General Degree Requirements
In addition to the admission standards and course programs, the following requirements affect graduate students:
1. Continuity of Study. Graduate students should complete their degree programs without notable interruption. Not more than five years may elapse between a student’s initial enrollment in a degree program and the completion of graduate work. Time devoted to the fulfillment of prerequisites is not included.
2. Advanced Standing. Credit for previous study at accredited graduate schools (ordinarily within the past three years) may be transferred subject to the following conditions:
The courses in question must be acceptable for a graduate degree from the university at which they were completed.
The request for advanced standing should be made at the time of first admission to matriculated status, and it must be approved by both the chair of the academic department concerned and the appropriate dean.
The maximum allowance will be the equivalence in semester hours of two comparable courses at John Carroll University.
Courses used to complete requirements for other degrees will not ordinarily be accepted toward advanced standing.
3. Transfer of Credit. A graduate student at John Carroll University may transfer graduate credit earned concurrently as a transient or visiting student at another graduate school under the following conditions:
Approval of the advisor, the chair of the department, and the appropriate dean is required prior to enrollment in the course or courses concerned.
The maximum allowance will be the equivalence in semester hours of two comparable courses at John Carroll University.
A combination of Advanced Standing and Transfer of Credit may not exceed the equivalence in semester hours of two comparable courses at John Carroll University.
Students in the Boler College’s M.B.A. programs may transfer multiple credits from other Jesuit M.B.A. programs through the JEBNET consortium.
Courses used to complete requirements for other degrees will not ordinarily be accepted for transfer.
A letter grade of B or better (which does not include B-) must be obtained in any course considered for transfer credit.
Official transcripts must be submitted for all credits considered for transfer.
4. Language Requirements. Certain degree programs require that students pass a foreign language examination. Students should consult the particular departmental requirements in this matter. Any exception to departmental requirements must be made by academic petition through the departmental chair.
5. Thesis, Essay, or Project Requirement. Degree programs requiring a thesis, essay, or creative project may have specific guidelines and requirements. The following guidelines apply to all theses, essays, and creative projects:
One electronic copy, revised as required by the advisor and other assigned readers, must be sent to the Graduate Studies Office by the date specified in the University calendar.
The thesis, essay, or project must follow the format regulations of the Graduate Studies Office, copies of which are available in the Graduate Studies Office and online, and any additional requirements specified by the departments.
Once the original thesis, essay, or project has been submitted to the Graduate Studies Office and approved by the appropriate dean, an electronic copy must be submitted to the John Carroll University library to be archived in Carroll Collected, John Carroll’s institutional repository.
Students whose research involves human subjects or animals must also apply to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) prior to the collection of data.
Students who choose to use an advisor who is not a faculty member of John Carroll University must obtain approval from the Dean of Graduate Studies. Generally no more than one member of a thesis committee may be external to John Carroll.
The thesis must show capacity for original research. The thesis may bring new facts to light, organize facts available in standard sources, or evaluate critically a technique, method, or trend. In general, the thesis is a demonstration of research ability whose content shows originality, clarity of thought, and power of mature expression. A thesis must be approved by three faculty readers, one of whom is the advisor.
The research essay or creative project is designed to show the student’s power of analysis, organization, and expression. The scope of the research involved is less extensive than that expected for the thesis. The essay or project must be approved by one faculty reader.
6. Final Comprehensive Examination. Unless otherwise specified by program requirements, all candidates for the M.A., M.Ed., and M.S. must pass a comprehensive examination which may be oral, written, or both, depending on program policy. This examination is held on appointed dates during the academic year or summer sessions in which the degree is to be conferred and will be applicable to the student’s work. It may cover all work taken towards the degree. The examination committee consists of not fewer than three members of the faculty. It is suggested that students consult their advisors at least a month before the beginning of the term in which they plan to take comprehensive examinations.
Students must be in good academic standing and must be in the process of completing or have completed the required coursework for the degree before the comprehensive examination may be taken. In addition, in programs that require a language, the student must have fulfilled this requirement prior to taking the comprehensive examination. Comprehensive examination results are submitted by the chair of the department or examination committee to the appropriate dean by the date specified in the University calendar.