Time Limit

All work for a master's degree, a certificate, or a specialist must be completed within a six-year period. The time limit is calculated similar to the following example: credits completed in the fall semester 2006 will no longer apply or be counted towards your degree at the end of summer session 2012. This six year limit includes all credit transferred to a Minnesota State Mankato program.

Students receiving financial aid (excluding non-federally funded University graduate assistantships) must abide by federal, state, and institutional policies, including but not limited to, satisfactory academic progress standards. For additional please see the web page of the Student Financial Services Office.

Required Graduate Enrollment Policy

Graduate students must register for at least one credit during the semester that they plan to graduate.

Examining Committees

A Graduate Committee supervises a student's program and the completion of the capstone experience. Students should consult with their advisor prior to asking faculty to serve on their committee.
All doctoral students and students writing a thesis or dissertation must form a graduate committee.  The College of Graduate Studies and Research does not require the formation of a committee for students enrolled in a non-thesis program, but individual degree programs may require students to form examining committees.

A student’s thesis or dissertation committee must consist of at least two members of the University’s Graduate Faculty, although individual programs may require committees of more than two members.  The committee chairperson shall be the student's advisor, who must be a Regular or Research member of the graduate faculty and in the student's area of concentration. Other members of the committee must be members of the Graduate Faculty. Doctoral programs have additional requirements concerning who is eligible to serve on a student's committee. Please consult the University's policies concerning graduate and research faculty appointments.

Faculty from other institutions may serve without compensation as a member of a student's committee. These external or visiting members must be approved by the student's advisor and need to obtain Graduate Faculty Status at Minnesota State University, Mankato at the “Visiting and Collaborative Faculty” rank.

Plan of Study

The Plan of Study is defined as an official listing of the student's total graduate degree program by department, course number, course title, semester of completion or anticipated completion, and the number of semester hours. The Plan of Study must be endorsed by the student, major advisor, examining committee members, and the Graduate Program Coordinator. The student and the department should keep a copy of this form. The Plan of Study does not have to be submitted to or approved by the College of Graduate Studies and Research. Programs will be responsible for creating their own Plan of Study forms.