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Welcome to the School of Educational Studies of Claremont Graduate University. This Handbook is a general guide through the M.A. process and should supplement ongoing discussions with your faculty advisor about your individualized course of study.

The fact that each M.A. program is individually designed offers you the opportunity to structure an educational experience that is uniquely suited to your own research, career interests, and goals. This handbook describes the structure and elements of the M.A. program in Educational Studies in a way that should facilitate degree completion. You will find it much easier to work with your advisor if you read the handbook because it explains policies, procedures, and practices, contains sample forms, and provides tips on how to succeed in completing your coursework and preparing a thesis or critique.

If you are one of our many students with full-time job responsibilities, developing a network of faculty and student colleagues can be a challenge. One of the benefits of our small, flexible M.A. program is the increased opportunity for students to work closely with Educational Studies faculty and staff. Education-sponsored opportunities to meet with other students and faculty members are provided each semester.

You are encouraged to work closely with your faculty advisor. In addition, the School of Educational Studies staff members are eager to assist you through the course of your program of study. During the admissions process you met with Cece Gaddy, the administrative director, who may be reached at 909-621-8317. To make an appointment with a faculty member, call the program secretary, Janet Alonzo, at 909-621-8075.

In cases of emergency or special needs please inform your advisor and the administrative director so we can work with you to complete your degree.

If you have any question regarding any aspect of the program or contents of this handbook, please let us know.

The following are requirements of the M.A. program in Education. Sections describing these program components and the procedures that lead to fulfilling degree requirements follow. The M.A. requires:

• 30 semester units (minimum) of course work (6 semester units may be transferred from prior graduate work)
• a written thesis or critique
• all requirements must be completed within five calendar years

Program Development and the Role of the Faculty Advisor

Upon admission to the program, you were assigned an initial faculty advisor on the basis of research interests described in your application statement. The initial advisor’s role is an informal one, and if, after a course or two, you find your interests more compatible with those of another faculty member, you may ask that person to serve as your advisor. If the faculty member agrees, notify the administrative director of the change.

Education courses are usually 4 semester units, so the requirements for the 30 unit M.A. may be completed through 28 units of course work (7 courses) and 2 units of thesis or critique research. It is advisable to have a conversation about your goals with your advisor so your program can be designed appropriately. Although no formal program is necessary, course selection is developed with your faculty advisor.

By the time you identify your master’s topic you will have been working closely with a faculty member who will assume the official role as “your advisor.” Please notify the administrative director if this requires a change from your initial faculty advisor, so that the official records may be changed.

The advisor-advisee relationship is negotiated between the student and a faculty member based on mutual research interests. The administrative director is a resource person for questions about program and institutional requirements.

Enrollment and Registration and General Information

Course schedules for each semester are available via our web page or in the education office. The Registrar’s office publishes the entire schedule along with important dates from their web page. Students download the registration forms via the registrar’s web page and complete the form for the Educational Studies office director to process. Please note that courses outside the field of Education require approval by the appropriate department (i.e. Psychology, Management, History) before your registration may be processed. Once registered, Student Accounts will bill you accordingly.

Continuous Registration

Master’s degree students are required to maintain continuous registration until all requirements for the degree have been met, including the completion of a thesis or critique and payment of binding fees. A student not enrolled in course work or thesis research is required to register for Continuous Registration (400M).

Course changes

Students wishing to add or drop a course, including tutorials, seminar, and research, after registration must obtain a change form from the Registrar’s office or download the form from the CGU website. If dropped courses result in lower tuition charges, refunds will be made in accordance with the University’s refund policy.

Incomplete Grades

With the approval of the course instructor, a student may take an “Incomplete” in a course. A student who has received an Incomplete will be required to make up the work by such time as is stipulated by the instructor after consultation with the student, but in no case later than one calendar year from the time at which the work was originally due unless a shorter time period is stipulated by the faculty member. It is advisable to negotiate a completion date soon after the course is completed. If the Incomplete is not made up within the specified time, it will become a permanent part of the student’s record as a Permanent Incomplete (PI).

Residence Requirement and time limit

The institutional residence and time limit for the master’s degree is that all requirements be completed within five calendar years. The student must be enrolled continuously, either for credit or for Continuous Registration, until the degree is earned.

Completion of an approved thesis or critique is a requirement for the M.A. in Education. A thesis or critique is the demonstration of your ability to analyze and evaluate materials and to write clearly. The earlier in your graduate work you begin to define the M.A. research project through discussions with your advisor and research conducted for seminars, the more integrated will your course work be with the thesis or critique.

The CGS Bulletin defines a thesis as a project that "involves the careful design and execution of a research problem," while "a critique may also involve a research problem, or it may be a critical analysis and evaluation of the literature on a particular subject, or a description and evaluation of a project."  The Bulletin also explains "the thesis or critique may be prepared in conjunction with one or more seminars or independently under the guidance of the advisor. A critique is read by the faculty member with whom the critique was written and is then submitted to the Dean. It does not require a second faculty reader.

A thesis requires a second faculty reader. The faculty member with whom you wrote the thesis and one other faculty member read it before being submitted to the Dean for final approval. In addition, a thesis requires independent research that may include methodology that must be approved by the Institutional Review Board.

With the equivalent of seven seminars required to complete the M.A., it is important to consult early and often with the faculty member you wish to supervise your thesis or critique (your advisor). 

Thesis Preparation

The CGU "Requirements Concerning the Preparation of Theses" available from the registrar's office has been reproduced and is included in the Index of Institutional Forms.  These guidelines for the final draft include a facsimile thesis title/signature page that is to be reproduced to match the thesis font style and paper. 

Institutional Review Board

In the interests of protecting the rights and welfare of individuals recruited for, or participating in research conducted by faculty or students under the auspices of Claremont Graduate University, the University maintains the Institutional Review Board (IRB). All members of the CGU community who conduct research involving human participants must have the research protocol approved by the IRB, before the research is conducted. Those faculty members supervising research done by students have a particular responsibility to make sure the IRB review is completed before any research is undertaken. CGU policy requires that research with human subjects, regardless of funding support be reviewed by the IRB for the protection of Human Subjects (new referred to as participants). The guidelines (45 CFR, Part 46) followed are those set down by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The IRB represents research, academic and community interests. Forms for review, the procedures to be followed, and relevant Federal guidelines, can be obtained from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Harper Hall 152. The Application for Review Form is also available in the Educational Studies Office, Harper 202. Please also visit the IRB website where basic information about the IRB can be found. The overview document, available on the site, will provide basic information for faculty and students about the essential elements of IRB review and the philosophy behind the review process.

It is important to work closely with your advisor to make sure you follow the correct procedures for review of your research methodology by the CGU Institutional Review Board. The IRB meets every month.  IRB forms and documents should be included with your thesis proposal.

You may download all required program forms from the CGU website at http://www.cgu.edu/pages/179.asp

Intent to Receive Degree Form

An "Intent to Receive Degree" form is filed by October if you expect to complete all M.A. requirements in time for January degree, by March if you expect to receive the degree in May and by July 1 if you expect to receive a degree in August. Check the current CGU Bulletin for exact deadline dates. You may register your intent without being positive you will complete degree requirements during a given semester. There is no fee attached to the process, and if completion takes another semester, a new "intent" form is submitted to the registrar's office again the following semester.  Intent forms are available in the Education office or the registrar's office.

Transfer of Credit Form

On this form you may list up to 6 graduate semester units from graduate work at another institution. The units are listed by course number/name, grade, and institution. A catalog description of the courses listed is to be attached to the form and submitted, with the “Final Approval of Master’s Degree” form, to the administrative director to obtain approval from your advisor and the program chair.

Final Approval of Master’s Degree Form

The “Final Approval of Master’s Degree” form is presented to your advisor and the Dean for submission to the registrar's office by institutional deadlines that apply to the semester of expected graduation. The form should be submitted to the registrar with a copy of your academic record. The form requires the signature of your faculty advisor, your thesis or critique reader and the Dean.  

Timelines for Submitting Theses or Critiques for Advisor Approval

Education deadlines for submitting a draft of the thesis or critique to your advisor in order to meet time lines for January, May, or August degree are designed to allow faculty review and feedback and the timely completion of the final draft. Exact institutional deadlines for submitting final requirements are available in the Bulletin for each year. 

Although there are not required deadlines for submitting drafts to meet the deadline for January degree, you should provide your advisor with a preliminary draft by September 15. To meet May degree deadlines, the advisor should receive a preliminary draft no later than February 15. For an August degree, the advisor should receive a preliminary draft no later than the end of May.

ID Card

Sometime during the first two weeks of courses, stop by the Registrar’s office to have your photo identification card made. You cannot use the library, get a parking permit, or use the health and counseling facilities until you have a valid ID card. You must be registered before you can receive your ID card.

E-mail Accounts

The Office of Information Technology will assign you an e-mail account number. You will receive information about the account name and password and instructions on using your account shortly after your admission. All official email from Claremont Graduate University will be sent to your CGU email address. If you have another email account that you use (AOL, Yahoo, etc.) please forward your CGU account appropriately to that account. Activating your CGU email account is a necessity and should be initiated in the first two weeks of your first term of study.

Subscribing to E-Mail Lists

In order to receive timely information about course listings and changes, registration, student events, and messages of general interest from the Education faculty and staff as well as from student services and the CGU administrative offices, be sure to check your CGU e-mail account. If you have any problems, contact the CGU Help Desk at helpdesk@cgu.edu. 

There are essentially two types of mailing lists that may be of use to CGU students. First, there are CGU Mailing lists which may be related to a certain class, or may revolve around a certain issue or discussion. Second, there are an infinite number of external mailing lists that one can subscribe to which are maintained by several institutions, companies or private persons.

Subscribing to a CGU list

First you must know the name of the list to which you would like to subscribe. The Ph.D. student mailing lists are education2@lyris.cgu.edu and hieduc2@lyris.cgu.edu.

To subscribe send an email to the following address: lyris@lyris.cgu.edu