Degrees Awarded
The University offers the following graduate degrees. A degree-seeking student who has completed the general requirements and the specific program requirements with a cumulative 3.0 GPA is eligible to be awarded a graduate degree.
Doctor of Education
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Master of Arts
Master of Business Administration
Master of Science in Nursing
Master of Science in Organizational Leadership
Master of Speech-Language Pathology
Masters in Physician Assistant Studies
Comprehensive Exam and/or Integrative Project
A comprehensive examination and/or integrative project is required in each graduate degree program. These are described in the respective graduate program sections of this catalog.Residency Requirements
A minimum of 75 percent of the credits required for a graduate degree must be earned from Mount St. Joseph University. A program of study is developed during the student’s first semester to ensure that the residency requirement, as well as other degree requirements, are satisfied.Time Limit on Degree
Degree programs are designed to serve both full-time and part-time students. Students admitted to a degree program are expected to work with continuity in their program until all requirements are completed. Consequently, a student who does not register for graduate course work during two consecutive years is considered to have withdrawn and is required to reapply for admission. All degree requirements must be completed within five years of enrollment in the graduate program. An exception may be made at the discretion of the department chairperson and the Provost.Degree Applications/Commencement
Application deadline dates for graduation candidates completing their degree requirements are:
- August completion - graduation application due November 15 of previous year
- December completion - graduation application due April 15
- May completion - graduation application due September 15 of previous year
Commencement Ceremony
All graduation candidates will be eligible to participate in the University's May commencement ceremony as below:
- August graduation candidates with 12 or fewer credit hours to complete their degree may participate in the May ceremony prior to the summer session in which they complete their requirements.
- December graduates may participate in the following May commencement ceremony.
- May graduation candidates may participate in May commencement ceremony.
Graduation Application Information
Graduation candidates are required to complete a graduation application which is submitted for approval to their advisor and program director and/or department chair. The approved application for graduation is submitted to the Registrar's Office. The graduation application must be on file in the Registrar's Office by the posted deadline dates.
If graduation requirements are not completed by the date (month/year) specified on the student’s graduation application, the application will be moved to the next graduation cycle. If the requirements are not completed by the next official graduation date, i.e. December, May or August, the application will be canceled. If a student completes their graduation requirements after being notified their application has been canceled, the student will be required to submit a Petition to Review of completed graduation requirements for degree posting on the next official graduation date.
A one-time $75.00 non-refundable graduation application fee is assessed to all graduation candidates for each degree application. Students who apply after posted application deadlines are at risk for not receiving important communications regarding participation in commencement and graduation-related activities, may not have their name listed in the commencement program, and may not be eligible to participate in commencement.
If a student applies for one degree during one academic year and another degree during a future academic year, the graduation application fee is charged twice. A student applying for an undergraduate and a graduate degree during the same academic year will be charged the full graduation application fee twice.
Certificate Only Recipients
Certificate-only seeking students are non-degree students, and therefore are not eligible to participate in commencement. The following also applies to certificate-only students:
- Certificate seeking students are assessed a one-time $25 certificate petition review and processing fee.
- Certificate seeking students must submit a Petition for Certificate Review to their advisor for final signature prior the awarding of any certificates. The form must be received by the Registrar's Office in order for the certificate(s) to be posted to the academic record and transcript.
- Certificate(s) will be mailed to students within four weeks of the end of the semester in which the certificate is completed.
Graduate and Doctoral Degree Posting
The final posting of all academic degrees is not done until all final grades have been submitted and a final review of the degree audit is completed by the Registrar's Office to ensure all graduation requirements have been met. The University has four weeks after the semester's final grade due date to post, move, or cancel a graduation applicant's degree. The University posts degrees three times a year following the end of the fall, spring, and summer semesters.
December, May and August degrees are conferred by Mount St. Joseph University at the annual May commencement ceremony.
Diplomas
Official paper and electronic diplomas for all graduates are mailed approximately four weeks after final grades have been submitted and all financial obligations to the University have been met. Certified Electronic Diplomas (CeD) are emailed to recipients through Paradigm.Finalizing the Academic Record
The university posts degrees to student records during Fall, Spring, and Summer terms. All final grades and official transcripts for applicable transfer work must be received in order for degree posting to occur.
Once the degree is posted to the record, the academic record is considered complete and final. No further changes will be made unless there is a documented clerical error or unless the student successfully appeals a grade under the Academic Grade Appeal Policy or Formal Complaint Policy. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the Office of the Registrar of a clerical error within 30 days of the posting date.
Course repeats for the purposes of bolstering the final degree GPA are not permitted after a degree is posted. No transfer work will be accepted after the degree is posted.
Students may not retroactively seek to have additional majors or concentrations added to a degree after it has been posted.
Degree Revocation
Mount St. Joseph University reserves the right to revoke any degree previously awarded. A degree awarded may be revoked if the university becomes aware that the degree should not have been granted, such as a degree that was obtained by violating the Code of Student Conduct or by deception, misrepresentation, falsification of records, academic misconduct, research misconduct, or if the work submitted in fulfillment of — and indispensable to — the requirements for the degree are determined to fail to meet the academic standards that were in effect at the time the degree was awarded.
The university also reserves the right to withdraw a degree to correct an administrative error, such as an incorrectly listed degree, or in a situation where it was found that a student had not actually fulfilled all graduation requirements.
The Provost reviews all recommendations for revocation of degrees and forwards to the President any recommendations deemed to be warranted. The University President will consider all recommendations forwarded by the Provost and effectuate those determined to be warranted. Notification of the date of revocation will appear on the student’s transcript, and the student will be asked to return the diploma.
Procedures governing degree revocations may be obtained from the Offices of the Registrar, Provost, or President.