»MA in English Program Handbook

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Academic and Enrollment Policies can be found in the Graduate Catalog which also contains the following university policies:

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Thesis Proposal

• Example Thesis Proposal
• Thesis Proposal Submission Form

Thesis Committee Form – Due within first 4 weeks of thesis defense semester

• Thesis Committee Form & Instructions
• Thesis Committee Approval Submission Form

Other Files

• MA English Thesis Cover Page Logo
• MA Thesis Assessment Criteria

Mark Axelrod  
BA, MA; Indiana University, Bloomington; PhD, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
fiction writing, screenwriting, 19th-century French literature, 20th-century Latin American literature 

Ian Barnard  
BA, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa; MA, San Diego State University; PhD, University of California, San Diego  
rhetoric and composition, queer theory 

Brian Glaser  
BA, University of California, Berkeley; PhD, University of California, Berkeley
environmental literature and writing, lyric poetry, psychoanalytic theory

Lynda A. Hall  
BA, MA, Chapman University; PhD, Claremont Graduate University
18th- and 19th-century British literature, 19th-century American literature

Renee Hudson
BA, Stanford University; MA, PhD, University of California Los Angeles
latinx revolutionary unconscious in contemporary literature, American and Haitian revolutions, legacy of Latin American independence movements of the nineteenth-century

Joanna Levin  
BA, Yale University; PhD, Stanford University
American literature and culture, literary theory and criticism, gender studies

Kent Lehnhof  
BA, Brigham Young University; PhD, Duke University  
early modern literature, Shakespeare, Milton, feminist theory 

Rei Magosaki  
BA, Amherst College; PhD, University of Virginia
20th-century US literature and culture, US multicultural literatures, Asian-American literature, contemporary women’s writing, theories of modernity and globalization

Morgan Read-Davidson  
BA, MA/MFA, Chapman University
rhetorical theory, new media theory, composition pedagogy

Richard Ruppel 
BA, University of Michigan; MA, Duke University; PhD, University of North Carolina)
early modernism, especially the work of Joseph Conrad; British colonial literature; queer theory 

Justine Van Meter  
BA, University of California, San Diego; MA, Cal State University, Dominguez Hills; PhD, Vanderbilt University  
comparative literature, modern and contemporary Irish literature, postcolonial theory and literature, cultural theory

Students generally take three courses (9 units) in the fall and spring semesters. Students typically finish in two years, spreading 36 units of coursework over four semesters.

All graduate students must prepare and defend, under the direction of an individual faculty member, a thesis project of distinction in order to complete their degree(s).

Sample Timeline

This sample timeline is based on a typical student who matriculates in the Fall semester and maintains full-time status, usually 9 credits per semester for four semesters.

First Semester Year 1 (Fall)

• Enroll in the introductory course to the program, Literary Theory and Critical Practice 1920 – Present. This classes includes an overview of the thesis process and an introduction to graduate faculty who can direct a thesis.

Second Semester Year 1 (Spring)

• Comparing the course offerings with your program requirements, take any combination of required courses.
• MA students who wish to write a thesis on a topic that is not addressed in the student’s regular coursework must enroll in ENG 599B Individual Study in Literature and Rhetoric with an appropriate faculty member before enrolling in ENG 597B: MA Thesis. Such a preparatory course should be taken before and not concurrently with the thesis course. Summers and Interterms are also good times for engaging in the reading and research that will culminate in the MA thesis.
• Confirm your thesis director and enroll in the thesis course starting the second year.

Third Semester Year 2 (Fall)

• Continue taking required coursework and enroll in the first 3 units of ENG 597B: MA Thesis with the thesis director.
• In consultation with the thesis director, complete the thesis proposal and draft the thesis by November 20. The thesis director may provide a reading list to guide the student during the drafting of the thesis.

• Enroll in the final 3 required units of ENG 597B: MA Thesis with your thesis director to finalize drafting and revision.

• In consultation with the thesis director, determine the thesis committee, defense date, and complete the MA Thesis Committee Approval Form.

• Apply to Graduate.

• Complete the thesis, including the thesis defense.

• Submit the thesis to Leatherby Libraries.

Year 3 & Beyond

• Sometimes, students take fewer than the average 9-unit course load and spread their remaining classes and/or thesis over additional terms. Students should talk with the Graduate Programs Coordinator and Program Director about these plans. Students have seven years from their admitted term to complete their graduate program.

Current requirements for the MA program as well as all courses offered are included in the Graduate Catalog; this information is not duplicated here in this handbook. Students use the catalog of their year of admission into the program. The student’s individual program evaluation in the Student Center is designed to help the student understand degree requirements and track progress toward the degree.

Tutorials on how to use the Student Center and their program evaluation can be found at the link below.

To log into your Student Center and to review these guides, visit StudentCenter.chapman.edu.

Aligned with Chapman University's commitment to an individualized education, graduate students in the Department of English may request to work one-on-one with a department faculty member in co-developing a specialized course that can count towards the student's degree requirements. Individual Study should be related to the student’s thesis project or support progress toward professional presentation or publication, and the Individual Study must include a reading or critical component.

Each student may be approved to take one Individual Study course. Students in the dual-degree program may be approved to take up to two IS courses.

Individual Study courses are voluntary agreements between individual faculty members and individual students, in which students complete a course of study and assignment. The course must be approved by the Program Director. The course of study and assignments for a three-unit Individual Study are comparable to that required for a regular three-unit course.

Because Individual Studies are intensive activities, faculty members are not obligated to supervise Individual Studies and their workload must allow for the addition. Faculty typically consider Individual Studies with students who have completed a class or other educational/research activity under their supervision and want to pursue more advanced work in a specific area.

Only full-time members of the Department of English faculty can supervise an Individual Study.

If you wish to do an Individual Study course, you should contact that faculty member directly to discuss the possibility. Once you and a faculty member have agreed on a course, you will need to fill out the Individual Study and Research Form.

• The Subject is ENG.
• The Course Number and Title of Individual Study must be ENG 599B Individual Study in Literature and Rhetoric.
• The individual study must be for 3 Credits and Graded as the Grading Option.
• A course description, a plan for meetings, and course learning outcomes developed between the student and faculty member are also required.

The form must be approved by the instructor and the Program Director or Department Chair. That request for approval should make clear how the Individual Study is related to thesis work or potential presentation or publication.

The deadline to add Individual Study courses for each term can be found on the Academic Calendar. A fully approved request must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar well ahead of that deadline.

For any additional questions regarding the Individual Study process, please contact the Program Director and Graduate Programs Coordinator.

 

A master’s degree thesis in the MA program is a significant body of work built from the research of others and providing your own analysis and discoveries. It demonstrates your level of critical and analytical thinking and defines the subject that you are pursuing within your field.

Working closely with a core faculty member who will act as their thesis director and committee chair, the student will draft and revise their work over the course of two semesters. The student will be expected to orally defend their thesis in front of a faculty committee of at least three qualified members, selected by the student and approved by the program.

Usually the thesis is the capstone project to the program and occurs in the final two terms of enrollment.

Once you’ve identified the possible subject for your thesis, you should think about who might serve as an appropriate thesis director.

Some students prioritize professors in whose courses they have been or are enrolled. Others look at our core faculty expertise in relation to the thesis. That said, you need not have taken a class with the faculty you list at the top of the list in the thesis proposal, and many faculty work in more than one genre. If you’d like additional guidance, you can talk with the Program Director or Graduate Programs Coordinator to brainstorm about ordering your preference list.

For MA theses, the thesis director should come from the full-time literature or rhetoric faculty: Axelrod, Barnard, Glaser, Hall, Hudson, Lehnof, Levin, Magosaki, Read-Davidson, Ruppel, Van Meter.

The role of the thesis proposal is to provide a clear, specific idea of your project. A proposal should be an overview of the planned project and should provide specific elements that go beyond a simple project statement. The proposal serves as the foundation of your project and will support the subsequent writing throughout the thesis drafting and revision process.

All graduate students must have an approved thesis proposal prior to enrolling in the first of the two required thesis courses. 

The proposal must include the following components:

• A 250-500 word statement of purpose that outlines the thesis project
• A working bibliography

The thesis proposal must be submitted directly to the potential thesis director. For advice on how to identify a potential thesis director, see the above section Identifying Potential Thesis Directors.

Faculty-approved proposals are then accepted via the MA English Thesis Proposal Submission Form. 

The deadline for MA thesis proposals is April 20 for enrollment in ENG 597 in the following Fall term, or November 20 for the following spring term, regardless of the day of the week the date falls on.

An example proposal can be found in the Program Files & Forms section above.

Proposal Approval

By the end of the semester, the student and thesis director will be notified in writing that the thesis proposal is approved or indicate what revisions are needed before resubmitting.

Thesis Reading List

At the discretion of the thesis director, a required or suggested reading list may be given to the student. When readings are assigned, those texts can be used as reference during the thesis course and the defense.

After the approval of a thesis proposal, the Department of English will contact the student via their Chapman University email with instructions on how to register for in ENG 597B: MA Thesis. Each thesis student receives their own section of a thesis course for enrollment. Students cannot enroll in thesis credits until their thesis proposal is approved.

Questions about the thesis guidelines should be addressed to the Program Director, the Chair of the Department of English, or the Graduate Programs Coordinator. Questions about an individual thesis-in-process should be addressed to the thesis director.

MA Thesis Requirements

• Enrollment in ENG 597B: MA Thesis. Students must enroll in two semesters of ENG 597B (usually during the last two semesters of study). During registration, students should consult the instructions emailed to them by the Department of English in order to enroll.
  • Students who have completed two semesters of ENG 597B: MA Thesis without defending or submitting their thesis must be enrolled in thesis continuation, ENG 598B - MA Thesis II. Students are required to be enrolled in order to defend, submit their thesis to the library, and have their degree conferred.
• Contents & Page Limits.
  • The thesis should be between 6,000 and 14,000 words, not including endnotes and bibliography. The appropriate length will be determined in consultation with the thesis director.

Additionally, the thesis must demonstrate the following MA Program Learning Outcomes:

• The ability to situate the projects within broader historical, critical, social, cultural, and/or philosophical contexts.
• A writing style free of major mechanical errors that enables the presentation of ideas and evidence at a high scholarly level.
• An in-depth knowledge of key critical and/or theoretical debates relevant to the topic.
• Attention to relevant literary movements and genres if writing about literary texts.

With the permission of the Chair of the Department of English and the MA Director, students can develop alternative thesis projects, including digital humanities projects.

The MA Thesis Assessment Rubric will be used to evaluate all thesis projects.

Thesis Format

Short Link: https://libguides.chapman.edu/dissertations

The thesis formatting guidelines are available at Leatherby Libraries as the MA/MS Thesis ChecklistLinks to an external site. Adherence to the library’s formatting guidelines is mandatory. However, for an MA thesis some guidelines are optional; check with the library’s Dissertations and Theses Librarian with any specific questions about formatting.

After enrollment in the second semester of ENG 597B: MA Thesis, the thesis committee form must be submitted to the online submission form within the first three weeks of the semester during which the student is enrolled in thesis.

In consultation with the thesis director and/or Program Director, the student should request two additional faculty members to serve on their thesis committee. The committee will consist of the thesis director, the second reader, and the third reader.

An MA Thesis Director should come from the full-time litertaure and rhetoric faculty. The second reader and third reader may be any member of the full-time English faculty or, with permission of the thesis director and the Program Director, a full-time faculty member of another department. 

An individual currently employed by Chapman who possesses requisite expertise, but who is not a full-time faculty member affiliated with the student’s graduate degree program, may be appointed as a third member of a thesis/dissertation committee with the required approvals. Service on thesis/dissertation committees by part-time faculty members at Chapman must be approved by the committee chair and by the Office of the Provost prior to committee appointment; such approvals by the Office of the Provost are considered on a case-by-case basis and are limited.

Further, an individual not employed by Chapman who possesses requisite expertise may be appointed as a voluntary external committee member as a third member of a thesis/dissertation committee with the approval of the committee chair. This may include faculty from other universities, retired Chapman faculty, and/or community professionals. External committee members must submit a CV and complete a Volunteer External Committee Member agreement and complete any University-required training prior to being approved for service on a thesis/dissertation committee. Forms are available from the Associate Vice President for Graduate Education.

Online Submission Form: Wilkinson College Thesis Committee Approval Submission

The full form and instructions can be found in the Program Forms and Files section of this handbook. The thesis committee form must be submitted via the online submission portal within the first four weeks of the semester the student intends to defend the thesis. All three committee members must sign the form agreeing to serve on the thesis committee.

The Thesis Committee Form requires a date and time for a thesis defense. That planning should be a part of the committee formation discussions. The student and thesis director should build a timeline based on the term’s deadlines for thesis defenses and library submissions. The scheduled date and time may be tentatively set, and any changes should be communicated to the Graduate Programs Coordinator.

After the approval of the thesis committee, MA thesis students are required to meet with their thesis committee at the beginning of their thesis semester to discuss the thesis proposal.

Changes to the Thesis Committee

Any changes to an approved thesis committee must be approved by the thesis director, Program Director, and Graduate Programs Coordinator. In the event that the student or a committee member anticipates a temporary absence during the time the work on the thesis, arrangements must be made to either adjust the thesis timeline and possibly progress toward degree completion or designate an appropriate substitute.

In the event a student does not register for the thesis course or fails to maintain an active status in the program within one semester or term after official approval of a thesis committee, the committee is considered dissolved, and a new committee must be secured and approved.

Changes to the Thesis Project

Any substantive changes to an approved thesis proposal should be approved by the thesis director and then submitted in writing to the Program Director and Graduate Programs Coordinator. If you are unsure of whether the changes you are making are substantive, contact the Program Director or Graduate Programs Coordinator.

These expectations and responsibilities are offered as general guidance to the role of thesis advisor, student, and reader. Please note individual faculty and programs may have varied approaches in advising students.

Student

Good mentoring practice entails responsibilities not only of the thesis director but also of the student. When a student enters a master’s program, that student commits time and energy necessary for a thesis or thesis project that makes a substantial and original contribution to knowledge. It is the responsibility of the student to conform to University and program requirements and procedures. Although it is the duty of the director to be reasonably available for consultation, the primary responsibility for drafting the thesis and keeping in touch with the thesis director rests with the student. The student’s responsibilities include the following:

• Become familiar with and adhere to the rules, policies, and procedures in place in the graduate program and the University as outlined in available resources such as graduate student handbooks, web resources, catalog, and other University policies.
• Know and follow the rules and policies of the University, including all deadlines regarding registration, leaves of absence, limitations on time, thesis submission, and graduation.
• Select and plan an original scholarly or creative project that can be successfully completed within the expected time frame for the degree program.
• Prepare a work plan and timetable in consultation with the director as a basis for remaining time in the program, including any proposed reading or other preparation.
• Learn and adhere to responsible standards for your field and University standards.
• Meet with the thesis director when requested.
• Report on your progress to the thesis director on a regular basis and request guidance when needed.
• Keep the director informed on any significant changes that may affect your progress.
• Establish a thesis committee, in consultation with the director, early in the semester of the thesis defense.
• Schedule the thesis defense in coordination with all committee members.
• Keep the thesis committee readers informed of the progress of the thesis and no less than two weeks prior to the defense send the thesis committee the complete draft for the defense. In consultation with the thesis director, earlier drafts may also be shared with readers if they request it.
• Submit the Thesis to the library.

Director

Within the context of the role as thesis director, a faculty member’s primary task is to guide and inspire students to reach their scholarly and/or creative potential. At the same time, each director must try to ensure that each student is following the policies of the University. Students registering for graduate thesis credits pursue a project under the direction of a thesis director. The director should promote conditions conducive to a student’s intellectual and creative growth and provide appropriate guidance on the process and the standards expected.

The director (who is instructor of record for thesis credits) should meet with the student a minimum of five times, which may include the thesis defense.

Additionally, the thesis director’s responsibilities include the following:

• Establish a meeting pattern or regular conversations to mentor the student and meet the University’s credit requirement. Meetings might include but need not be confined to discussion of the thesis process and guidelines, assigned readings, planned research or writing, challenges the student faces, feedback on drafted pages, and the student's career plans.
• Guide the student in planning a thesis project that can be successfully completed within the expected timeframe for the program.
• Help the student establish a realistic timetable and work plan for completion of various phases of research, writing, revising, and defending.
• Provide advice and feedback, including a realistic timeframe for receiving feedback. Feedback should be professional and constructive and provide concrete guidance.
• Ensure that students have an understanding of relevant theories and methodological and technical skills necessary for completing the project, including standards and ethical practices for your field.
• Establish with the student a thesis committee early in the semester of the thesis defense.
• Make arrangements to ensure continuity of student supervision during a leave or an extended period of absence, and inform the Program Director or Department Chair of these arrangements.
• Help maintain a learning environment that is safe, equitable, and free from harassment and discrimination.
• Remain attuned to academic needs and concerns that may arise for international students, students from underrepresented groups, students with disabilities, and students with family responsibilities.
• Communicate in a timely manner if the student’s academic performance is not meeting expectations. In that case, provide an outline and timeline for what actions need to be taken in order to meet expectations. While dealing with inadequate academic performance can be difficult, it is in no one’s best interests to prolong a program of study if success is unlikely. It is helpful to inform the Program Director of such circumstances.
• Complete or sign necessary forms, including the library’s formatting checklist, which should be done at the end of the defense.
• Serve as an advocate for the student in navigating University policies and work with the Graduate Programs Coordinator in supporting student success.

Students sometimes experience personal difficulties. These can include family difficulties, problems in personal relationships, cultural adjustments, financial pressures, medical issues, and problems associated with employment. The importance of these various problems should not be under-emphasized. Thesis directors should not act in a counseling capacity with their students, nor should they intrude into the personal lives of their students with unwanted advice. However, directors should try to ensure that their relationships with students are such that students will be comfortable telling their director when they are having significant personal difficulties with the thesis work so that timetables can be rearranged, and referrals made to appropriate campus resources.

Reader

The thesis director sometimes recommends a specific colleague to serve as the second and/or third reader based on the topic or prior working relationship with that colleague; however, it remains the student’s ultimate responsibility to make the request of the second and third readers. Readers should consult with the thesis director to ensure common understanding of project length, criteria for assessment, and other conditions and assumptions informing the project.

The responsibilities of the second and third readers include:

• Read and comment on the completed draft of the thesis submitted for the defense.
• Participate actively in the students’ thesis defense.
• Advise the thesis director concerning assignment the assessment rubric and/or assignment of final grade for project, if input is requested by the director.

Throughout the thesis process, it is imperative to keep in mind important University deadlines.

Deadlines related to thesis defense and degree conferral can be found each term on the Associate Vice President for Graduate Education’s website: /academics/graduate-education/current-students/index.asp

Deadline 1: Thesis Defense

Deadline 2: Library Submission

It is recommended that you submit well ahead of this deadline to allow for library processing times (approximately 2-5 business days) and in case any corrections need to be made to your manuscript. Please note that this deadline is for completing all requirements in the correct format and not just for the initial submission to the library.

As per Graduate Catalog policy, students must successfully submit their thesis projects to the library in order to complete the degree requirements.

When university deadlines for the defense or library submission are not met, degree conferral can be delayed.

After a successful thesis defense, the student is responsible for working with the thesis director to complete the thesis submission checklist as well as collecting committee approval signatures on the signature page that is included in the thesis for final submission to Leatherby Libraries.

Students are required for degree conferral to successfully submit the thesis to Chapman University Digital Commonsand ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

You may find the instructions for submission, the required checklist, and the Deadlines for Completion of Library Requirements on the Library’s web page for thesis submission guidelines

https://libguides.chapman.edu/dissertations

The Dissertations and Theses Librarian supports all graduate students in the submission of their theses to Leatherby Libraries. You may contact the librarian in-person at Leatherby Libraries or via email with questions or for help.

Additional hourly student work opportunities are posted online through the student employment officewebsite. Positions are typically posted a couple weeks before the start of each semester but may become available at other times.

Established in 2009, Tabula Poetica: The Center for Poetry at Chapman University is dedicated to celebrating poetry. Tabula Poetica encompasses a reading and lecture series and houses TAB: The Journal of Poetry & Poetics. Other Tabula Poetica projects have included selecting finalists for the California Coastal Commission K- 12 Poetry Contest, participation in Santa Ana’s Boca de Oro, an interactive poetry and musical performance at the Hilbert Museum of California Art, and Chapman Poetry Week in April 2011. Tabula Poetica is a collaborative and evolving endeavor built on the interests and involvement of faculty, students, and the wider poetry community.

For more information, contact Dr. Anna Leahy (leahy@chapman.edu) or visit the Tabula  Poeticawebsite.

Tabula Poetica Reading Series

Each fall, Tabula Poetica hosts a series of public poetry talks and readings connected with the Aspects of a Writer class and undergraduate and graduate poetry classes. This series has featured poets such as Rae Armantrout, Victoria Chang, Carolyn Forché, Allison Joseph, Ilya Kaminsky, Ada Limon, Ruben Quesada, Alan Shapiro, Lynne Thompson, and C. K. Williams, among others. The series includes an MFA Poetry Reading every semester.

Tab Journal

Founded collaboratively in 2013 by writer Anna Leahy and designer Claudine Jaenichen, Tab Journal is an international poetry periodical with a print issue in January followed by online issues in March, May, July, September, and November. The tagline “space before text” announces that design of both text and space creates various poetry reading experiences and that inclusive experiences begin with design—of policies, of practices, of pages, of poems.

Tab Journal welcomes submissions of poems from established and emerging poets as well as criticism and essays that focus on poetry.

MFA students and alums who have completed a poetry-writing course are eligible to serve on the journal staff as book reviewers, readers of submissions, and communications roles, including Tab Musings blog. While current MFA students and journal staff cannot submit creative work, alums, former faculty, and former staff are welcome to submit creative work three years after completing their degree or other affiliation with the university. Students interested in working with Tab Journal should contact Dr. Anna Leahy.

For more information about Tab Journal, visit the Tab Journal website.

The student literary magazine of Chapman University welcomes submissions from graduate students and also participation in the editorial selection process. The magazine is published twice each year under the sponsorship of the English Department and is an entirely student-run publication.

Applications for the editorial board are typically processed in April for the upcoming academic year. An open call for submissions is typically held in September and October for the fall issue and in February and March for the spring issue. Calliope publishes poetry, short fiction, nonfiction, and art exclusively from enrolled Chapman undergraduate and graduate students. Students interested in working on Calliope should contact Prof. Brian Glaser at bglaser@chapman.edu.

The Department of English is located in Smith Hall, Suite 204. The office is typically open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

International Student Services provides support to international students and visiting scholars in matters related to their non-immigrant status by complying with immigration rules and federal regulations.

The Program Director is the official advisor for all MFA students. All other members of the graduate core faculty can provide additional mentoring on intellectual and professional pursuits. The thesis director also provides individualized guidance.

The set of requirements you need to fulfill is determined by the Graduate Catalog of the year you enrolled. Your My Chapman Self Service Portal Program Evaluation will indicate the appropriate catalog year when you view it as a PDF. The graduate catalogs can be accessed online.

Students may request to move their catalog year forward by emailing aps@chapman.edu with the desired catalog year. Please note that changing catalog years updates all requirements.

The Student Center blocks registration when a class has reached its enrollment limit, when prerequisites have not been met, when a business hold is in place, or when enrollment requires faculty approval (e.g., thesis writing courses). Enrollment limits and prerequisites may be waived in specific situations if the professor feels it is warranted. In these cases, you need to secure the professor’s consent to enroll, and contact the Graduate Programs Coordinator. Business holds need to be resolved with the Student Business Services Office.

Once the semester begins, the student center blocks enrollment in all courses that have reached their enrollment caps, even if seats are subsequently freed up. To add a course that has been closed and in which space has become available, you will need to secure the professor’s consent to enroll and contact the Graduate Programs Coordinator.

According to university policy, incompletes can be given only if extenuating circumstances prevent a student from completing a small portion of the assigned coursework. Please see the Academic Policy for Grades/GPA/Incompletes in the Graduate Catalog for more information.

A student can take a one-semester leave without making a formal request. The student should inform the Program Director and the Graduate Programs Coordinator.

If you need to interrupt progress toward your degree for more than one semester, a leave of absence may be granted. Leaves of absence can be granted for one year, with a possible renewal of one additional year. To apply for a leave of absence, the student must fill out and submit a Graduate Petition form, as well as a written statement spelling out the reasons for the leave and bearing the signatures of the Program Director and an Associate Dean of Wilkinson College (which the Graduate Programs Coordinator can assist with). If interrupting enrollment before the end of the academic term, the student must also follow the steps to withdraw from courses. A leave of absence cannot be approved retroactively.

If a student leaves the university in good standing and is gone more than four consecutive semesters, the student will not need to re-apply, may re-enroll for classes at Chapman, and will be assigned the catalog requirements in effect at the time the student returns to Chapman. Students may request to return to their original catalog, and that request will be reviewed and decided upon by the Department or School; decision by the departments or School is final.

Any graduate student who has broken enrollment for a period of more than one semester (interterm and summer sessions do not constitute a semester) without receiving an approved Leave of Absence is required to request re-enrollment through the Department. The student is held to the degree requirements in effect at the time of return unless approved for the original catalog year requirements by the Program Director or Associate Dean.

Note that graduate students must complete their degree requirements within seven years of first matriculating. Leaves of absence do not suspend or extend this seven-year clock.
For more information about interrupting enrollment, see the Interrupted Enrollment guidelines.

In some cases, transfer credit may be awarded. To request transfer credit, you must provide transcripts to the Registrar’s Office prior to re-enrollment. Please note unsatisfactory performance may nullify re- enrollment.

If you have applied for your degree and will not be able to complete some aspect of your program (e.g., coursework, thesis), you need to send an email to conferral@chapman.edu and request that your graduation date be moved to a later academic term.

The schedule of commencement ceremonies and events schedule is available online on the graduation home page.

2025: General copy edits for clarity. Addition of two-semester thesis process. Removal of Drs. Fuery, Rivera from core faculty.

2024: General copy edits for clarity. Removal of Professors Bausch, Kozameh, Leahy, Lewis, Nakell, Osborn, and Zoellner from core faculty. Addition of thesis committee initial meeting requirement. Removal of Orange High School Literacies Program.