Degree Requirements

A matriculated graduate student enrolled in the graduate program and accepted as a candidate for a master’s degree will be recommended for the degree after the following requirements have been satisfied:

Courses

The candidate must have registered for and attended courses totaling the number of credits specified for the individual program. Courses other than those in the department of specialization may be credited toward the degree only with the approval of the graduate adviser. Waiver of course(s) does not release the student from the total number of credits required for the degree. Full-time graduate students may enroll for no more than 18 credits in any one semester.

Grades

The candidate must have achieved a cumulative grade point average of not less than 3.0 (B) in all graduate work taken at Hunter.

Thesis

A master’s thesis is usually required. After it is approved, the original and one copy of the thesis is deposited with the appropriate school. It must be accompanied by a receipt from the Bursar’s Office for the payment of the fee for binding one copy of the thesis.

A thesis approval form and style sheet, the requirements of which must be met strictly, are available from the graduate advisers’ and the school deans’ offices.

When the thesis approval form has been signed by the department graduate adviser and school dean, the original must be sent to the Degree Audit Unit of the Registrar’s Office.

Where a thesis does not appear to be an appropriate measure of achievement, the Graduate Course of Study Committee of the Hunter College Senate has approved an acceptable substitution or equivalent.

Foreign Language

A reading knowledge of a foreign language is usually required. In programs where this knowledge does not appear to be necessary or appropriate, the Graduate Course of Study Committee has granted an exception.

Time Limit

The total time for completing all degree requirements from the beginning of matriculation is four years. (For programs in education, nursing, health sciences, and social work it is five years.) Courses exceeding the limit at graduation will not be included in degree credits unless approved by the department and the appropriate dean.

Enrollment

A student must be registered for the semester of graduation, either by maintaining matriculation (see “Maintaining Matriculation” in section on Registration) or by registering for a course.

Graduation

All students must apply to graduate from their program in order to officially complete their program and have their degree conferred. Graduation applications are submitted and processed online through a student’s myHunter page. The graduation application period begins a full year prior to the student’s final semester. All graduation applications are reviewed by the Degree Audit Division within the Registrar’s Office. Students must complete any admission conditions, program requirements and exit requirements prior to graduation date in order to be eligible for graduation. 

Graduate students must be matriculated in their final semester at Hunter College by enrolling in a course at Hunter (or another CUNY college through e-permit) or Maintaining Matriculation.