NC State Graduate School Information
Here are links to a variety of resources and information on critical policies you need to follow.
NC State Graduate Handbook
The Graduate Handbook provides an overview of Graduate School functions and resources, as well as the rules, regulations, and procedures administered by the Graduate School.
It is the responsibility of all graduate students to know and understand their degree requirements. Students are responsible for the fulfillment of those requirements.
Graduate Catalog
The Graduate Catalog contains Graduate School requirements and pertinent information for individual graduate programs, a current list of graduate faculty, and a selection of other resources for new students. The Catalog is informational only and is subject to change. Official policies and procedures are in the Graduate Handbook and on the NC State Policies, Rules and Regulations web site.
North Carolina Residency for Tuition Purposes
Waiver of Out-of-State Tuition (tuition remission).
For all out-of-state students on an assistantship and with U.S. citizenship or residence visas, the in-state tuition is paid by the assistantship for two years for Master’s students and for three years for Doctoral students. The Graduate School can grant a waiver of out-of-state tuition only for the first year of residency. It is the responsibility of these students to apply for North Carolina residency immediately upon their arrival on campus. Failure to apply for North Carolina residency in a prompt manner will result in the student being subject to paying out-of-state tuition after the one-year waiver expires.
Establishment of North Carolina Resident Status.
You should begin establishing your NC residency immediately upon arrival to NC State. The process is done through the North Carolina Residency Determination Service (RDS). You cannot apply for residency until you have been in North Carolina for 365 days.
Please visit the Residency for Tuition Purposes page for complete information on how to establish legal residency for tuition purposes.
Continuous Registration Requirement
After a student is admitted to the Graduate School and enrolls for the first time, she/he is required to maintain continuous registration, i.e., be enrolled each semester, excluding summer sessions, until she/he has either graduated or her/his graduate program at NC State has been terminated. All students who graduate during the second summer session must be registered for either the first or second summer session.
For complete information, visit the Minimum Enrollment Requirements page in the Graduate Handbook.
Graduate Advisory Committees
Selection of an Advisor. In most cases, the graduate student will be assigned an Advisor at the time the letter of acceptance to the Graduate School is mailed. This arrangement is not intended to preempt the student’s involvement in selecting someone with whom the student desires to study. Rather, this procedure is followed to insure that a Graduate Faculty member is willing to advise and work with each student admitted. Furthermore, assistantships are awarded either from grants to specific research programs or from other sources to strengthen specific research programs within the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. The Advisor is essential to the early planning of a student’s program and for selection of the Advisory Committee.
Comprehensive Examinations
Comprehensive examinations are a critical step in degree completion in evaluating the relevant breadth of knowledge in master’s and doctoral students. Throughout the process, the chair of the candidate’s advisory committee has the obligation to maintain a scholarly atmosphere and to keep academic integrity and the student’s best interest foremost.
Please visit the Comprehensive Examinations page in the Graduate Handbook for details for Master’s and Doctoral Examinations.
Theses and Dissertations
A thesis is required for the Master of Science degree and a dissertation is required for the Doctor of Philosophy degree. With consent of the Advisory Committee, the student must prepare the thesis or dissertation and submit the thesis or dissertation electronically to the Graduate School.
The student is responsible for the content and the proper format of the thesis or dissertation. Information on the required format and organization, as well as other regulations and resources, are available at the NC State Graduate School pages below. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all requirements are met for successful submission of the thesis or dissertation.
Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) Home Page
Forms
Unless otherwise noted, all forms are fillable PDF forms.
Request to Schedule Master’s Oral Examination
Request to Schedule Doctoral Preliminary or Final Oral Examination