GRADUATE ACADEMIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
MASTER'S DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
A student pursuing an advanced degree should prepare and file a Graduate Approved
Program (GAP) form in the Graduate Division Office in the semester immediately
preceding registration for the final six units of graduate work. This form lists the specific
requirements (i.e., courses, examinations, theses, etc.) to be completed before the
degree can be awarded. It must be approved by the graduate major adviser and the
graduate coordinator (or committee) of the student's major college, and then be
submitted to the dean of the Graduate Division for review and approval. Once the GAP
is accepted and approved by the Graduate Division, the student is officially advanced
to candidacy. Any change in the GAP requires the filing of a Petition for GAP Substitution
or Exception form with the Graduate Division.
The following minimum standards apply to all master's degree Graduate Approved
Programs.
- A Graduate Approved Program (GAP) will be valid only as long as the student maintains
continuous enrollment status with the university as defined elsewhere in the Bulletin. Any
time a student is required to reapply for admission to the university, s/he must also be
reconsidered for admission by the major department. If readmitted, a new GAP must be
completed that meets current curricular requirements.
- For students admitted conditionally, submission of a signed and approved GAP will signify
that all prerequisite requirements have been met. Prerequisite course work may not be
used to meet degree requirements.
- No lower division course work is allowed on the GAP. A minimum of one-half of the total
number of units must be at the 700-899 level. Most programs have higher requirements.
- The program must include a minimum of 30 semester units, with at least 24 of these being
taken in residence on this campus. For programs that exceed 30 units, proportionately
more course units in residence will typically be required. Work taken in Summer Sessions or
Winter Session on this campus may be counted as residence credit. Credit by
examination or extension work is not considered resident study, including Open University
units.
- A maximum of six semester units, which may include any combination of extension work,
credit by examination, and/or transfer work, may be used in meeting the requirement of
a 30-unit program (and proportionately more of extension and transfer credit only for
programs that exceed 30 units). However, no credit will be considered for course work
that was taken more than seven years prior to the date when the master's degree is to
be awarded. See also any special transfer credit provisions within programs that require
54-60 units for the degree. San Francisco State University will not accept transfer work
when the institution offering the course work does not accept it on its own advanced
degree program. If enrolled in an exchange program officially sponsored by SFSU, a
maximum of twelve units of combined exchange, credit by examination, extension, and
transfer work may be considered for applicability toward the requirements of a basic
30-unit master's degree.
- A maximum of four student teaching units, graduate numbered and applicable to the
discipline of the major, may be allowed.
- A 3.0 GPA (B) is required for course work listed on the GAP and must be maintained in all
post-baccalaureate work taken at San Francisco State University. The GAP must include
only courses with grades of C or better (grades of C– and lower may not be included on
a GAP). Grades earned by foreign students in required lower division English proficiency
courses are not computed in the grade point average for advancement to candidacy
and the master's degree.
- The GAP, including any accepted transfer units, may not have more than 30% (nine units
on a 30-unit program) of the work with CR grades.
- The GAP may not include more than twelve semester units of work taken before classified
status was obtained in the major program in which the degree is to be earned.
- The GAP may not include more than six semester units of credit in special study courses
(699, 899) or more than six semester units of credit in experimental courses (674, 677, 874,
877).
- The GAP (including all courses, other requirements, and filing an application for award of
degree) must be completed within a seven year period from the beginning of the term
of the earliest course listed on the GAP.
- The GAP must specify a final demonstration of competence such as a thesis, a field
research project, a comprehensive examination, or a comparable approved
culminating experience.
- The GAP must show at the time of filing that a minimum of six semester units is left to be
completed.
- Each student must demonstrate written English proficiency in accordance with the
regulations of his/her department.
- The GAP must include a major of at least eighteen units of course work in an approved
area of study. In a disciplinary based degree, these eighteen units must be taken within
the department offering the degree program.
- Reasons for any substitutions of required courses must be noted by filing a Petition for
Substitution or Exception form and be attached to the GAP form.
- The GAP must show at least the minimum number of units required for the degree. No
degree will be awarded where the minimum number of units specified for the degree
have not been completed.
- If the student is required to be enrolled the semester of graduation, this requirement must
be noted on the GAP.
Each graduate student must demonstrate the ability to write standard American English
correctly and effectively. The writing of a graduate student should be characterized by
precision of rhetoric and general control of the written word at a level appropriate to the
intellectual expectations for advanced study in the field. To assure that each graduate
level student has the desired proficiency in written English, two distinct assessments are to
be made by the major department during his/her enrollment as a graduate student.
These two stages or levels of assessment are summarized below. Detailed requirements
for each program area can be obtained from the major department offering the
degree.
The first level (or assessment) of proficiency in written English shall be determined by the
major department for all newly admitted students to the program, preferably before the
first enrollment takes place, but no later than the end of the first semester of enrollment.
An applicant is expected to be able to use correct grammar, syntax, spelling and
punctuation and to present concepts and information in a logically organized and
coherent form appropriate for initial study in the major field. Some departments require
that their students take the Graduate Essay Test (GET), administered by the Testing Office,
to determine if writing deficiencies exist and, if so, what type. If remedial work is
necessary, the student shall be expected to complete prescribed courses in English or
other corrective work at a level acceptable to the department.
The second level (or assessment) of proficiency in written English occurs later in the
student's graduate program, preferably by the time of Advancement to Candidacy (i.e.,
the time a Graduate Approved Program is filed and approved). At this time, the student
shall be expected to demonstrate writing skills which exemplify scholarly style in his/her
chosen discipline. In some disciplines the style may be somewhat impersonal and
objective, while in others it may be more subjective and creative. The student should
know how to quote, paraphrase or write a precis, integrate quotations and rephrasings
with original ideas, cite sources and prepare manuscripts or other works in accordance
with accepted scholarly style in the field of study.
Any research conducted by a student at this university that involves human and/or
animal subjects requires the prior approval of the Committee for the Protection of Human
Subjects (CPHS) and/or the University Animal Care and Use Committee (UACUC). Such
approval must be obtained before the initiation of any research activity involving these
subjects. Contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs for forms and
mandated procedures to be followed.
A student is advanced to candidacy for a degree when the Graduate Approved
Program (GAP) is accepted and approved by the dean of the Graduate Division. All
conditions placed on conditionally classified status must be satisfied before a student
submits a GAP. It should be filed in the semester immediately preceding registration for
the final six units of graduate work. The GAP should list the specific requirements (e.g.,
courses, examinations, theses, etc.) to be completed before the degree can be
awarded. It must be approved by the graduate major adviser and the graduate
coordinator (or committee) of the student's major college and then be submitted to the
dean of the Graduate Division for review and approval. As of the time the Graduate
Approved Program (GAP) is filed and reviewed by the Graduate Division, the student
must have earned a 3.0 grade point average in all of the course work taken in
post-baccalaureate status at SFSU, as well as a 3.0 in all course work completed to date on
the GAP. Once the GAP is approved, a copy will be mailed to the student.
A Graduate Approved Program (GAP) will be valid only as long as the student maintains
continuous enrollment status with the university as defined elsewhere in the Bulletin. Any
time a student is required to reapply for admission to the university, s/he must also be
reconsidered for admission by the major department. If readmitted, a new GAP must be
completed that meets current curricular requirements.
If a student wishes to change his/her GAP by adding or removing a course, s/he should
file an adviser and college approved Petition for GAP Substitution or Exception form with
the Graduate Division. Reasons for waivers or substitutions to the program should be
noted on the form.
If a student does not complete the Graduate Approved Program with the required 3.0
(B) average, the department/program may terminate the student's candidacy and
classified status in the program or authorize a change in the courses listed on the
Graduate Approved Program. The change may include courses taken by the student
but not included on the GAP or stipulate additional courses the student is to take in order
to raise the grade point average to the minimum level. The additional courses must be:
at the upper division or graduate level; graded with letter grades; regular courses, not to
include 699 or 899 courses; approved by the graduate adviser; and applicable to the
degree objective, although the courses need not be restricted to the student's major
department/program.
If the student fails to earn the minimum 3.0 grade point average on completion of the
revised Graduate Approved Program, it will be recommended that his/her candidacy be
terminated without the award of the master's degree.
A student intending to earn a master's degree at this institution must have earned a 3.0
(B) cumulative grade point average in all course work taken in post-baccalaureate
standing (last seven years only) at San Francisco State University. When the student fails
to meet this requirement, additional course work must be completed in order to make up
the deficiency. There is no provision for waiving this requirement.
The additional courses must be: at the upper division or graduate level; graded with
letter grades; regular courses, not to include 699 or 899 courses; approved by the
graduate major adviser; and applicable to the degree objective, although the courses
need not be restricted to the student's major department/program.