Date of Catalog for Checking Degree or Certificate Requirements
Students are subject to current administrative, academic and general policies and regulations. The 2024 Graduate Catalog becomes effective fall semester 2024.
Students may use the Graduate Catalog as a basis for degree/certificate requirements issued for any semester including or following the date of his/her first enrollment in the university so long as it is dated not more than eight years prior to the date the degree or certificate is conferred. A student must attempt academic credit at UCM during the semester of the catalog chosen. Students may change catalog term at any time during their enrollment, moving to an earlier or later catalog term, if they attempted hours during that term. Students considering changing catalog term should consult with their program coordinator. UCM follows the catalog agreement described in Policies and Procedures for the Review of Academic Program Proposals: New Academic Programs, Off-Site Delivery of Existing Programs and Program Changes (Missouri CBHE, April 1997). However, the university reserves the right to add, change, delete, and interpret policies at any time and to require these be met by those seeking degree/certificate candidacy and/or conferral.
Time Limitation
All courses that satisfy certificate or degree program requirements, including transfer credit, must have been completed during the eight-year period immediately preceding completion of certificate or degree program.
5000/6000-Level Credit
Hours earned as CR credit from work experience/prior learning do not count towards 5000/6000-level credit. Hours earned as CR credit from transfer credit that has been approved as 5000/6000 level may count.
Candidates for an education specialist degree must complete a minimum of six (6) hours must be at the 6000 level.
Hours in Residence
Residence requirements establish a minimum number of credit hours which must be earned from UCM. Online courses and courses which are offered off campus but through UCM do count towards residence hours. Hours earned as SC or CR credit (AP/CLEP/IB/military credits/work experience) do not count towards residence hours. The following rules apply:
- A candidate for any graduate certificate must have earned at least fifty percent of the certificate hours through UCM.
- A candidate for any master’s degree may only use up to nine hours of transfer credit towards the degree.
- A candidate for an education specialist degree may only use up to six hours of transfer credit towards the degree.
Degree/Certificate Requirements and Procedures for Graduation
A student becomes eligible for graduation by meeting the following requirements:
- Satisfactorily complete all required background courses and requirements (if applicable)
- Satisfactorily complete all degree/certificate requirements as noted in the Graduate Catalog and on the Central Degree Audit
- Complete all U grades
- Earn a cumulative graduate grade point average of 3.00 or higher on all graduate-level work
- Earn a grade point average of 3.00 on graduate courses that are a part of the degree/certificate program
- Complete and submit research papers, if required, for academic program approval
- Complete and submit a thesis, if required, to the committee for final approval. Submit approved thesis to the Graduate Studies (WDE 1900, 660-543-4729) office for final approval
- Satisfy all school requirements and adhere to all graduate related policies
- Apply for graduation in MyCentral one semester before intended degree/certificate completion (October/November for spring/summer graduates; March/April for fall graduates)
Application for Graduation
An application for a graduate degree or certificate must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office using the form in MyCentral. Students should apply for graduation one semester prior to their intended graduation after enrollment has been completed for their last semester (October/November for spring/summer semester graduation and March/April for fall semester graduation). The student’s Central Degree Audit should reflect that all remaining requirements are in progress. All curriculum substitutions (if applicable) should be received by the Registrar’s Office prior to filing the application for graduation. Applying at this time ensures that students are made aware of any graduation deficiencies prior to the start of their graduation semester. Graduation applications must be submitted even if the student does not intend to participate in the ceremony.
Students who fail to apply or apply for the incorrect term for graduation but are identified as meeting degree requirements by a UCM faculty or staff member will have their degree awarded.
Graduation applications must be received by the Registrar’s Office no fewer than six weeks before the date the degree is to be conferred for the student’s name to be included in the printed commencement program. Only degree candidate names are included in the program. Certificate candidates are not included.
Degrees and certificates are conferred three times per year: May, August, and December at the end of each semester. Students who complete degree requirements prior to the end of a semester will not have their degrees awarded until the end of the semester. The Registrar’s Office may confer degrees and certificates through the following deadlines (or the earliest preceding business day): January 15 (fall semester), May 31 (spring semester), and August 31 (summer semester). Students who fail to apply for graduation or complete all degree/certificate requirements by these dates will have their degree or certificate awarded at the end of the following semester if requirements are completed and an active graduation application is on file with the Registrar’s Office.
All students are billed a one-time, non-refundable graduation fee of $50 per graduation semester. Students who earn multiple degrees or certificates in different semesters will be billed each semester. This fee applies to all graduates and is not dependent upon ceremony participation.
UCM offer’s commencement ceremonies two times a year for degree candidates: May and December. Commencement ceremonies are for degree candidates only; students earning only a graduate certificate do not participate in the ceremony. All summer degree candidates are invited to participate in the May ceremony if they are enrolled in all remaining requirements. Students who are unable to participate in the ceremony that corresponds with the semester of their graduation due to extenuating circumstances may petition to walk late in a later ceremony up to a calendar year after their graduation date. Students may only apply once to walk late. An additional fee of $50 will be applied to the student’s account for each semester after their original ceremony (summer graduates who wish to walk in the December ceremony are not charged this fee). This fee will be applied during the term that they participate in a ceremony.
Questions about applying for graduation or commencement should be directed to the Registrar’s Office in WDE 1000, 660-543-4914, or graduation@ucmo.edu.
Participating in a Later Graduate Commencement Ceremony
Students with unusual, extenuating circumstances who are unable to attend the ceremony which corresponds with the semester that their degree is awarded, may submit an Application to Participate in a Later Commencement Ceremony to the Registrar’s Office. Ceremony participation may not occur more than one calendar year after a student’s actual degree conferral and once approved for a “late walk” students may not change the semester requested. To be considered to “walk late” students must already be approved for graduation during the term that they will be completing degree requirements. Students whose requests are approved will be charged a non-refundable $50 “walk late” fee per semester after the term of degree conferral. This fee is in addition to the regular $50 graduation fee that is applied to all students’ accounts.
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