Categories of Admission

Only those who have been officially admitted to the School of Graduate Studies as Degree Students on the basis of a letter from the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies may work for an advanced degree. Any conditions stipulated in the admission letter must be satisfied according to the terms of the letter. Degree or certificate students who do not satisfy the conditions of the admission letter will be dismissed. Students may petition the School of Graduate Studies for an extension if they are unable to satisfy the conditions of admission. Such petitions must be filed prior to any deadlines that are in the admissions letter.

Applicants for degree or certificate programs may be admitted to Approved, Qualified, Provisional, or Deferred status. The School of Graduate Studies has established minimum academic criteria for admission. Individual departments may have additional requirements. The various categories of admission are detailed in the following paragraphs.

Approved Status

Applicants who have met the minimum admission requirements stipulated by the School of Graduate Studies and have met all departmental requirements for admission may be admitted into Approved status. Admission to this status implies only that a student is permitted to commence graduate work which normally will lead to a degree, diploma, or certificate. However, admission to Approved status does not guarantee that a student will be allowed to become a candidate for a degree or diploma. 

Provisional Status

Admission to Provisional status may be granted to an applicant who has not met one or more of the general School of Graduate Studies or program level admission requirements, e.g., low G.P.A., low test scores, lack of a required test, or other concerns about the applicant’s ability to succeed in graduate study. Generally, students will not be admitted into Provisional status with more than nine (9) credits of outstanding prerequisites.

Students admitted to Provisional status because of their previous GPA will be eligible for advancement to Approved status after the completion of nine semester hours of graduate level coursework if their GPA for all work attempted is at least 3.00. Students in a Provisional status may be dismissed after one registration if their GPA is below 3.00, or if they have failed to meet other conditions specified at the time of admission.

The first obligation of students admitted to Provisional status is to meet all of the conditions specified at the time of admission. Students in Provisional status are eligible for graduate assistantships and tuition waivers at the discretion of the department.

Non-Degree Status

Applicants who wish to enroll in graduate level classes as a non-degree seeking student should seek admission into Non-Degree status. All applicants for non-degree status must have met the English Language Proficiency Requirement, and have a recognized baccalaureate degree. Permission of the academic department will be required to enroll in a class as a non-degree student. Therefore, the applicant should consult with the department(s) offering the courses before completing an application. Subject to the approval of the department and the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, a maximum of nine (9) semester credits taken as a graduate Non-Degree student may subsequently be counted toward a graduate degree subject to all other regulations. Non-degree students are not eligible for graduate teaching, research, or service assistantships or graduate student tuition waivers.