Master's Students

Track your progress toward graduation by viewing the Master's Student Flow Chart.

It is the responsibility of each graduate student to make an appointment with their assigned faculty adviser to discuss program requirements, timeline to completion and their Graduation Planning System (GPS) audit.

The Graduation Planning System (GPS) is a degree audit tool available to students in FlashLine.

The degree audit is a summary of all the requirements needed to earn an academic credential (degree, major, minor, certificate, etc.) for which the student is declared.  It is a direct reflection of the requirements outlined in the University Catalog and is merged with the student’s academic record. The audit provides a real-time assessment of the student’s progress toward graduation and is the official record that determines eligibility for graduation and financial aid.

Additional information can be found at the Graduation Planning System.

A Master’s degree program in which a student is writing a thesis includes a minimum of 6 credit hours of Thesis I 60199. Registration must be for 2 to 6 credit hours per semester, distributed over 1 to 3 semesters, as necessary. No more than 6 hours of thesis credit may be counted toward completion of degree requirements.

Upon completion of the 6 required hours of Thesis I, students must continually register for Thesis II 60299 each semester until completion of degree requirements. 

Please Note: All theses must be submitted electronically

A master's degree program in which a student is completing a project requires a student to register for a total of 6 credit hours upon completion of coursework. Registration must be from 2 to 6 credits per semester, distributed over 1 to 3 semesters as desired.

Resources

• Review the Guidelines for Preparation of Theses and Dissertations (PDF)
  IMPORTANT: Candidates writing a thesis or dissertation must use the recently released American Psychological Association, 7th ed. as their reference guide. If you have any questions, please contact Luci Wymer in the Administrative Affairs and Graduate Education office at awymer@kent.edu.
• Accessibility Information
  Beginning in January 2023, all OhioLINK ETD Center PDFs must meet minimum requirements for digital accessibility. Please access the University Libraries webpage on Accessible PDF Instructions for both written and video instructions on accomplishing this.
• APA Tutorials and Tip Sheet
• ETD Instructions - University Libraries
• Electronic Submission of Thesis

THESIS NOTE: When entering data for ETD submission of your thesis, it is very important when you reach the UMI Publication section so that you ensure the following is clicked:

Do not upload my paper to UMI. I retain the option to submit it myself at a later date.

MAKE SURE THIS IS CLICKED - UPLOADING TO UMI IS NOT AN OPTION FOR THESIS SUBMISSION.

A Change in Program of Study form must be completed if students decide to change their degree/major, concentration or catalog year.  The form should be used when students desire to change from one Master's, Ed.S., certificate or non-degree licensure/endorsement program into another. 

Students can not use the Change of Degree/Major form to change to a higher degree. They must formally apply again to the higher degree. Students can use the Change of Program form to drop down to a lower degree (Ed.S. to Masters, Ph.D. to Ed.S., etc).

If you have questions about the form, please reach out to ogs@kent.edu. 

Candidates seeking Ohio licensure/endorsement are required to pass specific assessments before application for licensure/endorsement. Students should consult their advisors for specific program requirements and refer to the Ohio State Board of Education website on Licensure Testing Requirements for Educators for more information on assessments specific to licensure type. 

After completion of all licensure/endorsement program requirements, State licensure assessments and Teacher Education Modules (found in the Student Portal), students can officially apply for license/endorsement.  To do so, please refer to the Vacca Office website: How to Apply for an Educator License.

Students nearing completion of their coursework are required to complete the online graduation application, available through FlashLine, by published deadlines. The online application is used for all degree and certificate programs. See our page on Applying to Graduation for more information.

Graduate courses earned at another college or university may be transferred into a Kent State University graduate program. Students who wish to have those courses considered for transfer must petition administrators of the graduate program. The program can accept or reject such courses based on the program requirements, regardless of the discipline or institution in which the credits were earned.

The following conditions must be satisfied to transfer graduate credit:

1. A maximum of 12 credit hours of transfer courses may be applied toward a doctoral master’s/EdS degree coursework must be numbered 50000-69999 for master’s level and 60000-79999 for EdS degrees). Some programs may have a lower maximum.
2. The graduate credit was earned at an institutional accredited college or university (or international equivalent).
3. The credit was not used for a previously awarded degree.
4. The student earned, at minimum, a B or satisfactory (S) grade in each course for which credit is to be transferred.
5. The transfer coursework satisfies a requirement in the student’s program.
6. Time limits for transfer credit must follow established policy. Refer to policy for time limits for graduate programs.
7. The student’s petition for transfer credit with an official transcript is filed with the program and college.
8. The student’s program coordinator approves the petition.

Students who wish to transfer graduate-level credits into a Kent State graduate program must obtain approval from their program coordinator by submitting the Request for Transfer of Graduate Credit form and including an official transcript of the courses.