Graduate Forms & Timeline

Graduate School Forms & Timeline
The UAF Graduate School recently switched to Dynamic Forms, an online management system, for all administrative paperwork. Below is a list of common forms required by graduate students in English. They can all be accessed at the Grad School's "Forms" webpage. Those forms with specific deadlines are noted below.

  • Add/Drop Graduate Form
  • Leave of Absence
  • Language Research Tool
  • Petition Form
  • Reinstatement Form
  • Graduate Study Plan
    • when: end of second semester in program
  • Report of Advisory Committee
    • when: end of each year of study
  • Appointment of Graduate Advisory Committee
    • when: before comprehensive exams
  • Report on Comprehensive Exam
    • when: immediately upon confirmation of passing comprehensive exams
  • Advancement to Candidacy
    • when: at least one semester before graduation
  • Report on Thesis or Dissertation Defense
  • Approval of Thesis/Dissertation/Project
    • when: after thesis defense; by April 7 assuming spring graduation

Once again, all these forms can be found on the Grad School's "Forms" page. For any specific questions, please contact your program director or the Graduate School office.

MFA Comprehensive Exams
MFA candidates take comprehensive exams toward the beginning of their fourth semester. The exams consist of two three-hour sessions, in which students write short essays assessing the craft, forms, and techniques of certain literary texts. In the exams, students should demonstrate a solid base of knowledge in their chosen genre. In some cases, literature and forms courses will assign books from the reading list as part of the curriculum. Thesis advisors will also provide students with additional support about their individualized reading lists (five additional texts of the students' own choosing). The exam dates below refer to the year in which they’re taken; for instance, if you entered the program in Fall 2022, you will take your exams in Spring 2024 and should study from the 2023–24 document in your genre. MFA faculty update the reading lists every two to three years.