You have arrived at your last semester of your graduate program.

This semester will be an exciting and busy time for you. There are a number of important instructions listed here for you to follow and complete to participate in the graduate research forum, get ready for your oral exam,  complete the remaining requirements for the MA degree, complete your clinical documentation to prepare for certification, and  formally matriculate from the graduate program. 

Stay on Track to Graduate!

Check the information on the Graduate School regarding Degree Completion Steps.   

1. You should have completed Steps 1 and 2 during Fall Semester of your 2nd year. 

2. You should now complete the remaining Steps 3-7 under the heading "Final Exams & Graduation".  

Note:  When Applying to Graduate, please remember that you should Apply to Graduate no sooner than April 2 and no later than May 1.

CEHSP Research & Scholarship Showcase

The Poster Presentation is a College Event which may be a live event.    

Date:  Tuesday, April 29, 2025 (tentative)

Time:  11:00 am - 4:00 pm (tentative, TBD)

Locations:  Kirby Ballroom, Rafters, Garden Room

Printing submission deadline: Send posters to Plan B Advisor who will send the approved poster to Linda Marnich lmarnich@d.umn.edu by April 7, 2025.

More information to come!   (Registration will open approximately 3 weeks prior to the event. Student presenters submit an abstract, name of faculty sponsor/mentor, presentation title, request for any accommodations needed, and their name/contact information at the time of registration. 

Participation in a poster presentation of all second-year graduate student research is required of each of you. This is an opportunity to present your Plan B research to the UMD community at large. Successful completion of this activity is required for your third credit of CSD 8099. 

Students are required to attend and participate in sessions. Plan B projects must be presented in the form of research posters. Posters will be displayed during two forum sessions. You are expected to be present next to your poster at all times, engaging in discussion concerning your Plan B project with various faculty, staff, and student visitors as they come by. Individual boards will be set up and available for you to display your poster. All the materials you may need (pins for mounting, etc) will be available as well. Make sure to wear your CSD nametag.

Work with your Plan B advisor in preparing your poster for presentation. Your poster needs to be saved in two formats, as PowerPoint presentation and as a pdf file. When your poster is completed and approved by your advisor, he/she will forward the two electronic copies to Linda for printing. Posters sent directly to Linda by you will not be printed; they must come from your advisor. All electronic versions of your poster must be forwarded to Linda by the above due date.

Poster Templates with UMD Logo

University Marketing and Public Relations (Information, poster templates) 

The above link includes poster templates with the UMD logo that you may find useful.  

BEFORE you create your poster, make sure you change the size of the poster template to that which is required for the CEHSP Research and Scholarship Showcase.  If you don't change the size of the poster first, you will have formatting problems when we print to a bigger or smaller size on the plotter.   

Final oral exams are the culmination of your graduate program.  Oral exams are conducted by your three-member oral exam committee and may be held anytime after your Plan B is complete.  The oral exam is used, in part, as a discussion of your Plan B project; however, the exam is not limited to this. 

You must make arrangements with your committee to schedule your oral exam.  The meeting is generally scheduled for an hour and it will be your responsibility to arrange a meeting time convenient to all members on your committee AND to reserve a space to meet.   

Set Up a Meeting with Your Committee

Find a time:  Contact your committee members to find a meeting time that is convenient to all members of your committee.

Arrange a space: To schedule a room for your final exam in Chester Park 102 or Chester Park 126, please contact Linda Marnich (lmarnich@d.umn.edu).  Please email them your name, date and time of your oral exam.  They will need at least 5 business days prior to your exam date.  (TBD the event may be virtual or live).  

Equipment needed for your Oral Exam space: If you are using Chester Park 126 for your Oral exam, you will need an HDMI adapter to hook up to your computer to hook up on the TV screen, as this room doesn't have a projector.  If you are using Chester Park 102, the best way is to use Airtame.  To access the instructions on how to connect your device to Airtame see the ITSS website and scroll down to "Using Airtame".  If you do not want to use Airtame, you will need an adapter that will hook up to HDMI.  Important:  You should check out the room prior to your exam (at least 1 day) to make sure you have the proper equipment.  Linda Marnich and Michelle Tessier may have an adapter for you to use, you can also check with your Plan B advisor.    

Confirm the meeting: You must notify and verify with your committee the room and time of your oral exam.  It also is wise to send a reminder email to your committee a few days before the exam, reminding them of the time and the place.

Set Up your Final Examination Report (online) 

Refer to the Degree Completion Steps for Master's Plan B.

• Step 5 - Initiate your Final Exam Form for Graduate Students

• At least one day prior to your exam, initiate the form at https://z.umn.edu/FinalExamForm

• Review your examining committee for accuracy and click “Submit” to send the form to your committee chair.

You need to initiate this form AT LEAST ONE DAY BEFORE before your oral exam date.  When you initiate the form,  your committee chair (adviser) will receive an email with a link to the form.    The committee chair needs time to prepare and be able to access the form at the oral exam. The committee chair will complete the form at the final oral exam. 

• Step 6 -Submit Final Exam Form for Graduate Students

  • Committee chair must submit the completed form no later than the last business day of the anticipated month of graduation.

Once your adviser submits the form, you will receive  notification of the committee's  decision, and this information is entered into your record with the Graduate School.  

Complete the Graduation Checklist 

Download and carefully complete the CSD Graduate Program Exit Checklist to help you prepare to exit the program and enter your professional career.

CSD Graduate Program Exit Checklist (form)

Finish Final Plan B Requirements

Once you have made final revisions to your Plan B paper and poster (if applicable) and with your Plan B adviser's approval,  do the following:

1. Complete the following forms (choose either the pdf or word format for completion):

   1.  Complete Final Plan B Approval form by entering your name. (Word version; PDF version)

   2.  Complete Plan B Release form in its entirety. This releases your Plan B to provide future CSD graduate students access to your project. (Word version; PDF version)

2. To your Plan B advisor, you must email the following:

   1. the final version of your Plan B - Submission Instructions The Final Plan B Report 

   2. the approval form  - (Word version; PDF version)

   3. the release form - (Word version; PDF version)

Your advisor will sign final approval of your Plan B and submit it to the department on your behalf.  This must be completed for you to get a grade for the course and avoid any delay in graduation.  

Finals Week Standards Review and Final Competencies

The CSD faculty will complete a final review of your progress toward certification standards. These standards are more extensive than those required for the MA degree.

Students who have not completed optional internships: 

Approximately 17-18 credits are needed to meet degree and certification standards.  If you did not complete the off-campus internships, you will not have met the standards.  Your option is to complete additional internships through UMD or another CAA - accredited program.  If you are in this situation,  please work with the DGS and your advisor to complete the credit requirements.

Students who completed all internships but have unmet standards:

If you took all the internships, you still may not have had an opportunity to address every standard or to meet a standard by the end of program. In this case, the CSD Department offers two options, depending on the number of standards not addressed.  

1. Finals Week Case-Based Demonstrations- CSD Department,  Finals Week as arranged: If you completed the full complement of internships, and have not met a limited number of standards, you will return to the CSD Department to participate in case-based demonstrations to meet certification standards. These demonstrations take place in the CSD Department during  finals week.  

2. Additional Internships as needed: If you have not met a substantial number of standards have OR if your performance on a standard is significantly below the minimum proficiency level OR if the clock hours requirements have not been met, then case-based demonstrations will not be sufficient for you to meet the standards. You will need to take additional internships in order to demonstrate knowledge and skills for meeting certification standards.  This may delay the your graduation. 

Complete the EXIT Surveys - Complete the last week of April!

Clinical Education Survey (online survey)

Graduate Program Survey (online survey)

Please complete the  clinical education survey and the  CSD program assessment survey by week 15 of your last semester in the program. The responses from these surveys are VERY IMPORTANT to us as we use them to make adjustments to the graduate curriculum and delivery of clinical education. We appreciate positive comments on aspects of the program you found helpful. We also welcome constructive ideas to improve the program from your perspective.

Provide Contact/Employment/Praxis Information - Complete the last week of April!

Graduate Contact, Employment and Praxis Information Survey (online survey)  This requires a pdf upload if you completed your Praxis exam.  This may be easier to complete on a computer versus a phone.

Please complete the survey to provide contact Information so we can send you send you official clock hours, certification documents, etc.   We also need your employment information for accreditation purposes.  If you are still looking for employment, please be sure to email Michelle Tessier at mtessier@d.umn.edu once you have found employment.  In this survey, provide information on your Praxis exam information and test scores in this survey.  Due date is the week 15 of your final semester in the program.   

University Email and Technology After Graduation

After you graduate, your access to University applications like Gmail and Google Workspace, Zoom, and Microsoft 365 will change. Learn what to expect and how to prepare on the Leaving the University self-help guide.  

Need a Letter Verifying Completion of Academic and Clinical Coursework? 

About 4-6 weeks after graduation (around mid June)  your degree should be listed as conferred on your transcript.  Sometimes you may want a letter from the Department stating that your transcripts showing conferral of degree is not yet available but you have completed all the necessary academic and clinical coursework.  

We are able to provide a letter to you AFTER all your grades have been posted at the end of the semester and not before that time.   You will need to send an email request to Dr. Mizuko (mmizuko@d.umn.edu) and copy Michelle Tessier (mtessier@d.umn.edu) with the name, address and email of where you would like the letter to be sent. 

Note:  If you graduate in May, conferral of your degree by the University of Minnesota Board of Regents and  the Graduate School appears on transcripts in mid June.   Exceptions can NOT be made for your degree to show on your transcripts any earlier.

Conferral of the Degree

The official conferral date for graduate degrees is the last business day of each month. Due to administrative processing time needed, transcripts showing the award of the degree (a "confer date") are available two to three weeks following the official date of conferral. To qualify for graduation in a particular month, a student must Apply to Graduate on or before the first business day of that month and must complete the final examination, if applicable, and all other requirements (including submission of all necessary forms and payment of fees) by the last business day of that month.  Diplomas are issued by the Office of the Registrar on the Twin Cities campus and are delivered by mail four to six weeks following the official date of conferral, longer for international delivery.  For more information, please see the Graduate School website.

Licensure Paperwork

The College of Education and Human Service Professions (CEHSP) Licensure Officer is Megan Watkins.  You can contact or send your forms to Megan at watkinsm@d.umn.edu, (218) 726-8049, 116 BohH, 1207 Ordean Ct, Duluth, MN  55812.  NOTE:  Processing the Licensure forms will be completed within 5 business days of receiving the request.

ETS/Praxis Exam

When you register for the ETS/Praxis Exam, make sure to have your scores sent to UMD.  The UMD recipient code is RA0148 (U Minnesota Duluth).

After your exam, you will receive an email from ETS saying the final scores were reported (about a week after you take the test).  Then log into your ETS account and go to "view scores" and then you can download a pdf of the scores.  Please email this report to Michelle Tessier (mtessier@d.umn.edu).   You can find more information regarding the ETS/Praxis exam and scroll down to ETS at this site.  

Download Your CALIPSO Records

Due: The two weeks after spring final exams.

Faculty will review and finalize your CALIPSO records the week following graduation (week after finals week).  

During the second week after graduation, please download your CALIPSO documents using the attached instructions.   Please read the instructions for collecting your documents from CALIPSO: 

Instructions for downloading CALIPSO records

Your access to CALIPSO will close no later than two weeks (10 business days) after graduation.

Watch for your Signed Clock Hours 

The CSD Department will review your clock hours documents and sign approval. Your signed clock hours document will be sent to you.  Please keep this document for your PERMANENT RECORDS.  The department keeps a copy for seven years according to university policy, after which time it is destroyed.  You are responsible for maintaining this document for your personal records.