Master’s Examination

An application for candidacy for the master's degree must be submitted to the dean of the Graduate School-New Brunswick at least two months before the final examination.

If a student expects to take the final examination at the end of the Summer Session or at the beginning of the fall semester, the application must be filed before the Summer Session starts. Forms for this purpose are available at the Office of the Graduate School, and responsibility for filing the application lies with the student.

The final comprehensive examination may be written or oral, or it may be a combination. Just before a student is to take the comprehensive examination, he or she must obtain, from the Office of the Graduate School, a copy of the previously filed application and submit that copy to the chair of the committee. The chair and committee members record the results of the examination on this form. It is the responsibility of the candidate to obtain the approval of the graduate program director and to return the form to the Office of the Graduate School. The form should be returned soon after the examination and no later than the announced deadline for completion of degree requirements. The names of those failing to meet the deadline will be removed automatically from the commencement lists.

Certain degree programs have received approval to replace the comprehensive examination with an alternative culminating experience, frequently a paper that is defended to and approved by three members of the program faculty. Students following such a procedure must still obtain the three signatures and follow the same procedures as if they had taken a more traditional examination.

Qualifying Examination for the Doctorate Used for the Master's Degree

A student who has satisfied all other requirements for a master's degree except the final examination may, with the permission of the program faculty, elect to take the qualifying examination for the doctorate in place of the final master's examination. After passing the qualifying examination, these students may be recommended for the appropriate master's degree. This use of the qualifying examination does not invalidate the status of a student as a candidate for the doctoral degree. A student who desires to use the qualifying examination as the final examination for the master's degree must file an application for the master's degree in accordance with the preceding directions.