Faculty and Staff

GRADUATE POLICY ▷

STATISTICAL REPORTS

SYSTEMS RESOURCES

OUTREACH MATERIALS

Late Admission Application Request Form 📝

Graduate Coordinators Manual

Faculty Advisor & Graduate Coordinators Manual 2023-2024

A quick reference guide to SFSU graduate policies and procedures, and the role of the graduate coordinator.

Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) Policy

Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) Requirements

The following minimum standards apply to all Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) forms.

Units on ATC must include:

A minimum of 30-semester units or more as required for the degree. No degree will be awarded where the minimum number of units specified for the degree has not been completed.
Seventy Percent (70%) of the units must be from graduate-level courses:
- Fifty percent (50%) of the units from exclusively graduate-level courses (700-999 level). Most programs require more units or all units to be taken at this level.
- Twenty percent (20%) of the units on the ATC may be graduate paired courses (graduate students must always register for the graduate designated section of the paired course).
Thirty percent (30%) of the units may be from upper-division level courses:
- Thirty percent (30%) of the units on the ATC in some graduate programs may be from upper-division undergraduate courses. Graduate students enrolled in undergraduate courses must complete additional coursework as specified by the instructor.
- No lower-division course work (100-299) is allowed on the ATC.
At least 18 units of coursework taken within the department offering the degree program.
No more than 9 units from any combination of Open University (CPaGE) work, credit by examination, and transfer work for the requirement of a 30-unit program and proportionally more for programs that exceed 30 units (e.g., a maximum of 18 semester units may be used in meeting the requirement of a 60-unit program if accepted by the program).
No more than 12 units earned through an official graduate international exchange program (or proportionally more for higher unit programs) if approved by the department/program and the dean of Graduate Studies. Exchange work must be at the graduate level. Students using 12 units of exchange work on their ATC may not in addition, use transfer work, Open University (CPaGE), credit by examination, or more than six units of 899 work on their ATC.
All units of a completed (awarded by SFSU) graduate certificate are transferable to a degree with approval from the department and Dean of Graduate Studies.
Any ATC course substitutions must be approved by the department prior to enrolling in a substituting course.
The ATC may not include more than 6 units of credit in 899 Independent Study courses (699 not permitted) related to the degree objective. The 899 Independent Study may only be included on the ATC as an elective and cannot be used to substitute core required courses.
All non-supervisory courses listed on the ATC must have a grade of B- or higher.
The ATC may not include more than 4 graduate student teaching units applicable to the discipline.
No more than 30 percent (e.g., 9 units on a 30 unit program) of the work with CR grades, including any transfer units.
No more than 6 units of credit in experimental courses (874, 877). Undergraduate equivalents of these courses are not permitted on the ATC.
No prerequisite coursework may be used to meet degree requirements.
The ATC may not include any units used to obtain a previously awarded degree except if they are part of an approved curriculum in a blended program such as the SF Scholars program.
At least 21 of 30 units must be taken in residence on this campus or proportionally more for programs that exceed 30 units.
Summer Semester academic units are counted as residence credit.
The ATC must specify how the student has met the Level I and Level II written English proficiency requirements in accordance with the regulations of the department.

Grading Standards on the ATC

Both a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better in all post-baccalaureate work taken at San Francisco State AND an ATC GPA of 3.0 (coursework listed on the ATC) or better is required. Departments can have stricter requirements.
An ATC will not be approved if the transcript reflects an incomplete grade (i.e., I or IC). Students should resubmit the ATC after a grade is earned for the incomplete. IC grades are not permitted on the ATC.
All non-supervisory courses listed on the ATC must have a grade of B- or higher.
Grades earned by international students in required English proficiency courses may not be used on the ATC and are not computed in the grade point average for the master’s degree, but will be computed for evaluation of the SF State overall GPA.
Graduate students in CR/NC courses must earn a B– or better to be granted a CR grade.
A grade of RP is given for a Culminating Experience course until completed. Upon completion, the Culminating Experience course grade should be changed to CR or letter grade.
It is the student’s responsibility to ensure all courses listed on the Advancement to Candidacy are completed with passing grades and are reflected on the transcript.

For General information on University grading standards, refer to the Grading Policy and Systems section of this Bulletin.

Culminating Experience (PCE) Policy

Culminating Experience Requirements

In accordance with Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, the Culminating Experience must be met by the satisfactory completion of a thesis, special project, comprehensive examination, or a combination of more than one of these. An oral defense of the work is normally required.

Students must file a Proposal for Culminating Experience (PCE) that has been approved by program faculty. The original form must be submitted subsequent to or simultaneous with the ATC. Both the PCE and ATC forms require original, ink-based faculty signatures. No stamped, copied, electronic, or scanned signatures are accepted. Students are not permitted to enroll in a Culminating Experience course until both of these forms have been approved by Graduate Studies. A Report of Completion of the Culminating Experience and/or Thesis submission or Written Creative Work must be submitted by the last day of the semester in order for the student to graduate in the semester of submission. Review the Division of Graduate Studies calendar for deadlines.

If changes occur in the project content, purpose, or research methods prior to completion of the Culminating Experience, a revised Proposal for Culminating Experience form must be submitted to the Division of Graduate Studies. If the type of Culminating Experience course changes after approval of the ATC and the Proposal for Culminating Experience, both a revised Proposal for Culminating Experience form and an ATC Substitution form must be submitted to the Division of Graduate Studies.

Use the revised Proposal for Culminating Experience form if the project’s content, purpose, or research methods change. Title changes to the Proposal for Culminating Experience, after initial approval, must be requested through a Title Change Form. To officially change the composition of a Culminating Experience committee, a student must submit a Petition for Committee Revision form to Graduate Studies.

The types of Culminating Experience options to meet degree requirements are determined by the programs with approval of the Division of Graduate Studies. Typical Culminating Experience options are:

Seminar: Culminating Experience Seminar (890)
Supervised Field Internships (892)
Written Creative Work (893)
Creative Work Project (894)
Field Study or Applied Research Project (895)
Comprehensive Examination (896EXM)
Thesis (898)/Dissertation (998)

Joint/Group Culminating Experience Projects and Theses

The Culminating Experience is usually the expression of a single student’s work – a thesis (898), a dissertation (998), and a written creative work (893) must have a single author; however, the University recognizes that there are some circumstances that warrant joint/group projects. At no time will more than three students be able to submit a joint/group project.

Each student participating in the joint/group project must have separate responsibilities, and these must be reviewed, endorsed, and subsequently evaluated by the students’ Culminating Experience committee members. Each student must complete a separate Culminating Experience Proposal, but they must be submitted jointly for review. Each proposal must have an attachment that includes:

A list of the separate research areas/responsibilities of each student.
A statement of the identifiable written component of the work to be completed by each student.
The signatures of each student and the committee chair.

A Joint Project Statement form is available on the Graduate Studies website.

If human or animal research is involved, students may submit one set of the research protocol documents but must list all participating students on the Protocol Approval Form.

Human and Animal Protections Review Requirement

Any research conducted by a student that involves humans, vertebrate animals, or biological specimens (e.g., tissues, stem cells/cell lines, blood) requires approval at SF State, even though that research may have been approved at another institution and/or takes place at another location. Approved protocols from another institution must be approved and registered with the Office of Human and Animal Protections (HAP). There are no exceptions. A student whose work involves humans, vertebrate animals, or biological specimens (e.g., tissues, stem cells/cell lines, blood) is not permitted to begin data collection without the explicit approval of the Division of Graduate Studies. Before beginning any research with humans, vertebrate animals, or biological specimens (e.g., tissues, stem cells/cell lines, blood), students must review the Human and Animal Protections (Office of Research and Sponsored Programs/HAP) website for institutional regulations. This is a federal requirement. If you are uncertain if your research involves human or animal subjects complete an Application for Determination of Exemption found on the HAP website.

Composition of Student’s Culminating Experience Committee

Regardless of the type of Culminating Experience being completed, a committee must be established to evaluate whether the student has satisfactorily completed the final requirement for the degree.

The committee must consist of at least two members, and departments can require additional members.
The chair and the second member of the committee must hold tenured/tenure-track faculty appointments in the major department.
In circumstances where special expertise is available in another department, the Dean of Graduate Studies may authorize a designated tenured/tenure-track faculty member from a related department to serve as the first or second reader.
With special permission from the Dean of Graduate Studies, some long-term lecturers, FERPs, selected faculty emeriti, or research collaborators with terminal degrees in their field or with special expertise may be approved as the second reviewer, provided their current curriculum vitae is on file in Graduate Studies. Due to the temporary nature of these special appointments, both the student and the lecturer must understand the risk to the timely completion of the Culminating Experience. An agreement form, establishing when a retired or FERP faculty member is available to work with the student, is available on the Graduate Studies website, found here: FERP Emeritus Thesis Agreement pdf download. It must be signed by both the student and committee member and submitted along with the Culminating Experience Proposal form.
Lecturers or experts in the field from off-campus universities, industry, or research facilities may serve as a third member of a student’s committee if they have extensive expertise in the area under study and hold a terminal degree in the field. A current curriculum vitae must be on file in Graduate Studies. Any proposed committee member who does not hold a terminal degree in the major field of study will be reviewed by the Graduate Dean to determine if committee membership is appropriate.
If a committee member of the Culminating Experience leaves or is unavailable during the agreed-upon semesters of completion of the Culminating Experience, the student will need to reconstitute the committee. New faculty members often have different expectations and may require a student to revise and resubmit the Culminating Experience Proposal.
Students should be aware that few faculty members are available to provide guidance with the Culminating Experience during Winter Break or the summer months. Students required to complete a defense of their thesis or research should plan for completion during the regular semester period. Agreements for review of drafts or defense hearings held outside of semester weeks should be obtained in writing.
To officially change the composition of a Culminating Experience committee, a student must submit a Petition for Committee Revision form to Graduate Studies.

Registration and Grading Procedures for Culminating Experience Courses

To register for a Culminating Experience course, a student must have a GPA of 3.0 or better in all post-baccalaureate coursework completed, as well as an approved Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) form and Proposal for Culminating Experience (PCE) on file in Graduate Studies. Status of the ATC and Proposal for Culminating Experience approval can be found by accessing SF State Gateway on the web. After approval of the ATC and PCE, students may obtain permit numbers from their committee chair, and/or the graduate coordinator of the department to enroll in their Culminating Experience course.

When the Culminating Experience project is completed, be sure that the student’s committee chair (first reader) files a grade change to CR (Credit) with the Registrar's Office.
A Report of Completion must be filed for all Culminating Experiences
Thesis/Dissertation/Written Creative Works need to be reviewed by Graduate Studies and submitted to the Library. Adhere to Thesis Guidelines for completion.
If students do not complete the course by the end of the semester of registration, students will receive a grade of RP (Report in Progress) and should not register for the course again.

Academic Senate Policy

Academic Senate Policies & Graduate Education

Academic Senate policies relevant to graduate admissions, graduate degree requirements, graduate program quality and standards are found at https://sfsu.policystat.com. Please review these policies and reach out to the Dean of the Division of Graduate Studies and graduate studies staff for guidance or clarification.