Forms

Please read carefully to avoid processing delays:

  • If you need to access your drafts, print or access your forms after signing, you can access all of your forms through the NextGen Dashboard.

    • Log into the dashboard using UA Username and Password.
    • When the welcome page loads, you will see an option for "Pending/ Draft Forms" (letters in-process) and "Forms History" (completed letters).
    • If you have difficulty accessing your Dashboard, please check your login information and/or update your password in ELMO if needed. 
  • Review the dates and deadlines page to learn when forms are due.

  • Unless the form explicitly states that specific signatures are not required for your program, you must obtain signatures from all of the following:
    • Your graduate coordinator
    • Your complete advisory committee
    • Your department/ program chair
    • Your school director/college dean
  • Non-UA emails may only be used for non-UA signature authorities.
    • Some government/ agency emails have firewalls that intercept some NextGen signature request emails. If you experience this, please contact the Graduate School to use an alternate email for this signer.
  • For UA-affiliated signatures, official UA emails must be used as alias emails will not allow entry to the form. Official UA emails will utilize initials and surnames. For example:
  • The Form Signature Workflow, the exception of the Report of Advisory Committee (which will ask the student to sign twice), will route in the following order: Form Initiator > Student > Graduate Coordinator > Committee Chair/Co-chairs > Committee Members > Department/Program Chair > College/School Dean > Graduate School Office Check > Director of the Graduate School

Find contact information for your forms:
Graduate Student Forms Directory

Use the Graduate Student Forms directory for:  Dean/Director, Department/Program Chair, and Graduate Coordinators.

UA Directory

Committee member emails can be found on  department websites or using the UA directory.

  • Appointment of Advisory Committee
    • Due by the end of your FIRST year
    • AND anytime your committee members change.
    • NOTE: Resigning members must also sign this form. If the department chair is signing on the resigning member's behalf or is exercising their right to remove a member, a justification for doing so must be noted somewhere on the form.
    • Preview PDF
  • Report of Advisory Committee
    • Due every year by May 15 for people who were admitted in a summer or fall term. 
    • Due every year by December 15 for those who were admitted in a spring semester (if necessary, extensions can be requested).
    • Unlike other forms, the Report of Advisory Committee form will route to the student twice for signature: 1) to upload the student narrative and disclose publications and presentations; 2) to initial acknowledgement of the committee comments.
    • Preview PDF
  • Graduate Study Plan
    • Due by the end of your SECOND semester.   Courses on this form should match your degree requirements in your entry catalog.   If substitutions are planned, please indicate as much by adding "subbed for core requirement," "subbed for x-and-such course," etc.
    • Preview PDF
  • Advancement to Candidacy
    • Due at least ONE semester before the semester you intend to graduate.
    • Per the catalog, Ph.D. students cannot advance to candidacy until they have completed a written comprehensive exam.
    • Preview PDF
  • Reinstatement of Graduate Student Status
    • Required for those who wish to resume their studies but who have fallen out of status with regard to the registration requirements in the "How to Earn a Graduate Degree" section of the UAF catalog
    • NOTE: Reinstatement requires that it has been less than 2 years since your last enrollment in a 400- or 600-level course at UAF. If it has been more than 2 years since your last enrollment, you will have to reapply for admission.)
    • Preview PDF
  • Request for Outside Examiner
    • Mandatory for all Ph.D. oral comprehensive exams (Except qualifying exams) and Ph.D. dissertations defenses.
    • Requests must be submitted to the Graduate School at least 10 working days prior to the exam (15 days if scheduled during the summer break). 
  • Graduation Application (online form - log in to your UA Google account to access)
    • Due Oct 15 for fall, Feb 1 for spring and July 15 for summer. 
    • A $50 non-refundable fee applies. Late deadlines are Nov 15 and March 1 respectively and an $80 fee applies. There is no late application date for summer.
  • Approval of Dissertation/Thesis/Project
    • Required for all project, thesis, and dissertation students: 
      • This form is used to signify approval of the final draft of your project, thesis, or dissertation AFTER you've passed your defense.
      • Dissertations and theses will require the approval of the full committee, department chair, dean, and graduate school.
      • Projects will require the approval of the full committee, department chair, and graduate school.
      • This form certifies that the post-defense copy (a.k.a. final copy) of your dissertation/thesis/project is of reasonably publishable quality and is ready for archiving with the library and/or publication.
      • This document is required and is in lieu of (or in addition to) "signature pages".
    • Preview PDF
  • Interdisciplinary Degree Title
    • For those who are pursuing a Interdisciplinary Master's or PhD. This form formally establishes the title of your program and will be printed on your transcripts and diploma.
    • Preview PDF
  • Graduate Student Employee Workload Exception Request
    • Submission of this form is required for Graduate Student Research Assistants or Teaching Assistants who are requesting a waiver to the Board of Regents policy that prohibits working in excess of 20 hours per week or 40 hours per pay period.
    • This form must be completed and signed by all requested parties before any exceptions will be considered.
    • IMPORTANT NOTE: Foreign nationals on temporary student visas (F-1 or J-1) are not permitted to work more than 20 hours per week while classes are in session and, therefore, are not eligible for a workload waiver.

Payment memos must be submitted for processing prior to the fee payment deadline of each semester. 

Spring 2023 deadline: 1/26/2023

Summer 2023 six week session-I deadline: 5/18/2023
Summer 2023 full session deadline: 5/23/2023
Summer 2023 six week session-II deadline: 7/5/2023

Fall 2023 

An outside examiner representing and appointed by the Director of the Graduate School is required at all Ph.D. oral examinations and dissertation defenses.

The examiner must be from a different department than the student and the chair of the advisory committee chair. This person is present to evaluate the examination process and ensure that it is unbiased and fair for the student and that the student's work demonstrates academic rigor at the Ph.D. level.

All Ph.D. students must submit a Request for Outside Examiner to the Graduate School for their oral comprehensive exam and dissertation defense.

  • Students must submit the request at least two weeks before the exam.
  • Exams and defenses cannot be scheduled during weekends, holidays, university closures, or outside of the hours of 9 am-5 pm.

It is the student's responsibility to make the request, not the advisor's or committee chair's responsibility.

(Master degree-seeking students are not required to request an outside examiner.)

Graduate dissertation, thesis and project defense examinations are public events and open to the university and wider community. The student should submit their name and project, thesis, or dissertation title and the date, time, and location of their defense examination to the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to their defense examination date. The Graduate School, along with the home program, department, college, or school, will advertise the examination.

The defense examination includes a public presentation of the dissertation, thesis or project moderated by the chair of the graduate advisory committee, followed by a private executive examination by the committee.

Public Defense Announcement Submission Form

 

The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) is an annual census conducted since 1957 of all individuals receiving a research doctorate from an accredited U.S. institution in a given academic year. The SED is sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF) and by three other federal agencies: the National Institutes of Health, Department of Education, and National Endowment for the Humanities. The SED collects information on the doctoral recipient's educational history, demographic characteristics, and postgraduation plans. Results are used to assess characteristics of the doctoral population and trends in doctoral education and degrees.