Division of Graduate Studies

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Culminating Experience Procedures

The culminating experience must be met by the satisfactory completion of a thesis, special project, comprehensive examination, and/or an oral defense of the work.


Steps to Completion:

  1. Submit your Culminating Experience Proposal a semester prior to registering in your culminating experience course.
  2. Fill out your Culminating Experience Proposal online - no handwritten materials accepted.
  3. Have your Culminating Experience Proposal approved by your Culminating Experience Committee and submit it to GradStop (ADM 250) according to the deadlines.
  4. When research involves human or animal subjects, approval of the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) or University Animal Care and Use Committee (UACUC) is required. The website for the Office for Protection of Human and Animal Subjects at http://www.sfsu.edu/~protocol.

Selection of Culminating Experience Committee

  • The committee must consist of a minimum of two and a maximum of five members.
  • The chair and the second member of your committee must hold tenured/tenure-track faculty appointments in your major department.
  • In circumstances where special expertise is available in another department, the graduate dean may authorize a designated tenured/tenure-track faculty member from a related department to serve as second reader.
  • With special permission, some long-term lecturers with terminal degrees in their field or with special expertise may serve as the second reviewer provided their curriculum vitae is on file in the Division of Graduate Studies.
  • The third member of a committee may be a lecturer or from outside the major department or university.
  • To officially change the composition of your committee, you must submit a Petition for GAP Substitution or Committee Revision to GradStop (ADM 250).

Registration and Grading for Culminating Experience Courses

  • You must have an approved Advancement To Candidacy (ATC) form/Graduate Approved Program (GAP) and Proposal for Culminating Experience forms on file at the Division of Graduate Studies. The registrar will block admission to a culminating experience class until approval is received.
  • You must have a 3.0 GPA in all post-baccalaureate course work completed.
  • If you do not complete the course by the end of the semester of registration you will receive a grade of RP (Report in Progress). Do not register for the course again.
  • When the project is completed, be sure that your committee chair files a grade change to CR (Credit) with the Registrar's Office.
  • A Report of Completion must be filed for internships, field studies, or creative work projects.
  • A Thesis Receipt signed by Graduate Studies is required for thesis or written creative work. Adhere to Thesis Guidelines for completion.

Note: A student must be enrolled in courses to have automatic library privileges. If you receive an RP (Report in Progress) for your Culminating Experience course and are not enrolled in any other courses, you must contact your graduate advisor to request a memo on letterhead to receive library privileges. Please submit your department memo to the book checkout desk. **This memo must be renewed each semester until you are ready to apply for graduation.

Note: Students entering a Graduate Program in the Fall 2008 must adhere to the Continuous Enrollment Policy as stated in the bulletin. After the semester of enrollment in the Culminating Experience and the subsequent semester, all graduate students are required to maintain continuous enrollment through the College of Extended Learning (CEL) until the degree is earned.

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