Information for Current Graduate Students

Thesis Formatting Guidelines (Arts & Sciences)	Academic Calendar
Thesis Formatting Guidelines (Engineering)

Deadlines for Degree Completion

In accordance with the requirements for graduation for graduate students, certain deadlines must be met by students expecting to qualify for degrees at the completion of the semester. For fall 2009 through summer 2011 those dates are

2009-10			2010-11
Fall	Spring	Summer	Fall	Spring	Summer
A final copy of the thesis, which has already been approved by the student's graduate committee, must be delivered to the Graduate Office for format approval.
Dec. 8	April 27	July 9	Nov. 30	April 26	July 8
All departmental requirements for the master's degree must be successfully completed and the results sent by the department chair to the registrar. This includes final grade reports for all courses taken prior to the current semester for which grades Ior IP were reported.
Dec. 17	May 13	July 23	Dec. 16	May 12	July 22
Official acknowledgement from the dean of graduate studies that the thesis or treatise has been accepted for delivery to the binder or a notice from the student's adviser that the treatise or project is on file in the department must be received in the Registrar's Office by this date. (‘‘Guidelines for Preparing a Master's Thesis or Treatise'' are available from the Graduate Office or from the Reference Desk at the library.)
Dec. 29	May 17	July 26	Dec. 29	May 16	July 25

Application for Graduation Deadlines

All master’s degree candidates must inform the registrar of their intended graduation date. Forms for this purpose are available from the Registrar’s Office. The deadlines for the “Application for Graduation” are

Sept. 7, 2009, for the January 2010 Graduation
Feb.1, 2010, for the May 2010 Graduation
June 28, 2010, for the Summer 2010 Graduation
Sept. 6, 2010, for the January 2011 Graduation
Jan. 31, 2011, for the May 2011 Graduation
June 27, 2011, for the Summer 2011 Graduation

The “Application for Graduation” is available on the Registrar’s website at
www.bucknell.edu/documents/registrar/writableaptograd.pdf.

Graduate Studies

1. The unit of credit at Bucknell University is the course credit, which for transfer purposes is equivalent to four semester hours. Unless otherwise specified, a course listed in the catalog is equal to one course credit. A minimum of seven course credits, at least four of which must be taken in the major department, is required for graduation. One of the seven course credits must be a thesis or project, except that a department may require seven course credits plus a master’s essay or treatise or project report (which may equal one-half course credit) instead of a thesis.
2. Courses with numbers at the 600-level are open to graduate students for graduate credit. Undergraduate students may register for the same course under the corresponding 300 number. In such courses graduate students are expected to perform at a significantly higher level and/or to submit additional assignments.
3. Candidates for the master of arts degree may be required by their department to demonstrate a reading knowledge of an approved foreign language. This requirement may be met by passing a reading test given by the appropriate department at Bucknell or by presenting evidence of having completed two years of college-level language study.
4. A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 is required of graduate students for all work attempted and must be attained upon completion of courses on the student’s approved Program of Courses. No more than two courses of C or C+ work and no course with a grade of C- or below will be accepted toward the required number of courses for the master’s degree. In computing the cumulative grade point average and determining good academic standing, all coursework is considered. Any student who does not maintain the grade point average of 3.0 is liable to be dismissed.
5. A thesis, treatise, or research/project report is required for all degrees and must be presented to the department at least three weeks before the last day of classes of the student’s final semester. A final approved copy of the thesis must be delivered to the Office of Graduate Studies for approval of format one week before the last day of classes of the student’s final semester. A final, approved, bound copy of the thesis must be deposited in the University library, and one copy must be filed in the department. Normally the master’s essay, treatise, or project report is filed only in the department, unless otherwise required by the academic department, and a notice is sent to the Registrar’s Office. The dean of graduate studies must approve essays and treatises for formatting only if they are to be bound and placed in the University library.
6. All departmental requirements for the master’s degree must be successfully completed and the results sent by the department chair to the registrar by the last day of classes of the student’s final semester. This includes final reports for all courses taken prior to the current semester for which grades I or IP were reported.
7. No course completed more than seven years before the degree is to be granted will be credited toward the master’s degree. All graduate courses carrying the grade of I or IP which have not been completed within a seven-year period will revert to the grade of W (withdraw).
8. All incomplete grades must be removed during the first three weeks after the close of the academic semester unless an extension is approved by the dean of graduate studies on the basis of special circumstances; all incomplete grades depending on laboratory work must be removed during the next semester in which the course is offered.