1. Graduate Student Academic Services would like to present
An introduction to GradPath

2. What is GradPath ? GradPath is the online degree audit process.
GradPath is designed to assist in tracking progress towards your degree.
When you submit a form on GradPath it is routed to the relevant approvers in your department and the Graduate College.

3. Why is GradPath important ?
You must submit all the GradPath forms in order to graduate.
What if I submitted paper forms before GradPath existed ?
You do not need to re-submit those forms on GradPath, you just need to submit the remaining forms on GradPath.

4. Where do I find GradPath ?
Go to uaccess.Arizona.edu Log into Student Center

5. Choose GradPath forms from the “other academic” drop down menu

6. Click on the blue double arrow

7. You are first directed to the landing page, from there, click the GradPath Forms link

8. If you have not yet submitted a particular form you can click the “Create New” button

9. If your form is still pending approval you can only use the “View Current” button

10. You can see who has yet to make a decision and when the form was routed to them
When someone approves your form, it will route automatically to the next approver.

11. If your form has already been approved by the Graduate College you can click the “View Current” or “Modify” buttons

12. Depending on the degree you will have a different number of required GradPath forms
Certificate students : 2 required GradPath forms
Master’s students : 4 required GradPath forms
Doctoral students : 9 required GradPath forms

13. There is one additional, optional GradPath form, this is the Transfer Credit form

14. Certificate student forms

15. Master’s student forms

16. For a Master’s student forms must be submitted in this order:
Responsible Conduct of Research
Plan of Study
Master’s / Specialist Committee
The final form, the Master’s Completion form will be submitted by your department

17. Doctoral student forms

18. For a doctoral student forms must be submitted in this order:
Responsible Conduct of Research
Plan of Study or Comprehensive Exam Committee Appointment form
Comprehensive Exam Committee Appointment form or Plan of Study
Announcement of Comprehensive Exam
Doctoral Dissertation Committee Appointment form
Announcement of Final Oral Defense

19. Doctoral students, the following forms are submitted by your department:
Responsible Conduct of Research
Plan of Study or Comprehensive Exam Committee Appointment form
Comprehensive Exam Committee Appointment form or Plan of Study
Announcement of Comprehensive Exam
Results of Comprehensive Exam
Prospectus
Doctoral Dissertation Committee Appointment form
Announcement of Final Oral Defense
Results of Final Oral Defense

20. For multiple degrees you will have multiple sets of GradPath forms

21. The first form for all graduate students is the Responsible Conduct of Research Statement
You must submit the Responsible Conduct of Research form in order for any of the other GradPath forms to be available

22. This form does not have any routing so there is no delay once you have submitted it.

23. The second form is the Plan of Study
Doctoral students can make this their third form.
You should meet with your faculty advisor to discuss what courses you will put on your Plan of Study prior to submitting this GradPath form
Different departments expect their students to submit the Plan of Study at different points in their career but it should be filed no later than your 3rd semester

24. In the Plan of Study enter your expected graduation term
If you are working on 2 degrees please enter the appropriate graduation term for this degree
You can your degree counsellor (me) and I can update your expected graduation term

25. There are time to degree policies on the Graduate College website
Go to
Click on link for “New and Current Students”

26. Click on the link to “Steps to Your Degree”

27. Select your degree under the heading “Degree Requirements”

28. Scroll to the section labelled “Time Limitation”

29. In the Plan of Study you will be asked to enter the title of that thesis/dissertation on the Plan of Study
If you do not yet know the title you can leave it blank
If you enter a title and want to change it later you can enter a new title when you submit your Master’s Committee form or Doctoral Dissertation Committee form

30. In the Plan of Study you will also be asked to nominate your major advisor.
Doctoral students must also select a minor advisor
For most departments your advisor must be a faculty member (a professor)
You do not need to submit a new Plan of Study if your advisor changes
You will have a chance to list your committee members on subsequent forms

31. In your Plan of Study list all the courses that you will take to meet your degree requirements
You can select from:
Courses that you have already enrolled in (this includes completed courses)
Courses that you will take in some future semester
Courses that the U of A Graduate College has marked as eligible for transfer

32. Why did I get a warning on the Plan of Study ?
Your coursework exceeds the time to degree limit.
You have too many transfer units.
You have too many non degree seeking units.

33. Why does the Plan of Study matter ?
Your department approvers check whether your Plan of Study meets the department’s policy.
The Graduate College check whether your Plan of Study meets Graduate College policy.
Before your degree can be awarded you must complete all the courses on your Plan of Study.

34. Some additional things to consider on your Plan of Study
Do not include courses that you will audit.
Do not include courses where you earned a “D”, “E” or “F” grade.
For Master’s and Doctoral degrees you must have at least 12 graded University of Arizona units to graduate.

35. You can change your Plan of Study
If your Plan of Study is still pending a decision you can contact the person listed on the routing and ask them to deny the Plan of Study so that you can modify the Plan and submit it.
If you Plan of Study has already been approved by your department and the Graduate College you can modify the Plan and submit it.

36. How will I know if my Plan of Study is approved ?
Once a form you submit receives final approval or is denied, you will receive an from to notify you.

37. If your Plan of Study is denied
“View Current” on the form to see any comments and the reason your Plan of Study was denied. “Modify” and re-submit your revised Plan of Study.

38. Committee Appointment forms
Master’s students must submit this form even if they do not have a committee; in that case they just list their advisor.

39. Doctoral Students submit 2 committees
The Comprehensive Exam Committee Appointment form.
The Dissertation Committee Appointment form.

40. Use the search box to find the committee members or advisor
You will need to indicate each committee member’s role: member, special member, chair or co-chair.

41. How big should my committee be?
Comprehensive Exam Committee: Minimum four members. At least three must be UA tenured or tenure-eligible faculty (or approved by Graduate College as “tenure equivalent”). Fourth or fifth member, if not tenured/tenure-eligible, may serve as “special members” with Graduate College approval.
Dissertation Committee: Minimum three members, all UA tenured, tenure eligible or “tenure equivalent.” Fourth/fifth member may be an approved “special member.”

42. When should I submit my committee appointment form ?
Submit the master’s committee appointment form BEFORE your graduation date.
Submit the doctoral committee appointment forms at least 1 month before the exam.

43. Exam announcement forms
Only doctoral students submit these forms.
There are two exams to announce:
the comprehensive exam
the final oral defense

44. On the exam announcement enter the date, time and location of the exam

45. The list of committee members will pre-fill from committee appointment form

46. When should I submit my exam announcement form ?
Submit the exam announcements at least 10 days BEFORE the comprehensive exam/ final oral defense

47. It takes time to approve forms
Allow time for your committee form to be approved- you cannot submit the exam announcement form until the committee form is approved by the Graduate College (last approver)
Allow enough time for your exam announcement form to be approved BEFORE the comprehensive exam and BEFORE the final oral defense

48. Why are some forms grayed out?

49. Forms are grayed out if we have a paper form (from before GradPath)
Forms are grayed out if prior forms must be submitted and approved first.

50. Important Graduate College Policies
Continuous Enrollment: You must take at least 3 units of graduate credit each semester until you have (a) completed all courses on your Plan of Study; (b) passed the comprehensive exams; and (c ) taken the required 18 units of dissertation. At that point your requirement is just 1 unit per semester. (Note that this is the minimum enrollment required and is NOT the same as full-time.)
Credit Requirements: The minimum units required to earn a Ph.D are 36 units of coursework for the major, 9 units for the minor, and 18 units of dissertation. You may be required to take more than the minimum units to satisfy curricular requirements.
Time Limitation: Ph.D students have five years after passing the comprehensive exams to complete their degree.

51. For more information visit www.grad.arizona.edu

52. On the Grad College site we have a link to GradPath information

54. Some additional resources you may need
Graduate College forms

55. Graduate Petitions

56. Important dates and deadlines

57. Dissertation and thesis information

58. The new and current students section includes information on:
Academic Services, Policies, and Procedures
Funding
Professional Development
Child Care Subsidies and Family Friendly Information
Health, Wellness and Safety
Other Helpful Information

59. Thank you. Do you have any questions?