Major Components of Graduate Study
1. Selection of major professor and graduate committee is to be conducted between the completion of six credits but not more than 10 credits for 32-credit programs, eight credits but not more than 12 credits for 36-credit programs, and after the completion of 10 credits but not more than 16 credits for the 48-credit programs.
2. Candidacy application and packet review process will be conducted after completion of 6 credits but not more than 10 credits for 32 hour programs, after completion of 10 credits but not more than 16 credits for the 48 hour guidance and counseling program, and 8 credits but not more than 12 credits for the 36 hour e-learning programs. Selection of committee members, review of candidacy packet, recommendation of credit accepted in transfer, and formulation of program of study are completed during this process. This complete process must be completed at least two weeks prior to the end of the semester.
3. Course requirements according to the plan formulated during the candidacy packet review process are completed. Any changes from the plan must be approved by the chair of the student's graduate committee and submitted to the Graduate Office for approval.
4. Portfolio requirements as specified by the student's graduate committee during the candidacy packet review process are completed with appropriate reviews by the committee chair. The portfolio binder with dividers is available in the NSU bookstore. The portfolio will be made available to the committee at least two weeks before the final oral examination.
5. Internship experience is a culminating experience of the student's program and is supervised by a university faculty member in the program area. Students should notify the Graduate Office of their intent to register for the internship by midterm of the preceding semester so that supervision can be arranged. Students of 32 hour programs must have at least 20 hours of their program completed or concurrent enrollment to register for internship. Except for guidance and counseling, internships are 4 credit experiences totaling a minimum of 160 hours and may be taken as 2 credits each for two successive semesters. Students not working full-time may take all 4 credits during one semester.
6. Field-based research project will be completed, ordinarily during the internship experience (guidance and counseling may complete this requirement during other phases of the program). Students will write a paper on the research project using the typical format of a scholarly journal article to be included in the student portfolio. The topic of the research project must be approved by the committee chair and the Director of Graduate Studies.
7. Final writing examination as required by the program will be conducted the last period of enrollment. Students are responsible for scheduling this examination through the Graduate Office at least two weeks but not more than four weeks prior to the oral examination. Summer students complete the written examination on one of the scheduled dates. The final written exam will serve as partial basis for the oral examination.
8. Final oral examination which may be preceded by a public presentation of the field-based research project is conducted. Students must pass the oral examination no earlier than six weeks and no later than three weeks before the end of the semester in which they intend to graduate. Summer students must pass the oral examination no later than one week before the end of the second summer session. The oral examination will be based on the student's field of study, the writing examination, and the graduate student portfolio to include the field-based research project.
9. Graduation should be applied for no later than eight weeks before the end of the academic year term or one month before summer session graduation. If any of the above requirements are not completed, graduation will be delayed.