The Graduate College Handbook for Students, Faculty and Staff
Chapter II: Student Status and Registration
There are three semesters in each academic year: fall, spring, and summer.
A. Student Status
A student may be admitted to the Graduate College with either full graduate standing or with limited status, as a degree-seeking student or as a non-degree student. The admission status is stated in the Notice of Admission, which is issued by the Graduate and Professional Admissions and Academic Support Unit. Students must have full graduate standing and be degree-seeking in order to be awarded a graduate degree.
A student who does not meet one or more of the admission requirements may be approved for admission with limited status. The most common reasons for limited status admission are:
- course deficiencies that must be remedied,
- low undergraduate GPA (grade point average below 3.0 on a 4.0 scale),
- missing transcripts (students must provide all required transcripts, including confirmation of baccalaureate and higher degrees), or
- a lack of demonstrated English language proficiency.
Students admitted with limited status must address deficiencies in order to continue beyond the first semester.
There are several types of non-degree students. Non-degree students who wish to take classes in the fall or spring semesters must be recommended for admission by a department and admitted by the Graduate College. Students interested in non-degree summer only enrollment do not have to be recommended for admission by a specific program; only Graduate College admission is required. Exchange students and students taking classes through the Division of Academic Outreach are often non-degree. There are a number of restrictions and conditions that apply to non-degree status. A non-degree student:
- is not eligible for financial aid administered by the Graduate College, such as fellowships and conference travel awards,
- must reapply for admission and pay the application fee if he or she wishes to become a degree-seeking student,
- is limited to taking fewer than twelve hours per fall or spring semester (fewer than six hours in the summer), which means they are not considered to be full-time for most purposes; (see chapter III.C.1); exceptions are CIC Traveling Scholars and international students participating in special exchange programs for which full-time approval has been obtained from the Graduate College prior to admission, and international students who do not hold student visas,
- can petition to transfer a maximum of twelve hours of credit (of which non-degree credit is a part; see chapter III.A.3 for details) to a degree program, if subsequently admitted to and enrolled in a degree program, and
- cannot register until the fourth day of instruction for the fall or spring semester, and can only register if space is available, and the late registration fee will not be assessed if the student completes his or her registration on or before the tenth day of instruction in a semester.
