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College of Arts & Sciences
Texas A&M University  Psychological & Brain Sciences

Graduate Degree Paperwork

Before starting the steps below. The student should meet with the Administrative Coordinator in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences so that she can help you throughout the process to your degree.

Doctoral Degree Steps

  1. The student should meet with their faculty advisor to come up with a degree plan.
  2. The student will need to complete their degree plan in DPSS system (Your degree plan will need to be filed at least 90 days before the Preliminary Exam is taken)
  3. Both the student and faculty chair will need to review the students eligibility requirements for the preliminary exam by using the Preliminary Exam Requirements form.
  4. Once a Preliminary Exam date is determined by the student and faculty chair, the student will need to start the Preliminary forms in DocuSign system.  These forms must be turned into OGAPS within 10 days of the scheduled exam and the preliminary exam must be completed at least 14 weeks prior to the Final Exam (i.e. defense date)
  5. After your prelims, the student will need to start the research proposal for dissertation or record of study and the Research Proposal Approval Form in DocuSign system. These forms must be tuned into OGAPS at least 20 day prior to submission of the Request and Announcement of Final Examination
  6. Once the student completes the Proposal forms, the student will need to check with  the administrative coordinator  to make sure that your Residence requirement is being met.
  7. The student can apply for a degree online at the Howdy portal; pay graduation fee.
  8. The student will need to submit the Request and Announcement of the Final Examination in the DocuSign system. This form must be submitted to OGAPS at least 10 working days before the final exam date! The student must follow the OGAPS calendar for deadlines.
  9. Once the student successfully completes the final exam (i.e. defense). The Report of the Final Examination form should be submitted to OGAPS within 10 days following the exam by the department. (This form is not to been seen or handled by the student!) .
  10. The student will need to upload one approved final copy of the dissertation or record of study as a single pdf file to etd.tamu.edu  and will need to start the Dissertation/Record of Study Approval Form in the DocuSign system. Make sure that you are following OGAPS calendar for deadlines.
  11.  Arrange for Cap and Gown. Graduation Information

***You can also use the OGAPS  Steps to fulfill a doctoral degree as a guide that will provide you with the necessary steps toward getting your degree requirements fulfilled.

The Office of Graduate and Professional Studies (OGAPS) will only accept DocuSign documents for the forms listed below:

***The Graduate Program Assistant in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences. She is the first signer of DocuSign documents before they are sent to the Department Head and to Graduate Committee members. You can use the following link to the OGAPS websites http://ogaps.tamu.edu/About/COVID-19-Information/Forms-Processing-Changes?ext=. or https://ogaps.tamu.edu/About/Frequently-Asked-Questions-(FAQs)/DocuSign-Forms-FAQs for guidance.

Departmental Forms