Requirements for the Master’s Degree

The number of semester credit hours of course work for the master’s degree is specified by the student’s department. Students in a research program must also complete the research requirements of the department. (See also “Transfer Credits,” above.)

The minimum residency requirement for the master’s degree is registration in full-time status for one semester during the academic year or for one summer session.

The Graduate School does not require foreign language reading proficiency for the master’s degree. However, some departments do have this requirement. Students should consult their departments concerning this requirement.

Failure to complete all requirements for the master’s degree within five years results in forfeiture of degree eligibility.

A master’s program that is pursued during the summer and the academic year must also be completed within five years.

A student attending summer session only must complete all requirements within seven years.

Each student is assigned an adviser from the time of enrollment. This may initially be the director of graduate studies, but an individual adviser or thesis director will be chosen as soon as practicable, following the department’s policies.

Advisers and thesis directors are normally chosen from the teaching and research faculty of the student’s department. There also may be one codirector chosen from the faculty outside (or within) the student’s department. In exceptional cases, a student may choose a thesis director from the Notre Dame teaching and research faculty outside the department. Arrangements for extradepartmental directors or codirectors must be consistent with departmental policies and must be approved by the department.

By the end of the term following completion of the coursework required by the department, the degree candidate must have taken an oral and/or written master’s examination demonstrating mastery in his or her field. Failure in either one or both parts of the examination results in automatic forfeiture of degree eligibility unless the department recommends a retake. If a retake is recommended, it must be completed by the end of the following semester. The Graduate School allows only one retake of the master’s examination.

Some departments have an equivalent requirement in lieu of the master’s examination. Students are advised to be cognizant of their respective departmental requirements with regard to the master’s examination or its substitute.

A doctoral student may receive the master’s degree without taking the master’s examination on the recommendation of the department and completion of (a) the coursework required by the department for the master’s degree and (b) all written parts of the doctoral candidacy or Ph.D. qualifying examination. Departments may have additional criteria or may choose not to offer a master’s degree in this manner; students should consult the departmental guidelines.

To qualify for admission to candidacy, a student must be in a master’s degree program. He or she must have been enrolled in the program without interruption and must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in approved coursework. A student who seeks admission to candidacy in a research master’s program must also demonstrate research capability and receive departmental approval of his or her thesis proposal.

Admission to candidacy is a prerequisite to receiving any graduate degree. It is the student’s responsibility to apply for admission by submitting the appropriate form to the Graduate School office through the department chair. The applicable deadline is published in the Graduate School calendar.

The thesis is the distinctive requirement of the research master’s program. With the approval of his or her adviser, the student proposes a thesis topic for departmental approval. The approved topic is researched and the results presented under the supervision of a thesis director.

The thesis director indicates final approval of the thesis and its readiness for the readers by signing the thesis. The candidate then delivers the number of signed copies of the completed thesis required by the department to the department chair. These copies are distributed to the two official readers appointed by the department. Readers are appointed from among the regular teaching and research faculty of the student’s department. The appointment of a reader from outside the student’s department must have the department’s approval. The thesis director may not be one of the official readers. Each reader must unconditionally approve the thesis and the department should promptly report the results to the Graduate School.