Guidelines for Preparing Plans of Study

Last Updated 10/07

Note: These instructions are for students in the Psychology Department's Clinical, I/O and Experimental programs. Students in the ABA MS program need not prepare a Plan of Study as it is generated automatically by the department.

The Graduate School requires all graduate students to file a Plan of Study shortly after beginning their graduate work at Auburn. Students who have not been officially exempted from the MS requirement technically are supposed to file a Master's Plan of Study by the end of their first semester. The Graduate School, however, recognizes that our master's students are in a doctoral program and allows us to extend the filing deadline to the end of the third semester. Students who have been exempted from the MS requirement also must submit a Doctoral Plan of Study by the end of their third semester in the program. (Students seeking exemption from the MS requirements must submit an Exemption from Departmental Requirement form, signed by the major professor, program director, and the department chair, authorizing the exemption from the MS thesis requirement before filing the doctoral plan of study). Students who have completed and defended the MS thesis in our program should submit a Doctoral Plan of Study by the end of the semester in which they defend the thesis and before initiating the prelims or major area paper process.

To begin the Plan of Study process you should see Thane Bryant to get a Plan of Study Worksheet for your program. The worksheet covers all of your program's requirements and will guide you through the process of deciding what should be on your Plan of Study. An abbreviated version of the instructions that follow is also printed on the back of the worksheet form.

Steps:

1) Assemble an MS Thesis Committee or Doctoral Committee and Identify the committee members on the Worksheet

The student's advisory committee approves the plan of study and is responsible for conducting examinations and supervising thesis and dissertation research. The chair of the advisory committee is referred to as the "major professor."

The MS advisory committee must consist of at least three faculty members. The committee chair must be a member of the Graduate Faculty and a member (not adjunct) of the department of psychology faculty. The PSYC 7130 Research Seminar course will help you in the committee selection process by familiarizing you with faculty members and their interests.

The Ph.D. advisory committee must have four regular members plus the outside reader (i.e., "Graduate School Representative"). The chair must be a member (not adjunct) of the department of psychology faculty, and at least two members, including the chair, must be members of the Graduate Faculty authorized to direct doctoral students. Two of the regular members must be faculty members within the student's program area. One member must be a faculty member who is not a member of the student's program area. The committee chair need not be a faculty member within the student's program area.

The student need not retain the same major professor or committee for the MS and Ph.D. degrees. All advisory committee appointments are subject to approval of the Department Chair and the Dean of the Graduate School through Plan of Study approval. Changes in committee membership and committee chairs must be approved via a "Revision of Existing Plan of Study" form.

2) Review the courses you are required to take for your degree (as indicated on the Worksheet) and provide the data requested on the Worksheet for each such course.

Exemptions: If you have been officially exempted from any required course, write in the "Substitute Courses" column next to each such course the information about the course upon which the exemption was based. Before the plan of study is approved you must submit an Exemption from Departmental Requirement form, signed by your major professor, your program director, the faculty member who normally teaches the course, and the department chair, authorizing your exemption from each such course. These exemptions are usually taken care of during your first semester in the program.

3) Get your Major Professor's and Program Director's signatures on the Plan of Study Worksheet.

4) Turn the Plan of Study Worksheet in to Thane Bryant - he will prepare your Plan of Study form and give it to you for signatures.

5) Get your committee members' signatures  on the Plan of Study form and sign it yourself.

6) Return your signed Plan of Study form to Thane Bryant. He will secure the department Chair's signature, make a file copy and take the document to the Graduate School. After the graduate school approves the plan of study, it will be posted as "approved" on the Graduate Schools GSPOST website (www.grad.auburn.edu)

Anxiety Check: What you put on the Plan of Study is not set in stone. If your committee membership is not rock solid, don't worry - you will be able to make changes in the plan of study later on (with your committee's and the department chair's approval) using a Revision of Existing Plan of Study form. Similarly, if you are faced with a menu of options and can't decide which one you want, just go ahead and pick one for the time being and put it on the plan of study. If you decide later that you want to take the other one instead, you can change it (with your committee's and the department chair's approval) using the revision form.

Also important: Students completing the MS plan of study should keep in mind that you are in a doctoral program. Your course selection and planning should be geared to meeting the Ph.D. requirements, not just the MS requirements. You should become familiar with your program's Ph.D. requirements and work with your major professor each semester to develop a schedule that helps you progress toward their fulfillment.

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Last updated on February 28, 2008