Grades and Incompletes

Grade Requirements

  • Graduate students must maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) in graduate courses taken in the degree program.
  • Grades of D+ or lower for graduate courses are not accepted for graduate credit but are computed in the GPA. A grade of N (no pass) is not accepted for graduate credit.
  • A grade of pass (P) must represent work equal to or better than a B-.
  • A GPA below 3.0 at any time during a graduate student's studies or the accumulation of more than five credits of N or F grades—regardless of the GPA—is considered unsatisfactory.
  • Effective Fall 2020: The accumulation of more than 7 credits of Incomplete (I) grades is considered unsatisfactory. 

Note: these are minimum university requirements. Departments/Programs may have higher/more stringent requirements. 

If found to be making unsatisfactory progress, the student may be placed on academic warning or probation, or may be dismissed from the program. See Satisfactory Progress for more information. 


Incompletes

There are two sets of policies regarding incompletes in graduate courses: (1) Department/Program policies as outlined in the program's graduate student handbook; and (2) University policies as outlined below. Graduate students should become familiar with both. 

University Policy for Incompletes Assigned Fall 2022 or Later

Effective Fall 2022, students and faculty members must file an Incomplete Request Form to request a grade of Incomplete. Policy and procedure details, including the link to the request form, are available on this page


University Policy for Incompletes Assigned Prior to Fall 2022

For Incompletes assigned in graduate courses prior to Fall 2022, Division of Graduate Studies policy requires that graduate students must convert a graduate course grade of Incomplete ("I") into a passing grade within one calendar year of the term the course was taken.

After one year, the student must petition the Division of Graduate Studies for the removal of an incomplete.

A petition to remove an incomplete must meet all the following criteria to be eligible for Division of Graduate Studies approval:

  1. The incomplete must be no more than seven years old.
  2. The student must have the approval of the instructor to complete the outstanding course requirements.
  3. The student must not have completed a terminal graduate degree since the term of enrollment in the course.

Incompletes that remain on the academic record after a degree has been awarded may not be removed.

All coursework documented on the transcript at the time of the awarding of a degree stands as a permanent record and it is not permissible to revise the record.

An incomplete, "I", assigned to Research (601) or Terminal Project (609, AAAP 611, ARCH 619, BA 740, CRES 611, IARC 611, LA 699, LT 611) does not require a petition.

Thesis (503) and Dissertation (603) credits should be assigned a grade of "P" for students making satisfactory progress. An "I" grade should only be assigned for students who did work of acceptable quality during the term, but some component of the work was not completed within the timeframe expected. 

Research and Terminal Project credits are converted after the instructor submits a Supplementary Grade Report to the Office of the Registrar.

This policy applies to the level of the course not to the level of the student. An undergraduate in a graduate level course will be evaluated under Division of Graduate Studies policy. A graduate student in an undergraduate level course will follow policies in effect for undergraduate students.