Graduate Forms & Guidelines

Definitions of forms can be found at the bottom of the page.

Mandatory Forms

Additional Forms

  • Address changes should be made through Self Service. The registrar's office will be notified electronically of the changes and will update the database accordingly.  
  • ALTY (Alumni of the Last Three Years) Tuition Waiver form: Recent Hood alums, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in the last three years, are welcomed back to campus (or online) to pursue a graduate degree. ALTY scholars will benefit from the following: last three credits at no cost, expedited admission decision for recent alumni, priority consideration for TA/GA positions, and more. To learn more about the ALTY program, email gofurther@hood.edu.  This form should be submitted prior to the final semester begins.
  • Anticipated Degree Conferral Letter request form: Students who complete all degree requirements and are waiting for their degrees to be conferred, can request a letter of anticipated degree conferral from the Registrar's office using this form.  Some employers or educational institutions may require such a letter for reimbursement, promotion or admission.  Students should allow at least a week for such a request to be processed.
  • Certificate Declaration is for students enrolled in a doctoral or master's degree and would like to earn a related certificate simultaneously.
  • Degree Change (download for writable PDF): Students who wish to change from one degree program to another, must complete this form and return to the Registrar's office for consultation with appropriate program directors. Supplemental documents may also be required for review, which can be emailed to hoodgrad@hood.edu. 
  • Dual Enrollment (download for writable PDF): Students who wish to enroll in two master's programs simultaneously, or students who are enrolled in a certificate program and want to be dually enrolled in a master's program, must complete this form and return to the Registrar's office for consultation with appropriate program directors. 
  • Environmental Biology 15-Credit Check (download for writable PDF): Students in the environmental biology program should complete this form to indicate which track (research or alternative) and which option within that track they tend to pursue.
  • FERPA Release: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. For the student’s protection, FERPA limits release of student record information without the student’s explicit written consent. If you wish to authorize a release of information, please complete the FERPA Release Form and submit it to the registrar's office.
  • Graduate Readmission Request Form is for students who have been withdrawn from the College and wish to return.  Readmission/reinstatement is granted into the same program of last enrollment, under the catalog in place at the time of readmission.  Students who wish to be readmitted to a different program must apply through the Graduate School. Deadlines for readmission requests are as follows:
    • Fall semester - August 1
    • Winter term - December 1
    • Spring semester - January 1
    • Summer term - May 1
  • Graduate Time Extension Request Form is required by students who need additional time beyond their 7-year time limit. Program directors can review and approve requests of up to one-year, and the Graduate Council Subcommittee on Student Petitions can review and approve requests beyond one-year.  
  • Graduate Transfer Course Permission Request form should be used if students would like to transfer graduate level coursework from an external institution, completed prior to enrollment at Hood or during enrollment at Hood, or transferring graduate level coursework from one Hood graduate program to another.  Students should refer to the Transfer Credit policy in the College catalog for more details.
  • Graduate Incomplete grade which must be completed and signed by the instructor and student, should explain any extenuating circumstances that prevent a student from completing a course within a given semester.  At least 50% of the required work for the course must be completed with a passing grade to be eligible. Issuance of the INC grade is completely at the instructor's discretion, with approval from program director and registrar. The completed and signed form must be submitted by the last day of courses for the term.
  • Name change should be submitted to the registrar and must be accompanied by a copy of a legal document (social security card, driver’s license, marriage license, divorce decree) authorizing the name change. In accordance with IRS regulations, your name at Hood College must match your social security record for IRS form 1098T processing. 
  • OPT Anticipated Graduation Form (download for writable PDF)
  • Share Scholarly and Professional Accomplishments Form: Students should use this form to submit good news, like a promotion, new publication or major award, so that the Graduate School can feature you on social media and in our graduate stories.

Transcript Requests

  • Official transcripts must be ordered online at www.getmytranscript.com; review the procedure on the registrar's page.

Course Registration, Leave of Absence and Withdrawal Forms

  • Course Registration web-form: Students should register for coursework through Self Service whenever possible. When assistance is requested, the registrar's office can process registrations for students who submit the course registration form. 
  • Permission to Enroll is for registration in independent studies, theses, projects, capstones and directed readings. A brief written proposal must also accompany this form.
  • Graduate Application for Elective Internship is required for students who would like to enroll in an internship course for elective credit. Students should also refer to the Graduate Internship Process document for specific steps and details pertaining to this process and registration.
  • Graduate Internship Timesheet is required for students who are enrolled in elective internship coursework. This timesheet is used to track hours worked, obtain site supervisor confirmation and approval, and submission to Hood instructor to be factored into overall grade for the course.
  • Leave of Absence is required for students who are unable to register for coursework during Fall and/or Spring semesters.  Failure to register for coursework or submit a formal Leave of Absence will result in withdrawal from the College.  Please refer to the Continuous Enrollment and Leave of Absence policy in the College catalog.
  • Graduate Non-Degree Application/Registration form: Those who hold at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, may take graduate level coursework as non-degree seeking. Students must also submit a copy of an official transcript to the registrar's office at hoodgrad@hood.edu for verification of at least a bachelor's degree prior to enrollment. Applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 (3.0 for counseling coursework preferred), to register as a non-degree student. Up to twelve (12) credits taken as a non-degree student may apply towards degree requirements for a master's or certificate program. Priority enrollment in graduate classes is given to degree-seeking students, and approval by faculty may be required for non-degree registration. Before completing the registration form, students should review the tuition rates for the academic year on the accounting services webpage. Tuition is charged based on the coursework being taken. Students who have previously taken graduate coursework at Hood, can complete the regular online registration form, indicating the request to enroll as non-degree in the comments/note section of the form. More information about non-degree enrollment can be found online at www.hood.edu/nondegree. 
  • Graduate Withdrawal from the College: Students who wish to withdrawal from the College can submit this form, indicating the reason for withdrawal and effective date.
  • Course Withdrawal: Students may drop coursework through Self Service, Hood’s student portal, before the start of the semester without any financial penalty. Once the semester starts, there is a drop/add period (see Academic Calendar on registrar's website: www.hood.edu/registrar) when students can submit requests for drops by completing the course withdrawal form. There are four types of course drops or withdrawals during the drop/add period and after:
    • Students may drop one course and add another course of equal credit value, simultaneously, during the drop/add period of each semester without any financial penalty;
    • Students may drop coursework (without replacing it) during the drop/add period and are eligible for an 80% refund or credit on their tuition if the course has already met;
    • Students may drop coursework after the drop/add period if that coursework begins later in the term and hasn't begun yet, for a full refund/credit;
    • After the drop/add period of a semester, students may withdraw from coursework by the deadline listed in the Academic Calendar for a given semester. The student will receive a grade of ‘W’ on his/her transcript, which carries no academic penalty. Students withdrawing from coursework after the drop/add deadline are still responsible for the tuition and fees associated with that course. Failure to attend class does not constitute a withdrawal.

Final Thesis, Projects, Capstones and Research

Students enrolled in programs that require final theses, projects, capstones or research, must submit proposals via the following process:

  • Student's committee approves proposal, which may include a signed coversheet
  • Approved/signed proposal is forwarded to the Registrar's office with the Graduate Permission to Enroll form (see above for link to the form) by the drop/add deadline for the semester in which student wishes to be enrolled.  If there are signatures on a signed coversheet with the proposal, they are not needed again on the physical Permission to Enroll form. Email approvals are also acceptable in lieu of physical signatures on the form.

Students enrolled in programs that require final theses, projects, capstones or research, must submit completed documents electronically to the MD-SOAR repository and/or ProQuest by established deadlines in the Academic Calendar. Individual academic programs and departments may have their own deadlines to ensure defenses (if applicable) and final projects are submitted to committee members for approval by the ultimate deadline in the Academic Calendar. Program directors or project advisers will submit final grades to the Registrar's office.  For final documents:

  • Student's thesis committee approves final document
  • Student forwards finalized document to Dean of the Graduate School for review (cc Program Director)
  • Dean replies with edits or approval and cc's the Registrar's office and program director, which will trigger the publication process (see below

Students enrolled in Thesis work (580 course), will submit to both MD-SOAR and ProQuest. Please refer to the library guide for ProQuest instructions. 

Students enrolled in other scholarly work will submit to MD-SOAR.  This will require registration and approval from the Library before you can submit your project so please allow for that time.  Binding is not required for non-thesis projects, however some programs do require a bound copy.  If students need their projects bound, they may do so directly through the bookbinder, Wert Bookbinding or work with their academic program director for on-campus binding options.

Departmental Guidelines

Humanities Student Handbook and Capstone Guidelines  

  • Petition to Graduate form must be submitted by students planning to complete a master’s or doctoral degree. All graduation candidates' names are presented to the faculty and board of trustees for approval several months before for each graduation date (January 15, June 15 and September 15). We use this form to confirm degree requirements are being fulfilled, create the physical diploma with the student's preferred name, collect commencement participation, and confer the diploma. 
  • Petition for Certificate Completion form is required for students who have declared enrollment in graduate certificate programs, whether as a sole program or in conjunction with a master's program. We use this form to confirm certificate requirements have been met, create a physical certificate with the student's preferred name, and confer the certificate. We confer certificates three times per year (January 15, June 15 and September 15) and deadlines for submission are listed at the top of the form. Only students who have declared a certificate on their academic record will be awarded said certificate, which students can confirm on their unofficial transcript and/or academic plan in Self Service. Students pursuing a certificate in conjunction with a master's program must submit the certificate declaration form (see below in Additional Forms section). Students who are enrolled in master's programs simultaneously with certificates, must also submit the Petition to Graduate form separately, indicating when they intend on completing their master's programs. Certificates may be conferred simultaneously with master's programs, or they may be earned prior to or after completion of master's programs (exceptions may apply for F1 visa holders).
  • Notification of Intent to take the comprehensive examination is required for students in the master of arts in ceramic arts and interdisciplinary studies in human behavior programs. The exam is given twice a year — once in the spring and once in the fall.  Students may receive a reminder email from the registrar's office at a specific time in their program of study, however it is the student's responsibility to submit the form by the deadline established in the Academic Calendar.

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