Appropriate progression through the Masters program requires that students meet the Progression Deadlines outlined below. If a student cannot meet a required deadline, they should submit a  Request for Extension.

Note: failure to meet progression deadlines without approved extensions can negatively influence the ability to receive financial aid and can result in termination from the program.

Note: MS and MA students are required to complete a Student Progression Report at the end of each semester after final grades have been assigned and before the beginning of the next semester of graduate study. The form must be signed and dated by the student and the Major Advisor and submitted to the Graduate Coordinator.

Progression Requirements:

1. Establish a Major Advisor: Students will not be admitted into the MS or MA program without a tentative major advisor identified by the Department. All students must have a major advisor by the end of the second academic semester of graduate study.

•  Only Biology Graduate Faculty can serve as Major Advisors. Adjunct Graduate Faculty can serve as co-advisors. If a student has a co-Advisor, they must also have a Major Advisor who is a member of the Graduate Faculty of the Department of Biology. Furthermore, the co-Advisor must have Graduate Faculty status in their home department or Adjunct Graduate status in the Department of Biology, UNC Charlotte.
•   A student may switch Major Advisors at any time without negative consequences, although switching may delay the ability to meet Progression Requirements for the degree.
•   A major advisor can dismiss a student at any time because of poor performance under their direction or failure to demonstrate timely progression towards the degree. If a student is dismissed by his/her Major Advisor, it is the student’s responsibility to arrange for a replacement advisor within 4 months. If no faculty member has agreed to serve as the Major Advisor within the designated time period, the student will be terminated from the program. The student must notify the Graduate Coordinator of the new Major Advisor using the Request to Establish a Supervisory Committee form.

2. establish a Supervisory Committee: must be completed by the end of the 2^nd semester of graduate study and preferably during the 1^st semester of graduate study, and must precede approval of the Curriculum Contract, the Oral Candidacy Exam, the Thesis Topic, and Thesis Proposal. The committee, selected by the student in consultation with his/her major advisor, must always include three members from the Biology Graduate Faculty. A typical Committee consists of a Major Advisor and two additional Committee members.  All members of the Supervisory Committee must have Graduate Faculty Status or Associate/Adjunct Graduate Faculty status.  The student must submit a Request to Establish a Supervisory Committee to the Graduate Coordinator, which has been signed and dated by each faculty member who has agreed to serve. The Graduate Coordinator, in conjunction with the Graduate Committee of the Department of Biology, will evaluate the request and notify each faculty member in writing if approved for the Supervisory Committee.

By the beginning of the 3^rd semester of graduate study, Masters students must

1. Have an Approved Curriculum Contract : The Curriculum Contract form must be completed and signed by the student, signed and dated by all members of the Supervisory Committee, and returned to the Graduate Coordinator.The Curriculum Contract should list all courses that the student has taken and intends to take to complete the total number of hours required for the degree. For each course, give the name and course number and the semester in which it was taken or will be taken. The credits listed in the Curriculum Contract must total the number of hours required to complete the degree (30 for the MS; 32 for the MA).

2. Have an Approved Oral Candidacy Exam: Both MS and MA degree programs require this exam which evaluates the student's knowledge in his/her specialty area, as well as general knowledge of graduate course work and basic biological concepts. The Master’s oral examination and approval of the Thesis Proposal and Thesis Topic typically occur in combination, although the student must pass the Oral Candidacy Exam before the Thesis Topic and Thesis Proposal can be approved.

• Oral Exam Format: A block of no less than 2 hours should be reserved for the examination in order to allow for adequate time for questions and answers (though the examination may last longer or shorter than this time).  The examination is not public.
  
  At the beginning of the exam period, the student gives a brief PowerPoint presentation (no longer than 20 minutes) that summarizes the Thesis Proposal.  Defense of the Thesis Proposal will form a portion of the oral examination.  Additional questions will assess the student’s knowledge of his/her specialized areas, graduate course work, and basic/general biological knowledge.  Supervisory Committee members should receive a copy of the Thesis Proposal at least two weeks before the scheduled oral exam date.
  
  When the questioning is finished, the student is excused and the Committee then evaluates the student's performance.  After this discussion, the Committee will vote on the student’s performance. The student will be informed as to whether or not they have passed immediately following the Committee vote. The student will not be informed of the vote tally.
  
  Final approval of the Thesis Proposal and Thesis Topic by the Supervisory Committee will occur at the successful completion of the Oral Exam.
• Forms for the Candidacy Exam: It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the following forms are taken to the exam and subsequently filed with the Graduate Coordinator
  • Comprehensive Examination Report form: reports the results of the student’s oral exam.  Must be signed by each member of the student’s Dissertation Committee and returned to the Graduate Coordinator.
  • Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Form -- Masters: a separate form is to be completed by each member of the Supervisory Committee and returned to the Graduate Coordinator.
• Oral Candidacy Examination Retake: In the event the student's performance is judged not satisfactory, the Supervisory Committee may recommend a retake, which must occur within two months (including summer) of the original exam. Students who fail both the oral exam and the retake oral exam will be dismissed from the Masters program.

3. Have an Approved Thesis Proposal: must be accompanied by a Cover Sheet and Thesis Topic Approval Form. Both the Cover Sheet and the Topic Approval Form must be signed and dated by all members of the Supervisory Committee and returned to the Graduate Coordinator.  Signing of the Thesis Proposal and Topic Approval Form can occur only after successful completion of the Oral Candidacy Exam.  If the student passes the Oral Candidacy Exam, the Thesis Proposal and Topic Approval Form can be signed by the Committee members at the end of the examination period.

Additional Deadlines and Forms

• Application for Candidacy: following completion of the oral candidacy exam and the thesis proposal. An Application for Candidacy Form must be completed and submitted to the Graduate Coordinator.

• Application for Degree: This form is due by the 8th instructional day of the semester in which you will graduate; it must be completed on-line, as follows:

To access the “On-Line Graduation Application.”
a) Log-on to Banner Self Service Account
b) Click on “Student Services/Financial Aid/Student Accounts” option
c) Click on “Student Records” option
d) Click on “Online Graduation Application” option

NOTES:
i) if you change your graduation date, you will need to submit a new form, and repay the application fee.
ii) students still need to provide the Graduate School with paper copies of “Application for Candidacy for a Degree Program”. These forms will continue to be available from the “Graduate School Forms” page of the Graduate School Website.
Once you submit an Application for Degree, the Graduate School, Payroll Office, and Registrar will consider your listed graduation semester as your last semester as a student. If you find that you will not actually graduate by your listed date, you must submit a new Application for Degree. When you submit this revised Application, write "Update" on the form and you will not need to pay a second application fee.

• Thesis: must be approved by all members of the Supervisory Committee prior to the Thesis Defense Seminar. Three final signed copies must be submitted to the Graduate School one week prior to the start of final exams of the semester in which the student plans to graduate. Information on form and organization of the thesis, in addition to other regulations, is presented in the University's Thesis and Dissertation Guide, available in the Office of the Graduate School and on the web.

NOTE: Thesis should be given to Supervisory Committee members at least 2 weeks before the Defense, unless they indicate otherwise.

• Thesis Defense Seminar: at least one week prior to the start of final exams of the semester in which the student plans to graduate. The results of the Thesis Defense must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator using the Report of Thesis Defense Form

• Enrollment: a student must be enrolled during the semester in which they graduate.

• Change of grade form: For some individualized instruction courses, such as BIOL6900, an “IP” grade is received up until the semester in which a student graduates. At the end of the semester in which a student graduates, those grades need to be changed. On the form, enter the course for which an "IP" has been received. One form can used for each course - if enrolled in a given course in more than one semester, list each semester/section number. Once completed, the form should be given to the program coordinator.

Graduation Deadlines:

Deadlines to submit Application for Degree and Application for Candidacy for:

Deadline for submission of Masters thesis to the Graduate School for:

Forms and other Graduation Information Click here for additional graduation information available from the UNC Charlotte Graduate School, including deadlines, and Degree and Candidacy forms (including who to contact if you want to change your graduation date).