Second-year MA students typically have just two more graded courses to take, which may include the MA thesis-course ENGL 8998 (though a thesis may also be written and read not-for-course-credit), and may be taken in either one term or two. (For tuition implications see this GSAS page.) Under certain circumstances, with DGS approval, students may apply well in advance for non-resident status in spring (though this may require "affiliated" enrollment [below]) and work elsewhere on their MA theses.
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The Office of the Provost recently [Aug. 2014] approved a set of three “affiliated” statuses that will replace the “continuous enrollment” category as of the Fall 2014 term. Two of these statuses are particularly relevant to GSAS students.
The first, known as “Doctoral Completion,” will be available to an advanced doctoral student who is enrolled full-time, who has fulfilled all school- and program-level degree requirements with the exception of the dissertation, and who is actively completing a dissertation under continued guidance from the faculty. This status will enable the student to cease full-time enrollment, pay an associated fee that is substantially lower than tuition and comprehensive fees, and retain access to UVA e-mail and electronic library resources for up to four terms.
The second, known as “Degree Conferral in Absentia,” will be available to an advanced doctoral student who has completed all degree requirements after the graduation deadline for a given term or after ceasing full-time enrollment. This status will enable the student to receive a degree without requiring reinstatement as a full-time student, paying instead an associated fee that is substantially lower than tuition and comprehensive fees. Because a student is eligible for this status for one term only, he or she will not be approved for this status until the satisfaction of all degree requirements has been recorded formally by the department. A student may request this status up to 15 days before the graduation deadline for that term, but in such cases may be subject to late enrollment fees.
As with the former “continuous enrollment” category, these affiliated statuses do not constitute enrollment. Affiliated students will not have an active student I.D. card or access to University labs, facilities or student services (including Student Health or student health insurance), and they will not be eligible for graduate assistantships. Students with outstanding federal student loans will no longer be in deferment and should contact Student Financial Services before petitioning for this status if they have questions in that regard. International students should contact the International Studies Office before petitioning for this status to determine what effect it may have on their eligibility to maintain a visa.
University policy regarding “Affiliated Status” is located at http://records.ureg.virginia.edu/content.php?catoid=38&navoid=2171#Affil....
Graduate School policy regarding “Doctoral Completion” and “Degree Conferral in Absentia” is available at http://records.ureg.virginia.edu/content.php?catoid=38&navoid=2193#enrol....
Procedures and forms required to petition for these statuses are available at http://graduate.as.virginia.edu/registration-procedures. GSAS Registrar Tracy Mourton will address questions you may have about these new options.