Application for Graduation

No later than the second week of the quarter in which a student expects to graduate, all degree candidates must submit a completed Intent to Graduate form to the Office of the Registrar. Summer graduates should submit at Intent to Graduate form at the beginning of the spring quarter.

Graduation Requirements

All graduate and doctoral students are required to submit the appropriate Degree Approval form to the Office of the Registrar after completing all academic requirements (including dissertation defense and submission of the dissertation to the library for microfilming). Doctoral candidates may not participate in the commencement ceremony before submitting this form. Please see each department/program for specific graduation requirements. To obtain the correct Degree Approval form, choose your college: College of Health Sciences, College of Nursing, The Graduate College.

Dissertation and Thesis

Some master's programs require a thesis to meet degree requirements. D.N.Sc. and Ph.D. candidates must complete a dissertation. Both are developed through faculty-guided independent research projects. Review of a thesis or dissertation will follow the sequence of steps as described by each college including the prescribed preparation manual for each degree. Copies of these manuals are available in each graduate division and in the University library. Each thesis/dissertation must be original and cannot have been used to meet the requirement of any other degree, either at Rush University or any other university. Each student will have a committee whose role is to assure that the student's thesis/dissertation is of high quality and meets the standards of the program and the University for originality, contribution to the field and scholarly presentation. The committee also assures that the student is making satisfactory progress toward completion of the dissertation. At or near the completion of the thesis/dissertation, each student will share with the academic community at large the knowledge developed via a public presentation. Two weeks prior to the presentation of the dissertation, a student is responsible for posting announcements on institutional bulletin boards regarding the presentation. The announcement must contain the title of the dissertation, the student's name, the location, and date of the presentation. The public presentation must precede the final approval of the thesis or dissertation by the Thesis/Dissertation Committee. A copy of the thesis/dissertation must be approved by the Director of the Rush University Library, microfilmed by University Microfilms International, and a copy must be bound for permanent cataloging in the library. D.N.Sc. students must complete all requirements for the degree pertaining to the dissertation including its defense prior to May 15th to remain eligible for participation in commencement. Ph.D. students should follow The Graduate College guidelines regarding who is eligible to participate in commencement.

Commencement Ceremony

Rush University commencement is held once a year at the end of the Spring Quarter. The exact date for commencement is published in the academic calendar appearing in the Rush University Bulletin. Students will be notified by the Office of Student Affairs concerning participation in the event. Up-to-date information can be obtained from the Office of Student Affairs' website at: www.rushu.rush.edu/studentlife/commence.html

Students are expected to march in commencement exercises. Information regarding degree requirements, deadlines and eligibility to participate may be obtained from program directors or from the Office of the Registrar. Students, whose academic plans change, making them ineligible to participate in the June ceremony will be then eligible to participate the following June should they successfully meet degree requirements. During the ceremony, diplomas are given to students who have completed their programs, discharged their financial obligations to the Medical Center, and returned all library books and other University property. Students will be notified of all outstanding obligations, and the Office of the Registrar will encumber the diplomas and transcripts of students until these obligations are met.

Further information regarding graduation and awarding of degrees can be found in the Academic Information section of the Rush University Bulletin.