Graduate Academics and Information

Multiple Graduate Credentials/Degrees

While enrolled in graduate level programs (post-baccalaureate certificates, master’s degrees, post-master’s certificates, CAGS, And doctoral degrees) students may only declare and pursue one credential at a time; except in cases when dual degree programs have been intentionally developed to be concurrently awarded as outlined in the University Catalog.The following policy exists to help students who are interested in earning multiple graduate credentials at Clark University.

• After completing a graduate certificate, if a student wishes to pursue a master’s or doctoral degree, all certificate units may apply to the degree when the certificate courses are equivalent to program requirements or electives of the degree.
• After completing a graduate certificate, if a student wishes pursue another graduate certificate, units may apply to the additional certificate when the first certificate courses are equivalent to program requirements or electives of the additional certificate.  However, students will be required to take additional Clark University courses equal to the number of courses required to meet the residency requirement of the additional certificate.
• After completing a graduate degree or certificate, if a student wishes pursue another graduate degree (master’s or doctorate), units may apply to the additional degree when the first degree courses are equivalent to program requirements or electives of the additional graduate certificate or degree.  However, students will be required to take additional Clark University courses equal to the number of courses required to meet the residency requirement of the additional certificate or degree.

This policy does not apply to master’s degrees awarded during the pursuit of a doctoral program.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of philosophy degrees are offered in biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, chemistry, economics, geography, history, physics, and psychology. Only well-qualified candidates with proven ability in their special fields of study will be encouraged to proceed to the degree of doctor of philosophy.

Residence: The minimum requirement is one year of full-time study (generally eight course units) beyond the M.A. or its equivalent in part-time work, in residence. If the master of arts or master of science has been earned at Clark, this requirement is in addition to the residence requirement for that degree.

Foreign Language: Each graduate department sets its own language or related requirements as the student’s field of research may demand and must report such requirements in each case to the dean of graduate studies. If a language is required, either a testing service or on-campus tests are employed at the discretion of the department.

Preliminary Examination: Upon completion of preparation in the fields of study, a prospective candidate takes a preliminary examination set by the major department. This examination may be written or oral, or a combination of both. The chair of the department may invite other scholars from within or outside the University to participate in the examination.

Dissertation: A dissertation, which is expected to make an original contribution to a specialized field of knowledge, is required of each candidate. The dissertation, approved by the chief instructor or dissertation committee, is presented to the examining committee at the final oral examination. An abstract of the dissertation, not exceeding 350 words, is approved by the dissertation advisers. Four weeks before the degree is to be conferred, a presentation-quality copy of the dissertation, together with two official title pages, an academic history, and an abstract must be delivered to the University format adviser. At the same time, one or more copies of the dissertation and of the abstract may be required by the major department. The title pages and academic history forms can be obtained online. The presentation-quality copy of the dissertation must be computer printed as prescribed in the format guide located on the Graduate School Web site.

The dissertation becomes part of the permanent collection in the University library. A microfilm copy of each dissertation is made by Proquest of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is available for duplication on request to that company. The abstract is printed in Dissertation Abstracts International.

Articles published in referred journals may be accepted in lieu of a dissertation with the approval of the department and the graduate dean.

Nonresident Students: Students who have completed all their in-class course work and are finishing their degree requirements off campus must continue to register each semester until graduation as nonresident students. The nonresident student status fee is $200 each semester for a maximum of three years.

Master’s Degree

Master of Arts degrees are offered in the fields of community development and planning, education, English, international development and social change and teaching.  Master of Science degrees are offered in the fields of environmental science & policy and geographic information science for development and environment.

Residency: An academic year (generally eight course units) of study in residence is a minimum requirement for a master’s degree. Individual departments or programs may require longer periods of residency.

Foreign Language: Language or other special requirements are included in the department listings in this catalog.

Course and Examination Requirements: Each student must complete at least eight course units in a program approved by the department. One course may be a research course devoted to the preparation of the thesis. Credit for a maximum of two course units at another institution may be approved by the dean of graduate studies and research upon recommendation of the department.

Thesis: The thesis is written on a topic in the field of the student’s special interest under the supervision of a member of the department and in a style, length, and format that is appropriate to the problem being researched. A Formatting Guide for theses is available online at https://www.clarku.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/thesis_format_guide.pdf

Nonresident Students: Students who have completed all their in-class course work and are finishing their degree requirements off campus must continue to register each semester until graduation as nonresident students. The nonresident student status fee is $200 each semester for a maximum of three years. 

Certificate Programs

Credit Bearing Graduate (CBG) Certificate programs are available at the post-baccalaureate and post-master’s levels and are offered by several of the graduate schools and can range from three (3) to six (6) units.  Unless outlined below, all graduate academic policies for the particular graduate school or program apply to the graduate certificates as well (see Academic Policies ). 

Specific CBG Certificate policies:

• Completion of the certificate will not exceed 4 years of active coursework. Extensions to this time frame shall follow established graduate policies on leaves and extensions.
• All CBG certificate courses must be taken for a letter grade.
• People who complete a CBG certificate will not be considered eligible for university commencement ceremonies.

Residency:  Since graduate certificate programs vary in length, residency is defined by the following:

• For a CBG certificate requiring 3 units, 2 Clark units are required to meet residency requirements
• For a CBG certificate requiring 4 units, 3 Clark units are required to meet residency requirements
• For a CBG certificate requiring 5 units, 3 Clark units are required to meet residency requirements
• For a CBG certificate requiring 6 units, 4 Clark units are required to meet residency requirements

Internal Program Transfer

Graduate students in good academic standing occasionally discover that they are enrolled in a graduate program that does not align with their career aspirations.  Clark supports students requesting an internal transfer from one Clark graduate program to another within certain guidelines.  The following process details the steps the student must follow to initiate an internal graduate program transfer.   The decision to accept a transferring Clark student into a graduate program other than original admitted program is at the discretion of the accepting entity.  Students must request an internal program transfer at least four weeks before the start of a semester using the following steps.

1. Student advises their program academic advisor of the desire to transfer to another Clark graduate program.
2. The academic advisor of the student’s originating unit reviews and approves the student request to contact the receiving entity for a transfer interview.  The approval is documented and sent to the receiving entity program advisor or director.
3. The student is interviewed by the receiving school or department.  During this time the new advisor will review the student’s transcript and determine suitability for admittance. The same admission criteria for a new admit will be applied to an internal transfer.   While all the student’s courses follow the student to their future academic department, eligibility of those courses for degree requirements is determined by the receiving school or department.  It is at the sole discretion of the receiving school or department to honor or deny any previously awarded tuition remission or scholarships.

It should be noted that a student’s accumulated grade point average (GPA) represents their entire history at Clark and not only degree requirements.  Therefore the internal transfer of program does not interfere with the overall calculation of the student’s accumulated GPA.  Students requesting an internal transfer should verify that they will be able to meet Clark’s minimum GPA of 3.0 for graduation requirements.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure the that they understand the course requirements of their new program and to work with the new academic advisor to register for the appropriate courses for the subsequent semester.

Time Limits for Degrees

The standards outlined below are the minimum standards. Programs may impose stricter limits. Please check in with your department to ensure you are meeting the program-specific deadlines. Students who fail to complete the degree requirements in the time allotted and who have not received an extension of time approved by the Dean of Research and Graduate Studies (or Dean of SOM, SPS, or Director of IDCE) will be required to withdraw from the graduate program. Please note these standards supersede any guidelines in place prior to Fall 2020.

Ph.D.

Students must complete the requirements within 7 years of active enrollment. Approved leaves of absence do not count against the time limit, but time spent in nonresident status does.

Master’s

Full-time master’s students must complete the requirements within 4 years of active enrollment, and part-time master’s students must complete the requirement within 7 years of active enrollment. Approved leaves of absence do not count against the time limit, but time spent in nonresident status does.

Certificate

Credit bearing graduate certificate completion will not exceed 4 years of active coursework.  Approved leaves of absence do not count against the time limit, but time spent in nonresident status does.

Extensions of Time to Complete Degree Requirements

Students who will not finish the degree requirements within the time allotted may request an extension of time to complete those requirements. Such requests normally will be for no more than one academic year. Petitions should include a timeline for completion of the degree requirements and must be approved by both the thesis/dissertation advisor (if relevant) and the department before submission to the Dean of Research and Graduate Studies (or the Dean of SOM, SPS, or Director of IDCE) for final approval.  Typically, only one extension of time will be granted. In extenuating circumstances where a second extension may be required the petition will be reviewed by a faculty committee.

Graduate Scholarships, Fellowships and Assistantships

Graduate scholarships and fellowships are provided for well-qualified students by the University from endowed funds and from other sources. Financial aid to graduate students also is available in the form of grants from a number of special funds and, in some departments, from sponsored research grants. Students who receive awards must obtain permission from the department before accepting employment.

Graduate Scholarships

Graduate Scholarships are mostly offered to doctoral students who are on full-time residence status. Graduate Scholarships typically take the form of tuition-remissions. 

Research Fellowships

Research fellowships are mostly offered to doctoral students who are on full-time residence status. Research fellowships that are supported by faculty research grants or departmental endowments are usually offered to students with particular skill sets. Research fellowships can also be obtained from external sources, such as National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Fulbright Scholars Program, and programs offered by certain national governments.

Teaching Assistantships

Teaching assistants are mostly offered to doctoral students who are on full-time residence status. Responsibilities include conducting discussion sessions, supervising laboratory sections, holding tutorial sessions, and grading papers and projects. Teaching assistantships typically involve a commitment of approximately half time (an average of 17-1/2 hours a week). In most cases, tuition-remission scholarship accompanies this award. Additional support up to a 12-month stipend is available in some departments.

Research Assistantships

Research assistantships are available in several departments, and involve conducting research and writing with a faculty member.  Research assistantships are offered to graduate students with particular sets of skills, and are supported by faculty research grants or departmental endowments. 

Course Assistantships

Course Assistants are available from the Graduate School Budget, and are typically assigned to courses in departments and programs where teaching assistantships (above) are limited or unavailable.  Responsibilities include conducting discussion sessions, supervising laboratory sections, holding tutorial sessions, and grading papers and projects. Course Assistantships typically involve a commitment of approximately 10 hours/week, although some assignments go up to 17.5 hours/week.