Steps Toward Completing Your Rural Development MA Program

Note: Official Graduate School regulations are listed in the current UAF catalog. It is your responsibility to comply with all regulations and requirements. The following is presented by the Department to aid you in completing steps toward the degree.

1. For information about applying to the Rural Development MA program you should contact either Dr. Gordon Pullar at (907) 279-2706 or Miranda Wright, M.A. at (907) 474-6433. They can assist you with the application process and help identify potential financial aid opportunities.

2. Depending on your financial aid situation, you should begin applying for scholarships, fellowships, and/or grants as soon as possible. Often the deadlines for these are months in advance of your actual enrollment. See our section on financial aid and visit the UAF Office of Financial Aid website.

3. Once your are admitted to the MA program, you will be assigned an interim advisor who will assist you with initial registration and course advising. It is your responsibility to become familiar with all UAF Graduate School expectations, procedures, and deadlines. These can be found in the UAF catalog and on the Graduate School website.

4. Your interim advisor will help you identify a graduate advisory committee, which is normally appointed within the first semester of study. See Graduate School, Forms for Graduate Students.

One of these committee members will serve as your advisory committee chair. This person is your primary point of contact for required steps in completing your degree.

5. The graduate advisory committee provides guidance in developing your Graduate Study Plan. It will specify subject areas that your committee expects you to be knowledgeable about for your comprehensive examination.

A copy of the GSP, signed by your committee members, should be submitted to the department and the Office of the Graduate School before the end of your second semester.

6. Towards the end of your MA program (usually your last year), you'll be expected to take a written comprehensive examination in your field. Your committee will normally identify three specific areas or topics on which you'll be examined.

7. Upon successful completion of your comprehensive examination, your committee will determine whether you should submit an Application for Advancement to Candidacy for the Master's Degree.

8. An Application for Graduation must be filed and a fee paid at the beginning of the semester in which you plan to graduate. You must be registered for at least three graduate credits in the semester in which you are to receive your degree.

UAF issues diplomas to graduates three times each year: in September, in January, and in May. You may also choose to participate in local or regional campus ceremonies.

See more details on page 9-10 of the MA Student Guide