Graduation

• Review your Plan of Study and Supervisory Committee form or Academic Progress report to verify the information is accurate.
  • Coursework updates can be made with the Request to Waive or Substitute Courses eForm in Campus Connection. Your advisor or other department staff must initiate this form as it is not currently available to students.
  • Advisor and/or supervisory committee changes can be made with the Change to Supervisory Committee form.
• Review the deadlines for degree completion below and start planning the timeline to finish any remaining coursework requirements, hold your final defense, and submit your disquisition for format review (if applicable).

• At the beginning of the semester you plan to graduate, submit the Graduation Application in Campus Connection according to the Graduate College deadlines.
  • You will not be term activated for future registration unless you are continuing in a different program or degree option. If you do not graduate in the expected term, contact your Academic Support Specialist to be term activated.
  • For Plan C students, the Graduate Application is the only form to submit to signify expected degree completion.
• Finalize your plans to hold your final defense (Plan A, B and doctoral programs).

• Submit the Notification of Scheduled Examination. The Notification must be received (signed by advisor and graduate program coordinator) by the Graduate School a minimum of seven calendar days prior to the scheduled defense date.
  • Forms received less than seven calendar days prior to the defense date will not be processed. A new defense date must be scheduled, and a new notification form filed by the seven-calendar day deadline.
• Review your preliminary Graduation Audit. The audit is completed after the notification form is received. Any discrepancies between your Plan of Study or curriculum requirements will be listed on your audit form. Contact your Academic Support Specialist if you have questions or concerns.
• Distribute your disquisition to you supervisory committee members to review a minimum of seven days prior to the defense.
  • Some departments require students to distribute their disquisitions 10-14 days prior to the defense. Review your program's student handbook for more information.

• Submit the Report of Final Defense within 14 calendar days after the examination date or by the Post-Defense Submission for Format Review deadline, whichever comes first.
  • Report forms received with no approved Notification of Scheduled Examination on file, will not be processed and the examination must be repeated.
• Submit the IRB/IACUC/IBC Compliance Notification, even if your research does not involve human subjects, live vertebrate animals, or biohazards. The Graduate School is not responsible for obtaining supporting documents or determining if approval is required for the research conducted for the disquisition.
• Complete all the revisions to your disquisition required by your committee.
• Obtain the signed Approval Page (Copy 1) from your committee and department chair (program coordinator if your program is not within a department).
  • A typed copy (Copy 2) of the Approval page must be included in the disquisition submitted to the Graduate School for review.
• Pay the required $175 processing fee.

• Submit your disquisition to the Graduate School for format review.

  All items must be received (with all required signatures)by the Graduate School prior to submitting your disquisition for format review. If the fee and/or forms are not received by the submission deadline, your submission date is considered to be the date on which the last item is received.

• All disquisitions must be submitted for the disquisition format review process and publication. As with any publication, NDSU has format requirements for publishing disquisitions in the institutional repository. Thus, each disquisition must be reviewed to ensure the format requirements have been met.
  • This review is the final step before your work is published. Therefore, submit your document to the Graduate School only after you have completed all preceding steps and all written content is in its final form.
  • The format guidelines cover every aspect of your disquisition, from the title page and preliminary materials to your chapters, references, and appendices. Please note, this review focuses solely on formatting; it is not a copy edit of your content.

General Disquisition Information

Formatting Guidelines

Submit Your Disquisition

• Verify that incomplete grades and outstanding items on your Graduation Audit have been completed.
• Verify your final semester grades post.
  • Final clearance of academic requirements will be made when current term grades have been submitted.
  • A degree cannot post if there are outstanding grades.
• Update your MAILING address in Campus Connection to ensure proper delivery of your diploma and final transcript.
• Update your Preferred Name in Campus Connection as this is the name that is printed on your diploma.
• Review the information regarding your NDSU accounts and access after you graduate.