Graduate Student Resources
Welcome To Graduate Studies
Congratulations on your admission to graduate study! We're as excited about your academic endeavors as you are. Knowing where to begin and what resources are available will ease your transition into graduate study. Feel free to stop by or contact us with any questions you may have. The College of Education, Office of Student Services. Graduate Studies is available to help guide you through the many administration processes that you will encounter, and to inform you of policy, procedures and deadlines.
Knowing the infrastructure and levels of administration will help make sense of the levels of approvals that are needed for administrative actions. All official admission approvals for graduate students reside under the Graduate School's administration. In order to graduate, students must meet the requirements of the admitted department, the College of Education, and the Graduate School. All students are required to adhere to the requirements and policies of the Department, College, and Graduate School, and to meet procedural deadlines. The College of Education and the department may set regulations and requirements above and beyond Graduate School requirements.
The following was compiled to provide a summarization of information and processes based on what new students encounter when entering graduate studies. Be sure to check out all of the links, and "A Guide for Students and Advisors", published by the Office of Student Services, Graduate Studies. This publication is a comprehensive summary of the College of Education requirements, policies and regulations. Department requirements are available from your advisor, or the department to which you are admitted. The Graduate School requirements, policies and regulations are listed in the Graduate Catalog, which is only available on-line at www.gradschool.umd.edu/catalog.
Advising and Department Requirements
Upon admission recommendation, each student is assigned a faculty advisor. It is imperative to meet with your advisor to ensure that you are following the requirements of your department and your area of specialization. Each department provides its own publications, which list its requirements and regulations. Be sure to check with your advisor on the requirements for your particular area of specialization. You may also check out the website of the department to which you were admitted at www.education.umd.edu.
Advisor Versus Student Responsibilities
It is the student's responsibility to meet University, Graduate School, College, and Department requirements. Be sure to keep in contact with your advisor. Your advisor will inform you of the departmental requirements and course requirements. It is your responsibility to find out what you need to do or what forms you need to submit in order to graduate. Although your advisor may guide you in the processes toward graduation, it is not your advisor's responsibility to tell you what forms are required, when to file them, or to fill-out any forms for you.
The College of Education, Student Services, Graduate Studies Office maintains a database of all students pursuing a graduate level degree in the College. This database is used to track the progress of each student toward graduation. It is therefore imperative that all forms in support of graduation are submitted to the Graduate Studies Office for the Dean's signature, and for data entry. A helpful site is provided to give you graduation requirements, step-by-step.
Degree Distinction
The College of Education offers the Master of Arts, Master of Education, Doctor of Education, Doctor of Philosophy, and the Advanced Graduate Specialist Certificate. Not all departments offer all degrees in each area of specialization. A factor distinguishing the Master of Education (M.Ed.) and Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from the Master of Arts (M.A.) and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is the role of "research" in these programs. The students' educational studies in the M.Ed. and the Ed.D. program should focus on the clinical use of research in their careers as practitioners. The M.A. and the Ph.D. degrees should, in addition, prepare individuals to conduct and disseminate research.
Examinations Required
College of Education graduate students are required to complete examinations in partial fulfillment of their master's or doctoral degree, or the Advanced Graduate Specialist (A.G.S.) Certificate. Departments determine what constitutes an examination. Preliminary and comprehensive examinations are developed by the individual departments.
The Department of Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation is the only department in the College of Education that requires a doctoral preliminary examination that is taken early in the program. A few areas of concentration under the master's non-thesis option degrees (M.A. or M.Ed.) do not require a comprehensive examination.
The required examinations are administered through the individual department. Students should check with their department on examination application procedures and deadlines. An on-line exam application is available for use through the EDCP and EDSP Departments. All other departments in the College house their own examination application forms.
Exceptions to Policy and Extensions
If you wish to request an exception to any established College or Department policy, it must be made by submitting a petition form. Many policies exist and there are specific forms for the type of exception being requested.
Students seeking an extension to the amount of time permitted to complete their degree, should file the Request for Time Extension for Completion of Graduate Degree form. Support documentation must include a letter of explanation and justification, a time-table for completion, and a support letter from the Department Chairperson or Department Graduate Director. If an extension is approved, it is usually granted in one-year time allotments, for a maximum of two years.
Students seeking permission to register for coursework after the registration deadline, or to make adjustments to their course schedule WITHIN THE CURRENT SEMESTER ONLY, must submit the Graduate Studies Registration/Adjustment Petition form to the College of Education, room 1204 Benjamin Building. This is the only petition that can be approved or denied at the College level without additional review by the Graduate School.
Master's students and pre-candidacy doctoral students may request a waiver of registration by filing the Petition for Waiver of Continuous Registration (once up to one year). Waivers of registration do not stop the student's time-to-degree clock.
Students who meet the criteria may file a Request for Leave of Absence. A leave will stop the students' time-to-degree clock.
Other petitions must be endorsed by the College and undergo final review for approval or denial by the Graduate School, and are requested by submitting the Petition for Waiver of Regulation form.
Important Dates/Published Deadlines
Students who are graduating must file the required forms in support of graduation by the deadlines listed in the document called "Important Dates". Important Dates are published each semester (Fall, Spring, Summer) by the College of Education. College deadlines are shown to be earlier than Graduate School deadlines, to assure meeting the deadline for forms that must be approved and processed through the College Graduate Studies Office, prior to submission to the Graduate School.
Registration
Newly admitted students must register for course work in the first semester of admission. This initial registration confirms and completes the admission process.
Continuous Registration Policy mandates that students must register each semester. The registration should accurately reflect the work that is currently being undertaken. Pre-candidacy doctoral students, and master's students may request a Waiver of Continuous Registration (once up to one year). A waiver of registration does not stop the student time-to-degree clock.
Students who meet the criteria may request a Leave of Absence . A leave of absence will stop the students' time-to-degree clock.
Additionally, students must be registered in the semester of expected graduation.
It is recommended that students register prior to the first day of classes to avoid any late registration fees. Students must be registered within the first ten days of the semester, even if only taking thesis or dissertation credit (a $20.00 late fee is assessed starting with the first day of the semester). Any student dropping a course on or after the first day of the semester is charged a percentage of tuition. If a student adds and drops a class of equal credit, within the first ten days of the semester ONLY, there will be no additional fees assessed. Students are advised to check the "Schedule of Classes" for drop policies, and other registration policies at the Testudo Website.
Students may register through the Testudo Website (Follow the links for "Records and Registration", then "Registration drop/add"). Walk-in and fax options are also available.
Some registration restrictions require that a student receive certain permission or approval before being permitted to register. Mandatory advising stamps, and special permission stamps for registration, are administered electronically by the department. Students should contact the department to which they are admitted for registration procedures and approval stamps.
Students needing to register after having missed the deadline, or who need to adjust their schedule after deadlines, must file a petition to request an exception to policy. Late fees may be assessed.
Time to Degree
- Master's students are given five years from the time of admission to complete master's degree requirements.
- Advanced Graduate Specialist (A.G.S) Certificate students are given five years from the time of admission to complete the A.G.S. requirements.
- Doctoral students are given five years from the time of admission before Admission to Candidacy is expected. After Admission to Candidacy, the student is awarded an additional 4 years to complete degree requirements. If a student was admitted to candidacy early, the Graduate School awards 9 years from the date of the original admission to complete the doctoral degree requirements.
- Students who have been granted a "Leave of Absence" will have their time-to-degree clock stopped for the period of time that was approved.
Transfer Credit
All credits to be transferred or included as part of a student's program, must be approved by the advisor, Department, and College. All course work must meet University criteria. Transfer credit may be considered from an outside institution, from the Advanced Special Student status at the University of Maryland, or from another department at the University of Maryland in cases where a student changes admission from one department to another. Any request for transfer course work from an outside institution must be accompanied by an official transcript from that institution showing the grade earned for the coursework to be transferred. Official transcripts are not necessary if the course work to be transferred or included was taken at the University of Maryland.
- Master's Level
Transfer course work for a master's student must have been taken within the five years permitted for completion of the degree program at University of Maryland. The only exception to this policy may allow course work taken within 7 years upon approval of a revalidation request from the department. This applies to course work transferred outside of the University of Maryland, and to course work within the University of Maryland from another department, or from the Advanced Special Student status.
A limit of six credits may be transferred from an outside institution. An additional six credits may be transferred from the Advanced Special Student status (at University of Maryland) for course work taken prior to Spring 2000. The six credit limit was increased to 12 credits, from the Advanced Special Student status for students taking course work Spring 2000 and thereafter (no more than 6 credits may be transferred if any of the courses taken were prior to Spring 2000).
In order to request the inclusion or transfer of credit toward a master's degree you must submit the Request for Transfer or Inclusion of Credit for the Master's Degrees form.
- Doctoral Level Course work to be transferred into a doctoral program is approved at the department level. The department determines the number of credits that can be applied toward the doctoral degree. Course work that is approved by the department, as transfer credit should be listed on the student's Doctoral Program form. An official transcript from the institution where the course work was taken must be submitted to the College Graduate Studies Office. Transfer credit at the doctoral level does not appear on the University of Maryland transcript.
Top of Page
