Enrollment
Continuous Enrollment
Graduate students must maintain continuous enrollment with the university during the academic year. Continuous enrollment is defined as attending fall and spring semesters. Failure to maintain continuous enrollment will result in a student being declared inactive and subsequently dismissed from the program. Students who have been dismissed from a program for failure to comply with the continuous enrollment policy for two consecutive semesters and who wish to continue in the program must complete a new application for admission as a new student. New student applications are reviewed by individual programs and may or may not result in acceptance into the program even if an earlier acceptance was granted.
Full-time and Part-Time Enrollment (Course Load Policy)
Post-baccalaureate students are categorized as full time or part time based on their credit hour enrollment. Full-time enrollment is a minimum of six (6) credit hours in any long semester (Fall, Spring, and Summer). Enrollment in less than six (6) credit hours is considered part time in any of these semesters, with the exception for doctoral students noted below. With an advisor’s permission, a post-baccalaureate student may enroll for as many as fifteen (15) credit hours in very exceptional cases. More than fifteen (15) hours taken in one semester requires the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. Under certain circumstances, a full-time course load can be defined differently with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.
Full-time enrollment for doctoral students is six (6) credit hours for course work and three (3) credit hours for dissertation/doctoral project. Any post-baccalaureate student enrolled in a one (1) credit thesis, dissertation, or project completion course is considered part-time.
Time Limit for Completion of Master’s Programs
After admission, all requirements for the master’s degree must be completed within seven (7) years. Students whose degrees are taken primarily through part-time study have the option of requesting an extension from the Director of Graduate Studies. Extensions beyond established time limits for such legitimate reasons as illness, injury, or hardship may also be granted by the Director of Graduate Studies. In such situations, the student and academic unit must demonstrate how the student will bring up-to-date the content knowledge from courses taken more than seven (7) years before the projected date of graduation.
Time Limit for Completion of Doctoral Programs
After admission, all requirements for the doctoral degree must be completed within ten (10) years of the date on which the degree is conferred. Some doctoral programs may define a shorter time limit. Students whose degrees are taken primarily through part-time study have the option of requesting an extension from the Director of Graduate Studies. Extensions beyond established time limits for such legitimate reasons as illness, injury, or hardship may also be granted by the Director of Graduate Studies. In such situations, the student and academic unit must demonstrate how the student will bring up-to-date the content knowledge from courses taken more than ten years before the projected date of graduation.