Thesis Requirement

A student who has received an “incomplete” on the thesis and has completed all other requirements is required to enroll and pay the required fees   in any subsequent semester that he/she returns to remove the incomplete. Such students are ineligible for thesis consultations and use of library facilities during any interim period when they are not officially enrolled.

The thesis is considered complete when it is unanimously approved by the thesis committee, when it is approved by the Dean of the Graduate College, when it is in the format specified in the Fort Valley State University Thesis Template, and when documentation is presented reflecting binding requirements are met and paid for.

Thesis format

The thesis format must follow that in The Fort Valley State University Graduate School Student Manual for Preparing Theses and Dissertations published in spring 2012. Please contact the Hunt Library for information.

Membership of Thesis Committees

The Chairperson of the thesis committee must have a full graduate faculty appointment. The committee members may be graduate faculty members with associate, part-time* or special appointments to the Graduate Faculty.

* Under special circumstances, a faculty member from another institution who meets the criteria for part-time Graduate Faculty may serve as a member of the thesis committee upon the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies & Extended Education.

Primary responsibility for recommending Graduate Faculty for membership shall rest with the individual’s department chairperson, and the department head and faculty of each graduate program, with the approval of the Dean of the College, the Dean of Graduate Studies & Extended Education, and the Graduate Council. Each program, department or school may develop criteria supplemental to the above but may not reduce or alter the basic minimum criteria. Appointments to the Graduate Faculty shall be made by the Vice President for Academic Affairs from those recommendations approved by the Graduate Council.

Option to the Thesis Requirement

Students who do not write a thesis are required to enroll in appropriate coursework as required by the given department. The program advisor will approve the necessary course(s).

Admission to Graduate Candidacy

Admission to the Graduate School is by no means tantamount to being fully admitted to a master’s degree program. To be admitted to a master’s degree program, a student:

1. Must have a completed nine (9) semester hours of graduate work and
2. Must have maintained at least a “B” average over all graduate work taken. Only when the above criteria have been met will the student be considered a master’s candidate. The student’s advisor will file an approved plan for a thesis or a research project, if applicable. Students must be admitted to candidacy prior to the completion of eighteen (18) hours of graduate course work.