Master's Non Thesis Requirements

Please refer to the Graduate College deadlines for term-specific dates. Students are encouraged to complete the steps below as early in the semester as possible, and students are responsible to adhere to the published deadlines to graduate in the term desired. Failure to meet all deadlines will resolt in postponing graduation to a later term.

Academic Plan Committee Online Form (APC)

The Academic Plan Committee appointment form must be approved by the Graduate College no later than the term before the final oral examination. In order for the APC to be approved in any given term, the online form must be approved by the Graduate College by the published deadline for that term.

Application for Graduation

Apply for graduation through Workday

Students who will not meet the graduation requirements for a given term are responsible to withdraw their application through Workday by the cancellation deadline.

Registration/Tuition

Students must register for the minimum tuition fee (tuition equivalent of one credit) or GR ST 681B “Examination Only” credit as an Iowa State University graduate student in the term in which the final oral examination is taken.

If the final oral examination is taken between terms (including the first day of classes for the later term), registration can be for either the term before or the term after the examination date.

International students holding F-1 or J-1 visas may have additional registration requirements and shoold contact the International Students and Scholars office as early as possible.

Request for Final Oral Examination

Submit the Final Oral Exam Request online to the Graduate College a minimum of three weeks before the requested exam date.

The Final Oral Exam Request must be received by the Graduate College no later than the cancellation deadline in the term of graduation. Students who do not meet this deadline will have their graduation cancelled by the Graduate College.

The final oral examination must be held no later than three weeks before the end of the term of graduation. See deadlines for more information.

Report of Final Oral Examination

This form is sent to the department/program through email once the Request for Final Oral Examination has been approved by the Graduate College.

The report form, with all required signatures, should be submitted to the Graduate College immediately following the examination.

Graduate Student Approval Form

Your major professor(s) and committee members review the content and format of your final creative component when you complete your final oral exam.

Once you pass your final oral exam and make all the changes to your creative component, you or your major professor must submit the online Graduate Student Approval Form for routing and approval. Only one submission is required.

The Graduate College must receive the online Graduate Student Approval Form by the deadline of the graduation semester.

Verify that all grades for Incompletes and Non-Report grades from previous terms have been submitted to the Office of the Registrar.

Any conditions placed on the final oral examination must be removed by the major professor and/or committee members, as designated on the Report of Final Oral Examination Form.

The Graduate College will not accept your creative component unless we have received the Graduate Student Approval Form.

Submitting your Creative Component to the Digital Repository

Help Contacts

  1. Melissa Stolt, Graduate College, mstolt@iastate.edu
  2. Anne Shelley, University Library, aeshelle@iastate.edu

 Creative Component Format

Follow the minimum requirements for Creative Components:

  1. Include page numbers
  2. Use the title page example format.

Optional: Graduate students who wish to make their document look professional can refer to the Thesis and Dissertation Writing Program to get additional formatting ideas. Look under Formatting Tools and Resources for the checklist, templates, and examples.

Uploading your Creative Component

  1. Navigate to https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/submit?collection=71537944-3990-4d99-9351-64b7a4f83125
    1. Click Log in with ISU Net ID. This will use your ISU login credentials to log you into the repository. You do not need to create an account.
    2. You should see an online submission form
  2. Fill out the following fields
    1. Title: Enter the complete title in title case.
    2. Author: Type your Last name then First name.
      1. Do not use the lookup.
      2. A middle name or initial should be entered after the first name.
    3. Student ID: Enter your Student ID number. This information will not display when your project is posted online.
    4. Date of Issue: Enter the year you are graduating and the following month, based on the semester you are graduating. Do not enter a day.
      1. Spring Semester Graduates: 5 (May)
      2. Summer Semester Graduates: 8 (August)
  • Fall Semester Graduates: 12 (December)
  1. Embargo: Skip this step if you do not want an embargo, or choose an embargo term.
    1. An embargo means we will delay the release of your Creative Component for either 6 months, 1 year, or 2 years. Users will be able to see basic information like title, author, and abstract, but they will not be able to access the actual document/file.
    2. Embargoes can be helpful if you are considering applying for a patent or are in the process of submitting your work to publishers.
  • The exact date the embargo expires will depend on when the administrator posts your Creative Component to the repository. This will occur after your graduation has been confirmed. To confirm your exact embargo date, contact the Digital Repository after graduation.
  1. Document Type: Select the type that best represents your Creative Component. If none do, select Other.
  2. Degree Name: Select the degree name associated with your program. For example, Masters of Arts.
  3. Major: Select your major.
  4. Department: Click the In the pop-up box, type your department name and click search. Click the box next to your department name and click the Close button.
    1. If you have a co-major, add a new line and do this step for the second department.
    2. Major Professor: Type the last name then first name of your major professor. Do not use the lookup.
  • If you have a co-major, add a new line and do this step for the second major professor.
  1. Committee Members:
    1. Only enter names here if they are listed on your Program of Study Committee (POSC)
    2. Type the last name then first name of your major professor. Do not use the lookup.
  2. Keywords: Enter at least one keyword. You must press the Enter key after each keyword for the form to recognize the keyword. If you do not, the form will give you an error message when you try to submit.
  3. Subject Categories: Select the subject category that best fits your Creative Component.
  4. Abstract: Copy and paste your abstract.
  5. Copyright Owner: Type your name.
  6. Copyright Date: Enter graduation year.
  7. Language: Select the language your Creative Component is written in.
  8. Creative Commons License:
    1. CreativeCommons licenses provide creators with different ways of allowing their work to be shared and reused. While it is not required, we encourage you to choose a Creative Commons license to apply to your Creative Component because the license will tell users what they can do with your work without having to contact you for permission.
    2. Here is a list of the possible licenses, listed in order of most permissive to most restrictive:
      1. CC0 1.0 – Public Domain
        CC BY 4.0 – Attribution
        CC BY-SA 4.0 – Attribution-ShareAlike
        CC BY-ND 4.0 – Attribution-NoDerivatives
        CC BY-NC 4.0 – Attribution-NonCommercial
        CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 – Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
        CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
  1. Learn about CreativeCommons: https://instr.iastate.libguides.com/creativecommons/home
  2. Contact us at digirep@iastate.eduwith any questions
  1. Upload files: drag and drop file(s)
    1. You must upload at least one file. Failure to upload a file will result in administrators returning your submission to you for revisions.
    2. Convert word documents or slide decks to a PDF prior to upload.
  • You may upload multiple files, including supplemental files. Name files so that users can distinguish between your Creative Component and any supplemental files.
  1. Last Step:
    1. If you want to save your progress but are not ready to submit, click Save for Later.
    2. If you are ready to submit, click Deposit.

Next Steps:

  • Your submission will be reviewed for completeness by an administrator within the Graduate College. If any substantial revisions are required, your submission will be returned to you along with notes regarding any necessary changes.
  • Once your submission is approved and your graduation has been confirmed, your Creative Component will be posted to the Iowa State University Digital Repository.

    Final Step

    Final clearance of academic requirements will be made when current term grades have been submitted and evaluated by the Graduate College.