5.2 Master's Degrees

5.2.1 Thesis or Capstone Project Advisor Qualifications

(Approved April 13, 1994) (Amended January 25, 2012) (Amended June 11, 2014) (Amended September 16, 2015) (Amended November 14, 2018)

Naval Postgraduate School faculty holding the rank of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Professor of the Practice, Senior Lecturer, Lecturer, Research Professor, Research Associate Professor, or Research Assistant Professor, equivalent military faculty and sponsored chairs covered by an active MOA, may serve as thesis or capstone project advisors if approved by the academic unit Chair who has cognizance of the degree. NPS staff, emeritus faculty, faculty of other academic institutions and members of Naval or other Department of Defense or U.S. Government laboratories with relevant expertise may serve as co-advisor with one of those listed above if approved by the Chair of the academic unit.

5.2.2 Joint Theses

(Approved April 13, 1994)

Joint authorship of a master's thesis by two or more students is allowed by the Council, but may be restricted by the major academic unit.

5.2.3 Time Limits for Completing the Master's Degree

(Approved February 15, 2017) (Amended June 9, 2021)

All requirements for completing the master’s degree must be completed within a period of five years after advancement to candidacy.

Students who must depart NPS prior to the completion of their master’s degree must request a continuation of their candidacy through their academic unit. A candidacy continuation request is required to maintain candidacy regardless of the nature of the degree incompletion (e.g., incomplete thesis or project, incomplete coursework, or change of duty status.)

The student shall submit the candidacy continuation request to their academic unit for approval/disapproval. Continuations may be granted by the academic unit up until the point at which the student has reached the five-year limit on their master’s degree candidacy, after which, a candidacy extension request must be submitted to the Academic Council.

The academic unit will follow one of two procedures to ensure the candidate’s status is recorded with the Office of the Registrar:

1. For an incomplete thesis or capstone project: the academic unit shall annotate approval/disapproval of the candidacy extension in the student’s PYTHON Thesis Extension Form (TEF).

2. For any other form of incomplete degree requirements: the academic unit shall send an email notification of the decision to the Office of the Registrar.

5.2.4 Advancement to Master's Candidacy

(Approved June 9, 2021)

A student is considered to be a master’s degree candidate at the start of the first quarter of enrollment in a master’s degree program at NPS. In cases of students enrolled in internal dual degree programs within the Naval Postgraduate School (see section 7.6), master’s candidacy begins for all simultaneous degrees at the time of advancement to candidacy for the first degree.

5.2.5 Master's Degree Candidacy Extension

(Approved June 9, 2021)

The candidate’s academic unit Chair may request one extension of a student’s master’s candidacy for up to two years if the student is otherwise making adequate progress toward the degree and if the delay can be attributed to factors largely beyond the student’s control. Requests for candidacy extension must be received by the Academic Council before candidacy has expired. The duration of each extension will be granted on a case-by-case basis as determined by the academic unit. Requested duration of extension will be measured in academic quarters or years.

See section 5.2.6 for the rules governing reinstatement of a student’s master’s degree candidacy.

5.2.6 Restoring a Lapsed Master's Candidacy

(Amended June 9, 2021 and renumbered - previously 7.5.1, Incomplete Degrees: Thesis Extensions.)

The following procedures apply in any case where a student has allowed their master’s degree candidacy to expire.

1. The student must submit a request for candidacy reinstatement to the appropriate academic unit.

2. The academic unit chair shall submit to the Academic Council a recommendation to approve or disapprove reinstatement. The recommendation must include at a minimum:

a) The student’s formal request for reinstatement.

b) The chair’s explanation of events resulting in the expiration of candidacy, including a delineation of remaining academic work required to complete the degree.

c) The chair’s recommendation to approve or disapprove the request.

d) Endorsement of the approval or disapproval from the student’s service or organization sponsor

e) Endorsement of approval/disapproval from any and all instructors or advisors that may be involved in the student’s delinquent work. In the case of approval, these endorsements must include a detailed timeline for completion.

3. The Academic Council decides whether to accept, reject or approve a modification to the academic unit’s recommendation.