the Graduate College. Consult your graduate director for deadlines for e-portfolio, comprehensive exam, or professional project.
If you miss a deadline in the thesis process, you will need to reapply for graduation in the following semester. Please be aware of the university’s deadlines to apply for graduation.
The university will not waive its graduation deadlines. If necessary for employment purposes, the Scripps College of Communication Associate Dean will provide a letter verifying that you have met all requirements for your degree.
Applying for Graduation
You can view information of applying for graduation. The graduation fee is $50 for master’s students. Notify the Graduate College if you need to cancel your application for graduation at graduate@ohio.edu. Any student who does not graduate in the semester for which they applied must reapply for graduation. There is a $5 reapplication fee.
Commencement
There are two commencement ceremonies, December and May. Students completing their degree requirements during Summer or Fall semesters (including those meeting early-for deadlines) typically participate in December commencement exercises; students completing during Spring (or by the early-for-spring deadline) participate in May. Ohio University will contact you regarding cap and gown orders and attendance. View detailed information on cap and gown sales.
Diplomas
Your diploma/certificate will be mailed to you approximately eight weeks after graduation to the address supplied on your graduation application. The Office of the University Registrar receives the graduation conferral/denial lists from the college offices indicating the graduation status of each candidate. Diplomas are mailed First Class. Diplomas will not be mailed for students with financial or other obligations to the University until the holds are released. For questions or address changes, please contact the Graduation Department, 740.593.4196 or graduation@ohio.edu.
Diplomas/Certificates are issued by Ohio University in the following sizes:
- Certificates: 11"W x 8.5"H
- Associate Degrees: 11"W x 8.5"H
- Bachelor's and Master's Degrees: 14"W x 11"H
- Doctoral and Medical Degrees: 15"W x 12"H.
Adequate Academic Progress
Adequate progress toward program completion is determined at the school level by the student’s academic committee. In the absence of a committee, the school graduate committee in concert with the school graduate director, determines adequate academic progress.
Students in graduate programs must progress through program checkpoints in a timely fashion. A student who fails to form a faculty committee, pass comprehensive exams or portfolio review, successfully defend a thesis/project proposal, or successfully defend a thesis or project or may be denied continuation in the program.
In addition, progress will be assessed based on grades earned within the student’s current program of study within the Scripps College of Communication. Students who are determined to not be making adequate academic progress or whose GPA within their current academic program falls below 3.0 are placed on academic probation (see “Academic Probation” in the Gradate Catalog).
Students will be notified in writing that they are not making adequate academic progress. That notice will include the conditions necessary for the student to demonstrate that adequate progress is being made. A student on notice for not demonstrating adequate academic progress is on probation.
Two continuous semesters with a GPA below 3.0, or failure to make adequate progress for two consecutive semesters, results in an automatic dismissal from the graduate program as per Graduate College guidelines. A semester does not count as a probation semester if a student is on leave of absence or otherwise not enrolled in for-credit courses during that semester. Students may petition the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies for reconsideration of the automatic dismissal. The appeal petition must include a revised plan of study approved by the student’s academic committee or the school graduate committee and the school graduate director.
Two grades of C- or lower result in an automatic dismissal from the graduate program. Students may petition the associate dean for reconsideration of the automatic dismissal with a plan of study approved by the student’s academic committee/school graduate committee and the school graduate director.
Financial assistance is not a guarantee and is based on academic merit and successful completion of tasks assigned. If a student is not making adequate academic progress or has received one or more poor performance reviews, the student may lose financial support from the university and may become ineligible for financial aid. Financial assistance is not available to students currently on academic probation.
Specific expectations for steps toward your degree vary among master’s programs in the Scripps College. Please consult the guidelines for your program for information regarding the structure of your committee, including faculty eligibility and number of members, the time by which it must be constituted, elements of your culminating experience (exams, portfolio, project, or thesis), and any other specific requirements.
Time Limit to Complete Master's Degree
You must complete the master’s program within six calendar years of the date you began your program. The clock starts when you take your first course after you have been admitted to your graduate program.
Time Extension
If you think you will need more time to complete your degree, you must apply to the Scripps College of Communication Associate Dean for a one-time, one semester extension in the semester immediately following the timeline expiration. Time extensions are not automatic. The Dean’s Office will grant an extension only when your request includes a clear plan for finishing by the end of that semester, is supported by a letter from your school’s graduate director and submitted before you run out of time—typically during the final semester of your six-year program. If you need an extension beyond the one-semester dean's extension, you must apply for re-admission to your program.
Re-Admission
Your application for re-admission will be reviewed by the graduate committee of your school. If a significant amount of time has passed since your enrollment in the program, your school’s graduate committee may require additional coursework, a retake of the oral or written comprehensive examination, changes or updates in the thesis, or degree requirements that may have been added since you began your program. If you are approved for re-admission, the conditions for re-admission and timeline for completion will be presented in writing to you by the program with a copy placed on file with the Scripps College of Communication and the Graduate College.
Thesis Proposal and Committee
These guidelines apply only to students writing a thesis for the M.A. or M.S. Guidelines for other capstone experiences (professional projects, portfolios, comprehensive exams, readings or MFA thesis projects will follow below this section. Also, importantly, consult your program guidelines or ask your graduate director for more information).
Thesis Proposal
Thesis proposals have no set length, but seldom exceed 20 pages. Your proposal should outline your research topic, demonstrate your knowledge of related literature and research, and clearly indicate the research questions you propose to examine and the specific methodology to be used.
Thesis Committee
Your thesis chair should be a faculty member in your school with an appropriate degree (at least a master’s) and expertise that closely fits with your research focus. A thesis committee typically consists of three faculty members (including the chair). Committee members should be chosen thoughtfully, and should be faculty who the student believes will support both the content and style of their work. Sometimes it becomes necessary to change the membership of your committee. You must have a valid reason to change members of your thesis committee and have the graduate director’s approval.
One of the most common reasons is that a committee member has left the university (although they may remain on the committee if they wish). If the graduate director approves the change, it is your responsibility to inform the faculty member who is being replaced. If the graduate director is one of the faculty members involved in the change (coming off the committee or going on the committee), approval should be requested from the director of your school. If both the graduate director and director are involved in the change, you should contact the Associate Dean of the college for approval. If a request for a change is rejected by the graduate director, you may appeal to the director of your School. A rejection by the School director may be appealed to the Associate Dean.
Thesis Proposal Defense (Grad Form 4A)
You will meet with your committee members to orally defend your thesis proposal. You should provide copies of your proposal to committee members at least two weeks in advance. Once your committee approves your proposal, your school’s graduate director must receive a copy of your proposal signed by all of your committee members to be placed in your file. Your thesis chair will file Grad Form 4A, “Report on the Thesis Proposal,” with your school’s graduate director (Note: Graduate Form 4A is an internal form for school use, and is not required to be filed with the Scripps College of Communication).
After Your Proposal Defense
Now you may begin your research (but note the section on Human Subjects Research below). You should work closely with your chair during your research and as you write your thesis. Your chair may require several drafts before the work is deemed presentable to the rest of the committee.
You should also consult Thesis and Dissertation Services at the Graduate College before beginning to write your thesis if you have not already done so. Requirements and information on preparation and formatting of your thesis are available from TAD Services via the Graduate College. Requirements and information on preparation and formatting of your thesis as well as the appropriate template are available on their website, along with a checklist for completing your thesis and your degree. TAD also provides workshops throughout the academic year on various aspects of thesis preparation that you may find helpful.
Also be aware, that your program may also have thesis formatting guidelines or a template; consult your program guidelines document.
Thesis Defense (Oral Examination)
The thesis must be defended in an oral examination before your committee. You should give each member a finished copy of your thesis at least two weeks prior to your oral examination. You must also submit Grad form 11 (Arrangement for the Oral Exam) to the Associate Dean at least two weeks prior to the defense date. The oral defense is considered a public event, and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies will send an announcement of the defense arrangements to other graduate students and faculty in the Scripps College. You may also invite others who you wish to attend.
Report of Oral Examination (Grad Form 4)
After the defense, your thesis director should submit the signed copy of Grad Form 4, (Report on the Oral Thesis Examination,” to your school’s graduate director who will sign and forward the form to the Associate Dean who submits the form to TAD Services.
Use of Human Subjects in Research
If you plan to use human subjects/participants in your thesis research you must get approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB is a committee of university and community representatives that reviews all requests to involve human subjects and determines whether any harm will occur to individuals participating in these research projects. This is a federal legal requirement, not just a university policy. You must have IRB approval (or an exemption) before beginning your thesis research.
All researchers (including graduate students and their thesis directors) conducting human subjects research must complete an online training module and submit the certificate of completion to the Office of Research Compliance. To get approval for your human subjects research, you must submit an IRB form. Your request will then be reviewed by staff and, if needed, distributed to members of the IRB. Be sure to allow sufficient time to complete the review process before initiating your research. If you are using a survey or interview design, you may qualify for an exemption from the full human subject review process, but must still file with the IRB to claim it.
Be sure to allow sufficient time to complete the review process before initiating your research.
Guidelines for Sponsored Research
It is expected that all theses in the Scripps College of Communication will be published (deposited with the College and school; and cataloged by Alden Library). Therefore, the Scripps College does not accept a thesis containing material developed as part of a research project if the thesis is restricted from publication. However, you may be able to delay publication in accordance with university guidelines. You must submit a written request to delay publication to the Associate Dean of the Scripps College of Communication, who will determine whether the data upon which your dissertation is based are proprietary (i.e., legally protected as to copyright, patent secrecy, process of manufacturers, etc.) and not available in the public domain. You must submit your request with the formal approval of your thesis director at least one semester prior to the normal date of publication of your thesis. View the graduate guidelines for sponsored programs.
Restrictions on Republication (see also Restricted Publication of Theses or Dissertations in the Graduate Catalog)
Theses produced in graduate programs are intended to be public documents, adding to public knowledge. As such, TAD will publish a link to the approved final document on OhioLINK, which means the full text of the work can be found and accessed online. Students needing to protect their ability to first publish exact or derived text from the thesis elsewhere, or with a patent pending based on the work, may request a delay in publication for either 1 or 2 years, with the possibility of a renewal. Under certain exceptional circumstances, publication delay may also be requested to protect proprietary data used in the thesis, although anonymization or other means of protecting that interest while not restricting the publication are generally preferable. The Publication Delay form is available from TAD and must be submitted and approved prior to submission of the final version of your thesis.
Other Capstone Experiences (Besides the Thesis)
Instead of a thesis, schools and programs in the college offer the option of a comprehensive examination, professional project, research paper or readings to complete the master’s degree. See the specific school requirements for committee formation and format. Not every program includes every option.
Completion the professional project, research paper or readings options for the master’s degree is reported via Grad Form 5.