Milestone Checklists and Forms

When you defend a master’s thesis or a dissertation, you must follow the manuscript clearance deadlines and formatting guidelines for your thesis or dissertation to be accepted by the FSU Graduate School. In other words, if you do not submit a thesis or dissertation manuscript correctly and on time, there is no mechanical way for you to graduate that semester. Please check gradschool.fsu.edu for an overview of this process and to see the deadlines for the semester you are thinking of defending.

An M.S. prospectus is, broadly, a completed oral defense where students receive committee approval for a master's proposal. The structure and form of this milestone will vary by area of study and should be decided with guidance from your major professor.

• Students in Developmental Psychology and Clinical Psychology must complete an M.S. prospectus as part of their in-flight master’s degree.
• Students in Neuroscience, Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience must complete an M.S. prospectus if they choose to complete a master’s degree. Please discuss the M.S. with your major professor, and, if you choose to complete the degree, see the forms for the prospectus below.
• Students in Social Psychology do not need to complete an M.S. prospectus but do need to complete an M.S. thesis.

If you do complete an M.S. prospectus, you will need to submit the below forms to log this milestone with the department.

Clinical, Cognitive, Developmental, Neuroscience Areas

Needed Forms

Social Area

N/A

Students in Clinical Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Social Psychology must complete a master’s thesis as part of an in-flight master's degree by the end of Year 3 in the doctoral program. There are two types of forms students must submit to finish the paperwork for their master’s defense: Graduate School forms, submitted through the manuscript clearance portal, and department forms, which are listed below. Students must also meet the manuscript clearance deadlines for the semester they are defending in order to graduate and earn the master’s degree that semester.

To-Do List
 

1. Double-check registration with Graduate Program Associate or major professor to make sure guidelines for thesis credit (PSY5973) and defense (PSY8976) are being met.
2. Verify master’s supervisory committee with the Graduate Program Associate.
3. Apply for graduation on myFSU SC.
4. Schedule defense with supervisory committee (make sure defense date adheres to manuscript clearance deadlines at gradschool.fsu.edu) and inform Graduate Program Associate of your defense date. Submit your defense announcement to the FSU Graduate School at least two weeks prior to your scheduled defense. Submit your manuscript prior to the defense by the manuscript clearance deadline.
5. Defend!
6. Submit your signed departmental forms to Graduate Program Associate after your defense. All required graduate school documents and forms should be submitted through the manuscript clearance portal or ProQuest. See gradschool.fsu.edu for more information.

Clinical, Cognitive, Developmental, Neuroscience and social Areas

Needed Forms

Below are the departmental forms required to log your completed master’s thesis. Please submit to the Graduate Program Associate after your defense. Be aware that additional paperwork for the Graduate School is also required (see above Manuscript Clearance Information).

Neuroscience

If a neuroscience student decides in conjunction with their supervisory committee that an M.S. would be to their advantage, they must meet with the Graduate Program Coordinator to start dual degree paperwork by the fall semester of their Year 2. Info about the dual degree paperwork can be found on gradschool.fsu.edu.

Doctoral students in all areas (Clinical, Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience, Social, Developmental and Neuroscience) must complete a preliminary examination in order to be admitted to doctoral candidacy. The format and design of this examination vary between each area (e.g. a critical review paper, comprehensive exam, research proposal, independent project) and should be discussed with the student’s major professor.

Clinical Area

Needed Forms

The below form should be sent to the graduate program coordinator once the student has completed the preliminary exam. No additional paperwork is required to log this milestone.

*Binder Report (DCT turns in)

Cognitive, Developmental, Neuroscience Areas

Needed Forms

The below forms should be sent to the graduate program coordinator once the student has completed the preliminary exam. No additional paperwork is required to log this milestone.

Social Areas

Needed Forms

The below forms should be sent to the graduate program coordinator once the student has completed the preliminary exam. No additional paperwork is required to log this milestone.

All doctoral students must complete a dissertation prospectus as the first major step in completing their dissertation. The content and format of this prospectus varies by area and should be discussed with the student's major professor.

Clinical Area

Needed Forms

The below forms should be sent to the graduate program coordinator once the student has completed the dissertation prospectus. No additional paperwork is required to log this milestone. 

Cognitive, Developmental, Neuroscience Areas

Needed Forms

The below forms should be sent to the graduate program coordinator once the student has completed the dissertation prospectus. No additional paperwork is required to log this milestone.

Social Areas

Needed Forms

The below forms should be sent to the graduate program coordinator once the student has completed the dissertation prospectus. No additional paperwork is required to log this milestone.

There are two types of forms students must submit to finish the paperwork for their dissertation defense: Graduate School forms, submitted through the manuscript clearance portal, and department forms, which are listed below. Students must also meet the manuscript clearance deadlines for the semester they are defending in order to graduate that semester. There is no mechanical way to proceed with graduation if you do not complete the dissertation and submit the required paperwork by the manuscript clearance deadline.

To-Do List

1. Double check registration with Graduate Program Associate or major professor to make sure guidelines for dissertation credit (PSY6980) and defense (PSY8985) are being met.
2. Verify doctoral supervisory committee with the Graduate Program Associate.
3. Apply for graduation on myFSU SC.
4. Schedule defense with supervisory committee (make sure defense date adheres to manuscript clearance deadlines at gradschool.fsu.edu) and inform Graduate Program Associate of your defense date. Submit your defense announcement to the FSU Graduate School at least two weeks prior to your scheduled defense. Submit your manuscript prior to the defense by the manuscript clearance deadline.
5. Defend!
6. Submit your signed departmental forms to Graduate Program Associate after your defense. All required graduate school documents and forms should be submitted through the manuscript clearance portal or ProQuest. See gradschool.fsu.edu for more information.

Clinical, Cognitive, Developmental, Neuroscience, Social Areas

Needed Forms

Below are the departmental forms required to log your completed dissertation. Please submit to the Graduate Program Associate after your defense. Be aware additional paperwork for the Graduate School is also required (see above Manuscript Clearance Information).

To access the Contact Information Form, log into PsyNet with your credentials and click on "Contact Information Form" to fill it out.