The final semester of a student's graduate career at Ohio State has many activities and requirements that must be planned carefully.
A graduate student’s last semester of enrollment is also his or her semester of graduation. Graduating students are responsible for meeting important milestones and deadlines.
Applying for Graduation Options
For each semester, there are two options for completing degree requirements:
- Meeting the regular deadlines for graduation in that semester for a PhD, professional doctorate, or Master’s Degree.
- Meeting the End-of-Semester (EOS) deadline, resulting in graduation in the following semester without having to enroll in that semester.
Depending on your ability to meet graduation deadlines for your degree type, Please see details below that explain these two options further.
Examinations
Graduate degree examinations are a major milestone in all graduate students’ pursuit of their graduate degree. Much hinges on the successful completion of these examinations, including the ability to continue in a graduate program.
The rules and processes set by the Graduate School ensure the integrity of these examinations for graduate students, the graduate faculty, and for Ohio State.
Dissertation and Theses
The dissertation is the hallmark of the research expertise demonstrated by a doctoral student. It is a scholarly contribution to knowledge in the student’s area of specialization.
A thesis is a hallmark of some master’s programs. It is a piece of original research, generally less comprehensive than a dissertation and is meant to show the student’s knowledge of an area of specialization.
Commencement
Commencement at Ohio State is a festive event. All graduating students receive their actual diploma, and doctoral students are recognized individually for their achievements. Students can only participate in the commencement ceremony in the semester that their degree is conferred.
Take the Graduation Survey
We want to know about your experiences at Ohio State. Before you leave, please take the Ohio State Graduation Survey you received in your email. Your valuable feedback will help us enhance the student experience for future Buckeyes. Thank you and congratulations! For more information, please visit go.osu.edu/grad-survey. Please contact cssl@osu.edu with any questions.
Final Semester
Final Semester Procedures and Timeline, Doctoral
The Graduate School uses these requirements to audit your record to determine if you are eligible to graduate.
- Submit Application to Graduate via GRADFORMS (Due: Third Friday of the semester or summer term)
- Submit Application for Final Examination via GRADFORMS. Must be submitted by the student and approved by the defense committee at least two weeks before the defense date.
- Undergo Dissertation Format Check (Due: At least two weeks before the defense). Submit a complete dissertation draft to the Graduate School at grad-schoolformatreview@osu.edu. Learn more about format review and submission
- Deliver copy of dissertation to Graduate Faculty Representative as soon as you receive GFR assignment email notice from Graduate School
- Verify that your committee has approved and submitted Report on Final Examination via GRADFORMS (Due: Immediately following conclusion of exam)
- Make required revisions to dissertation document
- Verify that your committee has approved and submitted Report on Final Document by posted deadline via GRADFORMS
- Convert final dissertation document to embedded-font PDF and submit to OhioLink (No later than 8 a.m. on the deadline day. All documents must be approved by 5 p.m. on the deadline day in order to meet degree requirements.)
- Request Delay of Final Document (if applicable) via GRADFORMS. Learn more about access and distribution of your document.
- Take the Survey of Earned Doctorates and submit the Certificate of Completion form to the Graduate School (When complete, email certificate to Grad-SchoolETD@osu.edu)
- Commencement
- If attending, the Graduate School will contact you by e-mail to provide instructions for doing an audio recording of your name, so your name is pronounced appropriately at commencement.
- If not attending, complete the commencement section on the application to graduate on GRADFORMS to indicate how the diploma should be disbursed.
Final Semester Procedures and Timeline, Master’s
The Graduate School uses these requirements to audit your record to determine if you are eligible to graduate.
- Submit Application to Graduate via GRADFORMS (Due: The third Friday of the semester or summer term)
- Complete Master’s Examination (Due: Must be completed no later than the published deadline for the semester or summer term of graduation.)
- Verify that your committee has approved and submitted Report on Final Examination via GRADFORMS (Due: Immediately following conclusion of exam)
- Undergo Thesis Format Check (if applicable)Have a format review of your thesis with the Graduate School no later than the posted examination deadline for the semester. Format reviews are optional for Master’s students, but strongly recommended. Submit a complete thesis draft to the Graduate School at grad-schoolformatreview@osu.edu. Learn more about format review and submission.
- Make required revisions to thesis document
- Verify that your committee has approved and submitted Report on Final Document by posted deadline via GRADFORMS
- Convert final thesis document to embedded-font PDF and submit to OhioLINK (No later than 8 a.m. on the deadline day. All documents must be approved by 5 p.m. on the deadline day in order to meet degree requirements.)
- Request Delay of Final Document (if applicable) via GRADFORMS. Learn more about access and distribution of your document.
- Commencement (If not attending, complete the commencement section on your application to graduate on GRADFORMS to indicate how your diploma should be disbursed.)
End-of-Semester (EOS)
Students who apply to graduate in a given semester and find that they cannot complete degree requirements by the posted deadlines can opt to utilize an option at Ohio State called End-of-Semester.
Students who take this option have until the last business day before the start of the next semester to complete all degree requirements, including defending a dissertation or thesis, submitting the final approved document, and taking care of all related paperwork and fees.
Meeting the End-of-Semester deadline means that a student will officially graduate the following semester and will not have to be enrolled in that semester, nor re-apply to graduate. The student's degree is conferred at the next commencement ceremony, and this is the date of graduation that will appear on the student’s official transcript.
EOS Frequently Asked Questions
What does selecting the End-of-Semester (EOS) option on my application to graduate mean?
If you select the End-of Semester option on your application to graduate, you are indicating that instead of meeting the regular graduation deadlines for the semester, you will be meeting the EOS deadline for that semester instead. This means that rather than receiving your degree in the semester that you apply for graduation, you will receive it during the following semester’s commencement ceremony.
Example: A student applying for Spring 2026 EOS would receive their degree at the Summer 2026 commencement ceremony so long as all degree requirements are completed by the Spring EOS deadline. The student’s diploma and official transcript would reflect a Summer 2026 graduation as opposed to Spring 2026.
What is the End-of-Semester deadline?
The EOS deadline for a given semester is always the last business day of the semester. This is the deadline by which all degree requirements must be completed, including the completion of the final exam and the acceptance of the final document by the Graduate School.
For a list of both the regular deadlines for each semester as well as the End-of-Semester deadlines, please visit the Graduation Calendar section of our website.
If I selected the End-of-Semester option for my graduation, when am I allowed to participate in the commencement ceremony?
Per university policy, students can only participate in commencement during the semester in which their degree is conferred. For an EOS student, the degree is conferred at the following semester’s commencement ceremony.
Example: A Spring 2026 EOS student’s opportunity for participating in commencement would be at the Summer 2026 ceremony.
Should I automatically select the End-of-Semester option on my application to graduate, even if I’m not sure that I need it, just to be safe?
No. If there is even a small chance that you will meet the regular deadlines for the semester in which you are intending to graduate, our office recommends applying for a regular (non-EOS) graduation. If you learn later that you will not meet the regular deadlines and you need to be switched to the End-of-Semester option, just send us an email to request this.
If I apply for the End-of-Semester graduation option but end up finishing all of my degree requirements by the regular semester deadlines, can I be switched to a regular graduation?
No. A student can switch over to the End-of-Semester option at any point in a given semester, but once they are processed as EOS, they cannot switch back to a regular semester graduation.
Is there a deadline to have my application to graduate switched from a regular semester graduation to the End-of-Semester option?
While there is technically no deadline for this, it is best to request the switch to EOS as soon as you are certain that you will not meet the regular semester deadlines. The Graduate School will monitor graduation deadlines closely, and will automatically switch any students over to EOS who we see have not met the regular deadlines by the time these dates have passed.
If I am switched to the End-of-Semester option for graduation, but end up not being able to meet the EOS deadline, do I have to re-apply to graduate?
Yes, applications to graduate are semester-specific. So if your application reflects that you are using the EOS option for graduation but you do not meet the EOS deadline, you must submit a new application to graduate on GradForms for a future semester.
Any other EOS questions?
For all questions regarding regular semester graduation, End-of-Semester graduation, final exams, or dissertations and theses, please reach out to the Graduation Services team at grad-schoolgraduationservices@osu.edu.
Format Revisions
Within a few hours of the document submission, the Graduate School will notify the student via email that the document has either been accepted or that the document needs revisions.
If the document needs revisions, the student must make the corrections and upload the revised version to the OhioLINK site.
Survey of Earned Doctorates
The Survey of Earned Doctorates began in 1958 as an annual survey and has evolved as the definitive source of information on the nation's new research doctorates.
Sponsors are the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Education, National Endowment for the Humanities, USDA, and NASA.
Data collected are shared with colleges and universities across the United States to assist in decisions about funding and advocating for graduate education. The information is confidential; none of the data will personally identify a respondent.
Ohio State doctoral candidates may complete the survey any time during their semester of graduation.
Still Have Questions?
Dissertations & Theses
614-292-6031
grad-schoolformatreview@osu.edu
Doctoral Exams, Master's Examination, Graduation Requirements
614-292-6031
grad-schoolgraduationservices@osu.edu