Processes
Academic Year Sign-In
All enrolled graduate students are required to complete academic year sign-in through SCORE in September in order to receive their graduate awards and other University benefits to which they are entitled. Failure to sign-in will result in a loss of these benefits. Students should communicate with their departments well in advance of sign-in to learn of any departmental schedules that they must meet. International students must be lawfully present in the United States as a condition of sign-in. The Office of the Dean of the Graduate School has the authority to grant exceptions to this policy.
Re-enrollment
Re-enrollment is the annual process whereby every department and the Graduate School evaluate the academic progress of graduate-degree candidates. The re-enrollment process, which is conducted during the latter half of the spring term, is often supplemented by other departmentally specific evaluations conducted at different times during the academic year (for example, doctoral students’ thesis committee meetings, which may occur once or at several times during an academic year). Students are encouraged to participate actively in the annual re-enrollment process by preparing their own written statement of academic progress during the current year, and goals and objectives for the coming year. All students eligible for re-enrollment, including those writing dissertations, must make formal application each year through their individual department. Students who have satisfied all academic requirements within their department and demonstrated their readiness for continuing graduate work are offered re-enrollment no later than June; others are notified about re-enrollment when a basis for judgment is available.
Degree Application & Completion Process
Effective August 29, 2011, all students who expect to graduate in November 2011, or on any future advanced degree list, both Ph.D. degree candidates and master’s degree candidates, must use the new on-line Advanced Degree Application accessible through the SCORE system. Students who seek to graduate in November, or later, initiate this new, paperless process and follow the same steps as before to apply for their advanced degree.
Ph.D. Students
Students about to defend their Ph.D. dissertations and graduate should first review the checklist.
If a dissertation needs to be reviewed for possible patentable results and subsequent patent application either by the University or by a non-University agent, or if it must be reviewed by an outside sponsor for the proprietary information or results, then these processes must be completed before the student initiates the online Advanced Degree Application process and department requests to hold the final public oral examination.
The one bound and/or final copy of your dissertation is due in your department at least two full weeks prior to your defense date in order to be available for inspection and reading prior to the final public oral exam.
Each Ph.D. candidate must submit an Abstract of the dissertation. The Abstract should not exceed 350 words and should be written in as formal a manner as the dissertation itself. The Abstract must be bound with the single hard copy of the dissertation submitted to Mudd Library. The candidate must upload one other copy of the Abstract to the online Advanced Degree Application, which is then submitted to the Graduate School's Office of Academic Affairs, along with other documents and information, as the Request to Hold the Final Public Oral Examination.
According to the Embargo Policy approved by the Graduate School in May 2012, Ph.D. candidates may request a 2-year embargo on their dissertations with the potential for renewal by petition. To request an embargo, students must complete and submit the Ph.D. Dissertation Embargo Request and Approval Form as part of the Advanced Degree Application.
The completed online Degree Application Form should be submitted online to the Office of Academic Affairs, two weeks prior to the defense date. The student is responsible for uploading or attaching the Title Page of the dissertation and the Dissertation Abstract. The graduate program administrator will gather and upload other necessary documents, such as Readers’ Report, the Prior Presentation and Publication form, etc.
The authorization memo from the dean of the Graduate School approving the final public oral exam will be sent to the department automatically when the Graduate School has approved the Advanced Degree Application. The FPO authorization memo (“posting form”) must be posted publicly in the department at least three full working days prior to the defense date.
The candidate has completed all degree requirements after the one bound copy of the dissertation has been deposited to the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library archives, normally immediately after successfully completing the final public oral examination (but in all cases within two weeks of the successful defense), and when the candidate presents confirmation to Mudd of having successfully uploaded their dissertation to ProQuest/UMI ETD.
Also, the Final Public Oral Report form must be signed by a Mudd Library archivist, and submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs, 111 Clio Hall.
The Princeton University archivist assumes responsibility for liaison with ProQuest/UMI Publishing Agency. In order that certain minimum standards of uniformity are observed in the publishing process, the University archivist has established a format for the thesis and procedures for its deposition with the University archives. See the Mudd Manuscript Library's dissertation submission webpage for details on formatting and on ProQuest/UMI publishing options.
The following items are due in Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library normally right after the successful completion of Final Public Oral Examination, but in no case later than two weeks after the defense:
- Final Public Oral Exam Report signed by Chair of FPO Committee or DGS - (1 original plus 1 copy)
- One bound copy of the dissertation
- Print-out of confirmation e-mail when you submitted your dissertaion at ProQuest
- Check payable to Princeton University Library or cash: $15 dissertation maintenance fee
- All publishing and copyright fees are paid directly to ProQuest at their online site. (The Graduate School requires Traditional or Open Access Publication and does not allow publication restrictions.)
- If you have requested an embargo, you must provide an e-mail approval from the Graduate School
Visit the Mudd Manuscript Library webpage on dissertation submission for formatting instructions.
The three documents below must be submitted in hard copy to the Office of Academic Affairs, 111 Clio Hall, normally right after the successful completion of final public oral exam, but in no case later than two weeks after the successful defense:
- Final Public Oral Exam Report in hard copy, signed by Chair of FPO Committee or DGS and Mudd librarian
- Survey of Earned Doctorates (hard copy of the "Certificate of Completion" page of the SED)
- Exit Questionnaire (hard copy of "Confirmation of Completion" page must be submitted)
The Trustees will not award the Ph.D. degree until these documents are received, and delay in submitting these documents can jeopardize the award of your degree.
Please note: If your submission of these documents to the Graduate School falls after the deadline for the advanced degree application, then your degree will be awarded at the next meeting of the Trustees.
Master's Students
Master’s students who are ready to graduate according to the schedule above for the award of advanced degrees should also go in via SCORE to complete the on-line Advanced Degree Application, enter the information appropriate for their degree, and then hit the Submit button in order to move that information to their graduate program coordinator.
The following item is due in the Office of Academic Affairs, 111 Clio Hall, as the final step in the graduation process:
- Exit Questionnaire (hard copy of "Confirmation of Completion" page must be submitted)
Review of Academic File
Graduate students may review their academic file held in the Graduate School Office. Student files cannot be removed from the Graduate School Office; therefore, all reviews must be done on the premises. Students must present a valid student I.D. and obtain prior permission to view their file by completing the authorization form (pdf) and bringing it to 111 Clio Hall for approval by the associate dean for academic affairs.
For information on privacy rights, please refer to the Student Privacy Rights Under Federal Law.