• Undergraduate Students
  

• Graduate Students

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

All undergraduate students (those applying for a Baccalaureate or Associate degree) are expected to apply for graduation by the dates given below. To apply, a student must complete a Request for Graduation Packet form and return it to the Registrar’s Office. In approximately two weeks, a packet containing a degree application, a work copy of the student’s MAP, and instruction sheets will be available for pickup. This completed packet, with advisors’ signatures, must be returned to the Registrar’s Office by the indicated date. There is a $20 degree fee which is payable in the Cashier’s Office. The receipt showing payment of this fee must be returned with the degree packet.

All degree packets are checked to make sure the student is taking or planning to take all courses needed for graduation. A copy of the degree application is returned to the student; one is sent to the advisor; and one is kept on file in the Registrar’s Office. It is the student’s responsibility to follow all instructions given on the degree application. Failure to do so could result in a delay of graduation. Any questions regarding degree application completion, etc., may be directed to Tracy Lampkins in the Registrar’s Office.

Deadlines for Turning in Graduation Packets

All dates are approximate. The actual date will be given on the instruction sheet which is included in the degree packet.

The Registrar’s Office must be notified if a change in graduation date is expected. A $5.00 charge will be assessed if notification is not received prior to one month before the originally scheduled graduation date.

General Requirements:

• A minimum of 120 semester hours are required for a Baccalaureate degree. Sixty-four semester hours are required for an Associate degree. Some degree programs may require more.
  The minimum number of semester hours required for a baccalaureate degree depends on your catalog declared.  The range is between 120 - 128.
  

• Math 100, Mat 105, ENG 095, ENG 109, ENG 110, GUI 096, GUI 097, INT 110, MAT 118, REA 095, REA 100, and ENG 100 are remedial courses at MSU and do not count toward graduation. Any student having these courses must take additional credit hours to make make up for each one of these courses taken. For example, a student who has taken MAT100 will need to take another 3 credit hour course.
  

• Forty-two upper level hours (300 level or above) are required.
  

• An overall gpa of 2.0 is required for graduation. Students must also have a 2.0 GPA in courses taken at Murray State.
  

• Students must maintain at least a "C" average (2.0 on a 4.0 scale) in courses used in the major and in the minor. This gpa must also be maintained for all courses in the major and/or the minor taken at Murray State.
  

• Students  must have completed 32 semester hours at MSU.
  

• No more than 12 of the last 32 semester hours may be transferred from another institution.
  

• Grade changes will not be made after conferral of a degree.
  

• Graduating seniors have 2 weeks to change an "I" after the end of the graduating semester.  Otherwise, graduation will be delayed until the next semester or the degree will be conferred with the "I" remaining on the record.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

The application for degree of $20.00 are due in the Graduate Office during the first three weeks of the semester in which the student expects to graduate. This application is effective for one semester only. If a student does not graduate after making application, it will be necessary to reapply and pay an additional filing fee of $5.00.

General Requirements:

• Courses numbered 600 or above are open to graduate students (those who are completing a Master’s or Specialist degree) only. In all master’s programs, half of the total coursework, excluding Thesis, Practicum, or Internship, or Co-op credit must be in courses open to graduate students only.
  

• An overall GPA of 3.00 (on a 4.0 scale) is required for graduation. All coursework used to fulfill master’s degree program requirements must be completed within eight years of the date the student initially enrolls in a class that counts as graduate credit for their degree.
  

• A maximum of 12 hours may be transferred from a regionally accredited graduate school. All transfer credit must be approved by the student’s advisor and collegiate graduate coordinator. All transfer credit must have been earned within the eight-year period allowed for the degree. The student must have an overall GPA of 3.00 on graduate work at Murray State and a grade of "B" or better in any courses to be transferred.
  

• A student is responsible for initiating the Admission to Candidacy form after completing nine hours of graduate work at Murray State University with a minimum grade point average of 3.00. This form must be approved and on file in the Graduate Office before the degree can be conferred.
  

• If a thesis is being required, the student must submit the original and three copies of the signed thesis in unbound form to the Graduate Admissions Office two weeks prior to the date of graduation.
  

• The comprehensive exam must be completed and the results sent to the Graduate Admissions Office by the semester graduation date.
  
  

For additional information on graduate students, contact Kathy Garrison.