Your MS advisory committee should include at least three members: your major advisor, an associate advisor who represents your area of concentration, and another associate advisor outside of your concentration.

If you change your major advisor, please fill out the Change in Major Advisor form. If you change your associate advisor, please fill out the Request for Change in the Plan of Study form. You must submit both forms to the Registrar's Office and the Psych Graduate Program Coordinator.

Note: One of your associate advisors can be from another concentration in the Department or, with proper qualifications, they can be from another department in the University or from outside the University. A written request to have the external associate advisor appointed to the committee must be submitted by the Graduate Program Coordinator. The request must be accompanied by the CV of the external advisor.

Students should complete the Master’s Plan of Study form and send it with the necessary signatures by the fourth week of your final semester to psychgrad@uconn.edu

Your Plan of Study must include 21 credits of coursework and 9 credits of GRAD 5950 Master's Thesis Research. Feel free to contact psychgrad@uconn.edu for help or questions.

Students who are candidates for graduation must apply to graduate through the Student Administration System.

You should apply to graduate by the fourth week of your final semester for each degree you are completing (or the spring semester for summer graduates). You can apply to graduate once registration for your last semester opens up. The Degree Audit section of the Office of the Registrar will then determine whether all degree requirements will be satisfied by the end of your final semester. For more information about using the system to apply for graduation, see Apply for Graduation.

Note: Applying to graduate also grants you the ability to participate in the spring commencement ceremonies.

Two weeks prior to your defense, please fill out the PSYC Defense Announcement Kuali Form so we can announce your MS defense to the Faculty and Graduate Listservs.

Your Ph.D. advisory committee can be the same as your MS committee, but it does not have to be. It should include at least three members: your major advisor, an associate advisor who represents your area of concentration, and another associate advisor outside your concentration.

If you change your major advisor, please fill out the Change in Major Advisor form. If you change your associate advisor, please fill out the Request for Change in the Plan of Study form. You must submit both forms to the Registrar's Office and the Psych Graduate Program Coordinator.

Note: One of the associate advisors can be from another concentration in the Department or, with proper qualifications, they can be from another department in the University or from outside the University. A written request to have the external associate advisor appointed to the committee must be submitted by the Graduate Program Coordinator. The request must be accompanied by the CV of the external advisor.

Students must submit the following forms to psychgrad@uconn.edu no later than the completion of 18 credits:

• Plan of Study for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.pdf, which must include all signatures of your Ph.D. Advisory Committee and the Associate Head of Graduate Studies. This form must be submitted to psychgrad@uconn.edu.
• Psychological Sciences-Departmental Requirements Form which is digitally approved internally through the department. Students should submit the form using the link and it will be routed to the Psychological Sciences Graduate Programs Office for the appropriate signatures.

Your Plan of Study must include at least 30 credits of coursework beyond your baccalaureate or at least 15 credits of coursework beyond your master's degree. You must also have 15 credits of GRAD 6950 Doctoral Dissertation Research.

Note: This is an approximate time of when you should take the general exam. Some students will take it while completing their master's degree. Check with your advisor or the director of your concentration about when you should complete the general exam.

Submit the Report on the General Examination for the Doctoral Degree to the Psychological Sciences Graduate Programs Office (psychgrad@uconn.edu) once you have completed your general examination. Be sure to submit by the published deadline on the Academic Calendar.

Your Doctoral Dissertation Proposal.pdf should be accompanied by the Report of Meeting to Approve a Proposed Dissertation.pdf, which must be signed and approved by the Associate Head of Graduate Studies before it is submitted to psychgrad@uconn.edu.

Submit your original copy of the Doctoral Dissertation Proposal to the Psychological Sciences Graduate Program Office psychgrad@uconn.edu.

After you successfully defend your prospectus, submit the Report of Meeting to Approve a Proposed Dissertation form to the Psychological Sciences Graduate Programs Office (psychgrad@uconn.edu).

Final Semester

Students who are candidates for graduation must apply to graduate through the Student Administration System. Apply to graduate by the fourth week of your final semester for each degree you are completing (or the spring semester for summer graduates). You can apply to graduate once registration for your last semester opens up. The Degree Audit section of the Office of the Registrar will then determine whether all degree requirements will be satisfied by the end of your final semester. Learn more about how to apply for graduation.

Note: Applying for graduation grants you the ability to participate in the spring commencement ceremonies.

What’s my completion date?

The completion date signifies the point at which a student has been separated from active status at the University. For spring and fall semester graduates, the University conferral date will also represent the completion date, provided all degree requirements are completed by necessary deadlines. Graduates finishing during the summer will have a completion date determined by the submission of their final approved paperwork and/or completion of their enrollment. As students are no longer eligible to work as graduate assistants after their completion date, students should coordinate the end date of any summer employment with the submission of their final paperwork.

For students completing prior to the end of the fall or spring semester an alternate completion date can be requested upon submission of all final paperwork and completion of your academic engagement. Students should typically only request an alternate completion date if enrolled solely in research credits or independent study credits for the semester. Please note, if enrolled in a class that will not have completed and had a grade posted prior to the requested completion date, then an alternate completion date may not be possible. An Alternate Completion Date Request form must be submitted to the Graduate School for approval for international students or those with Graduate Assistantships.

Final paperwork approved and submitted past the posted deadline, but prior to 10th day of the fall or spring semester, requires no additional enrollment by a student. Students who choose to self-enroll but submit final documents for graduation prior to the 10th day are still responsible for any tuition/fees incurred. Submission after the 10th day of fall or spring semester will require enrollment for that semester.

When applicable, talk with your advisory committee about scheduling your final exam/oral defense for your Ph.D. dissertation. Once you decide on the details, book a room for your defense and announce your oral defense in the University Events Calendar at least two weeks before the date of your defense. Please cross-list the event in the Psychology Department calendar.

Once you submit your event to the University Calendar, fill out the PSYC Defense Announcement Kuali Form so we can announce your defense to the Faculty and Graduate Listservs two weeks prior to your defense.

One week prior to your defense, complete and submit the Departmental Dissertation Defense form to the Psych Graduate Program Coordinator only. This form indicates your dissertation examiners and solidifies that all members involved will be present at the Ph.D. defense.

Note: The proposal reviewers must be two faculty members outside of your advisory committee. The Department requires at least one reviewer to be a member of the UConn graduate faculty; the Graduate School encourages the use of at least one reviewer from outside the University. Individual concentration programs may have policies in addition to those listed here; please check with your advisor or the director of your concentration for details of the proposal procedures in your program.