Graduation Requirements

Below you will find the graduation checklists specific to master’s students, both thesis and non-thesis, as well as one specific to doctoral students.

Thesis Master’s Students

1. Submit a master’s degree request via MyGrad – Student View at the beginning of your intended graduation quarter but no later than the last day of quarter.
   • Select “Thesis Program” and enter a thesis title.
   • If you are a concurrent student, follow the instructions of submitting a color-coded transcript to the GEMS office early in the quarter.
2. Confirm your name and thesis details on record with the UW and the Graduate School (as listed in MyGrad – Student View).
   • If you will publish your thesis using your Preferred Name, you must officially set that name in Identity.UW.
3. Check your unofficial transcript in MyUW for any missing grades from previous quarters. Contact your professors to submit change of grade requests if you see “X” or “N” grades on your transcript, especially if they are for required courses.
4. Create an account in the UW ETD Administrator Site.
   • We recommend creating your account before you submit your thesis. The beginning of the quarter you intend to graduate is a great time to complete this step and familiarize yourself with the site.
   • Verify your name and thesis details entered in the UW ETD Administrator Site match your record in MyGrad exactly.
5. Review ETD Formatting Guidelines and insert the three required sections into the body of your thesis (the first three pages of the document):
   • title page
   • copyright page
   • abstract
6. Obtain the necessary signatures on your Master’s Thesis Approval Form.
7. Upload your Thesis Approval Form to the Administrative documents section of the UW ETD Administrator Site.
8. Upload your thesis to the UW ETD Administrator Site.
9. SUBMIT your (1) thesis and (2) Committee Approval Form via the UW ETD Administrator Site by the quarterly deadline (last day of the quarter at 11:59 p.m.).
10. Confirm submission: after a successful submission, the message “Your dissertation/thesis has been submitted” will appear in the UW ETD Administrator site.
    • You will also receive an email from “Administrator of University of Washington” that you have submitted to the University of Washington.
11. Monitor your email after submission for any requests for revisions. Consider setting up e-mail forwarding if you will no longer be checking your UW e-mail.
    • You will receive an email either notifying you the ETD was accepted or requesting formatting revisions. If you are asked to make revisions, the email will indicate a new deadline. Upload the revisions by the provided deadline.
12. Monitor your UW email after the quarter ends for any time-sensitive requests or questions that might arise as your department and GEMS review your request to graduate.
    • You will receive an email when graduation has been recommended by your department and when your degree has been granted by the Graduate School.
    • Your degree will post to your UW transcript two business days after the Graduate School processes your graduation (before ordering official transcripts, confirm that your degree has posted by viewing your MyUW unofficial transcript).
13. Instructions from the Office of University Registrar (OUR): You may log in and enter your requested diploma name and diploma mailing address by using the online Diploma Name and Address form. If you do not enter anything on the form, OUR will print your diploma using your UW record name, and mail your diploma to the permanent address on your UW record. Diplomas are mailed by OUR three to four months following graduation.
14. Review Commencement details if you plan to participate in any graduation ceremonies.

Non-Thesis Master’s Students

1. Submit a master’s degree request via MyGrad – Student View at the beginning of your intended graduation quarter but no later than the last day of quarter.
2. Check your unofficial transcript in MyUW for any missing grades from previous quarters. Contact your professors to submit change of grade requests if you see “X” or “N” grades on your transcript, especially if they are for required courses.
3. Monitor your UW email after the quarter ends for any time-sensitive requests or questions that might arise as your department and GEMS review your request to graduate. Consider setting up e-mail forwarding if you will no longer be checking your UW e-mail.
   • You will receive an email notifying you when your graduation has been recommended by your department and when your degree has been granted by the Graduate School.
   • Your degree will post to your UW transcript two business days after the Graduate School processes your graduation (before ordering official transcripts, confirm that your degree has posted by viewing your MyUW unofficial transcript).
4. Instructions from the Office of University Registrar (OUR): You may log in and enter your requested diploma name and diploma mailing address by using the online Diploma Name and Address form. If you do not enter anything on the form, OUR will print your diploma using your UW record name, and mail your diploma to the permanent address on your UW record. Diplomas are mailed by OUR three to four months following graduation.
5. Review Commencement details if you plan to participate in any graduation ceremonies.

Doctoral Students

1. Schedule a doctoral final exam via MyGrad – Student View. Your exam must be formally scheduled in advance with the Graduate School to be valid.
   • If you are a concurrent student, follow the instructions of submitting a color-coded transcript to the GEMS office early in the quarter.
2. Verify accuracy of your Supervisory and Reading Committee membership in MyGrad. Contact your graduate program advisor if any corrections are needed.
3. Confirm your name and dissertation details on record with the UW and the Graduate School (as listed in MyGrad – Student View).
   • If you will publish your thesis using your Preferred Name, you must officially set that name in Identity.UW.
4. Check your unofficial transcript in MyUW for any missing grades from previous quarters. Contact your professors to submit change of grade requests if you see “X” or “N” grades on your transcript, especially if they are for required courses.
5. Create an account in the UW ETD Administrator Site.
   • We recommend creating your account before you submit your dissertation. The beginning of the quarter you intend to graduate is a great time to complete this step and familiarize yourself with the site.
   • Verify your name and thesis details entered in the UW ETD Administrator Site match your record in MyGrad exactly.
6. Review ETD Formatting Guidelines and insert the three required sections into the body of your dissertation (they will be the first three pages of the document):
   • title page
   • copyright page
   • abstract
7. Complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) online. Upon completing the SED, you will receive an email from SEDWEB@norc.uchicago.edu, which includes your SED Certificate of Completion. Save a copy of this certificate.
8. Follow up with any reading committee members as necessary to obtain all required electronic reading committee approvals of your dissertation by the deadline (last day of the quarter at 11:59 p.m.). You can check the status of approvals any time by accessing your scheduled final exam.
9. Upload your SED Certificate of Completion to the Administrative Documents section of the UW ETD Administrator Site.
10. Upload your dissertation to the UW ETD Administrator Site.
11. SUBMIT your (1) dissertation and (2) SED Certificate of Completion via the UW ETD Administrator Site by the quarterly deadline (last day of the quarter at 11:59 p.m.).
12. Confirm submission: after a successful submission, the message “Your dissertation/thesis has been submitted” will appear in the UW ETD Administrator site.
    • You will also receive an email from “Administrator of University of Washington” that you have submitted to the University of Washington.
13. Monitor your email after submission for any requests for revisions. Consider setting up e-mail forwarding if you will no longer be checking your UW e-mail.
    • You will receive an email either notifying you the ETD was accepted or requesting formatting revisions. If you are asked to make revisions, the email will indicate a new deadline. Upload the revisions by the provided deadline.
14. Monitor your UW email after the quarter ends for any time-sensitive requests or questions that might arise as your department and GEMS review your request to graduate.
    • You will receive an email notifying you when your graduation has been recommended by your department and when your degree has been granted by the Graduate School.
    • Your degree will post to your UW transcript two business days after the Graduate School processes your graduation (before ordering official transcripts, confirm that your degree has posted by viewing your MyUW unofficial transcript).
15. Instructions from the Office of University Registrar (OUR): You may log in and enter your requested diploma name and diploma mailing address by using the online Diploma Name and Address form. If you do not enter anything on the form, OUR will print your diploma using your UW record name, and mail your diploma to the permanent address on your UW record. Diplomas are mailed by OUR three to four months following graduation.
16. Review Commencement details if you plan to participate in any graduation ceremonies.

A completed and signed approval form is required for Master’s students submitting an Electronic Thesis (ETD) as part of their degree requirements. These forms certify that the student’s faculty committee has examined the final copy of the thesis or dissertation, have found it complete and satisfactory, and confirm that any and all revisions required by the final examining committee have been made by the student.

• Master’s thesis approval form
• Unable to collect signatures? Students who are experiencing difficulties collecting physical ink signatures (unable to access scanners, printers, postal delays, etc.) should refer to page 2 of the master’s supervisory committee approval form for special instructions.

The final exam process includes a link for reading committee members to approve the dissertation online at MyGrad committee view.

Students will receive email notices when online approvals are entered. Students may also check the status of approvals by logging into MyGrad Program.

ETD Frequently Asked Questions

I created an account in the ETD Administrator Site, but I’m not ready to submit my ETD. Can I come back to my account later?

Yes. If you need to finish your submission later (for instance, if you need to update your PDF file before uploading it), you can save your information and come back to finish. No information will be lost.

I submitted my ETD but would like to make an edit to the document. How can I edit my submission?

Once your thesis/dissertation is submitted, no additional changes to the document are allowed with the exception of a major data error in the document. In this circumstance, a letter outlining the necessary changes is required from your supervisory committee chair.

What will the Graduate School be reviewing after I submit my ETD?

Submissions are reviewed by GEMS advisors for formatting requirements for the three required sections — title page, copyright page, abstract — before they are delivered to ProQuest for publication. We are checking for accuracy and consistency. Refer to the formatting guidelines for detailed information.

I submitted my ETD and haven’t heard anything yet. When will it be reviewed?

We try to review all ETDs as they are received, but if you submit early in the quarter it may not be acted on immediately. If you need to confirm completion of your degree requirements to an external agency or employer, please access the request for letter of certification in the forms section of our Additional Resources page (once your degree has posted to your UW transcript, we can no longer issue this letter). In general, ETDs are reviewed in the last two to three weeks before the quarter ends and after the last day of the quarter. When your submission has been accepted by a GEMS advisor, you will receive email confirmation.

How can I tell if my ETD was submitted and received by the Graduate School?

When your ETD is successfully submitted and pending review, the status will read “submission in review.”

When will my ETD be made available for access?

This depends on the type of access restrictions you selected when creating your account. However, your submission will be delivered to ProQuest for publishing four to six weeks after graduation and you will receive email confirmation when this has occurred. It should be available in UW ResearchWorks around the same time.

When will the printed dissertation / thesis copies I ordered from ProQuest be ready?

After you receive the email confirmation that UW has “delivered” your submission (ETD) to ProQuest, you should please refer to the ProQuest customer service guidelines for the expected delivery date of your order.

What if I am missing a faculty signature for my thesis or dissertation, or I have encountered difficulties in uploading my ETD? Must I pay the graduate registration waiver fee and graduate in the following quarter?

If you encounter these types of situations, contact Graduate Enrollment Management Services (206.685.2630 or uwgrad@uw.edu) as early as possible and no later than the last day of the quarter in which you intend to graduate.

Need help with your ETD submission?

If you need help with the ETD Administrator site or submission process:

Review the ETD frequently asked questions.

For technical assistance, you may call 1.877.408.5027 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday (excluding U.S. holidays) or submit a request through ProQuest support.

Graduate Enrollment Management Services (GEMS) is also available to help and can be contacted at 206.685.2630 or uwgrad@uw.edu

Students who are required to submit a thesis or dissertation as part of their degree completion should refer to the comprehensive Thesis and Dissertation section of this website.

You may decide to keep studying at the UW even after your degree is conferred. To continue your study, you should receive a new status first, so read on for instructions:

• New degree program: Apply for admissions into a new graduate degree program.
• Graduated master’s students: If you wish to continue your study in the same program as a doctoral student, you should discuss the process of receiving a formal promotion with your program advisor. If you’re accepted for doctoral study, your degree code will be updated and visible in your UW student records.
• Graduate non-matriculated (GNM) students: If you want to continue to take graduate courses without seeking a new graduate degree, consider applying for GNM status.
• F-1 and J-1 student visa holders: You must notify International Student Services of any changes or updates to your educational objectives while in the United States. We recommend discussing plans with ISS as early as possible.

When students who are enrolled in more than one degree program apply to graduate, they are asked to complete a manual degree audit because the MyGradProgram/MyPlan degree audit will not function on concurrent student records. Graduate Program Advisors are welcome to assist students with the below steps.

Instructions for graduating concurrent students

• • Review the applicable Graduation Checklist in the checklist tab on this guide as you prepare to graduate.
  • Submit your graduation request for one or both degrees via MyGrad by the quarterly deadline.
  • Access your most recent unofficial transcript.
    • Login to MyUW >> UW Resources >> Academic Resources >> Grades & Transcripts >> Unofficial Transcript.
    • Save or Print this transcript.
  • Highlight courses on your transcript for each degree/candidacy/certificate with a different color.
    • Write a color key on the transcript.
    • Use a third color for your approved shared courses (if applicable).
    • To review “shared” credit guidelines, refer to Policy 1.5 for concurrent Masters & PhD policies; refer to Policy 1.2 for Graduate Certificate programs. If you need assistance determining your shared credits, please contact your Graduate Program Advisor(s).
    • Examples of Concurrent Audits
  • Scan and save your highlighted transcript as a PDF.
    • You may also take a photo of the transcript to save as an image file (.jpg, .gif, etc.).
  • Open the UW Concurrent Form, selecting “new” to access the form. (Note: you must log in with your UW Net ID.)
    • Complete the form, and click “attach file” to upload your highlighted transcript.
    • Click “save” to submit the form.
  • Please complete the Concurrent Form no later than the last day of your graduation quarter, so your graduation can be processed more quickly. However, form submissions will still be reviewed after this date.