Master's Graduation Checklist Fall 2025

The following checklist will help to guide you through the process of completing the requirements for degree conferral. You should refer to the graduation information on the Registrar's website and maintain contact with your thesis committee and Graduate Program Director throughout the semester for information and any changes in deadlines.

You must be registered during the semester in which you intend to graduate. For those students completing a thesis, you must be registered for at least 1 credit of 799. The last day to register for Fall 2025 is September 2, 2025 (please note that a late registration fee may apply).

Complete the following steps:

  1. By September 30th: File a Graduation Intent through the PatriotWeb system.
  2. Update your current mailing address, phone number, and email address at Patriot Web.
  3. Insure all "IP" (In Progress) and "IN" (Incomplete) grades are resolved by the end of the semester

For those students completing theses:

  1. By November 3rd at 5:00 PM: Students completing theses are required to submit their documents for a format review to Sally Evans, the Dissertation and Thesis Coordinator in Fenwick library. She can be reached at udts@gmu.edu. Formatting guidelines and submission information are available online.
  2. Select and schedule a defense date with your committee.
  3. The due date for thesis submission to Fenwick Library is Friday, December 5, 2025 by 5:00 p.m. Theses submitted after this date will qualify for Spring 2026 degree conferral.

    • Electronic submission of the thesis
      • One PDF file of the entire thesis. 
      • One signature sheet signed (in black ink) by your committee and department chairperson must be submitted to University Thesis and Dissertation Services along with your thesis.  
      • Mason has installed an Embargo Policy. With its addition, students will have the option to make their work in MARS available immediately or to delay its availability for 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years.  Students who wish to embargo their documents will need to obtain signed, written permission from the chairs of their committees and the graduate associate deans of their colleges/schools. The Embargo Request Form will be submitted to UDTS at the time of Final Submission. We cannot embargo any work without signatures from both the committee chair and the dean.

      *It is the student's responsibility to ensure that all required approvals are obtained by the submission deadline and that required paperwork is included with the dissertation submission. The student is solely responsible for insuring that all necessary materials are submitted to the University Library by the submission deadline.

If you are unable to finish your degree requirements in time to graduate in Fall 2025, you will need to file a new intent to graduate for May 2026. See graduation timelines on the Registrar's website.

Please contact the CHSS Office of Graduate Academic Affairs at 703.993.8864 or chssgradstudent@gmu.edu if you have any questions or need assistance.