Residency Requirements

Residency Requirements

In order to meet the residency conference degree requirement, all master's degree students must:

1. be in good academic standing at the time of attendance;
2. attend and participate in the June Residency Conference immediately following or during enrollment in their final course;
3. achieve financial clearance through the university bursar’s office by May 15 of the year in which they are scheduled to attend.

Students who fail to meet the criteria outlined above will be required to delay residency attendance, graduation participation, and degree conferral by a minimum of one year. Students with outstanding financial balances after May 15 will not be permitted to attend residency.

Unless impacted by highly unusual and extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control, all students are expected to be present for the entire residency conference week, but are required, at a minimum, to attend and participate in the academic components for no less than three (3) days. Students who cannot be present for the minimum 3-day required attendance and participation are expected to meet the requirement at a residency conference the following year. Students who meet the minimum attendance requirement, but must leave the residency conference prior to graduation must obtain approval from the program director or designee.

Exemptions from the residency attendance and participation requirement must be approved in advance by your program director and the dean, and may be considered only for highly unusual and extenuating circumstances beyond the student's control. In cases where an exemption is approved, an alternate academic assignment will be required prior to the conferral of the master's degree.

Participation Requirements

The residency conference is a degree requirement for all master’s degree candidates. In order to meet the degree requirement students must check-in on Monday, be present at, and participate in, the academic activities which occur Tuesday and Wednesday of the residency conference week.

• Check-in on Monday.
• Participation typically involves a poster presentation, roundtable facilitation, or panel or case study discussion in a topic area in which the student has conducted research and written a paper.
• Attendance and participation is required at all residency conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday from 8 AM to 5 PM. Evening activities are optional to attend though strongly encouraged.
• Attendance is optional for Academic Recognition Ceremonies on Thursday afternoon and graduation on Friday morning.