Admission Requirement Information

• www.gradcollege.txstate.edu/Prospect_Students/Pgms_Apps/Masters/Coll_Ed/Phys_Ed.html

Financial Assistance

Graduate Teaching and Research Assistantships. Department of HHP annually awards competitive graduate assistantships to highly qualified individuals interested in serving as either research or teaching assistants. Selection is based on the students’ academic background and professional experience. Applications can be found at:www.hhp.txstate.edu/Services/GA-Application-Forms.html. The application deadline to be considered for hire during: 1) the fall semester is March 1^st of the preceding Spring semester, and 2) the spring semester is November 1^st during the preceding Fall semester.

Scholarships. Many Scholarships are available through:

• The Graduate College (www.gradcollege.txstate.edu/scholarships.html)
• The College of Education (http://www.education.txstate.edu/support/descriptions.html)
• The Department of HHP (www.hhp.txstate.edu/). 

Degree Requirements

Full-time Status. A full-time graduate course load is nine semester hours for a Fall or Spring semester, and five semester hours for each summer session.  The maximum graduate course load is fifteen  semester hours for a Fall or Spring semester, and six semester hours for each summer session. Once a student enrolls in Graduate School, he/she has six years to complete the requirements for his/her Masters degree.  A student who does not complete all of his/her degree requirements within the 6-year time limit must request a time extension from the Graduate Advisor, as well as the Dean of the Graduate College, and give adequate justification for such an extension.

Transfer of Coursework. Students may transfer up to six semester hours of graduate course work from another university for credit toward a Masters degree at TXSTATE.  The course(s) being transferred must meet the following criteria:  1) the course(s) must be graduate courses, 2) the course(s) must not have counted toward course credit for a degree at another university, 3) the course(s) must have the same course content as a course or courses on the student’s degree outline, and 4) the student must have made a grade of “B” or better in the course(s). In order to obtain approval for transfer courses, the student should bring the following to the Graduate Advisor: 1) a course syllabus to confirm that the content of the course is the same as a course on the student’s degree outline, and 2) a copy of an official transcript to demonstrate that the student made a grade of “B” or better in the course, and that the course did not count toward a degree at another university. 

GPA Requirements. Graduate students are required to maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 for courses taken for degree credit.  If a graduate student’s GPA falls below 3.0, he/she will have one semester of probation to raise his/her GPA to 3.0 or be placed on suspension.  After a one-semester suspension

Graduate Degree Outline

Degree Audit Report (DAR). The Graduate College will make a DAR available online to each graduate student in PE after the student has been accepted for admission into the Graduate College.  Following admission, this degree outline is available through CatsWeb. Once the DAR has been generated, the student should meet with the Graduate Advisor. The student is responsible for reading, interpreting, and following the DAR as well as following the Graduate Advisor’s recommendation for the completion of his/her degree requirements. 

Background/Leveling Courses. Students who do not have an undergraduate degree in Physical Education or related field may be required to complete specific background/“leveling” courses (10-12 semester hours) in conjunction with the graduate courses required for his/her specialization or major. The student must take these courses before taking the required courses and earn a “B” of better in each of the leveling courses. These leveling courses vary from student to student, depending on the student’s undergraduate major and graduate degree program. A list of the required leveling courses will appear on the student’s DAR.

Independent Study. PE 5347 is an independent study and is intended to keep the student aware of current issues, practices, and applications in the fields of physical education and human performance.  Registration for PE 5347 requires approval from the teacher of record. Students interested in pursuing PE 5347 must meet with the instructor of record at least one month in advance, as some instructors may require the student to submit a proposal before permission to enroll is granted.

Internship. PE 5398 is an internship course intended to be a capstone experience that requires the application of many concepts already learned by the student in graduate school. PE 5398 should be taken during the student’s last semester before graduation. If the student chooses to complete PE 5398, then he/she must receive approval for an internship one semester prior to enrolling in PE 5398.

Thesis versus Non-Thesis Degree Programs

Most degree programs in Physical Education offer students the option of completing a thesis.  Students may also choose a degree program that does not include a thesis (non-thesis).  A thesis is a comprehensive research project that requires the highest level of academic performance and quality.  It also requires considerable skills in academic writing and research design.  While students may choose either a thesis or non-thesis degree option when they begin their graduate program, it is recommended that a final decision regarding a thesis or non-thesis program not be made until the student has completed both PE 5346 - Literature and Research and PE 5356 Experimental Design.  For more information on the requirements for completion of a Master’s Thesis at Texas State University - San Marcos, students should refer to the following link: www.gradcollege.txstate.edu/Thes-Diss_Info/Thes_Info.html.

Requirements for a Master’s Thesis. Students whose degree plan includes a thesis usually complete their 24 semester hours of course work before enrolling in thesis courses. (5399A and PE 5399B). These courses cannot be taken in the same semester, but must be completed in two (or more) separate consecutive semesters. Before enrolling for thesis courses, each student should: 1) review the thesis information provided by the Graduate College, and 2) consult with the Graduate Advisor regarding a thesis topic and selecting a thesis committee chair. The committee chair is a graduate faculty member who agrees to supervise the student’s work on the thesis project and review the student’s writing of the thesis document.  The committee chair should have an academic specialization suitable for the proper supervision of the student’s research project.  The student will also select at least two other graduate faculty members who agree to serve on his/her thesis committee along with the committee chair. 

While the student is enrolled in PE 5399A, he/she is expected to develop an original research question, plan the methodology for data collection to answer that research question, and write a complete research proposal, including a comprehensive review of the related research literature.  This work will be completed under the supervision and direction of the student’s thesis committee chair. Upon completion of the thesis proposal, the student will make a formal presentation of the proposal to his/her thesis committee. Once all the required revisions to the proposal have been completed, and the proposal has been formally presented to, approved, and signed by the thesis committee members, the student may begin the data collection process. 

The following semester, when the student is enrolled in PE 5399B, he/she will finish the data collection required for the project, analyze the results, and finish the thesis document.  Then, the student will make a formal defense of the results to his/her thesis committee.  Once all committee members have approved and signed the thesis, the student must submit the document to the Graduate College for the Dean’s approval.  After the approval and signature of the Dean of the Graduate College, the student must submit the thesis to the Library, completing all thesis requirements. 

Graduate Written Comprehensive Exams

Students who choose the non-thesis option must successfully complete a written comprehensive examination during their final semester of graduate school. Click here to download the graduate comprehensive application. After the graduate written comprehensive exam is administered, each instructor is given approximately ten days to grade and evaluate the written answers from each student.  A student’s answers must be at least 70% correct in order to successfully pass any particular course for which the student is tested over for the exam.  The student must successfully pass all of the courses for which he/she is tested over in order to successfully pass the exam.  Within three weeks after the graduate written comprehensive exam is administered, the student’s graduate advisor will notify him/her via e-mail concerning the student’s overall performance on the exam.  If the student successfully passes the graduate written comprehensive exam, he/she needs only to complete the remainder of the courses, if any, listed on his/her degree outline in order to graduate. If the student does not successfully pass the graduate comprehensive exam (pass all of the courses for which he/she is tested over), he/she must take a make-up exam.  For the make-up exam, the student will be tested over only those courses which he/she did not pass on the first graduate written comprehensive exam.  Make-up exams are scheduled by the individual instructors for each course, on a day and time agreed upon by the student and the instructor. If the student successfully passes the make-up exam(s), he/she needs only to complete the remainder of the courses listed on his/her degree outline in order to graduate. If the student does not successfully pass the make-up exam(s), he/she must retake the course which he/she did not pass on during the next semester offered.  A student cannot complete all requirements for graduation until he/she successfully completes the graduate written comprehensive exam.