Admission to Candidacy
Admission to candidacy is required of all degree-seeking graduate students and serves as an important intermediate check that reveals overlooked or misinterpreted requirements. A master’s student may be admitted candidacy if he or she is in regular status and has completed a set of courses sufficient to satisfy at least one half of the total credit requirement for desired degree.
The student must have individual course grades of C or better and a GPA of at least 3.0, computed for the set of courses provided. A student who is admitted to a graduate program cannot list a course on the Admission to Candidacy form if it is graded lower than C or P, or a transfer course cannot be listed if it is graded lower than B. (See the current graduate catalog for policies on course repetition.)
Applying for candidacy represents an important milestone in student progress toward a graduate degree. Because of the importance of candidacy, a student who has not been admitted to candidacy cannot sit for the Comprehensive Examination or file a Completion of Graduate Degree form.
Applying for candidacy identifies the work accomplished to date and defines the work yet to be completed. The University agrees to offer and the candidate agrees to complete what is listed on the form. The Admission to Candidacy form includes the exact final list of courses to be applied to meet the 60-credit requirement for the graduate degree in counseling. Accuracy and neatness are essential. The form must be signed by the student, Program Advisor, and by the Graduate Program Coordinator. The form is then submitted to the Office of Graduate Admission and Degree Services. Although the Graduate College requirement is that the form is submitted no later than the semester prior to the semester of graduate (exact deadlines are published in the academic calendar), we require submission during one year prior to graduation (typically spring of year 2).
We also require completion of the Department of Counselor Education Admission to Candidacy form. This form is given to the Advisor and is not distributed to the Graduate College.
Once the Admission to Candidacy form is approved by the Graduate College, the student is notified that she or he has been admitted to candidacy, and the form becomes a binding agreement between the student and the University. A change in an approved Admission to Candidacy form cannot be made without an Adjustment of Academic Requirements form that has been approved by the Counselor Education Department and the Graduate College.