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You should complete the PROGRAM FOR THE MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES form by the end of your first year in the program. This form is commonly referred to as the "contract" or “GS-101” ( this is an old name for the form).
What is the purpose of the form?
The program form is the graduate equivalent of a "curriculum sheet." As an undergrad, you may have had a "curriculum sheet" which detailed the courses and other requirements for your degree. Since the courses required for the MS degree are determined on an individual basis, there is no standard "curriculum sheet". Instead, this form is used to determine the curriculum for each student.
When should I complete the form?
By the end of your first year in the program. The university actually requires you to complete the form by the end of your first quarter in the program. This is not realistic in the Biological Sciences Department, but do try to get it done by the end of the first year. You can not graduate without having filed this form. If you apply to graduate without having completed this form, then there is a problem. The university is not happy that you have neglected this requirement.
An excellent time to take care of this form is when you do your thesis proposal (BIO 693). All the members of your thesis committee must sign the form, so it's convenient to do this at your proposal because all of your committee is there. It is not required that you complete the program at your thesis proposal, but it will save everybody (including you) time and trouble.
Where do I get the form?
The form is printed from an Excel file (worksheet). You should complete the worksheet, print it, and have your thesis committee examine it. When the committee is satisfied, then you can print the actual form.
What if I need to change courses in my program?
This is a common occurrence, and is easy to do. Do NOT file a new Program. The Graduate Student Academic Petition is specifically designed to allow deletion and addition of courses to the Program. If your additions/deletions change the total number of units in your program, be sure to indicate the change in the total units in the "Statement of Action other than Course Substitution" section. The Graduate Student Academic Petition (and other graduate forms) are available at the forms page.
Instructions
Here are specific instructions for completing the the program form. You are strongly advised to follow these instructions carefully. Use these instructions when you complete the worksheet.
PROGRAM COURSES: This is the most important section. BE CAREFUL! You need to list at least 32 units, and should list no more than 37 units here. You must have at least 11 units of 500 and 600-level courses. These are the courses that your thesis committee wants you to take for your degree. THIS IS NOT A TRANSCRIPT. DON'T LIST COURSES YOU TAKE (OR PLAN TO TAKE) IN EXCESS OF THE REQUIREMENTS. THIS ALMOST ALWAYS LEADS TO TROUBLE. Fill in the units column, and if you have already taken the class, go ahead and fill in the Quarter/Year and Grade columns. If you have not yet taken the class, do NOT fill in the Quarter/Year or Grade columns. You can fill these in as you take the classes to insure that you take all of your required classes and to insure that your program GPA is at least 3.0.
You may not list more than 13 units of transfer courses. This includes units taken at another school, units taken as an undergrad for graduate credit, units taken while in another degree program, units taken as an unclassified graduate students, and units taken through the Open University.
For special topics courses (e.g. BIO 499; BIO 575) make sure the title of the course on the program matches exactly the title on your transcript. Check your unofficial transcript on BroncoDirect, if necessary.
Follow all the instructions you'll find on the worksheet.
MAKE A COPY OF THE SIGNED FORMS BEFORE YOU TAKE IT TO GRADUATE STUDIES
What about transfer courses from another university?
When including transfer work on a Master’s contract, or filling out a petition to substitute a CPP course for a transfer course at another University, please indicate the following information:
If you have not already submitted official set of transcripts of transfer work to the Registrar’s office, please include official set of transcripts with petition, or contract, when submitting to the Graduate Studies Office.
No more than 13 units total can be taken "out of residence". This includes transfer courses as well as courses taken for graduate credit while you were an undergraduate.
