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The academic guidelines for a graduate degree are located in the University Bulletin. A student may graduate under the requirements of the current University Bulletin during the initial enrollment or any Bulletin thereafter that includes enrollment. A Bulletin is valid for six years under the initial Bulletin they entered APSU or any Bulletin thereafter, which includes enrollment.
The graduate student must earn a minimum of 30 graduate hours to complete a program with at least 21 graduate hours earned at Austin Peay State University.
A student’s classification for fee purposes is made upon admission in accordance with Tennessee Board of Regents regulations (see Appendix A here ). “IN STATE” fees are assessed to Tennessee residents classified “in state,” as well as military personnel, their spouses and dependents stationed in Tennessee or at Fort Campbell, residents from the Kentucky counties of Allen, Calloway, Christian, Logan, Simpson, Todd or Trigg (within 30 miles of APSU), and part-time students employed full-time in Tennessee.
Out-of-State Residency Classification: New and returning students may appeal out-of-state classification by submitting the Residency Application form to the Office of Admissions before enrolling; continuing students may submit the Residency Application form to appeal current status to the Office of the Registrar. The Residency Appeals Committee meets only once each term during the week prior to the beginning of classes. All appeals must be submitted prior to the Residency Appeals Committee Meeting and classes beginning.
The Residency Application form is available on the College of Graduate Studies website at http://www.apsu.edu/cogs/.
Students admitted to a degree-seeking program must complete the Admission to Candidacy/Program of Study/Committee Assignment form by the end of the first semester (excluding summer terms), regardless of the number of hours in which the student has enrolled. The students’ completed Admission to Candidacy/Program of Study/Committee Assignment form must be electronically scanned (at the departmental level) and submitted to the Graduation Analyst Supervisor in the Registrar’s Office. All forms must be approved by the students’ graduate committee and/or chair of the department. Candidacy packets are available in the academic departments or from the College of Graduate Studies website at http://www.apsu.edu/cogs/. Without a completed form at the end of the first semester (excluding summer terms), a hold will placed on the student’s registration by the Registrar’s Office. A lift of the hold is conducted by the College of Graduate Studies when an email notification is received from the department.
Any changes to the original Admission to Candidacy/Program of Study/Committee Assignment form must be submitted on a Change of Program of Study form. Any changes must be approved by the student’s graduate committee and/or chair of the department. The Change of Program of Study form must be electronically scanned (at the departmental level) and sent to the Graduation Analyst Supervisor in the Registrar’s Office. Candidacy packets are available in the academic departments or from the College of Graduate Studies website at http://www.apsu.edu/cogs/.
A maximum credit of nine hours earned at another regionally accredited graduate college or university may be accepted for transfer by the student’s graduate committees. With the support of the student’s department graduate coordinator, the student may appeal to the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies to transfer more than 9 credit hours, all of which must have been obtained from a regionally accredited institution. The official transcripts from the transfer institution must be submitted to the Graduation Analyst Supervisor in the Registrar’s Office for further verification of courses. The approval for transfer credits must be submitted by completing the Program of Study (or Change of Program of Study) with appropriate notation as instructed on the form. To be acceptable, the transfer credit must fall within the time limit governing the completion of requirements for the degree and have not been used for a previous degree. The form must be electronically scanned (at the departmental level) and sent to the Graduation Analyst Supervisor in the Registrar’s Office.
After a student begins pursuit of his/her intended graduate program and wishes to change the original graduate program, approval must be granted by proposed department before the change can be initiated. Permission to grant this graduate program change must be approved by the proposed department chair and/or graduate coordinator and supported by the graduate dean. The Request for Change of Graduate Program form is located on the College of Graduate Studies web site at http://www.apsu.edu/cogs/. After completion, the form must be received in the graduate office. The Dean of Graduate Studies presents the Request of Change of Graduate Program to the proposed graduate department for review and action. Student will be notified of the intended graduate department’s decision via students campus e-mail address from the Graduate office.
Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.) degree programs, with the exception of the Special Education and Instructional Technology, require licensure. All Education Specialist degree programs (within Education), with the exception of Administration and Supervision Non-Licensure Specialization, also require teacher licensure. A copy of a valid teaching license, if held, must be submitted to the College of Education’s Graduate Coordinator at the time program of study/admission to candidacy is sought. Students seeking a teaching license while completing a master’s degree must complete the Master of Arts of Teaching (M.A.T.) degree program.
The requirements for the degree must be completed within six calendar years from the date of initial enrollment in graduate courses at Austin Peay. This includes all required course work, research and comprehensive examinations. Appeals to extend time limit for completion of the degree are made in writing to include the completion of the Graduate Academic Appeals form to the graduate dean. Accompanying the request must be written supportive recommendation(s) for the time extension from the student’s graduate committee chair and the department chair. The Graduate Academic Appeals form is located on the College of Graduate Studies web site at http://www.apsu.edu/cogs/. The graduate dean presents the appeal to the Graduate and Research Council’s Appeal sub-committee for its review and action. The student will be notified via students campus e-mail address of the Appeals sub-committee decision from the Graduate office.
A student who pursues two distinct master’s degrees at APSU, either simultaneously or consecutively, may have up to 9 credits of graduate course work accepted for both degree programs if:
- the courses being double counted are perceived as reasonable substitutions for courses in the program;
- written approval of the graduate chairs/coordinators of both programs and the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies is obtained; and
- the course work for each degree must fall within the prescribed time limits.
During the last term in residence, or as otherwise specified, the candidate must pass a departmental oral and/or written comprehensive examination on all work used to meet the requirements for degree. The examination is a test of the candidate’s ability to integrate knowledge of the major and related fields, including material in the research literacy paper, research project paper, and thesis or field study report. Upon completion the approved Verification of Thesis/Field Study/Research and/or Written-Oral Exam Completion Form must be turned into the College of Graduate Studies for the dean’s approval two week’s prior to the end of the semester in which student expects to graduate. If the performance is unsatisfactory, the candidate may be reexamined after a minimum of three months and before a maximum of twelve months, unless otherwise approved by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies. The result of the second examination will be final. Unanimous agreement by the student’s graduate committee is necessary for passing the examination.
Students must file formal application for degree on line at www.apsu.edu/Registrar/ according to the published University Calendar at the beginning of the term during the semester of completion. Applications for the degree will not be accepted from students who do not have at least a 3.0 GPA. All applicants for the degree must notify the Office of the Registrar in writing whether they will or will not participate in Commencement. After the application for degree is filed, the student’s record is audited against his/her Program of Study/Admissions to Candidacy; the student will be notified by the Office of the Registrar of their graduation status.
Graduate students who complete their degree with a minimum cumulative graduate GPA of 3.85 or higher will be awarded their degree “with honor.”
This ceremony, produced by the Honors and Awards Committee, recognizes all students holding a 3.65 GPA for undergraduates fully enrolled (12 units or more in all classes except freshman, where a minimum of 16 units are required) and a 3.85 GPA for graduate students fully enrolled (eight hours or more). The student must be fully enrolled in the previous fall term and fully enrolled per the criteria for the current spring term. The student receives a certificate/instruction letter in the mail as well as an invitation is sent to the student(s) family. The student is given individual recognition and an “Honor Student” gift bag for their distinguished achievement. It is a yearly program given in the month of April. The ceremony also showcases recipients of departmental awards, senior student awards and outstanding faculty awards culminating in a reception. For more information call (931) 221-7676.
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