Graduate School at University of Colorado Denver

Forms, deadlines and instructions for exams/thesis defense are located on the Graduate School website. See the Master’s Resources page if you are a master’s student. PhD students should refer to the PhD/EdD Resources page.

Changes to the committee composition or the date, time or location of the exam/defense requires the approval of your program director. Substantial changes will require a new approved Request to Schedule Exam form and appropriate lead time.

See the Graduate Faculty Directory for a list of faculty with current or expired appointments. New appointment paperwork is received on a regular basis from the programs. If a faculty member’s appointment is showing as expired or they are not currently listed on the website, contact your program administration to see if appointment paperwork has already been forwarded to the Graduate School or to request new appointment paperwork be completed.

Credits may not be transferred until the student has established a satisfactory record of at least one term of enrollment at the UC Denver and a minimum GPA of 3.00.

Master’s degree students can transfer in 12 semester hours. PhD degree students can transfer in 30 semester hours. It is important to note that individual programs may have more restrictive limits, so you will need to check with your program as well. Credits must meet the transfer credit requirements and be approved for transfer by your program director and the assistant dean.

Students who wish to receive the master’s degree must first become candidates. After completing or registering for all program-required coursework, students must file an “Application for Graduation” with the Graduate School no later than the posted candidacy/graduation deadline during the semester in which they plan to have their degree conferred. This form is included in the master’s degree graduation packet available on the Master’s Resources page.

Master’s students have five years from matriculation to complete all degree requirements, to include the filing of your thesis with the Graduate School if you are following Plan I.

You should register for the “Candidate for Degree” course (CAND 6940 (AMC) or CAND 5940 (DDC)). Nursing students should register for NURS 6940.

Before being admitted to candidacy, doctoral students must complete or register for all program-required, non-thesis coursework, and pass the comprehensive examination. Students must apply for admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree at least two weeks before taking the comprehensive examination. The appropriate forms are included in the PhD Comprehensive Examination packet available on the PhD/EdD Resources page.

Students defending between semesters must register for coursework hours (if you need them to fulfill your remaining coursework degree requirements) or for thesis hours (if you have already fulfilled your remaining coursework degree requirements) for the subsequent semester.

No. The deadlines provided on the Graduate School website pertain to Graduate School deadlines only. Your individual program may have additional deadlines for submission of materials regarding the thesis process. You will need to check directly with your program to determine what their requirements are regarding submissions to your advisor/mentor and committee.

No. You must be registered for at least 5 thesis hours (8990) at the time you defend. Registration for other coursework cannot substitute for this requirement.

Students defending between semesters must register for 5 thesis hours (8990) for the subsequent semester.

To complete the requirements for the PhD, you must register for a minimum of 30 semester hours of doctoral thesis credit, with no more than 10 of those hours in any one term. No more than 10 semester thesis hours may be taken preceding the comprehensive examination.

FOR AMC STUDENTS: The assistant dean will go through your thesis page by page, checking to see that all of the style and policy manual guidelines were followed. This is not an editorial check. The thesis should be printed on plain paper (not on thesis paper) but in its final form and conform to the standards outlined in the UC Denver Anschutz Medical Campus Thesis Style and Policy Manual.

FOR DDC STUDENTS: We go through your thesis page by page, checking to see that all of the style and policy manual guidelines were followed. This is not an editorial check. The thesis should be printed on plain paper (not on thesis paper) but in its final form and conform to the standards outlined in the UC Denver Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines [PDF].

FOR AMC STUDENTS: The thesis pre-check meeting should be scheduled within a couple days of defense so that committee changes and the changes identified in the thesis pre-check meeting can be made at the same time. Please call 303-724-2911 well in advance of your thesis defense date (at least two weeks prior) to ensure that you will get an appointment within the required time frame.

FOR DDC STUDENTS: Refer to the Schedule of Deadlines [link to PDFs or page] for the deadline dates.

Depending on when you wish to graduate, the thesis must be turned in to the Graduate School by the deadline dates established for a given graduation cycle (see the PhD/EdD Resources page for deadline information). Regardless of the thesis submission deadline date for any graduation period, the final thesis must be submitted to the Graduate School no later than 60 days after your thesis defense.

FOR AMC STUDENTS: No. The Graduate School will only receive the copy or copies that will be provided to the University library. Any personal copies are the responsibility of the student. You are free to use the binding company of your choice. Some students use the Denver Bookbinding Company. The pricing on the web page does not reflect an average 20% discount given to UC Denver AMC students. The discount is on the binding pricing only and not on the extra charge pricing.

FOR DDC STUDENTS: Yes. You can turn in personal copies for binding when you turn in your 3 required copies.

The registrar’s office receives the diploma card. You can complete the process on-line at the Registrar's website.

Yes. You can submit a new diploma card at the Registrar's website.

Doctoral students must complete all degree requirements within eight years of matriculation.

On the Denver Campus there are graduation ceremonies in May and December. On the Anschutz Campus the main graduation ceremony occurs only once a year in May. Students that graduate in August or December will be invited to participate in the May graduation ceremony.

FOR AMC STUDENTS: MS students may participate if they are August, December, May or the upcoming August graduates. PhD students that graduated in August, December and those that defend on or before April 1 are invited to participate in the Commencement Ceremony and Graduate School Convocation. Those that defend on or before April 1 must also submit the final thesis to the Graduate School on or before the final deadline for the May graduation cycle or 60 days after defense, whichever comes first. For more information see the “Events and Workshops” site.

FOR DDC STUDENTS: Graduates must meet with their advisors to ensure all graduation requirements have been met. Once graduates are certain all requirements have been met, they may register to participate in the commencement ceremony. Participating in the commencement ceremony is optional.

No, the person hooding you must be a faculty member at the University of Colorado Denver and hold a regular graduate faculty appointment. This person is usually your faculty mentor or advisor.

No, you can only have one person hooding you.

No, you may invite as many guests as you wish to the ceremony(ies). There is a registration process, but most venues do not have limitations on guests. You do not need any tickets.