In exceptional cases, a department may choose a thesis director from the Notre Dame teaching and research faculty outside the student s department. Arrangements for extra-departmental directors or codirectors must be consistent with departmental policies and must be approved by the Graduate School. Failure in either one or both parts of the examination results in automatic forfeiture of degree eligibility, unless the department recommends a retake. If a retake is recommended, it must be completed by the end of the following semester. The Graduate School allows only one retake of the master's examination.
Some departments have an equivalent requirement in lieu of the master's comprehensive examination.
Students are advised to be cognizant of their respective departmental requirements with regard to the master's comprehensive examination or its substitute. Admission to Candidacy To qualify for admission to candidacy, a student must be in a master's degree program, must have been enrolled in the program without interruption and must maintain a minimum cumulative G.P.A. of 3.0 in approved course work. In addition to the cumulative G.P.A. requirement, a student who seeks admission to candidacy in a research master's program must demonstrate research capability and receive departmental approval of his or her thesis proposal. Admission to candidacy is a prerequisite to receiving any graduate degree. It is the student's responsibility to apply for admission by submitting the appropriate form to the Graduate School office through the department chair.