Beginning in Fall 2004, graduate credit at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is measured using semester hours.
1. Course Grades: See article 3-102 and article 3-104 of the Student Code for more information on course grades. Points used in the computation of grade point averages are as follows:
| A+ | 4.00 | D+ | 1.33 | |
| A | 4.00 | D | 1.00 | |
| A- | 3.67 | D- | 0.67 | |
| B+ | 3.33 | F | 0.00 | |
| B | 3.00 | F by rule | 0.00 | |
| B- | 2.67 | ABS | 0.00 | |
| C+ | 2.33 | |||
| C | 2.00 | |||
| C- | 1.67 |
A grade of F may be assigned to courses dropped for academic irregularities.
F by rule is automatically assigned when a grade of Incomplete has not been replaced by a letter grade by Reading Day of the next semester in which the student is registered. Incomplete grades earned in the spring semester will not be converted to F by rule until the end of the following fall semester, whether or not the student registers for the summer term.
The grade of ABS may be assigned when the student is absent from the final examination without an acceptable excuse. A grade of ABS counts as a failure and is not acceptable for degree credit.
In addition to assigned grades that are included in the computation of Grade Point Average (GPA), the following notations may be used, but are not included in computation of GPA:
| AU | No Points |
| CR-NC | No Points |
| DFR | No Points |
| I | No Points |
| NR | No Points |
| NV | No Points |
| S/U | No Points |
| W | No Points |
2. Repeated Courses: If a graduate student receives a grade below C, the student should check with his or her adviser or department to see if the department requires that the course be repeated to achieve a certain minimum grade. A student may also choose to repeat a course. When a graduate student repeats a course, the grade for the course when first taken is the grade that is used in computation of the GPA. The accumulated hours for the first attempt count toward a degree, unless the course is failed. Hours and the grade for the repeated course are not counted.
3. Transfer of Credit: A student must have successfully completed at least eight semester hours of graded graduate work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before submitting a request for transfer of credit. Additionally, credit may not be transferred to count toward Stage II or Stage III of a doctoral program (see chapter VI.A). The only credit that will be considered for transfer is credit:
There are two types of credit that a graduate student may wish to transfer. Students may wish to transfer credit from one graduate degree to another graduate degree within the Graduate College at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Alternatively, graduate students may wish to transfer credit completed outside the Graduate College. Different rules apply for each type.
Generally a maximum of twelve semester hours of graduate work completed outside the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate College may be counted toward a graduate degree. Work completed outside the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate College that can be transferred includes:
To request transfer of credit from outside the Graduate College, a student should submit a Graduate Student Petition, accompanied by official transcripts if such are not already available in the student’s file, and validation by specialists in the area of the course work in the student’s department that the course work is applicable and of an appropriate level of difficulty.
Most transfer credit will be reflected on the transcript without course titles and grades. The exceptions are:
Distinct from credit transferred from outside, credit may be transferred from one graduate program at this University to another graduate program at this University as long as it was not applied toward another degree. To request a transfer of credit from one program to another within the Graduate College, a student should submit a Graduate Student Petition which specifies that the departments involved approve of the transfer of work from one program to the other, and shows that courses will only be applied to one degree program. For these petitions, there is no limit on the number of hours that a student may request be transferred. Credit taken while in the CIC Traveling Scholar Program is considered to be within the Graduate College.
4. Holds: Holds can be placed on a student’s record for several reasons, including departmental deficiencies, immunization requirements, disciplinary reasons, financial encumbrance to the University, lack of academic progress, failure to submit transcripts, or low GPA. Holds may prohibit the student from making changes to their registration, from receiving a transcript, or from graduating. Holds and information about the hold can be viewed in the Registration section of a student’s UI Integrate profile.
1. Grade Point Average (GPA) Computation: Graduate students must maintain satisfactory progress in all aspects of their degree programs in order to continue as students. Graduate programs consider many factors in determining whether or not a student is making satisfactory progress. One of these factors is cumulative grade point average (GPA). The GPA component of academic status is calculated at a predetermined date at the end of each semester. Even though grades may be changed in the official record after this date, the academic status for that term is NOT changed. At the point of calculation, graduate students must have a GPA at or above their department’s minimum to be in good standing.
2. Minimum GPA: Campus policy requires a student to maintain a minimum cumulative graduate GPA of 2.75 in order to continue in an advanced degree program, and to have a cumulative graduate GPA of at least 2.75 to graduate. Many departments, however, require a minimum of 3.0 or higher. For departments with higher minima, the Graduate College enforces the department’s minimum. Students enrolled in joint degree programs must meet the minimum GPA requirements of both degree programs in order to maintain satisfactory academic progress and to graduate.
3. Good Standing/Academic Progress: The Graduate College monitors cumulative graduate grade point average, and the graduate programs monitor all other aspects of academic progress. Good academic standing requires more than an acceptable GPA. Graduate students must make satisfactory progress in all aspects of their program in order to continue as students. Additional factors that a program may use to assess academic progress include, but are not limited to, performance in course work, satisfactory and timely completion of all milestones as determined by the program, satisfactory progress in research, and performance on qualifying, preliminary, and other examinations. Failure to meet these requirements can result in the program recommending to the Graduate College that the student be placed on probation or dismissed from the Graduate College. Good standing can also be referred to as full graduate standing, which is the normal status of graduate students with no holds or limited status at the University.
4. Probation: Students who have a cumulative graduate GPA below the degree program's minimum at the end of any semester of enrollment will be placed on probation. Once a student has been placed on probation, the student must raise the cumulative GPA to his/her program's minimum by the end of the next term of enrollment, or face dismissal from the Graduate College. Please refer to the complete Graduate College Probation Policy for more information.
5. Dismissal: A graduate student placed on probation who fails to improve the GPA to the required level by the end of the next term of enrollment will receive a notice of dismissal from the Graduate College. This action prohibits the student from registering and drops any courses for which the student has pre-registered. If a student is dismissed from the Graduate College because of a low cumulative graduate GPA, the graduate student petition process may be used to appeal the dismissal. The Graduate College will consider petitions containing strong program support and strong justification based on other factors pertinent to the program's determination of satisfactory academic progress.
1. Full-time: There is not one standard definition of a full-time course of study. Graduate students may be required to maintain “full-time enrollment” for several reasons including departmental requirements, certification related to student loans or other financial aid, fellowship and traineeship appointments (see chapter VIII.B), certain types of non-University insurance policies, or tax requirements. International students on an F-1 or J-1 visa are required to maintain full-time status for purposes of Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS) reporting. For purposes of load, each required or recommended ESL course taken as a result of the English as a Second Language Placement Test (EPT) will count as the equivalent of 4 graduate hours, even if the course credit is recorded as zero hours.
Students with questions about registration load and loan deferment should consult their lenders (school, bank, or loan agency). Students may also contact the Office of Student Financial Aid, or finaid@uiuc.edu, for advice or referral to the appropriate office or agency. Verification of full-time status can be ordered online or from the Registrar’s Office, Transcript Section, at the Office of Admissions and Records. International students with questions about full-time status should contact the Office of International Student and Scholar Services.
2. Off-campus and Online Courses: For degree-seeking candidates, credit earned in off-campus/online courses is counted toward an advanced degree and counted as credit earned in residence in the same way as credit earned in on-campus courses.
3. Maximum and Minimum Enrollment: The maximum amount of credit in which a graduate student may enroll without special overload approval from the Graduate College is 20 hours in fall and spring terms and twelve hours in the summer term. To request approval to register above the established maximum, a student must submit a Graduate Student Petition.
The Graduate College places no restriction on the minimum amount of credit for which a student may register. However, some departments have established a minimum amount of credit. Students should keep in mind that enrollment below a full-time course of study may jeopardize progress toward a degree, financial aid, fellowship, loan deferment, or the visa status of an international student (see this chapter section C.1). International students on an F-1 or J-1 visa are required to maintain full-time status for purposes of Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS) reporting. See both the ISSS Web site and the Graduate College Full-time Course of Study policy for more details.
Students with questions about registration load and loan deferment should consult their lenders (school, bank, or loan agency). Students may also contact the Office of Student Financial Aid, or finaid@uiuc.edu, for advice or referral to the appropriate office or agency.