Graduation Requirements

Graduation Requirements

To graduate from the program, students must :

  • Maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher in all coursework.
  • If you are NOT doing a thesis, notify Dr. Horvath by March 1 of your graduation year.
     

Thesis Option Requirements

Students pursuing the thesis options must :

  • Complete and submit the written thesis dissertation.
     
  • Guidelines : Start early and develop a clear timeline with milestones for completing your thesis. 
    Your Thesis Advisor may be a BMM faculty member or faculty member from another GWU department, including those within or outside SMHS. 
    Your Reader is a second faculty reviewer and must be given at least one week to review your thesis.
    Your thesis must be approved by both your Advisor and Reader prior to submission (typically by mid-April of your graduation year). 
     
  • Resources : Visit the CCAS Thesis Policy and GWU Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) for further details about theses and dissertations, including deadlines, checklists, forms, and visit MS Program Student Resources for other resources.
     
  • Submit a filled ETD approval form - Download the PDF from here.
     
  • Submit both a digital and a hard copy of your thesis to Dr. Horvath. The hard copy of your thesis must be bound in a Black, Springback binder. An example of an approved binder is on Bindertek and on Amazon.
     
  • Submit the electronic version of the thesis to the following website:  https://library.gwu.edu/etd.
     
  • Thesis submission deadlines are typically in May (for Spring graduation), August (for Summer graduation), and December (for Fall graduation). Actual submission dates may vary. Updated information can be found on the ETD submission dates page.
     
  • For the final graduation requirement, complete the anonymous exit interview survey (Survey Monkey) or meet with the department's student coordinator for the in-person exit interview.