The program administrator will select an academic advisor for you at the time of admission. During your first semester in the program, you will work with your academic advisor to develop an approved Plan of Study (POS). While developing your POS, you will select elective courses and create a plan that identifies the semester in which you will take all of your courses. When registering in subsequent semesters, you will use your POS to ensure you are signing up for all of the courses necessary to graduate by your anticipated graduation date. If at any point you need to make changes to your POS, you can make an appointment with your academic advisor to update your plan. Either the student or the program may request an advisor change to match the student’s academic interests or professional goals. Any advisor change should be the result of consultation among the student, current advisor, proposed advisor, and program administrator.
The expectation of the program is that students maintain a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) or better in their coursework. Any student with a GPA below 3.0 is ineligible to graduate. Students with a cumulative grade point average below 3.0 at the end of an enrolled semester will be placed on academic probation. At the end of the next enrolled semester (including summer), the graduate college will review the student’s progress and take one of the following actions:
Remove the student from probation if their cumulative grade point average is 3.0 or above.
Continue the student on probation if the cumulative GPA is below 3.0 and the semester GPA is 3.0 or above. Students may continue on probation for an unlimited number of semesters, but will remain ineligible for graduation until their cumulative grade point average is 3.0 or above at the end of their graduation semester.
Dismiss the student from their graduate program and Boise State University if both their semester and cumulative GPA is below 3.0. Students who are dismissed are administratively withdrawn from their courses and cannot register for classes until they are reinstated to the program or readmitted to the Graduate College.
In each case, the Graduate College informs the program and student via email using the student's Boise State email address.
The Boise State Graduate Catalog is published annually, usually late in the spring semester. It contains information vital to the program, including schedules of deadlines for exams, projects and more. You are responsible for meeting all deadlines and are encouraged to read the parts of the Graduate Catalog which apply to your program. We recommended that you retain all graduate catalogs during your tenure at Boise State University. As a rule of thumb, the curriculum you should follow is that which was published in the catalog the first year of your attendance. However, a student may elect to graduate under the curriculum of any academic year in which enrolled in the MS program.
The Boise State University Graduate College regulations provide that all requirements for a master's degree must be satisfied within seven years. The seven-year interval commences during the semester in which the student completes the first MS course; and, the interval must include the date of graduation.
Students whose course work exceeds the seven-year limit must submit a formal request for an extension to the Administrator of the MS Program. The request must include an explanation for the delay in completing the program as well as the student's plan to complete the degree requirements within the requested extension period.
After consultation with faculty in the MS program, the Program Administrator may recommend a waiver to the Graduate Dean. If the Dean approves the request for extension, the Program may require one or more of the following additional degree requirements:
Submission of a paper discussing major new developments in the MS core areas in which the outdated course(s) was (were) taken;
Revalidation of a course(s) through an oral exam, written exam, or repeating the course(s).
According to University regulations, a grade of incomplete can be given when a student's work has been satisfactory up to the last three weeks of the semester. The student has one year to complete the work assigned by his/her instructor. If the work is not completed by that time, a failing grade will be given.
A contract will be written between the student and the instructor that will include the conditions for satisfying the incomplete. That contract and any exams to be completed will be retained in the student's file in the office of the MS Administrator.
Students are referred to the Boise State University Graduate Catalog for policies related to dismissal actions. All students have the right to appeal any dismissal action.
Any complaint or problem the student has regarding work or behavior in class should immediately be brought to the attention of the instructor for prompt resolution.
If satisfactory resolution cannot be obtained after consulting with the course instructor, the complainant should bring the concern to the MS Program Administrator.
If a satisfactory resolution is not obtained after consultation with the Program Administrator the complainant may contact the Graduate College (graduatecollege@boisestate.edu), follow the guidelines outlined by the Academic Grievance (Policy 3140) in the Boise State Policy Manual.
Complaints, problems, or concerns regarding the MS Program should be brought to the attention of the Program Administrator or the Dean of the Graduate College.
Students admitted to the program may be eligible for merit-based scholarships through the Graduate College. Visit the Graduate College Scholarships and fellowships web page for full details. Additional scholarship opportunities for international students can be found via Boise State Global Education Graduate Student Funding.