Graduate Student Resources
If you were unable to attend the orientation on Aug. 16, please find the welcome presentation here.
MS and Ph.D. degree candidates
If you are in an MS program requiring a thesis, or in a Ph.D. program, there are a number of additional steps to take before you can graduate:
The University no longer accepts the submission of paper copies of your thesis. The final version of your document is required to be submitted in two electronic formats, as a PDF file as well as in its native format (e.g. Word). For details on this process see the TCU Library Online Submission Guideline page.
There is a fee associated with the required archiving and publishing of your thesis or dissertation by UMI (Proquest). This charge will be posted to your student account shortly before the graduation deadline. You will be responsible for paying the fee and notifying the Dean’s Office once the payment is complete.
To expedite the reporting of your final thesis or dissertation grade, your graduate advisor must submit the Thesis/Dissertation Grade Report form to the Dean’s Office.
If you are a Ph.D. candidate you are required to complete and submit to the College of Science & Engineering Dean’s Office the Survey of Earned Doctorates.
Graduation Deadlines and Checklist
- Graduation Deadlines Spring 2025 (PDF)
- Graduation Deadlines Summer 2025 (PDF)
- Graduation Deadlines Fall 2025 (PDF)
- Manual for the preparation of theses and dissertations (PDF)
- Graduation checklist (PDF)
SED: For Ph.D. candidates only
The completion of the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) is required for graduation.
We appreciate your answering all the questions you can, but you may submit the survey with some answers left blank if you cannot locate or choose not to share any piece of information. Please see the graduation deadlines document above for last date of submission of the SED.
Once you complete the survey, an email notification screen will allow you to enter up to two e-mail addresses where you would like the notification of completion to be sent. You should forward the completion notification to t.barth@tcu.edu. Your final approval for graduation will not be processed unless this notification is sent.