Master's Plan I (Thesis) or Plan II (Non-Thesis)

• Students must follow the UNM Catalog in place at the time of their admission, plus any additional departmental requirements.
• Students should check their academic records (LoboWeb) at the end of each term to ensure that their status, degree program, grades and GPA are correct and in compliance with UNM policies.
• Students must meet the general degree requirements published in the UNM Catalog.
• Students must submit a Program of Studies (POS) listing all the courses that apply to their degree. The POS form can be filed at any time after admission but must be filed no later than the term before the student intends to graduate.
  
  POS Deadlines*
  • March 1 for Summer graduation
  • July 1 for Fall graduation
  • October 1 for Spring graduation
• Students in either Plan I, II, or III must be enrolled for and complete at least 1 graduate credit in the term they sit for an examination or complete degree requirements. In order to qualify to sit for a master’s exam during the intersession, the student must be registered for the following semester. 
• Students must notify the degree program of intent to graduate the term prior to the term of graduation. Students should confirm additional deadlines with their program.
• Students are required to pass a master’s examination and/or thesis defense. The master’s examination may be taken only after the Program of Studies has received approval by the Graduate Dean and only if the student is in good academic standing. The Announcement of Examination form must be submitted to Graduate Studies a minimum of two weeks before the scheduled date of the examination. Students must be enrolled during the term the master’s examination is taken and complete at least one graduate credit.
• Students must satisfy degree requirements (passed master’s exam and/or thesis submission) by the deadlines of:
  • July 15 for Summer graduation
  • November 15 for Fall graduation
  • April 15 for Spring graduation
• Students who choose Plan I (Thesis) must complete a minimum of 6 hours of 599/thesis. Once students begin enrollment in 599 they must enroll in 599 every term (summer term is excluded, except if the student is graduating in the summer) until the manuscript is accepted by Graduate Studies.
• Students who choose Plan I (Thesis) must meet all thesis requirements. Please refer to the Graduation Checklist. After passing the thesis defense, students must electronically submit their theses within ninety (90) days or by the term graduation deadline, whichever comes first. Manuscript formatting guidelines are available through the Preparing Your Manuscript Tutorial and the Formatting Guidelines page.
• Students who miss the term graduation deadline, but complete degree requirements by the last day of that term, may choose to follow the Courtesy Policy.

*NOTE: Deadlines that fall on a weekend or holiday are automatically moved to the end of the next business day.

Master's Plan III (Coursework only) or Graduate Certificate

• Students must follow the UNM Catalog in place at the time of their admission, plus any additional departmental requirements.
• Students should check their academic records (LoboWeb) at the end of each term to ensure that their status, degree program, grades and GPA are correct and in compliance with UNM policies.
• Students must meet the general degree requirements published in the UNM Catalog.
• Students must submit a Program of Studies (POS) listing all the courses that apply to their degree. The POS form can be filed at any time after admission but must be filed no later than the term before the student intends to graduate.
  
  POS Deadlines*
  • March 1 for Summer graduation
  • July 1 for Fall graduation
  • October 1 for Spring graduation
• Students in either Plan I, II, or III must be enrolled for and complete at least 1 graduate credit in the term they sit for an examination or complete degree requirements. In order to qualify to sit for a master’s exam during the intersession, the student must be registered for the following semester. 
• Students must notify the degree program of intent to graduate the term prior to the term of graduation. Students should confirm additional deadlines with their program.
• Students must satisfy degree requirements by the deadlines of:
  • July 15 for Summer graduation
  • November 15 for Fall graduation
  • April 15 for Spring graduation
• Students who miss the term graduation deadline, but complete degree requirements by the last day of that term, may choose to follow the Courtesy Policy.

*NOTE: Deadlines that fall on a weekend or holiday are automatically moved to the end of the next business day.

Master’s enroute to PhD

Students admitted directly to a Ph.D. without a master’s degree may earn a master’s degree enroute to the Ph.D. (same major/subject code) by seeking approval from the doctoral program. The student must then follow the master’s degree requirements as outlined in the Master’s Degree Information in the Catalog. They must also complete requirements for their specific master’s degree program as published in the catalog under an academic year for which they are eligible.

Departments must submit a memo to grad@unm.edu with the following information by the degree requirement completion deadlines (November 15 for Fall graduation, April 15 for Spring graduation or July 15 for Summer graduation): 

1. List the students’ names and IDs that are master’s enroute for the semester in which the degree is being awarded.
2. For Plan II students, it must be documented in the memo if the program is allowing the students to use the doctoral comprehensive examination as the Plan II master’s exam. With prior approval by the program faculty and Graduate Studies, a doctoral qualifying examination may serve as the master’s examination provided that the committee composition fulfills the requirements for the master’s examination.
   1. Note that an Announcement of Exam and a passing Result of Exam for the comprehensive exam must be on file in Graduate Studies for Master’s enroute to be awarded if that is being used for the master’s exam for Plan II.
   2. For Plan I students, standard thesis procedures apply and this does not need addressed in the memo. See the Plan I section of this page above for more information.

*NOTE: Deadlines that fall on a weekend or holiday are automatically moved to the end of the next business day.