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Department of Psychology at Illinois State University

Plan of Study

Students in a graduate degree program must develop with their advisor a Plan of Study. A copy of the plan is retained by the program or sequence coordinator. Students are responsible for meeting with their advisor on an ongoing basis to keep their Plan of Study updated, as needed. All course requirements on the Plan of Study must comply with degree and graduation requirements established by the department and the Graduate School

Instructions for completing a Plan of Study

Students must develop with their advisor a Plan of Study. The Plan of Study identifies the course that will be taken to satisfy the degree requirements of the Department of Psychology and Illinois State. A copy of the Plan is kept in student's program or sequence files. Students are responsible for meeting with their advisor to keep their Plan of Study updated, as needed.

DEGREE CHOICE: Students may elect to receive a Master of Science or a Master of Arts degree. The Master of Arts degree should include with the Plan of Study a transcript reflecting a grade of C or better and a minimum of four (4) semesters of one chosen foreign language at the university level or a satisfactory score on the university-administered language proficiency examination. See the Graduate Catalog for specific requirements.

COURSE WORK: The Plan of Study, when approved by the designated officials, indicates the course work needed to meet the degree requirements.

  • Provisional and Probationary status indicated on the student’s admittance letters must have been removed.
  • All deficiencies listed on the student’s admittance letter must have been satisfied.
  • Cumulative graduate grade point average must be 3.0 or above.
  • Only graduate-level courses with a grade of A, B, or C may be listed.
  • At least 15 hours of 400-level courses must have been completed (a 33-hour or less program requires a minimum of 15 credit hours at the 400 level; a 34+-hour program requires 18 credit hours).
  • A thesis or dissertation or a competency project or examination (based on specific program or sequence requirements).
  • All 300-level courses listed were taken for graduate credit. Only 300-level courses listed in the Graduate Catalog are available for graduate credit.
  • A maximum of nine hours is allowed of any combination of the following courses: 393, 397, 400 [a maximum of six hours], 493, and 498 [a maximum of only six hours for the 33-hour or less program/sequence and eight hours for the 34-hour or more program/sequence].
  • A maximum of six hours of 499 (thesis hours) is allowed.
  • The student’s adviser should be consulted for information on courses offered under the same number but with different subset and content (i.e., workshops, topic courses, seminars, independent studies). Write in the course title and number on the Plan of Study and attach a syllabi for each different subset and course topic.
  • Substitutions for required courses can only be made with the approval of the program or sequence coordinator. A written rationale signed by the coordinator must be attached to the Plan of Study.

TRANSFER COURSES: A maximum of nine hours may be transferred from another institution with department and Graduate Schools approval. A separate form for requesting approval of transfer courses is available on the Graduate School Web site. See Request for Transfer of Credit. Each course identified on the form must be supported by an attached official transcript reporting the course number and title, semester and year taken, and grade received from the institution granting the credit.

SIMULTANEOUS SEQUENCES: A student may share a common core of degree requirements across two sequences and can share common sequence requirements subject to the following limitations:
1. The requirements for both sequences must be completed before the degree can be awarded;
2. The requirements for the two sequences and the degree program must be completed within a six-year time limit from the time of admittance into the degree program.
3. No more than nine (9) hours of independent study (PSY 400) or professional practice (PSY 498) can be shared for both sequences.
4. Thesis hours may be shared by both sequences.
5. The Plan of Study for the original sequence must lists all courses for that sequence; a second Plan of Study for a second sequence lists all required courses minus the core requirements (and thesis, if appropriate).

SUBMISSION OF THE PLAN OF STUDY: The Plan of Study must be typed or word processed and prepared with program/sequence approval. The final Plan of Study must include the signatures of the student, coordinator, and adviser, if applicable. Students are responsible for obtaining the required signatures. The Plan of Study should be submitted to the Graduate Psychology Programs office for copying. The Graduate Psychology Program office will forward the Plan of Study to the Graduate School.

See the Graduate School Web site for Dates and Deadlines, to ensure approval within the established deadline.

REVISION OF PLAN OF STUDY: To request a change of the approved Plan of Study, the Change in Plan of Study form must be completed and the form signed by the student the coordinator’s signature (and adviser’s signature if applicable). The form is then submitted to the Graduate Psychology Programs Office, DeG 448 to be copied and submitted to the Graduate School.

ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY: In order to be admitted to candidacy a student must have:
1. satisfied all deficiencies;
2. an approved Plan of Study on file in the Graduate School;
3. a minimum GPA of 3.0 in graduate course work at Illinois State University; and
4. the Proposal Approval Form for Research Leading to a Doctoral Dissertation or Master’s Thesis on file in the Graduate School or have chosen the comprehensive project or examination option as allowed by the specific program or sequence.

APPLICATION TO GRADUATE: A student anticipating graduation in May and December must apply to graduate as required each semester by the Important Dates and Deadlines (www.grad.ilstu.edu). Students anticipating August graduation, who want to participate in the May Commencement Ceremony, must apply as if graduating in May. The student pays the required graduation fee when applying for graduation. If a student fails to complete graduate requirements and is not qualified to graduate as applied, the student must reapply for the next appropriate semester.