admission standards
ADMISSION STATUS
FULL STANDING
- To be admitted to full standing the applicant must
meet all the admissions criteria without conditions or
academic provisions.
- Applicants must have a good academic record,
e.g., a B average or rank in the upper third of his
or her graduating class at an institution whose
status and programs are readily assessed.
- Applicant will be expected to meet essentially
all of the undergraduate prerequisites for the
proposed field of graduate study.
- In addition to evidence of admissibility
from transcripts, grade records, letters of
recommendation and TOEFL test (English
proficiency test for international students only),
certain departments require that the applicant
submit satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record
Examination, the Miller Analogies Test, or the
Graduate Management Admission Test.
- Ordinarily a bachelor’s degree is required for unconditional admission to the graduate school. Under some circumstances, an admissions committee may recommend admission to the School of Graduate Studies on the basis of an equivalent experience. In this case, final approval for admission by the Dean of Graduate Studies is required.
PROVISIONAL STANDING
Applicants who have academic deficiencies and do not qualify for admission with full standing are occasionally admitted provisionally.
- A student may give evidence of ability in his or
her chosen field that is sufficiently convincing to
warrant provisional admission, but the quantity
or quality of the student’s preparation may be
difficult to determine with sufficient certainty for
admission in full standing.
- Provisions will be specified by the department
to which the student is admitted, and stated in
the official letter of admission from the Dean of
Graduate Studies.
- A provisional graduate student is expected to
complete appropriate course work and to meet the
performance standards of the School of Graduate
Studies within the first academic year of study.
- Although the provisional student’s record will be reviewed each semester, the student’s status will be reconsidered by the department no later than at the end of two semesters of study. At that time, if the student has satisfied the provisions associated with his or her admission in the judgment of the department and the Dean of Graduate Studies, the student will be given full standing; otherwise, he or she will be separated from further graduate study in that department.
CONDITIONAL STANDING
Applicants who have missing documentation in their
admissions file (such as an official academic transcript
with degree posted or official copies of test scores). The
condition (s) specified in the letter of acceptance must
be satisfied prior to matriculation in the School of
Graduate Studies.
Postponement of Matriculation
Applicants are guaranteed admission only for the term specified in the letter of admission. An applicant who is unable to enroll in the semester for which he or she was initially admitted may request to postpone matriculation up to two regular academic semesters. In such cases, the department to which the applicant has applied may accept or reject the applicant’s request, and the terms of readmission may differ from the original offer. If a delay of more than two semesters is requested, the applicant’s file must be reviewed and reevaluated by the department. If more than two years elapse since acceptance, the applicant must reapply in the same manner as a new applicant. Because applicant files are only kept for a maximum of two years, all documentation will have to be resubmitted.
Non-Degree Students
Individuals with earned bachelor’s degrees that want to
enroll in classes for personal enrichment or to satisfy
prerequisite course requirements for later admission to graduate programs may enroll as non-degree students
through the School of Graduate Studies. A student
who wishes to register as a non-degree student should
request the appropriate application form from the
School of Graduate Studies and submit evidence
that a bachelor’s degree has been earned.
- Students may enroll in undergraduate and
graduate level courses. Continuation in
non-degree status is at the discretion of the
Dean of Graduate Studies.
- Applicants who are interested in transferring
course work into graduate degree programs
are encouraged to seek early advice from the
departments to which they intend to apply to
insure that courses taken as non-degree students
will satisfy departmental requirements.
- Non-degree students cannot assume that they will
be admitted to any graduate degree program, or
that all course work taken will transfer into the
program.
- Only 400 level and higher course work will be
considered for graduate transfer. The term of the
earliest approved, transferred course will establish
the date of entrance into the degree program.
- Courses transferred from non-degree status must
have been taken within five years of the first term
of matriculation as a degree seeking student and
passed with a grade of B or better.
- Students considering transfer into a degree
program will need to meet a minimum
matriculation requirement of two semesters and
six semester hours of course work.
- Non-degree students are not permitted to enroll in more than 21 hours of coursework in one program. In order to continue taking courses in that program, the student must be accepted into the graduate degree program.