Graduate Forms and Handbook
This handbook should be used in conjuction with the Requirements for Master's Degree in the 2024-2025 General Catalog. It describes programs of relevance to students in the mechanical engineering department.
The Graduate Division will generate the Advancement to Candidacy and send it to the Graduate Adviser for approval after the student's Official Program of Study has been processed and approved.
The Advancement to Candidacy must be signed by the Graduate Advisor and returned to the Graduate Division. If a student is not eligible for Advancement to Candidacy after the Official Program of Study is approved due to the lack of units, unsatisfactory GPA, an unfulfilled foreign language requirement, or unfulfilled deficiencies, the student's file will be reviewed for Advancement to Candidacy by the Graduate Division at the end of each semester.
For most majors, a student is eligible for Advancement to Candidacy after having completed at least 12 semester units of the Official Program with a GPA of 3.0 or better. In addition, the student must have completed all the undergraduate deficiencies and the special requirements of the department or school concerned; have passed the foreign language examination if required; been recommended for Advancement of Candidacy by the department; and approved for Advancement to Candidacy by the Graduate Council.
NOTE: A student may not receive an Appointment of Thesis/Project Committee Form, enroll in Thesis 799A, or take a final departmental examination (including a thesis defense) until s/he is Advanced to Candidacy.
If a student is admitted to a graduate program on a conditional basis, the student must meet the conditions by the deadline stated on the departmental recommendation s/he receives when s/he is admitted to SDSU.
After the student has completed the conditions, s/he must contact the Graduate Advisor and request that a Change of Status is sent to the Graduate Division to become classified.
When a student is admitted conditionally, it is imperative that the student meet those conditions by the indicated deadlines.
Download Change of Status Form Document
Please check your mySDSU for updates to your student records.
If you are interested in being a grader for an ME instructor, please fill out the form below and return to the ME office.
If a student feels that serious and compelling circumstances clearly beyond his/her control prevented fulfillment of academic obligations, s/he may request to retroactively add or withdraw from a course(s) after the semester has ended by submitting a Graduate Petition for Retroactive Course Changes to the Graduate Division. This form is available at the Registrar's office or the Graduate Division; it is not available online.
The Graduate Petition for Retroactive Course Changes requires the approval and signatures of the instructors of the courses involved, and the approval and signature of the graduate adviser if the student is classified or conditionally classified. The form should be submitted to the Graduate Division when all signatures are secured. Supporting documentation must accompany the Petition to the Graduate Division.
If approved, the Registrar's office requires the student to pay a processing fee to the Cashiers Office.
Note: Students should be aware that the University policy permits approval of this Petition only if the petitioner can demonstrate that serious and compelling circumstances clearly beyond the student's control prevented fulfillment of academic obligations. Supporting documentation is required.
To enroll in ME 797 or 798, a student must complete either the ME 797 Graduate Supervision Form or the ME 798 Graduate Supervision Form with the faculty member who will oversee their special project. Upon completion, submit the form to the ME department office to obtain your schedule number for these courses. Please note that you must have a completed Thesis or Project Advisor Form on file in the ME Office prior to enrollment in ME 797/798.
For graduate students who plan to complete a thesis, a Thesis Advisor Form is required to be on file with the department. Complete the form with your Thesis Advisor and return the form to the ME department office. For graduate students who plan to complete a project, a Project Advisor Form is required to be on file with the department. Complete the form with your Faculty Advisor and return the form to the ME department office.
Students who wish to enroll in Thesis 799A must first have an approved Thesis Committee Form on file with the Graduate Division. Once this form is processed and approved, students may request a schedule number and an add code from the Graduate Division in order to enroll in Thesis 799A.
Students requiring additional time to finish their theses must enroll in 799B Thesis Extension, either through main campus or through the College of Extended Studies. Please refer to Part Four of the Graduate Bulletin for more information on thesis and thesis extension courses.
Generally, this petition is used to request an exception of specific requirements stated in the Graduate Bulletin. These may include substitution of core (required) courses, extension of incompletes, excess units taken through Extended Studies' Open University, using prior year's Graduate Bulletin requirements and transfer courses from another university replacing core (required) courses. The petition must be signed and supported by the graduate adviser. A letter of support may accompany the petition if extensive explanation is required, but the letter is not necessary for most requests.
If the student is submitting their Official Program of Study at the same time, the petition must be included. After the petition is submitted to the Graduate Division, the Associate Graduate Dean will make the final decision. Both the student and Graduate Adviser will receive notification of the Dean's decision.
At times, it is necessary for the Dean to take these petitions to the Graduate Council for final review prior to determination.
Expected processing time: 2 weeks
Please check your WebPortal for updates to your student records.
Petition for Adjustment of Academic Records
If approved, a student is allowed to repeat a course in which a WU has been assigned. The original WU grade will remain on the permanent record, but only the second grade will be used in computation of the grade point average. A course in which a WU has been earned may be repeated only once. Repeated courses may not be taken for credit/no credit.
Repeat WU Graded Courses Form
A letter verifying completion of degree requirements may be requested ONLY if the following applies:
The student has missed the application for graduation with an advanced degree deadline, yet has completed all degree requirements. If the student has completed a thesis, the Montezuma Publishing division of Aztec Shops must have provided notification to the Graduate Division that the thesis was turned in and payment was made for binding before a letter of verification may be written. If the student has completed a final/comprehensive departmental examination, the student's department must provide notification to the Graduate Division.
Letter of Completion Form.
Note: This is a standard letter and no special exceptions of the wording may be requested.
Students are only able to obtain and officially file an Appointment of Thesis Committee/Project Form, listing the names of people who will serve on the thesis committee, after they have been Advanced to Candidacy. This is a restricted form and may be mailed upon request or picked up by students in the Graduate Division. This form must be approved by the Graduate Division before students will be allowed to enroll in Thesis 799A.
Please note that the required textbook for Thesis 799 is the SDSU Dissertation and Thesis Manual available in the Aztec Shops bookstore. This manual includes instructions on selection of a committee, permission to use research, approval of topic, thesis planning and formatting, Dissertation & Thesis Review procedures, and other pertinent information. Most of this information, with the exception of formatting guidelines, is also available from the Dissertation & Thesis Review website.
The Report of Final Examination(s) or Thesis Defense for Master's Degree is due after the Thesis has been approved. Prior to signing the form, the Graduate Adviser requires an email from the Thesis Committee Chair stating that the candidate has fulfilled all obligations to SDSU (thesis defense and submission, return of property, back-up and turn-over of data, instructions for next student, etc.) and that the Thesis Committee Chair has reviewed the results of the Turnitin anaylsis of the Thesis and finds those results acceptable.