Masters Thesis Submission and Graduation

Thesis Reading Committee

The thesis reading committee should consist of three members, the majority of which are Senate Faculty.

A student's Master's Thesis Reading Committee is nominated at the same time that they apply to graduate, before the 2nd week of the quarter the degree should be awarded. At this time, two forms should be submitted:

Thesis Review

The thesis review will happen in two portions - internal review with the faculty advisor and reading committee, and external review by the Division of Graduate Studies. The internal review checks for academic merit and coherence, while the Graduate Division review checks for format, technical, and logistical guidelines.

Reading Committee Review

This process is done mostly on your own accord - communicate with your faculty advisor about this process and inquire when it should begin, and how long it might take. Time should be budgeted in the case that the reading committee has comments that will need to be addressed before they accept the thesis and sign off on it.

Division of Graduate Studies Review

This process is done to confirm validity, format, and standard. They will confirm that the thesis follows the guidelines according to the resources found on the Division of Graduate Studies' website under the heading Thesis & Dissertation Submission.

Filing Deadlines

Please see the Academic and Administrative Calendar for the current academic year. There, you will find a few key dates under the Announcing Candidacy for Degree/Apply to Graduate heading:

"Deadline to announce for Masters or Ph.D." This is the deadline that the Application to Graduate must be submitted to the Division of Graduate Studies.
"Deadline to complete all requirements for degree" is the date that all requirements must be completed or submitted. The thesis must have been reviewed by the reading committee and have their signatures, submitted to the Graduate Division via ProQuest. All course requirements that will count towards the degree must have additionally have a passing grade.

Upon submission of the Application to Graduate, the Division of Graduate Studies will send an informational email to you informing you on next steps and submission guidelines. In particular, they will invite you to upload your thesis to ProQuest.

Filing 'Between Quarters'

There is some flexibility when graduating 'between quarters'. A student can apply to graduate for a given quarter, but can submit all requirements for graduation before that quarter's start date. This enables the student to graduate without needing to enroll, and can be helpful when the thesis is not done before the "Deadline to complete all requirements for degree" for the previous quarter.

Next Steps (After Applying to Graduate)

Once you apply to graduate, the Graduate Division will provide next steps via email. You can click the drop down menu to see a draft of that email (copy from Spring 2026). Please be aware that this guidance may be different in the future.

Email from Graduate Division regarding Graduation

Dear Masters Students,

You have applied for a spring degree. Congratulations on reaching this milestone! If you are on the thesis track of your department's masters program, then you are required to submit your thesis to the Graduate Division. If you are not sure, ask your department. If you are required to submit a thesis, please look at the information on our website under "Thesis and Dissertation submission", and read the following important information:

Key Deadlines

Standard Deadline: Thursday, June 11, 2026 (Last day of the quarter).
Extension Deadline: June 30, 2026.
- Note: To request this extension, your committee chair must send me an email confirming that you can finish by this date.

Step 1: Format your paper & Submit via ProQuest

Before uploading to the ProQuest Website, ensure your document adheres to the official guidelines.

Formatting Rules: Review the attached document. Even if you use a template, you must verify your formatting manually.
Crucial Checks: Triple-check your page numbering and margins (especially for the Abstract, figures, tables, and any equations).
New Accessibility Requirement: As of April 2026, all submissions must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA web accessibility standards (Title II of the ADA). It is your responsibility to ensure your PDF is accessible before uploading. Please see our website for more information and links on how to do this.
Supplementary Materials: If your thesis includes media or data sets, consult the Library’s Best Practices Guide.

Important: Your degree will not be conferred until formatting is correct.

Step 2: Submit Your Signed Title Page

You must email a signed copy of your title page directly to me (vlarkin@ucsc.edu). Do not email it to the Dean.

Title Page Requirements:

Signatures: Must be signed by your committee members only. We accept scanned or electronic signatures (e.g., DocuSign), but all signatures must appear on one single page. If the signatures are scanned then I also need an email from your committee chair verifying that you are finished.
Date: Must state June 2026, regardless of your actual submission date.
Dean’s Information: Must list Peter Biehl, Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies.
Unsigned copy: The version you upload to ProQuest must be unsigned. Only the version emailed to me should contain signatures.

Final Review Process

After submitting to ProQuest, I will review your formatting. Watch for an email confirming Approval or requesting Revisions. You are not finished until you receive the final acceptance notification.

Note: It typically takes one month after the end of the quarter for your degree to be posted to your student account.

Please reach out if you have any questions!

Post-Graduation

Once a student's application to graduate has been accepted, they are no longer eligible to enroll. A student must be an active student to hold academic student employment positions, such as TA and GSI. A student that applies to graduate in Spring will be ineligible for TA or GSI positions the following Summer.

You are also advised to complete the following:

Report abuse