GCAC-501
Credit Load
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Purpose
To define the minimum and maximum credit load per semester for full-time academic work in a graduate program.
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Academic Goal
To inform students and advisers of appropriate course loads within the context of “normal progress” towards a degree.
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Scope
All graduate students.
Full-time participation in graduate study can involve a wide range of activities not limited to classroom activities in formal courses. The nature of these activities varies because of the diversity of programs throughout the University. Thus, full-time participation in graduate study is associated with a range of credit loads.
- Maximum Credit Load
- the maximum number of credits a student can register for each semester without being required to request an exception.
Policy Statement
- The graduate student is responsible for ascertaining, through the adviser and/or program office, the range of total activity of his or her individual program that constitutes normal progress toward the degree.
- The minimum credit load per semester determines a graduate student's enrollment status (e.g. full-time) as defined by University administrative policy (see N-5: Enrollment Status).
- The maximum credit load per semester for a student in a research degree program (Ph.D., M.A., M.S.) is 15 credits.
- The maximum credit load per semester for a student in a professional degree program is 21 credits. A college/school may set a college-wide lower semester credit limit, if desired.
- No student is permitted to count audited credits toward the minimum credit load for full-time or part-time status.
- Undergraduate courses taken to meet foreign language or English requirements do count in the total credit load.
Please refer to Policy GSAD-901 for minimum and maximum credit loads for Graduate Assistants.
Process
If a graduate student wishes to register for more than the maximum credit load in a semester, an exception must be granted through petition (with adviser’s approval) to the Office of Graduate Enrollment Services.
Revision History
- Approved by Graduate Council, March 13, 2024. Effective date: Immediately (March 13, 2024)
- Revised Policy Statement #2 to refer to University Policy N-5 for minimum credit loads determining enrollment status.
- Approved by Graduate Council, January 16, 2019. Effective date: Fall 2019 (8/12/2019).
- The maximum credit load per semester for students in a professional degree program was changed from 15 to 21 credits. The revisions also clarify that a college or school may set a lower credit limit for their unit. Research degree students (those students in M.A., M.S., or Ph.D. programs) are still limited to 15 credits per semester.
- Adapted from Graduate Bulletin: June 2018.
- Last known revision, March 2017.