Maintenance of Active Status in Master’s Degree Programs
Students, who have completed all requirements for a Master’s Degree, except the comprehensive examinations or the other options and/or thesis must pay each semester, a fee established by the Administration in order to maintain their ties with the University between the completion of course requirements and the awarding of the degree within the established seven-year period.
Residency Requirements for Master’s Programs
A minimum of twenty-one (21) of the required credits for a Master’s Degree must be earned in residence at Inter American University.
Institutional Graduation Requirements for Master’s Programs
The University establishes as an academic policy that all students demonstrate the capacity to integrate the developed competencies and to apply them to their specialization area as a requirement to obtain the master’s degree. The University recognizes different ways through which students can demonstrate the mastery of the competencies of their discipline as part of the graduation requirements: thesis, comprehensive examination, integration seminar, research project, creative work and graduation average.
For this reason all master’s candidates, of a program that does not require Thesis, must pass one of the following four (4) modalities, as determined by their academic program:
1. Comprehensive Examination
The comprehensive examination will be the option available for those academic programs whose accrediting agencies require this modality. If this is not the case, the academic program will determine if this option will be available for its students.
The comprehensive examination consists of two parts, when applicable. One part will include general material related to the field of studies and the other will examine specific material related to the specialization or program areas. All master’s level students must be evaluated by the Director of the Graduate Program to determine their eligibility to take the comprehensive examination. The specific number of credits as well as the courses students must have passed will be established according to the requirements of each graduate program. Students will take the entire examination on the first occasion. The minimum passing grade is 75% in each part, when applicable. A student that passes only one of the parts must repeat the part that was failed.
2. Integration Seminar
Three-credit interdisciplinary Integration Seminar (SEMI 697_), in the program specialization, in which general and specific material required for the degree will be presented proportionally to their composition of the totality of credits required for the degree. If the academic program has an equivalent Integration Seminar, it may be used instead of SEMI 697_. Students will receive a final grade of Pass (P) or Not Pass (NP).
3. Research Project
Students will take a three-credit (3) course where they will carry out a Research Project. Throughout this Project, students will demonstrate their capability to interpret and integrate theoretical concepts for the practical solution of problems related to their field of studies. Students will have up to one consecutive academic year to complete their Project. The student will receive a final grade of Pass (P) or Not Pass (NP) or Project in Progress (PP).
4. Creative work
Students will take a three-credit (3) course where they will have to carry out a creative work that demonstrates their mastery of the competencies developed in their specialization area. They will receive a final grade of Pass (A) or Not Pass (NP).
The options of Integration Seminar, Research Project and Creative Work are equivalent to three (3) additional credits for those students whose academic program does not include such options as part of the courses required for the degree.
All students requesting eligibility to fulfill the requirement for the granting of the master’s’ degree must be evaluated before starting the modality required by the program. The number of credits passed as a requisite to become eligible will be established by each specialization.
If students fail in the first attempt to complete this requirement, they will have two (2) additional opportunities to repeat the same option or take another of the available ones. All students interested in more than one specialization within a degree program and who wish that these be certified on their transcript, must take the option chosen in every area for which certification is requested.
The different options will be offered in agreement with the norms in effect for the academic program. In those cases in which the norms of the academic program do not specify the options available, the academic units will determine which they will offer in agreement with their needs.
All applications for one of the options herein described should be made within the time limit stipulated by the academic program to which the student belongs.
The general average to complete the master’s degree will be that established in the norms of the academic program. In case the program does not specify this, the average will be that minimum established by University, which is 3.00.
All students must complete their degree within the period of time established for each academic program. In case the program does not specify this, the maximum time will be that established by the University.
Graduation Requirements for Master’s Programs and Professional Certificates
Students will graduate under the program and the norms established in the Graduate Catalog of the University under which they were admitted or in any subsequent Graduate Catalog at the student’s request, but never in a combination of catalogs. Re-admitted students will graduate under the rules of the program in the Graduate Catalog in effect at the time of their readmission or under any subsequent Graduate Catalog.
Graduation Requirements for the Master’s Degree and Professional Certificates
In order to satisfy the Graduation Requirements of the Master’s Degree at Inter American University, students must:
- Be regular students.
- Have completed the program required courses established in the Graduate Catalog.
- Obtain a general academic index of 3.00 or more.
- Obtain an academic index of 3.00 or more in the courses required for their degree.
Expiration Norm for Master’s Level and Professional Certificate Courses
All work with academic credit will be valid for a period of ten (10) years. Courses to which the expiration norm is applied will appear in the student’s academic record, but they will not be considered for the general grade point index.