Degree Requirements

Program Degree Requirements

The foundations for each degree level (masters or doctoral) and degree objective (MA, MS, MSED, MPH, MSOT, MEP, EdD, etc.), are documented under each program’s page. Each graduate program votes on and publishes degree requirements that describe the components, such as required coursework and examinations, that form the degree in that major area. Current and previous graduate program degree requirements are available on each program page under the current and archived catalog editions.

Graduate students typically use the most current version of the degree requirements available when they started the program. If program requirements change or when students readmit, students may opt to continue using the requirements in use when they began, or they may use the new requirements. In either case, the selected set of requirements must be completed in full. The Graduate Chair, Graduate Advisors, and Graduate Program Directors are responsible for introducing students to and advising them through their program requirements, and many programs develop a student handbook, degree checklists, and program of study forms based on the requirements.

Residence

Academic residence is defined as enrollment in and regular attendance at some courses of graduate instruction at St. Bonaventure University. The minimum period of residence for a master’s degree is two semesters of the regular academic year. Students who attend during the regular academic year and also during the summer session may count any two summer sessions as one semester of residence. Five summer sessions are required to fulfill the minimum time requirement for summer-only students. If St. Bonaventure University has accepted the transfer of six graduate credits earned in another graduate school, the time spent by the student in earning these credits elsewhere will be accepted in lieu of one summer session of residence at St. Bonaventure University. Residency is not required for students completing an online program.

Time to Degree

All course work which is to be credited toward the master’s degree must have been enrolled in and completed within six calendar years prior to the date on which the degree is to be awarded. When recommended by the student’s program director and approved by the dean of graduate studies, as many as six credit hours of course work, including transfer courses, completed between 6 and 10 years prior to the degree date may be validated by appropriate assessment. Course work more than 10 years old will not be permitted for degree credit.

Transfer of Credit

The following guidelines apply to the transfer of credit to an SBU graduate program

Requests to transfer credit into a St. Bonaventure University graduate program should be made directly to the program director — who will determine transferability of credit. The program director will notify the student of the credit transfer decision.
No more than six (6) credit hours may be transferred into an SBU graduate or certificate program. Some academic departments are more restrictive with regard to credit transfer. This information will be shown in the program specific portions of the catalog.
Transfer credit will not be granted for courses in which a grade lower than a B was earned. Similarly, no credit will be granted for courses showing a grade of Pass or Satisfactory. Courses taught as graduate-undergraduate offerings will normally not transfer.
Descriptions of the classes for which credit is sought should accompany a credit transfer request. The program director may request additional information (e.g. syllabus).
Students anticipating taking courses at another college for transfer back to SBU should first review the transferability of these classes with their SBU program director. If approved, the student must ensure that an official transcript for that work is sent to the SBU registrar.
All coursework, including transfer credit, must satisfy the time-to-degree requirement, as outlined in the Degree Requirements part of this catalog.
Coursework more than 10 years old will not be accepted for transfer credit.
Transfer credit limits can be waived in the case of an established MOU between SBU and an institution ceasing a graduate program or all operations. Students transferring to SBU in accordance with such an agreement must complete at least three courses at SBU in order to earn a graduate degree from SBU.

Academic Load

A maximum academic load of 15 credits may be taken during the summer, fall or spring semesters unless otherwise required by the graduate program. Any exceptions to the maximum load limits stated must be approved by the dean of graduate studies. A graduate student must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours to be considered full-time.

Comprehensive Examinations

All students who take comprehensive examinations must be enrolled in regular status. Every degree candidate enrolled in a thesis program must take and pass both a written and oral comprehensive examination in the major field. Every degree candidate in a non-thesis program must take and pass a written comprehensive examination in the major field. The degree candidate in a non-thesis option may or may not be required to take and pass an oral comprehensive depending upon the requirement specified by the major department.

Written Comprehensive Exam

Ordinarily, this examination may be taken, at the earliest, within the last term in which the student will complete formal course work requirements for the degree. However, some departments have set other requirements for the timing of the written comprehensive examination. When this is so, it is noted in the departmental description in this catalog. The student’s major professor will set the date, time and place of the exam.

A student who desires to take the written comprehensive examination in a particular term must notify his or her major professor no later than 30 days before the end of the term. Any failure to comply with this regulation renders the student liable to forfeit the right to take the examination in the term in question. Upon receipt of a request to take the examination, and before setting the examination, the major professor shall check the student’s record as recorded in the Registrar’s office. To facilitate this check, the Registrar’s office will supply, if requested, the major professor a condensed statement of the student’s record.

The examination will cover the student’s entire major field.

The major professor is responsible for promptly reporting the results achieved in the examination to the Registrar’s office. This report must be filed no later than three days prior to the date of Commencement.

If a student fails the written comprehensive examination, he or she may apply directly to the department concerned for re-examination. No student may take more than one re-examination.

Oral Comprehensive Examination

This examination may be taken only when the following conditions have been satisfied:

all formal course requirements have been completed or are within 21 days of completion.
the thesis, if required, has been approved by the major professor.
the copies of the thesis with the reader’s reports have been returned to the major professor.

The regulation and procedures of arranging for and setting the time of the Oral Comprehensive Examination are the same as those for the Written Comprehensive Examinations as described above.

This examination will be conducted by an Examining Committee consisting of the student’s major professor, who serves as chair of the committee, the candidate’s instructors in both the major and the minor fields, and such other members of the graduate faculty as may be invited by the chair to serve on the committee. The following are ex officio members of all Oral Examining Committees and as such have the right, whether or not it is exercised, to serve on these Committees:

the president of the University,
the academic vice president,
the dean of that school of the department giving the examination, and
the dean of graduate studies.

Any member of the graduate faculty may attend an Oral Comprehensive Examination but, unless a member of the committee, may not participate in the examination and evaluation of the candidate.

The oral examination is customarily based upon the thesis and supporting areas but it may be extended to cover the entire scope of the candidate’s program of work.

Supervision of Program

The general requirements and limitations stated in the foregoing sections apply to all programs for the M.A., M.S., M.S.Ed., or M.B.A. degree in every department of the University. They have been established by the Graduate Council of St. Bonaventure and neither the dean of a school nor the program director of a department has authority to waive any of these requirements. Waivers of these requirements must be recommended by the dean of graduate studies and approved by the vice president for academic affairs.

Within these limits, the program director of the student’s major department, assisted and advised by the student’s major professor, has jurisdiction over the student’s program. This means that the program director has the duty, responsibility, and authority for advising and instructing the student in all such matters as:

determination of the nature and extent of any deficiencies in the undergraduate preparation and prescription of such additional undergraduate work as may in his or her estimation be required to make up such deficiencies
selection of the minor field if required
election of specified courses to be included in the student’s program
sequences of courses
substitution of courses

Accordingly, the graduate student is required to consult the program director of his major department (not the School of Graduate Studies) on all such matters.

Grading System

Letter Grades: Grades, which are represented by letters, are given point values as indicated:

Grading System
Grade	Comment	Credit
A	Demonstrates outstanding application and connection of knowledge and skills through analysis and synthesis of research and professional practice.	4.0 quality points per credit
A-	Demonstrates a superior application and connection of knowledge and skills through evaluation and analysis.	3.7 quality points per credit
B+	Demonstrates a thorough and effective application and connection of knowledge and skills through analysis and synthesis of research and professional practice.	3.3 quality points per credit
B	Demonstrates a broad application and connection of knowledge and skills through analysis and synthesis of research and professional practice.	3.0 quality points per credit
B-	Demonstrates consistent application and connection of knowledge and skills through analysis and synthesis of research and professional practice.	2.7 quality points per credit
C+	Demonstrates superficial application and connection of knowledge and skills through analysis and synthesis of research and professional practice.	2.3 quality points per credit
C	Demonstrates an inconsistent level of application and connection of knowledge and skills through analysis and synthesis of research and professional practice. No more than two Cs can be counted for degree credit. A C grade implies that the quality of the work is below the average expected of graduate students.	2.0 quality points per credit
F	Fails to demonstrate a basic application and connection of knowledge and skills through analysis and synthesis of research and professional practice.	0.0 quality points per credit
I	Incomplete
IP	In-Progress
P	Passing
W	Withdraw
AU	Audit

The credit hours for courses in which P, W, I, or IP are awarded are not considered in calculating either the semester or the cumulative index; hours in courses awarded F will be included in hours attempted and will be used in calculating the semester index and the cumulative index. A W may not be given within three weeks before the last scheduled class of the semester or within two weeks before the last scheduled class of the summer session. Once a W is recorded, the grade can be changed only by retaking the course.

A grade of incomplete may be assigned to allow a student to complete course requirements in cases where significant and unexpected circumstances beyond student control occur in the course that prevents completion by the end of the semester/session. Therefore, the work to be completed to remove an incomplete grade may not be new, additional, or extra credit work, but must be the regular course requirements expected of all students in the course. A final grade must be submitted no later than the third week prior to the termination of the subsequent academic semester. Failure to complete the required work within this time limit will result in a grade of F being recorded on the transcript, unless the instructor requests a grade of W. Once an F is recorded, the grade can be changed only by retaking the course.

An IP grade may be carried for no longer than 2 academic years (4 semesters) and a final grade must be submitted no later than the third week prior to termination of the fourth academic semester following the semester in which the IP was assigned; the instructor, with the approval of the program director and dean, may assign an earlier deadline. If the work is not completed and a final grade submitted by the deadline, the IP grade will automatically become a grade of F unless the instructor or Program Director requests grade of W.

The grade of P or F may be assigned to workshop or institute courses rather than a letter grade. In addition, the grade may be assigned to Independent Study courses with the approval of the Instructor and the department chair/program director. The P/F option must be specified within the first two weeks of the course. No more than six credit hours with a grade of P may be applied towards the master’s degree.

Academic Scholarship

While it is necessary to indicate minimum quantitative standards for graduate degrees and these have been stated, the mere accumulation of graduate credits is not of itself sufficient to earn a graduate degree at St. Bonaventure University. The quality of the work is of paramount importance and is the decisive consideration in establishing eligibility for a graduate degree.

The minimum cumulative average that qualifies for a degree is 3.00 (B average). In addition, when a student receives an F or a second grade below a B, the student's overall performance will be evaluated by the major department to determine whether the student should be allowed to continue in the program. The acquisition of another grade less than a B may result in dismissal from the program.

A course may be repeated only once. Written appeals to this policy may be made to the dean of the students program. Repeating a course is also likely to have implications for financial aid and candidates must contact the financial aid office for details.

It is the responsibility of the graduate dean to ensure that all students in graduate programs are in good academic standing. The following procedures are to be followed:

Note: This information will be provided at the end of each academic session (i.e. 7-weeks and end of each semester).

1. Within 24 hours following the deadline for submission of final grades, the registrar will provide each program director a list of students who have a cumulative GPA below 3.00. The report from the registrar will include grade data from previous semester, to inform program directors if students have remained below a 3.00 cumulative average.

2. Within one week of receipt of that information, the program director must communicate in writing with every student who has remained below a 3.00 cumulative average, advising the student of the institution’s policy and effectively warning the student about academic standing. While academic warnings will be sent at the end of every session, academic review for student dismissal will be conducted three times per year, at the conclusion of the summer, fall and spring terms. If the information from the registrar is received when the campus is shut down for a break, the program director should send a warning letter/email to the student as soon as the campus reopens for business. This communication can be sent in email from the program director with copies to the graduate dean, the student’s academic advisor, the dean of the major program, director of online student services (if appropriate), and the records office.

3. Upon the conclusion of the summer, fall and spring terms, it is the program director’s responsibility to consult with the program faculty to determine whether the student can continue in the program. This consultation is to take place within one week of receipt of information from the registrar. If the information is received while the campus is shut down for a break, the program director and faculty need to consult as soon as the campus reopens for business.

a. If the decision is to allow the student to continue in the program, the program director will communicate that decision in writing to the student within 24 hours with an appropriate message about remediation and warning about the requirement for a 3.0 G.P.A.

b. This communication can be sent in email from the program director with copies to the graduate dean, the students’ academic advisor, the dean of the major program, director of online student services (if appropriate), and the registrar’s office.

c. If the department decides to dismiss the student, the program director must notify the graduate dean within 24 hours and a registered letter of termination (with a copy by email) will be sent from the graduate dean within 24 hours, with copies to the program director, the student’s academic advisor, the dean of the major program, director of online student services (if appropriate), and the registrar’s office.

d. Students have one week from the date of the dismissal letter to appeal a dismissal.

Note: Academic review for graduate dismissals are only processed at the conclusion of the summer, fall and spring 15-week terms.

Commencement

Announcement of Intention to Graduate

All candidates who expect to complete their work and receive a graduate degree at a scheduled Commencement must announce this intention to the Registrar’s Office by the date designated in the academic calendar.

Time at Which Degrees May be Conferred

Graduate degrees will be conferred three times a year, after fall, spring, and summer sessions. May graduates not attending Commencement, and December and August graduates should make arrangements with the Registrar’s Office for forwarding their diplomas.

Participation at Commencement

Graduate degree candidates who have three or fewer credit hours of course work remaining at the date of the exercise may participate. Signed participation agreement forms must be submitted to the Registrar’s office by the date specified by the Record’s Office.

Academic Garb

Except for members of the clergy and religious orders, candidates for graduate degrees are required to wear academic garb while participating in the Commencement exercises. The academic garb is available for sale through the bookstore one week prior to Commencement.