LSU | Graduate School
DOCTORAL DEGREE AUDIT GUIDELINES
The Degree Audit is an agreement between the student and the department. It outlines the individualized degree
requirements as determined by the major professor and advisory committee. The Degree Audit form must be submitted
by the advisory committee through the department chair or graduate advisor for final approval by the Dean of the
Graduate School. These forms are available on The Graduate School’s website at http://www.lsu.edu/graduateschool/
current-students/enrolled-student-forms.php. Below are guidelines for completing the forms and avoiding common
mistakes. Please be aware that errors may result in the form’s return, and may delay Graduate School approval.
Please pay attention to the following, while completing the succeeding form:
• Major Fields must be as listed in the Graduate Catalog (i.e., no subfields or specialties should be listed.)
• Minor Fields must be in a curriculum offering a graduate degree; requires a committee member from the minor
department and approval of the minor department chair. Internal minors need not be listed as they are monitore
d
by
the department
.
• C
ommittee Members must be members of the graduate faculty. The General Catalog and the departmental
graduate advisor are the best sources for information on committee composition and graduate faculty status.
Additional members can be added at the time of the General Defense. If one includes a member of Souther
n
U
niversity’s graduate faculty, it should be indicated with ‘(SU)’ after the faculty’s printed name
.
• Si
gnatures: No one else may sign for a committee member. Electronic signatures are allowed where possible.
• Course Work: the Degree Audit must include the required number of hours listed according to the departmental
requirements, but may not list excess hours taken. The department reserves the right to determine the acceptability
of courses with respect to the age of the courses and applicability to current degree requirements.
• Undergraduate Courses may not be listed. This includes departmental prerequisites and required English and/or
foreign language requirements
.
• C
ourses from Other Institutions must be listed as they appear on the official transcript:
o Official transcripts must be on file from all institutions the student attended and work must be completed
at the graduate level (as indicated on the “Credential Analysis” sent to the department from Graduat
e
Admissions.)
o Course work must have a grade of A, B, P, or S or the verified equivalent
.
o D
epartments should determine that course work from foreign institutions is comparable to graduate
courses at LSU in terms of semester hours, quality of instruction, and grading
.
o Q
uarter hours will be converted to semester hours at the rate of 2/3.
• Repetition of Courses is based on the maximum number of hours specified in the General Catalog.
• Departmental Requirements should be checked prior to submission to Graduate School Academic Services.
Questions may be directed to the Graduate School Academic Services office at (225) 578-2311.