Forms and Policies

Forms for  Admission to Ph.D. Candidacy

When you are ready to apply for candidacy as a Ph.D. student, please submit the following forms to the Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies.  These can also be sent directly by the department. 

  1.  (This form is not set up as a DocuSign form, therefore students will need to submit the form to their Department Admins first.  Students, please do not send this form to the Moody Dean, our office will collect the proper signature)
  2.  (DocuSign Version initiated by student)

Psychology Students: please work with your Department Admin first regarding the above forms.

If a student will be receiving an en-route master's degree, the department must notify the Director of Graduate Studies within the department prior to the graduation application deadline for that semester. 

Forms for Graduation

Master's Degree

  1. Establishment of Examination Committee 
  2. (non-thesis) (DocuSign Version initiated by student)  
  3. (thesis) (DocuSign Version initiated by student)  
  4. (MASDA students only) (DocuSign Version initiated by student)
  5.  (thesis) (DocuSign Version initiated by student)  The completed copy of this form will be emailed to the student, use the copy to include with the final version of the thesis when uploading to SMU Scholar.  See the for step-by-step assistance.  

Ph.D. Degree

  1. Establishment of Examination Committee  
  2. (DocuSign Version initiated by student one or two days prior to scheduled defense day only) 
  3.  (dissertation) (DocuSign Version initiated by student)  The completed copy of this form will be emailed to the student, use the copy to include with the final version of the dissertation when uploading to SMU Scholar.  See the  for step-by-step assistance.      

Psychology Students: please work with your Department Admin first regarding the above forms.

Registrar Forms

Registrar Forms Library
The Registrar maintains the forms that must be processed by their office.  Certain forms can only be accessed by faculty or staff, so you should check with your departmental Director of Graduate Studies or the Moody School if you need to access a restricted form, such as the Enrollment Discrepancy Petition (used to add or drop a class after the deadline).

Graduate Student Policies

All SMU graduate students should be familiar with the following policies and resources:


The catalog provides the rules governing graduate student admission and degree requirements.  Be sure to click on the right catalog for your program (for example, a Chemistry graduate student should select the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences graduate catalog). 

Required Training

Students conducting research must complete training to remain in compliance with all pertinent regulations.  See the Research Compliance Training at SMU website for details on what types of training are required and how to satisfy those requirements in a timely manner.