After the University Schedule Adjustment deadline, students are expected to complete all courses in which they are enrolled. However, for fully documented, serious and compelling reasons that were not known at the time of registration, the student may request a Late Schedule Adjustment by obtaining appropriate authorizations. The request can be submitted through the Registrar's Office website. 

The student must provide a type-written statement describing the request, provide supporting documentation and verification that you have notified your course instructor of your request and obtained your grade-to-date in the course (e.g. a screenshot or PDF of your email conversation). The student will need to provide 1 petition for each course, unless withdrawing from the entire semester.

All Late Schedule Adjustment Petitions take 7-10 business days for review. Students will be contacted by email of the decision. Any petitions that are submitted with insufficient documentation or incomplete forms will delay processing beyond 10 business days.

If a student feels that serious and compelling circumstances that were not known at the time of registration and were clearly beyond their control prevented fulfillment of academic obligations, they may request to retroactively add or withdraw from a course(s) after the semester has ended by submitting a Graduate Petition for Retroactive Course Changes to Graduate Studies. This form is available at the Registrar's Office website:  

The Graduate Petition for Retroactive Course Changes requires the approval of the instructors of the courses involved, and the approval of the graduate advisor. (Email correspondence must be attached to the form). Supporting documentation must accompany the Petition for Retroactive Course Changes.
 
If approved, the Registrar's Office requires the student to pay a processing fee to the Cashier's Office.
 
Note: Students should be aware that the University policy permits approval of this petition only if the student can demonstrate that serious and compelling circumstances clearly beyond their control prevented fulfillment of academic obligations. Supporting documentation is required.

Graduate Advisors: Fill out the Temporary Thesis Committee Approval form, and email to [email protected]. CC: the master's student on this email.

Temporary Thesis Committee Approval form

Students with committee members that are not tenured/tenure track faculty at SDSU will also need to complete the Petition for Lecturers, Adjuncts, and Outside Experts Without SDSU Affiliation to Serve on Thesis Committees. Please read the form in its entirety, as additional documentation may be required to accompany this petition.

Temporary changes made by Montezuma Publishing can be found on their website under "Thesis and Dissertation Services".

Formatting guidelines can be found on the Dissertation & Thesis Review website.

Students who wish to enroll in Thesis 799A must first have an approved Thesis Committee Form on file with Graduate Studies. Once this form is processed and approved, students may request a schedule number and an add code from Graduate Studies in order to enroll in Thesis 799A.

Students requiring additional time to finish their theses must enroll in 799B Thesis Extension, either through main campus or through SDSU Global Campus. Please refer to Part Four of the Graduate Bulletin for more information on thesis and thesis extension courses.

The display of a thesis, dissertation, or project may be embargoed for a period of up to one year upon written request of the student and consent of the dean of Graduate Studies. Please review the Embargo Policy for instructions on how to submit a request.

Graduate students who are not able to maintain a post-baccalaureate cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher are academically disqualified from the university. Academically disqualified students are not allowed to take classes at SDSU or participate in graduate programs for one semester. After that time, they may apply for readmission. If there are serious and compelling extenuating circumstances beyond the student's control, the student may petition for immediate reinstatement. The petition is completed in conjunction with the graduate advisor. It must include a reasonable plan to immediately raise the post-baccalaureate cumulative GPA, and to complete all degree requirements in a reasonable time frame.

Immediate Reinstatement After Disqualification Form

Students who have been academically disqualified for more than 1 semester or left the university on academic probation and want to continue with their program must complete the Petition for Readmission and Reinstatement After Disqualification. Before submitting this form, the student should first reapply to the university during the application filing period. (Visit the Graduate Admissions Office website for application deadlines). Once the application has been completed and submitted, the student must submit this petition to the Graduate Admissions Office for review. The application will not be released electronically to the program for review unless the Readmission petition is approved.

This petition must be completed in conjunction with the graduate advisor. The student and advisor must agree on coursework and grade plan that will avoid another disqualification. The minimum Program of Study GPA, Post-baccalaureate GPA, and all other degree requirements should be attainable in a reasonable time frame.

Petition for Readmission After Disqualification, or on Probation Form

The following Online Diploma Service is available through our official diploma vendor, the Michael Sutter Company.

• Order a replacement diploma - Order your diploma easily online. You will be able to choose Standard Delivery or Express Overnight Delivery. There is a $20.00 charge for each Diploma Replacement. Your Diploma will be printed and mailed within 1-2 days of receiving your payment.
• Order an Official SDSU eDiploma - Your SDSU eDiploma is a Signed and Certified PDF of your original paper diploma used for easy degree verification purposes. The SDSU eDiploma is a one-time charge of $20.00. You will receive your eDiploma within minutes of submitting your payment. You can then share your eDiploma as often as you need. (An e-diploma cannot be released until your original diploma has been issued by Graduate Studies).
• Diploma Status - Search the status of your diploma order whether it is your new diploma or replacement diploma.

To place an order, visit https://www.michaelsutter.com/sdsug/ and click on "Submit a Diploma Request". You will be prompted to enter in as much information as possible and then click "Submit My Diploma Request". Further instructions will be sent to you via email within 3-5 business days. 

For notary services, please select the "notary" option when ordering your diploma.

Online Diploma Service

(*Fee is subject to change.)

Effective Fall 2020, you may select to have your legal, chosen, or previous name on file, appear on your diploma. For information, visit Office of the Registrar Name & Gender Change Procedures website. Include all necessary punctuation, spacing, special character(s), etc for your name. Please note that your SDSU transcripts will reflect your legal name, which may not match your diploma.