Filing for Candidacy

What Is Filing for Candidacy?

Students filing for candidacy must list all the courses they have taken or will take, so that Graduate Studies can make sure your program of study meets all their requirements as you approach graduation. It is also a juncture at which the Director of Graduate Studies can check to make sure that you have met, or will meet, all of the History Department's requirements for the degree.

When to File for Candidacy?

Students filing for candidacy must list all the courses they have taken or will take, so that Graduate Studies can make sure your program of study meets all their requirements as you approach graduation. It is also a juncture at which the Director of Graduate Studies can check to make sure that you have met, or will meet, all of the History Department's requirements for the degree.

You must file for candidacy at least one semester before you hope to graduate. (If you are a conditionally classified student, you must file the petition with Graduate Studies to obtain classified status before you can file for candidacy.)

While it is permissible to file for candidacy as a classified student when you have only nine units, this is probably not a good idea, as you will probably not know the exact courses you will take for the remainder of your program. If you guess or assume wrongly, you will then have to take another step and amend your original candidacy application. (See below.)

Deadlines

There is a strict deadline each semester for filing for candidacy. These deadlines change a little each year. To check on them, see Candidacy and Graduation Deadlines in Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations[BROKEN LINK].

Procedures

Obtain a copy of the Petition for Advancement to Graduate Candidacy [pdf].

To obtain a record of the courses you have taken, log into MySJSU[BROKEN LINK] and follow the instructions provided.

Type out the form carefully, or fill out the form online at the above website, and when you have completed the form print it. List courses taken in chronological order by semester. Do not list more than 30 units. Do not list any prerequisites conditional courses that you may have been required to take to obtain classified status, any courses taken in lieu of the language exam, or any extra courses that you may have taken beyond the 30 units for the MA Degree. Be sure to list courses you are taking in the present semester, and ones that you expect to take in forthcoming semesters, so that the Director of Graduate Studies and Graduate Studies can see that you indeed have a complete program to graduate.

If for some reason you do not take one or more courses that you have listed on your degree program form, you must subsequently fill out the form Request for Course Substitution in Master's Degree Program [pdf]. Graduate Studies will not award your degree if there is a discrepancy between the courses you listed on your original candidacy form and the ones you in fact ended up taking. On the above form, you will list the courses you took in place of the ones you listed on your original candidacy application form.

Having filled out the form, come and see the Director of Graduate Studies. He/she will review the form to make sure that you have met, or will meet, all the requirements. He/she will then sign it and send it to Graduate Studies.

They will review the form and let you know by mail if you have met, or will meet, the requirements for candidacy.