What to do as your student progresses through the MS degree:
Review the MS program Curriculum
The MS degree program in Biology requires 30 semester units of coursework. At least half of those units (15) must be at the graduate level (600 or above). This is easy to satisfy given that the MS program includes 15 units of required courses, all at the graduate level (>600). These courses include 2 units of Core Requirements (BIOL 601A/B), 6 units of Research Specialization, 5 University Thesis units (BIOL 691) and 2 graduate seminar units. The remaining units (up to 15 total) can include 300 and 400 level courses approved for the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree (subject to approval by the thesis advisor). For more info, see link.
Approve your student's thesis proposal by the deadline
To become eligible to register for University thesis units for the first time, your student must email their advisor-approved proposal to their committee and complete the Proposal Submission Form. This must be done at least one week prior to the first day of classes that the student intends to enroll in University Thesis units (Biol 691). Keep an eye out for the Adobe Form in your In Box and sign by this same deadline.
Enroll your student in University Thesis units (Biol 691)
Once all committee members have signed the Proposal Submission Form (dead deadline: one week after the first day of classes), you need to submit a Special Registration form by this same deadline to enroll your student in 1-5 units of University Thesis (Biol 691). The number of units you choose is up to you and your student. Keep in mind that University Thesis units expire in 5 years (no exceptions) and you should never enroll your student in more than 5 units overall.
Submit an "RP" grade for University Thesis units (Biol 691)
Give your student an "RP" grade for all University thesis units taken unless your student passed format review, submitted the final draft of the thesis for publication and passed their oral defense. Only then can you submit a CR grade. For example, let's say your student takes 3 University Thesis units in the Fall but is not ready to graduate by the end of the Fall semester; this student would earn an RP grade for those units. Then let's say this same student enrolls in the remaining thesis units in the Spring and completes all the degree requirements before the end of the semester. This student would earn a CR grade for those units and a change of grade form would be submitted to change the RP grade from Fall to CR (also see below).
Submit a Major Check Form to the Graduate Coordinator
Once your student informs you that he/she has filed for graduation, you need to submit a Major Check form to the Graduate Coordinator. Hand deliver or submit via email (digital signatures are fine). Students are not allowed to hand-carry these completed forms.
Special Instructions:
- Click here for instructions on how to access your student's unofficial transcript through MyCSUEB. Once you have access to your student's record, open the student's "Course History". From here, you can copy and paste the list of courses directly into Excel. From Excel you can delete unnecessary courses. Finally you can use the course list in Excel as a template to copy and paste into the Major Check form.
- If your advisee completed an excess of 30 semester units, only list the minimum number of units required for graduation choosing required courses and the electives with the best grades (GPA calculations are based on the major check). Major Check forms that list all units taken will not be accepted by the graduate evaluators.
Schedule/Announce the Oral Defense
In collaboration with your student and the student's graduate committee, choose the best day and time for the Oral Defense. The oral defense should be scheduled before the format review deadline. This ensures that changes requested by the committee to the thesis can still be incorporated into the Final Draft by the Format Review Deadline. If this is not feasible it should be scheduled before the last day of final’s week. This is NOT recommended as significant changes to the thesis are not allowed. Once the Oral Defense has been scheduled, email the Biology Office to reserve a room and post an announcement in the Biology office. Download and print the "Oral Defense Announcement" form, get a hard copy in the Biology Office or create your own (just make sure it has all the necessary elements). You can also email the Biology faculty a copy of the Announcement.
Complete an Oral Defense Assessment Form
Just before the oral defense is set to begin, send the link for the Oral Defense Assessment Google form to each committee member in attendance. Each committee member (including the research advisor) must complete the oral defense assessment Google form during and/or immediately following the oral defense. The completion memo (required to earn the degree) will not be sent to the graduate evaluators until all the assessdement forms have been submitted.
Submit Change of Grade Form(s) for BIOL 691 Units
Once your student has passed his/her oral defense and submitted the final draft of the University thesis, submit a Change of grade form for Biol 691 (University Thesis Units) for each semester that Biol 691 was taken. The grades need to be changed from RP to CR. DO NOT change these grades prior to completion of the thesis and oral defense. If this is done too early then you will have to change the grades from CR back to RP before changing them from RP to CR. This form can now be completed online. Sign in for access and then click on the "Change of Grade Form" link.
Common Problems and Solutions
- Do not let your student take more than 5 units of University Thesis (Biol 691). If you do, we will have to submit a special memo to accept the extra unit.
- Do not let your students take more than 4 units of Independent Study (Biol 690), 4 units of Research (Biol 681) or 4 units of graduate seminar (Biol 68X). The extra units do NOT count towards the MS degree, they are expensive and your students risks losing financial aid (if applicable).
- If your student has completed all his/her coursework (30 units for semesters) AND no longer requires access to University resources (including access to a research lab), your student does NOT need to enroll in ANYTHING. They will NOT be dropped from the graduate program. They will simply lose their matriculation status (after two semesters of nonenrollment) meaning that they will no longer be able to enroll in classes (but they don't need matriculation status).
- That said, if your student has completed all his/her coursework but wants continued access to the research lab or other University resources OR plans to TA, they should enroll in BIOL 890 (Graduate Study Completion) through the Division of Continuing and International Education. This is a 1-unit course with a small fee. Forms are available here or in the Biology Office. Be warned, however, this will immediately remove your student from matriculation status. This is a problem if they have not completed all their coursework.
- On the flip side, if your student has NOT completed all their coursework, they should not take an enrollment break longer than two consecutive semesters (not including summer) or they WILL lose their matriculation status and will have to reapply to continue.
- Remember to give your student an RP grade at the end of the semester for University Thesis units taken that semester. You should not change the grade to CR until after the University Thesis has been submitted AND the oral defense has been passed. If you accidentally gave a CR grade for University Thesis units before your student defended and/or submitted the final draft of the University Thesis, you will have to submit a change of grade form to change the grades from CR to RP as soon as the problem is discovered. Then once your students passes the oral defense and submits the final draft of the thesis, you will have to submit change of grade forms AGAIN (to change the grades from CR to RP).
Note: If you want to learn more about what your student needs to do as they progress through the program, review the following site and linked pages.
- Do not let your student take more than 5 units of University Thesis (Biol 691). If you do, we will have to submit a special memo to accept the extra unit.
- Do not let your students take more than 4 units of Independent Study (Biol 690), 4 units of Research (Biol 681) or 4 units of graduate seminar (Biol 68X). The extra units do NOT count towards the MS degree, they are expensive and your students risks losing financial aid (if applicable).
- If your student has completed all his/her coursework (30 units for semesters) AND no longer requires access to University resources (including access to a research lab), your student does NOT need to enroll in ANYTHING. They will NOT be dropped from the graduate program. They will simply lose their matriculation status (after two semesters of nonenrollment) meaning that they will no longer be able to enroll in classes (but they don't need matriculation status).
- That said, if your student has completed all his/her coursework but wants continued access to the research lab or other University resources OR plans to TA, they should enroll in BIOL 890 (Graduate Study Completion) through the Division of Continuing and International Education. This is a 1-unit course with a small fee. Forms are available here or in the Biology Office. Be warned, however, this will immediately remove your student from matriculation status. This is a problem if they have not completed all their coursework.
- On the flip side, if your student has NOT completed all their coursework, they should not take an enrollment break longer than two consecutive semesters (not including summer) or they WILL lose their matriculation status and will have to reapply to continue.
- Remember to give your student an RP grade at the end of the semester for University Thesis units taken that semester. You should not change the grade to CR until after the University Thesis has been submitted AND the oral defense has been passed. If you accidentally gave a CR grade for University Thesis units before your student defended and/or submitted the final draft of the University Thesis, you will have to submit a change of grade form to change the grades from CR to RP as soon as the problem is discovered. Then once your students passes the oral defense and submits the final draft of the thesis, you will have to submit change of grade forms AGAIN (to change the grades from CR to RP).
Note: If you want to learn more about what your student needs to do as they progress through the program, review the following site and linked pages.
