L. GRANTING OF DEGREES

1. Graduation Requirements

   Baccalaureate, Master's, and Educational Specialist degrees are granted on the basis of the criteria listed in the Catalog. Degrees may be granted as of the date of the closing of any regular semester or the final summer session. Commencement is held only in May.

2. Honors Scholars Program

Near the end of the junior year, a student who has demonstrated exceptional scholarship and capacity for serious and creative study or research, and who has maintained a 3.500 cumulative GPA, may apply for entry into the Honors Scholars Program. With the guidance of a major professor, and in community with other Honors Scholars, the student will complete an honors project during the senior year. Successful scholars will receive due recognition at Commencement and on the University transcript of record. Criteria, qualifications, and procedures are available in the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Development, located in the Literature, Journalism, and Modern Languages Department in the Bond Academic Center.

PROCEDURE:

1. Student arranges for a faculty member within his/her discipline to serve as advisor (no later than the end of April of the junior year).
2. The advisor contacts the Vice Provost for Faculty Development no later than the end of April, expressing  willingness to supervise the project.
3. It is the student's responsibility to register for the fall course, Honors 498.
4. The student works with advisor on determining the specific topic.
5. The advisor forms an Advisory Committee by September 15.
6. Work proceeds on the project throughout the fall, under the guidance of the advisor, while the student attends weekly meetings associated with the two-unit course, Honors 498.
7. The student presents a formal progress report in a meeting to be held with the committee no later than December 15.
8. The student is responsible to register for the one-unit course, Honors 499 for the spring semester of the senior year.
9. Work continues on the project throughout the spring semester.
10. The Honors Scholar submits the final project to the committee no later than one week prior to the examination (to take place no later than the end of April.)

3. Posthumous Degrees

Under certain circumstances, the University may grant an academic degree posthumously. This action originates in the President's Office by written request of the family or the academic unit. Generally, the following conditions will have been met in order for this special request to be granted by the President:

Undergraduate:

• Senior status (minimum of 89 units earned);
• Minimum of one academic year in residence;
• In good standing (academic, financial, and disciplinary); and
• Final approval of the President, in consultation with the Provost.

Graduate:

• Approval of the Graduate Studies Committee;
• In good standing (academic and financial); and
• Granted final approval of the President, in consultation with the Provost.

4. Honorary Degrees

   The following policy on honorary degrees has been adopted by the Board of Trustees:

   • The Board Committee on Honorary Degrees will be a special committee and shall be composed of the President of the University, three members of the faculty appointed by the President, three members of the Board of Trustees elected by the Trustee Council, one of whom will be the chair of the Board.
   • The Committee will consider only candidates whose names have been presented with supportive material in writing by or to the President.
   • The number of degrees conferred will not normally exceed three in any two-year period.
   • The Committee will make its recommendations directly to the Board of Trustees for approval.

   Note: For more complete details, see "Guidelines for Granting Honorary Degrees" in the President's Office.