The Graduate School Handbook
The Graduate School Handbook contains most of the policies and procedures of the Graduate School, as established by the actions of the Administrative Board of the Graduate School over a period of years. Each student should become familiar with the material pertaining to his or her degree program, and, together with a faculty advisor, make certain that the chosen program of study complies with all policies.
Section I of this Handbook contains information related to graduate education at UNC-Chapel Hill, including a description of the Graduate School and its Academic Policy Committee, a staff directory, and links to graduate education references. Section II describes the policies and procedures pertaining to the general academic requirements of the Graduate School. Section III provides a detailed outline of requirements for the Master’s and Doctoral degrees. All graduate degree-granting entities at UNC-Chapel Hill including departments, curricula, schools, and programs will be referred to as academic programs throughout this Handbook.
Although we have attempted to include most of the regulations governing graduate academic programs, many programs have additional requirements and regulations of their own. Sometimes these requirements are more stringent than the general requirements of the Graduate School.
The Graduate School reserves the right to make changes to this Handbook at any time. In instances of discrepancy between this document and the Graduate Record, this Handbook takes precedence.
It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of, and comply with all regulations, policies, procedures, and deadlines.
Changes and Updates to the Current Edition
Changes to the current edition of The Graduate School Handbook include:
- Addition of the new policy on parental leave for graduate students.
- Addition of a new section with information about the oversight and administration of dual degree programs.
- Clarifications concerning the degree award date for students in officially recognized dual degree programs, including participation in the annual Hooding Ceremony.
- Inclusion of a reference to the UNC state system policy and the campus Office of the Provost policies regarding Training, Monitoring, and Evaluating Graduate Teaching Assistants.
- Updated the process for handling academic eligibility reinstatement requests from academic programs.
Addendum in December, 2007:
- All references to the paper Thesis and Dissertation Guide were removed.