Completing your degree
Culminating event options
All degrees require that you complete at least one culminating experience.
Culminating experiences can be any of the following:
- Written Exam
- Portfolio
- Applied Project
- Capstone Course
- Master’s Thesis
- Doctoral Dissertation
Master's students
Thesis option
If your program requires completing a thesis as your culminating experience, you must schedule and hold a defense. The results of your defense must be submitted to the iPOS system by your committee. Please refer to the "defenses" tab for more information on this process.
Non-thesis option
Your culminating experience will be monitored by your academic unit. Results will be reported to the Graduate College via the iPOS system.
Doctoral students
Dissertation
If your program requires completing a dissertation (or equivalent for specific degrees) as your culminating experience, you must schedule and hold a defense. The results of your defense must be submitted to the iPOS system by your committee. Please refer to the "defenses" tab for more information on this process.
Prior to defending your dissertation, you must reach candidacy, meaning all milestones (written, oral, foreign language and prospectus) have been successfully completed and reported to the Graduate College by your academic unit via the iPOS system, and you have received your candidacy letter.
Non-dissertation
Your culminating experience will be monitored by your academic unit. Results will be reported to the Graduate College via the iPOS system.