Plan of Study Instructions

New students should meet with their advisor or departmental graduate director to develop a Plan of Study before completing the online form. Details on how to access the online form, the committee's electronic approval process, and how changes are made to a plan are below.

1. Access the online Plan of Study at: Graduate Plan of Study, and make sure that Cookies and JavaScript are enabled.
2. Degree Information: Students will select their Department and then the appropriate Degree, enter information about Admit Term, proposed Graduation Term, and Previous Degrees.
3. * Doctoral Students only - PhD Dates: Doctoral students are required to provide an estimated date for completion of the Qualifying Exam, Residency, Research Skills, Responsible Scholarship, and Comprehensive Exam.
4. 4. Select Committee: Different degrees have different committee requirements, please refer to department guidelines for details. Before adding somebody to their committee, students must contact the person directly to ask them to be a member of their committee.
   1. Click on "Add Member," and search for the individual within the database.
   2. If the individual is not in the database, students will need to contact their departmental graduate program coordinator for further instructions.
   3. The graduate director for the department is automatically populated. If they are also a member of the committee, students will also need to add them as a member.
   4. *Doctoral Students only: One member of the committee will be the Graduate Studies Representative who is from outside of your department. Advisors will help students select this member.
5. Courses to be Completed: After meeting with their advisor, students will select Edit Courses and add courses through their estimated graduation date. Students can update this information at any time and is not permanent
6. Submit Plan: Once all steps are completed, students will be able to submit their plan. The first time students submit their plan, there is the option to Submit for First Approval. E-mails will be sent to the committee chair, departmental graduate director, and all members of the committee for approval. Each following semester, students will submit their plan for Chair Approval, which only requires the approval of the chair and departmental graduate director. Students will not submit their plan for Final Committee Approval until their last semester. Please refer to department guidelines about when to send the plan for final approval.

Changes to a Student's Plan of Study

Students are responsible for updating their plan of study when modifications are made, at least once a semester. Refer to the department guidelines for specific details. Committee members who desire to changes be made to a student's plan will submit a Request in the plan so the student can make the necessary changes. Students should not submit their plan for approval after each change, only once a semester based on departmental guidelines. Until the final semester, students will submit their plan for Chair Approval each semester.