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No more than 6 hours of transferred credit can be applied towards the degree, for both M.S.E. and Doctoral students. These credits must be petitioned for by the student and approved by the Graduate Studies Committee, with the approval of the graduate dean. You must provide official transcripts and “an official explanation of the course numbering and grading systems at the school at which the credit was earned.” Often, this will include submitting a syllabus of the course being petitioned. All coursework to be transferred in must be less than 6 years old.
No coursework over six years old can be included on the Program of Work unless approved by the graduate dean.
Only 20% of courses counting towards the Program of Work (i.e. the 30 hours of coursework required) can be credit/no credit (CR/NR).
Students may apply for a leave of absence for no more than 2 long semesters, and these must be approved in advance by the graduate advisor and graduate dean. Those already admitted into Candidacy will be approved for a Leave of Absence “only in rare and unusual circumstances.” All students on approved leave must apply for readmission in order to return, but if applied for during the 2 long semesters, readmission is automatic and the application fee is waived. Importantly, a leave of absence “does not alter the time limits for degrees or coursework.”
The Graduate School’s time limit for a Master’s degree is 6 years. While there is no set time limit for a PhD, students who have not progressed in a timely manner, including not defending their dissertation 3 years after applying for candidacy, will be reviewed ever year by the Graduate Studies Committee. Those not making satisfactory progress may be asked to leave.
The Graduate School requires a minimum of 30 credit hours for a Master’s degree, depending on the option the student picks (with thesis, with report, without thesis/report). PhDs are required to have a minimum of 30 hours of advanced coursework. Six of those hours must be dissertation work to graduate.