Graduate Student Resources

Beginning Spring 2026, all master’s (thesis-track) and doctoral students must submit work that meets accessibility formatting standards in order to graduate.

What This Means for Students:

As part of the graduation process, students are required to:

• Upload a draft of their thesis/dissertation to YuJa Panorama, a free, web-based platform behind a KU SSO, to receive an accessibility compliance score.
• If a score of less than 85% is achieved initially, YuJa Panorama will walk the user through the necessary steps to remediate the formatting issue. 
• Once an accessibility compliance score of 85% or higher is achieved, the student will submit the YuJa Panorama score report to their school/College as part of their graduation checklist documents.

If the score is below 85%, the platform provides step-by-step guidance to fix issues before resubmitting.

Additional information and resources about this new graduation requirement can be found on KU's Graduate Studies website:

• Doctoral Graduation Requirements Checklist
• Master’s Graduation Requirements Checklist
• Thesis/Dissertation Formatting Hub

In extenuating circumstances (e.g., cases of illness, financial hardship, military leave, family responsibilities, or the pursuit of full-time activities related to long-range professional goals), students may petition for a leave of absence—typically for one semester or one academic year. An approved leave of absence allows a student to take a temporary break from enrolling in graduate coursework while remaining in good standing with the University and the department.

If a student wishes to request a Leave of Absence, the student should start by contacting the Director of Graduate Studies or the Graduate Program Coordinator. If the Graduate Studies Committee supports the leave request, the Graduate Coordinator and Director of Graduate Studies will work with the student to complete the online Leave of Absence Petition Form and submit the form to COGA.

Students on Leave of Absence are automatically reactivated after their leave ends and are eligible to enroll for their intended semester back during the normal enrollment periods. See the KU Academic Calendar for the exact dates that enrollment begins. Upon return, the student must submit an updated “Mentoring Agreement” signed by the primary academic advisor. If at any time plans change and a student wishes to return and enroll before their leave is supposed to end, they may contact the Director of Graduate Studies to be reactivated early. For other relevant information about Leaves of Absence, see Appendix A of the Graduate Handbook.

24 June 2025