GRAD 700 Student Support

For CSUF Grad Students left with nothing but their thesis, project, or exams, there is a new home: GRAD 700 Canvas Community

Few features of a graduate program create as much uncertainty in a student’s time to graduation as the culminating experience. Whether a thesis, a project, or an exam – it is not uncommon for students to require more time to complete this final piece of graduate work than the units their programs assign to them. What’s more, culminating experiences consist of a student’s independent work, typically overseen by their committee chairs and rarely guided by the meeting schedule, deadline pressure - but also without the structure - of a regular class.

The university offers a simple solution for graduate students who have completed all their unit requirements but still need to complete their culminating experience – it’s called GRAD 700. Each semester, this registration code enables approximately 250 aspiring post-grads to maintain their student status, even without the completion of any additional units.

Over the past four years, Project upGRADS has tried different ways to support grad students who work independently on their final graduation requirement without pushing unwanted obligations onto students busy with work, family, and the final steps

The final version of Project upGRADS support for GRAD700 enrollees consists of a canvas community page that gathers answers to grad students' questions when they only have their project, thesis, or exam left.

Unsure about the thesis submission process? That information is available on this site. Want to know how to maintain access to student health services or CAPS? This canvas community tells you how. From advice on imposter syndrome, writer’s block, and talking to your family about your graduate work to tips on useful research and writing apps, as well as suggestions for note-taking and efficient reading – the community offers plenty of help with grad student concerns that some call the “hidden curriculum” of grad school.

In addition, the community gathers and organizes links to campus offices that provide grad students with crucial support. The GRAD 700 canvas community takes you to the deadlines and thesis guidelines of the Office of Grad Studies, the workshop calendar of the Career Center, the events page of the Graduate Success Center, and the entry page to Student Wellness and Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS).

During 2023, the GRAD700 canvas community also offered weekly office hours with a Project upGRADS support coordinator as well as four live grad writing sessions per semester to give grad students a space where they are surrounded by students with the same mission - and without an opportunity to procrastinate.

All students, regardless of race, sex, color, ethnicity, national origin, or any other protected status, who are interested in GRAD700 are welcome.