Forms and Planning for Current Graduate Students

Normal Time to Degree:

The normal time to complete the Master's degree is 2 years, except for variation caused by your research project. Please refer to the requirements for the Master's program and a Sample Schedule posted here.

The normal time to complete the Ph.D. is 4 years after the Master's, except for variation caused by your research project. Please refer to the requirements for the Ph.D. program and a Sample Schedule posted here.

Planning:

Plan of Study Form

This is your conceptual plan for your coursework. You must complete this form immediately upon entering the program. You will then revise your plan when you meet with your Supervisory Committee and as each semester's schedule of courses offers unforeseen opportunities. Please fill out the form and take to your first supervisory committee meeting. After supervisory committee members approve and sign, please submit it to the SNRE office. SNRE will do a preliminary audit to identify any potential issues. You should revise and discuss your plan in subsequent committee meetings as needed. PhD students, please provide the SNRE office with a revised draft before you take the Qualifying Exam. For rules on composition of the Supervisory Committee, please refer to the details for the Master's or Doctoral program as appropriate.

Plan of Study Deadlines:

You must complete a draft Plan of Study and submit it to the SNRE office no later than the middle of your second semester in the program.

Students matriculating in Summer or Fall semester: submit to the SNRE office a draft Plan of Study signed by your Supervisory Committee by 5 p.m. on March 7 (this is two weeks before the registration period for classes opens).

Students matriculating in Spring semester: submit to the SNRE office a draft Plan of Study signed by your Supervisory Committee by 5 p.m. on October 14 (this is two weeks before the registration period for classes opens).

If you miss this deadline, SNRE will put a hold on your further registration for courses, and you will not be able to continue in the program.

SNRE will do a preliminary audit of your Plan of Study to check for conformance with the curriculum and to identify unresolved problems.

Qualifying Examination (for doctoral students):

Doctoral students should schedule a date for the Qualifying Examination at the beginning of their second year in the program and take the exam before the end of their second year. Your goal at this time should be to end your second year with formal course work completed and having been formally declared by your Supervisory Committee to be a Doctoral Candidate. This will enable you to begin your third year devoting full time to your research.

Please notify the SNRE Coordinator of your examination at least 3 weeks prior to its scheduled date. Please include the exam date as well as the name and email of your committee chair so that proper forms may be generated in time for your exam.

The purpose of the Qualifying Exam is to evaluate your academic preparation prior to the research phase of your program. The exam is both written and oral and covers the major and concentration subjects. Normally the exam covers both the conceptual core of your academic program and the intellectual content of your proposed research.

You must be registered for Advanced Research (7979) when you take your Qualifying Exam, for a minimum of 3 hours in Fall or Spring term or a minimum of 2 hours in Summer term. Once you have passed the Qualifying Exam and advanced to candidacy, you should no longer register for 7979 hours (advanced research). A Doctoral Candidate will instead register for 7980 hours (Research for Doctoral Dissertation) as indicated in their individual plan of study.

Updated Plans of Study:

Doctoral students should provide your Supervisory Committee with an updated Plan of Study ten business days prior to your Qualifying Examination, so SNRE can audit and your committee members can refer to your coursework preparation for the examination. This revision does not need committee signatures.

All students should provide the SNRE office with a final Plan of Study the semester before you intend to graduate (this revision does not need committee signatures). This will provide SNRE staff a chance to identify any deficiencies and give you one last opportunity to remedy unresolved problems.

Dissertation and Thesis Submission

Ph.D. candidates must request a transmittal form from the SNRE Coordinator before they will be able to make their first submission. Masters students do not need to request this form.

All submissions must follow a strict set of formatting requirements. For your convenience electronic thesis and dissertation templates and tutorials are provided through the UF Computing Help Desk.

Make your appointment with the Application Support Center (ASC) consultants early. Students who do not troubleshoot their documents with ASC before making First Submission to the Editorial Office often have their documents rejected. In most cases, only a slight extension may be granted. Complete each of these milestones as soon as possible, but no later than the dates listed below.

Thesis & Dissertation Deadlines
Clear Prior Policies - be sure to complete a graduation date change form if necessary
Submission Checklists

Final Examination - Defense of thesis, non-thesis project, or dissertation:

Please notify the SNRE Coordinator of your defense/exam at least 3 weeks prior to its scheduled date. Please include the date of your defense/exam as well as the name and email of your committee chair so that proper forms may be generated in time for your defense/exam.

The timing and format of your defense of thesis, project, or dissertation is up to you and your Supervisory Committee to manage. However, the Graduate School has several important regulations relating to the defense (Final Examination). Please refer to the Graduate Catalog for the particulars. You should pay close attention to the Checklist of things to do and the Deadlines for doing them, because you should manage your completion as efficiently possible, to minimize costs of your degree program and prepare you for what's next.

You must be registered for Research for Master's Thesis (6971) or Research for Doctoral Dissertation (7980) when you take your Final Exam/Defense, for a minimum of 3 hours in Fall or Spring term or a minimum of 2 hours in Summer C term.

Be sure to notify the SNRE office two weeks before your defense date to request:

• Final Examination form
• Learning Outcomes form
• Publishing Agreement form
• ETD Signature Page.

When you pass your defense, your committee members will fill out and sign these forms, and you should return them to the SNRE office immediately so we can complete your records in preparation for graduation.

Forms - (Please make digital entries and print forms; do not hand-write)

Emergency Medical Contact Information Form

SNRE requests that you provide emergency medical contact information that will enable us to contact you and/or appropriate persons should a medical emergency arise during your graduate program. Providing this information is voluntary, but doing so is strongly encouraged. This information will be kept confidential and will only be referenced or used in the unlikely event of a medical emergency requiring contact with you and/or the person(s) you have identified.

Graduate Transfer of Credit Form

You must schedule an appointment with the SNRE Academic Program Coordinator during your first semester to initiate the Graduate Transfer of Credit process for Master's coursework credit toward the Ph.D. SNRE will fill out and print your transfer request, and you must obtain your advisor's signature. The Graduate School's review of this request will take a month. Then you should ask SNRE staff to look up the result, so you'll know how many master's credits count toward the total of 90 credits for your doctoral Plan of Study. The Graduate School will count graduate-level courses in which you earned a B grade or better; they do not count S/U courses.

Drop/Add Form

Use this form when you need to adjust your course schedule after online registration is closed.

Admission to Candidacy Form

Request the SNRE office to prepare this form two weeks before the oral portion of your Qualifying Exam. At the end of your exam, all committee members must sign this form, and the form must be returned to the SNRE office.

Learning Outcomes Assessment Form

Print and take this form to the Qualifying Exam meeting (PhD students only) and the Final Exam/Defense meeting (MS thesis students, MS non-thesis students, and PhD students). At the end of your exam, your committee members will decide whether you are qualified to continue working toward the Ph.D. degree or if your defense is satisfactory, and they must fill out this form and sign this form. The form must be returned to the SNRE office.

International Travel Registration

All students traveling outside the US in conjunction with a UF degree program or on official university business must register their travel. See the UF International Center website for details.

Interruption of Study Notice Form

File with the Graduate School if you intend to sit out two or more semesters without registering. In that case, you will need to apply for readmission.

Application for Readmission Form

If your enrollment has lapsed for two or more consecutive semesters, you must re-apply using this multi-part form. You should submit the form at least 2 months before the semester starts. Be sure to bring or send SNRE a copy of the Referral (page 4), because Admissions will not notify us that you've reapplied. Once you let SNRE staff know that you have sent in your readmission application/fee, please send us the Readmission Referral form. We will obtain the school and college signatures for you and walk over the form to the Admissions office. Check with SNRE staff on a weekly basis via email so we can confirm action on your readmission. International students must contact the UF International Center about additional fees; allow at least 1 month for UFIC processing of the I-20 application.

Important:
Please write or type in for the 'College': ID
Please write or type in for the 'Program/Major': ECL

Application for Student Travel Grant to Professional Meeting

When planning to present your research at professional meetings, you can apply for financial assistance. Click the link for information and application materials.

Degree Application (Apply to Graduate)

You are required to apply to graduate at the beginning of your final semester. This application notifies the Graduate School and triggers a final academic audit by SNRE staff. See the Graduate School's Degree Application link, as well as the following details.

1. No later than the beginning of the semester you will graduate, see the Graduate Checklist and follow the steps outlined there.
2. Check the Academic Calendar for the degree application deadline.
3. Submit an application for degree on ISIS https://www.isis.ufl.edu by the published deadline. You must select the college code "College of Interdisciplinary Studies" (not SNRE or CALS) to complete the form correctly. This will cause the correct major code of ECL (Interdisciplinary Ecology) to automatically enter into the system. Print and save a confirmation copy.

In the semester you graduate, you must register for research credits. If you are graduating in a fall or spring semester you should register for a minimum of 3 credits (6971 if you are a MS-with-thesis student OR 7980 if you are a Ph.D. student). If you are graduating in a summer semester the minimum registration requirement is 2 credits of research. However, if you are on a graduate assistantship, please talk to the SNRE coordinator to determine your registration requirement.

If you are not able to defend in the semester you intended to, please complete a "Graduation Date Change" form and have it sent to the Registrar's Office (222 Criser). This form is on the Registrar's Office website under "Registrar Forms" http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/pdf/graduationchg.pdf. Please also notify SNRE that you will not be graduating.

Degree Candidate Verification Request Form

Use this form if you need official verification that you are completing the degree prior to graduation.