Steps to Take in Your Final Semester 1. Register 2. Check that you have completed or are completing all courses and research hours on your Plan of Work and change your registration if necessary. Fill out Application to Graduate. The form is online. 3. Complete your thesis/dissertation (t/d). 4. Choose a day and time for your Final Oral that is acceptable to all committee members. Ph.D. students should include the Grad School Representative, if one has been assigned, in your choice of the day and time. Connie will find a room for the exam. 5. At least two weeks before the exam, submit your t/d to your committee and inform Connie when the exam is to be scheduled. She will also need the title of your t/d. Your t/d will have a title page which all members will sign when the t/d meets their approval. See the comment below on the formatting of this title page. The signed title page is necessary for the next step. The format for your t/d is given at http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_publicns/thesdis/req.htm. 6. To graduate in a given semester you must (1) pass your final oral exam, and (2)have the cover page signed by all members of the committee. (3)You must submit a PDF of the signed cover page and a PDF of the t/d electronically to the thesis editor by the first deadline which is roughly 6 weeks prior to graduation. This submission constitutes the initial t/d review. The deadline date for this initial t/d review is announced each semester. This Fall, this first deadline is Nov. 6, 2009 at 5 PM. The thesis editor checks your t/d for formatting. She does not correct your spelling or grammar. 7. The thesis editor will probably get back to you with required format changes and you may have to resubmit your t/d several times. The closer you follow the instructions the fewer iterations it will take. 8. Submit the final PDF file of your t/d by the second deadline; this Fall the second deadline is December 4, 2009 at 5 PM. You may not be informed that it has been approved till after that, but the date of submission of this final version is what is important. 9. Notify Connie and the Graduate School of your intentions regarding your participation in the commencement/ departmental diploma ceremonies 10. Graduate If you miss the deadline for the Grad School initial thesis review for graduation in one semester but have this initial review before the start of the following semester, you will be awarded your degree at the end of the following semester( or SS II for summer grads). You must fill out a new diploma card for your new graduation in the following semester , but need not register for that semester. International students should check with OIS on this. If the Grad School initial thesis review is delayed till after the start of the following semester both registration in and a new diploma card for the following semester. are required. Suggestion: Given the various deadlines, to graduate in December, May or August, you should schedule your Final oral about two months before graduation in mid-October, mid-March, or mid-June respectively. This gives you about two weeks to make corrections to and secure committee signatures on your t/d. This is only a suggestion, not a requirement. If your t/d is in such good shape at the time of your final oral so that your committee will sign soon after the exam, then you can push the date of the exam closer to the t/d review deadline. Comments on title page: When preparing the title page of your thesis or dissertation, the appropriate verbiage for our programs is:   MARINE, EARTH,AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES nothing else will do, no more no less. The thesis editor, who has the final say on this, is rather adamant on this. She will cancel the review if other verbiage is used. The etd website has two sample title pages, one for master's degree and one for doctoral, that clearly show the program name: http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_publicns/thesdis/title1.htm (MS) http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_publicns/thesdis/title2.htm (PhD)