The supervisory committee should be formed during the term immediately after the major adviser is identified for the student, and members should be identified before the plan of study is formulated, so that all committee members have a chance to contribute to the Plan of Study.

The supervisory committee will have at least four members. The members consist of:

1. The major adviser, who must be a full or affiliate member of the graduate faculty Level 1. The student selects the adviser with approval of the program administrator and the Dean of the Graduate College. The major adviser-student relationship must be a mutually acceptable one. The major adviser will act as the chair of the student's supervisory committee and will be in charge of the Plan of Study. The remaining members of the committee must be agreed upon by the student and the major adviser.
2. A second member, who must be a full or affiliate member of the graduate faculty.
3. A third member, who could be either a faculty member or a qualified off-campus expert in the field. If this committee member is not a full or affiliate member of the graduate faculty, the approval of the Dean of the Graduate College is required. Approval by the dean requires a memo from the program/department chair explaining the qualifications of the person to be on the committee and the person's curriculum vitae.
4. The Graduate School Representative (GSR) is chosen by the student, in consultation with the committee chair, at the time of the supervisory committee formation.

Eligibility Requirements: The GSR must be a full member of the graduate faculty, AND be either a tenured faculty member outside the committee chair’s/co-chairs' home department(s) OR a faculty member outside the primary college of the committee chair/co-chairs. If the student is in an interdisciplinary program, the GSR must also be outside of that program. Additionally, the GSR must be clear of any conflicts of interest with either the student or the committee chair/co-chairs. Examples of possible conflicts of interest may include budgetary relationships, family or financial, personal relationships, or research and/or publication relationships between the GSR and either the student or the committee chair.

The role of the GSR is to ensure that Graduate College policies are followed, that the expectations for the student's performance are reasonable, and that the interactions between the student and the supervisory committee are conducted in a professional and equitable manner. Graduate School Representatives serving on a committee for a program that has been approved by the Graduate College to use an outcomes-based approach to assess doctoral student performance also have the responsibility to document that the process and assessment of the student’s performance in the doctoral program match the defined program outcomes. The GSR signs preliminary and final examination reports to confirm that these standards have been met. 

The Plan of Study should be submitted to the Graduate College for approval no later than the term immediately after the supervisory committee is formed and must be filed in the Graduate School prior to scheduling the comprehensive/preliminary examination. Revisions may be made, with the Request for Change form, later as advisable and necessary, but must be approved by the student, adviser, the administrator of the student's program, and the graduate dean.

Each program has the responsibility of defining the requirements for a major in its disciplinary area. This information should be made available to students electronically and/or in the program handbook.

Didactic, Greek for "to teach",  credits are courses numbered 601-689, 691; 700-789, 791; 800-889 and 891.

Bachelor's to Doctoral Degree

• Minimum 90 credits total
• 27 of the 90 must be didactic credits
• 15 of the 27 must be should be 700 or 800 level course work

Master's to Doctoral Degree 

• Minimum 60 credits total completed at NDSU
• 15 of the 60 credits must be 700-800 level didactic courses
• Specific programs may required completion of additional credits

All graduate credits used to meet the requirements of a doctoral degree must be approved by the supervisory committee, the program administrator, the academic dean, and the Dean of the Graduate School.

Bachelor's to Doctoral students: the doctorate requires 27 credits of course work, and of these, no more than 12 may be transferred by the petition process. 

All transfer credits

1. College-level course work from regionally accredited colleges or universities (or equivalent for international institutions) is eligible for acceptance in transfer (credits from international institutions can be transferred only if approved by a committee from the student's program);
2. must carry only grades of A or B on a 4-point scale;
3. must have been earned within a 10-year period at the time of the final examination;
4. must be clearly graduate level (a course listed as both graduate and/or undergraduate level will not be transferred);
5. must not be a continuing education, correspondence, extension, or workshop course;
6. must not be internship, individual study, special problem, or research (disquisition) courses, or courses graded Pass/Fail or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory;
7. must not have been used to fulfill the requirements of a baccalaureate or master's degree;
8. must be verified by an official transcript; and
9. will not be used in calculation of the grade point average.

It is the responsibility of the student to provide official transcripts of graduate courses taken elsewhere to the Graduate College.

NOTE: The special problem credits in item (6) above are equivalent to North Dakota State University 696/796 Special Topic credits.

Graduate credit for any course work that is more than 10 calendar years old at the time of the final examination cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements. The final examination is valid for one year. Should a student not have his/her disquisition approved by the Graduate College or fail to meet other degree requirements, the final examination must be retaken.

If a period of time two years or greater lapses before the disquisition is approved by the Graduate School, the student must reapply, re-defend the dissertation and must register for a minimum of two (2) credits. The student's degree will post at the end of the semester in which the disquisition is approved by the Graduate School.