College of Graduate Studies

Doctoral Students
Master's Students
Education Specialist Students

The following checklist is offered as a general guide to doctoral students. It is recommended that you check with your major advisor for program specific requirements.

1. Review the requirements for your degree program as specified in the University Catalog. Familiarize yourself with the College of Graduate Studies homepage – http://cogs.georgiasouthern.edu.
2. Activate your GSU E-Mail account. Each graduate student is assigned a GSU E-Mail account that you can access via your MyGeorgiaSouthern account.
3. Obtain copy of program handbook from department or other documents outlining specific program requirements from the graduate program director and review these documents.
4. Complete prerequisite/deficiency requirements early in the program. If applicable, request the advisor to submit a letter to the College of Graduate Studies stating the prerequisite deficiency requirements noted on the admission letter have been completed.
5. Prepare a program of study in consultation with your major professor and dissertation committee. Review “Preparing a Doctoral Program of Study” on the College of Graduate Studies website. The program of study form can be downloaded from this website. Submit the Program of Study with the required signatures to the College of Graduate Studies for final approval not later than the end of the semester prior to the expected graduation term.
6. If changes need to be made to the Program of Study at a later date, submit the Program of Study Amendment form to the College of Graduate Studies for final approval.
7. Candidacy or Comprehensive Exams should be scheduled according to the program requirements. Check with the department or major professor to determine when to schedule the examinations.
8. Select a major professor.
9. Select a research topic in consultation with the major professor.
10. Select a dissertation committee. The dissertation committee should consist of at least three members including the dissertation committee chair. Check with the major professor or department chair to determine if there are departmental or program requirements regarding the composition of the dissertation committee. If a faculty member from another university is to be appointed to the dissertation committee, appropriate documentation must be submitted for graduate faculty approval and final approval must be granted by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.
11. Approval Pre-Prospectus and Prospectus or Dissertation Proposal: follow specific departmental guidelines for preparation and presentation. Follow departmental time lines for submission of proposal to the supervisory committee.
12. All degree seeking students must apply for graduation. To apply, submit a completed application for Graduation (application form available on the GSU Registrar’s web site). The application deadline is the last day of the semester/term prior to the semester/term for which graduation is expected. You are encouraged to apply early. Pay the graduation application fee to the Business Office in Deal Hall.
13. Obtain approval form from Institutional Review Board (IRB) or other compliance requirements, if applicable, prior to collecting data. Please note: If using human subjects or animals, complete the necessary documentation for IRB approval.
14. Collect and analyze data, if applicable
15. Write dissertation following departmental guidelines and Electronic Thesis Dissertation (ETD) formatting specified by the College of Graduate Studies. Review “Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines” at the ETD web site at http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/
16. Successfully defend the dissertation. Schedule the dissertation defense date in consultation with your major professor and dissertation committee. See the schedule of dissertation defense deadline dates on the College of Graduate Studies website. Deadlines are published for each semester on the College of Graduate Studies website. You must be enrolled in a minimum of one (1) credit hour the semester the defense is scheduled, the semester in which the degree is completed and each semester during which university facilities and/or faculty/staff times are utilized.
17. Provide dissertation or supervisory committee chair and members of the committee copies of the dissertation a minimum of 10 working days prior to the scheduled dissertation defense.
18. A Dissertation Defense Report, signed by the dissertation or supervisory committee chair and members of the committee must be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies by the semester deadline for reporting dissertation defense/comprehensive examination deadline.
19. Make revisions to the dissertation based on feedback obtained from the committee. You must follow the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Guidelines.
20. Work closely with your dissertation or supervisor committee chairperson in preparing the final dissertation.
21. Submit the dissertation in electronic format to the College of Graduate Studies for the format check. Be sure to follow the ETD guidelines found at the GSU ETD web site at http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/.
22. After the document has been checked for format and returned to you as an electronic file, make format corrections indicated. Check with your committee to determine if they need to review the dissertation again before the final electronic submission to the College of Graduate Studies. If the committee chooses to review the document after you have made the format changes, be sure to submit a copy to each committee member. If the committee requires changes, be sure to make the changes before submitting the final electronic version to the College of Graduate Studies. No corrections can be made after the final submission to the College of Graduate Studies. Final submission deadlines (Thesis and Dissertation Deadlines) for the semester are available at the College of Graduate Studies web site.
23. The final electronic dissertation file must be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies by the term submission deadline. The final submission deadlines for the semester are available at the College of Graduate Studies website.
24. Completion of the Survey of Earned Doctorates and the College of Graduates Exit Survey is requested.