Deadlines and Important Instructions for KSAS and WSE PhDs, D.Eng. and Master’s Degree Completion

Students should always check with their program a semester prior to their intended semester of completion to understand timeline, requirements, and other important considerations.

Graduating students need to file an application for graduation with the registrar’s office for the semester in which they intend to complete their degree.

Whiting School of Engineering Students

(If submitting a Whiting School of Engineering Master’s Essay/Thesis/Project or PhD dissertation:*)

• Please forward the ETD Submission Approval  email to your department academic staff and include your exact degree, department, and expected conferral semester in the body of the email. (Example: MSE, Civil Engineering, Fall 2013).*
• You must include the title of your dissertation/essay/project typed in the body of the email in title case format with correct spelling and punctuation — Please do not use all upper case or all lower case letters.*
• You must attach the abstract and title page from your dissertation (not the whole dissertation).*
• Your name will not be placed on the degree candidate’s listing for approval by the Graduate Board (PhDs) or the WSE Graduate Committee (Master’s) and President of the University until the email has been received by the appropriate deadline.*
• You are highly encouraged to cc: [email protected] on this email, however, it is your responsibility to follow the preferred notification process as set out by your department administrator that the dissertation/essay/project has been accepted by the ETD Office

Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Students

(If submitting a Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Master’s Essay/Thesis or PhD dissertation:*)

• Please forward this email to your department academic staff  and include your exact degree, department, and expected conferral semester in the body of the email. (Example: PhD, Classics, Fall 2013).*
• You must include the title of your dissertation/essay typed in the body of the email in title case format with correct spelling and punctuation — Please do not use all upper case or all lower case letters.*
• Your name will not be placed on the degree candidate’s listing for approval by the Graduate Board and President of the University until the email has been received by the appropriate Graduate Board deadline.*
• You are highly encouraged to cc: [email protected] and [email protected] on this email, however, it is your responsibility to follow the preferred notification process as set out by your department administrator that the dissertation/essay has been accepted by the ETD Office.
• Students will not be placed on the degree candidate’s listing for approval by the Graduate Board and President of the University until the email has been received by the appropriate Graduate Board deadline.

Further Instructions: 

• Although students will receive a submission confirmation email, their dissertation/theses must be approved and accepted by the library before the student can be placed on the final degree candidate’s listing for approval. Students will receive a second approval confirmation email once their dissertation/theses is accepted. The library will notify the GB of all accepted submissions.
• The GBO exam, reader’s letters, dissertation, and department certification must be completed and submitted by the above deadlines for the graduate student’s name to be put on the Graduate Board’s degree completion list.
• An Application for Graduation must be received by the Registrar’s Office. Graduate students should return the completed form to the Registrar’s Office and not the Graduate Affairs and Admissions Office. If no Application for Graduation is on file in the Registrar’s Office, the student will not be included on the degree candidates list signed by the president.
• Should a student’s degree requirement materials be received after the deadlines listed below that student’s name will be added to the next semester’s Graduate Board list for completed degrees and there may be registration requirements.

Other Important Considerations:

• To complete before the start of a semester and avoid registration, Final Graduate Board Oral Exams must be completed at least two weeks before the start of classes and all materials must be submitted to Graduate Board and Dissertations submitted to the Commercial Binding Office prior to the first day of classes.
• Graduate Board Exams may be held throughout the academic year. Written requests to schedule a GBO examination should be submitted in writing at least three weeks prior to the proposed examination date. Students must be registered for the semester in which they take their exam.
• Dissertations should be provided to the examiners at least two weeks before the date of a final exam. Students and advisors are responsible for distributing copies to the examiners.
• Dissertations must be completed and electronically submitted to the library by the below dates.

Conferral Date: December 27, 2024

1. Pre-Semester Completer Deadline: August 23, 2024

Pre-semester completers don’t have to register for the semester in which they are conferring, but need to have been registered consistently in all prior semesters (except in approved semesters of leave) . An application for graduation must be filed for the semester of conferral, and students should always check in with their programs, OIS (when appropriate), and the registrar’s health insurance desk if they have questions or concerns about timing.

• Dissertation (PhD)/Essay, and Thesis (Master’s) submitted to library ETD by August 23, 2024 (or all coursework/exams finished), final ETD approval email dated by noon (12:00pm) on August 27, 2024, or all final grades posted for coursework-only students submitted by noon (12:00pm) on August 26, 2024.

2. Grace Period and Regular Semester Deadline for PhDs, and Grace Period Deadline for Master’s: October 23, 2024

Grace Period and Regular deadline completers must register for the semester in which they are conferring, and need to have been registered consistently in all prior semesters (except in approved semesters of leave). An application for graduation must be filed for the semester of conferral, and students should always check in with their programs, OIS (when appropriate), and the registrar’s health insurance desk if they have questions or concerns about timing.

Note: there is only one PhD submission deadline for the Fall semester (the Grace Period and Regular deadline are the same, because the Grace Period is extended for the fall).

• PhD students must submit their dissertation to the ETD Office by 5:00pm on Wednesday, October 23. It will take approximately 48 hours for the ETD office to approve your final submission if there are no edits or corrections.  After submission, students should check their JHU email often and immediately follow all instructions from the ETD office regarding corrections and/or edits. Upon receipt of the ETD approval email, students should forward immediately to their department and cc their cognizant academic affairs office. This email is essential to degree conferral. If final ETD approval has not been secured by noon (12:00pm) on Monday October 28, then the student will be moved to the next conferral cycle and will not graduate in the Fall 2024 term.
• Master’s students completing projects or an essay/thesis internal to their department  (not publishing through ETD) are subject to the same deadlines as above to be considered for eligibility under the Grace Period.
• Coursework-only students must have all final, resolved grades posted to SIS by their instructors by noon (12:00pm) on Monday, October 28, 2024 to be eligible under the Grace Period.

3. Recommended Final Graduate Board Oral Exam deadline for Fall Graduate Board Meeting (KSAS students only): October 4, 2024

4. Regular Completion for non-Grace Period Master’s and D.Eng. ETD Submission Deadline: December 6, 2024

• Master’s students expecting to confer in December 2024 after completing the full fall semester must submit their project/essay/thesis to their department or ETD by December 6, 2024. These students must be registered and pay tuition for the fall semester.
• D. Eng. students must submit their dissertation/final project to the ETD Office by December 6, 2024 AND must receive the final approval email (not the initial submission acknowledge email) from the ETD Office NO LATER than by Wednesday, December 11, 2024 by close of business (5:00pm).

Spring Conferral Date (this is the date when the diploma and transcripts will be finalized with the degree conferred): May 22, 2025

1. Pre-Semester completer Deadline: January 15, 2025

Pre-semester completers don’t have to register for the semester in which they are conferring, but need to have been registered consistently in all semesters prior. An application for graduation must be filed for the semester of conferral, and students should always check in with their programs, OIS (when appropriate), and the registrar’s health insurance desk if they have questions or concerns about timing. This deadline is available to master’s, PhDs, and D.Eng students.

• Dissertation (essay/final project for masters/D.Eng, etc.) submitted to library ETD by January 15, final ETD approval email dated (12:00pm) noon on January 21, 2025.
• If a department does not require ETD submission for their master’s essays/thesis, master’s students must submit internally to their department by January 17, 2025

2. Grace Period Deadline: February 14, 2025

Grace Period and regular deadline completers must register for the semester in which they are conferring, and need to have been registered consistently in all prior semesters (except in approved semesters of leave). An application for graduation must be filed for the semester of conferral, and students should always check in with their programs, OIS (when appropriate), and the registrar’s health insurance desk if they have questions or concerns about timing. Grace Period Completers (GPC) have the option to file a tuition deferral form with student accounts. If a student meets the GPC deadline, they will not owe tuition for that semester. If they don’t meet the GPC deadline, tuition will be charged. This deadline is available to master’s, PhDs, and D.Eng students- special instructions follow below:

• PhD Students must submit their dissertation (or for Master’s students,  their thesis/essay, or for D.Eng students, their dissertation/final project) to the ETD Office by Wednesday, February 12, 2025 AND must receive the final approval email (not the initial submission acknowledgement email) from the ETD office NO LATER than by noon (12:00pm) on Monday, February 17, 2025.
• Master’s students completing projects or an essay/thesis internal to their department  (not publishing through ETD) are subject to the same deadlines.
• Coursework-only students must have all final grades posted to SIS by their instructors by close of business (5:00pm) on February 14, 2025.

3. Final Graduate Board Oral Exams for Fall Graduate Board Meeting (KSAS students only- there is no oral exam deadline for WSE students): February 28, 2025

4. Regular Completion Deadline: March 26, 2025

• PhD Students must submit their dissertation to the ETD Office by Wednesday, March 26, 2025 AND must receive the final approval email (not the initial submission acknowledgement email) from the ETD office NO LATER than by noon (12:00pm) on Monday, March 31, 2025.
• Master’s students completing projects or an essay/thesis internal to their department  (whether or not they are publishing through  the ETD) must submit a fully completed project/essay/thesis either by their departmental internal deadline or by May 7 (the WSE/KSAS divisional deadline), whichever comes first.
• D.Eng students must submit their dissertation/final project to the ETD Office by May 7, 2025 AND must receive the final approval email (not the initial submission acknowledgement email) from the ETD office NO LATER than by Friday, May 9, 2025 by close of business (5:00pm).

Conferral Date: August 23, 2024

1. July 12, 2024 Recommended, but not required, Completion of Final Graduate Board Oral Exams for Summer Graduate Board Meeting (KSAS students only)

2. July 17, 2024,  Summer PhD Deadline

PhD Students must submit their dissertation to the ETD Office by 5:00pm on Wednesday, July 17. It will take approximately 48 hours for the ETD office to approve your final submission if there are no edits or corrections.  After submission, students should check their JHU email often and immediately follow all instructions from the ETD office regarding corrections and/or edits. Upon receipt of the ETD approval email, students should forward immediately to their department and cc their cognizant academic affairs office. This email is essential to degree conferral. If final ETD approval has not been secured by 8:00am on Monday, July 22, then the PhD student will be moved to the next conferral cycle and will not graduate in the Summer 2024 term.

3. August 9, 2024, Summer Master’s Deadline and D.Eng. ETD Submission Deadline

• Master’s students completing projects or an essay/thesis internal to their department (whether or not they are publishing through the ETD) must submit a fully completed project/essay/thesis either by their departmental internal deadline or by August 11th (the WSE/KSAS divisional deadline), whichever comes first.

• D.Eng students must submit their dissertation/final project to the ETD Office by August 9, 2024 AND must receive the final approval email (not the initial submission acknowledgement email) from the ETD office NO LATER than by Wednesday, August 14, 2024 by close of business (5:00pm).