The Master's Degree
ADMISSION TO MASTER'S DEGREE PROGRAMS
REGULAR ADMISSION
Regular admission to a master's degree program includes the following requirements:
Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university;
Minimum 2.5 quality point average on all undergraduate hours pursued (minimum of 3.0 quality point average for Nursing);
Undergraduate prerequisites for the degree to be pursued;
GRE scores prescribed for the degree to be pursued; and
Special requirements of the department for the degree to be pursued.
PROVISIONAL ADMISSION
Provisional Admission to a master's degree program may be granted for one semester for students whose records, including GRE scores, have not been received. Psychology applicants must have on file scores on the GRE aptitude test, to be considered for provisional admission.
Failure to remove provisional status after one semester will result in suspension from any degree program and reclassification to non-degree status. Upon submitting all required records, a student may later be admitted conditionally or regularly to a degree program, provided all requirements are met.
CONDITIONAL ADMISSION
Conditional admission to a master's degree program (other than the Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Education in Physical Education and concentrations in Sports Administration and Health Promotion) may be granted for one semester, or for the first 12 semester hours, of approved graduate study for either students whose GRE score is 600 or more, but less than the required minimum of 800 (900 for Psychology), or students whose undergraduate quality point average is 2.0 or better, but less than 2.5 (excepting Nursing and Physical Education, and concentrations in Sports Administration and Health Promotion). Conditional admission to a master's degree program in Nursing may be granted for students whose GRE score is 750 or more, but less than the required minimum of 900 or students whose undergraduate quality point average is 2.5 or better, but less than 3.0. Conditional admission to a master's degree program in Physical Education and concentrations in Sports Administration and Health Promotions may be granted for students whose GRE scores are at least 750 but less than the required minimum of 800 and an undergraduate GPA of 3.0. Students are required to schedule an interview with members of the graduate faculty in the Department of Health and Human Performance.
Conditional status in a master's degree program may be changed to regular status by earning 12 semester hours of approved graduate degree credit at Northwestern State University with a grade of B or better on all graduate work pursued.
Failure to achieve regular status after 12 graduate semester hours will result in suspension from any master's degree program. Reinstatement will require:
- A lapse of five years during which no degree credit may be earned;
- Re-admission and completion of 12 additional semester hours of approved degree credit at Northwestern State University with no grade lower than B; and
- Approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research and the Graduate Council. If reinstated, failure to maintain regular status will result in terminal suspension. Only approved degree credit courses will be computed in the grade average.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTER'S DEGREE
When a student is admitted to graduate study for the master's degree, the head of the college/department in which the student plans to major will appoint an advisor who will assist the student in preparing a tentative program of studies. Upon the recommendation of the advisor, the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research will appoint an advisory committee composed of the student's advisor and two other graduate faculty members; members of the student's committee will represent the principal fields of study to be included in the degree program. A degree plan must be prepared by the student and the committee, meeting together, during the student's first semester of full-time enrollment, or prior to the completion of nine semester hours of credit in part-time enrollment; this plan and any modifications to it require the approval of the Graduate Dean.
GENERAL DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
The minimum credit requirement for the master's degree is 30 semester hours of graduate work, not more than six of which may be allowed for the thesis course and the completion of a thesis. If a student does not write a thesis, he/she must complete at least six semester hours of courses which require special research procedures and formal written research reports except for certain programs in which the student, with the permission of his/her committee, may elect to complete a minimum of 33 semester hours of graduate credit including at least three semester hours in a course which requires special research procedures and a formal written research report. At least one-half of the courses taken, including one-half of those in the major field, must be courses open only to graduate students.
The graduate program must include a major area of concentration of not less than 18 semester hours. Programs leading to the Master of Education must include at least 12 semester hours in education and 12 semester hours outside the field of education. For secondary teachers the 12 semester hours must be in a single field1; for elementary teachers this credit may be distributed among several fields.
An average of not less than B on all graduate work pursued, with no grade lower than C and not more than six hours of credit with a grade of C, shall be presented to fulfill the course requirements for the degree. No grade below B is acceptable for transfer credit.
A course with a grade of Pass may not be used to satisfy a course requirement for a graduate degree.
RETENTION
The student must comply with provisions cited under "Eligibility to Remain in Graduate School."
COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION
The student must pass a comprehensive final examination - oral or written, or both - which will include a defense of the thesis, if a thesis is written.
THESIS OR PROJECT IN LIEU
Two copies of the thesis and one additional copy of an abstract (not exceeding 350 words) must be filed with the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. If the student does not write a thesis, copies of major investigative reports must be approved by the Graduate Dean and the director of the report and filed in the office of the head of the student's major department. A paper in lieu of thesis must be over and beyond the regular requirements of the course in which the paper is written.
ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY FOR THE MASTER'S DEGREE
To be eligible for admission to candidacy for the master's degree, a student must:
- Have achieved regular status;
- Have a degree plan approved;
- Have completed a minimum of 12 semester hours of graduate work at Northwestern State University;
- Have earned a B average on all graduate work pursued.
The final decision for admission to candidacy is by vote of the Graduate Council, upon the recommendation of the student's committee and with the approval of the Graduate Dean.
After being eligible for admission to candidacy, a student must earn at least six semester hours of graduate credit or complete a thesis at Northwestern State University.
TIME LIMIT
All work applied toward the degree must have been earned in the six years immediately preceding the completion of the graduate program. In special cases, upon approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, expired credits may be revalidated by examination.
TRANSFERRED CREDITS MAY NOT BE REVALIDATED
The examination must be a written test, must measure those topics currently taught in the course and must be evaluated as if the student had just completed the course. The student's written examination paper must be filed in the Graduate School office. Test construction and evaluation will be done by the instructor who is currently teaching the course or who has most recently taught the course. Revalidation will be on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. For grade point average purposes, the initial grade will be utilized. Requests for revalidation must be initiated in writing by the student's Graduate Committee and submitted to the Graduate School for approval. The cost of revalidation is $20 a course and must be paid and the receipt on file in the Graduate School office prior to taking the test.
RESIDENCE REQUIREMENT
At least two-thirds of the hours required for a master's degree must be earned in residence at Northwestern. The additional hours required for the degree may be transferred from another institution provided the institution, including its Graduate School, is regionally accredited, the grade earned is B or above, and the credits are accepted as applicable to the student's degree program.
APPLICATION FOR GRADUATION
A candidate for the Master's degree must file with the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research an application for graduation at the beginning of the semester or summer session in which he/she expects to complete degree requirements.
SECOND MASTER'S DEGREE
A student seeking a second master's degree may be allowed to apply from
a previous graduate degree a maximum of one-half the credits required for
the second degree.
1With the exception of Educational Leadership.