Students in master's degree and licensure programs are expected to maintain a GPA of 3.30 or higher in graduate coursework.

Specialist and doctoral degree students are expected to maintain a GPA of 3.50 or higher. Master's and licensure students whose graduate GPA falls below 3.00 are subject to probation and dismissal. Specialist and doctoral students whose GPA falls below 3.30 are subject to probation and dismissal. Graduate licensure students taking undergraduate courses must maintain a GPA of 2.75 in such coursework. Students may not graduate with GPAs in their program coursework below the minimum specified levels. Students dismissed for academic reasons may not be recommended for teaching or other education licenses. Students so dismissed may apply for readmission. They will be readmitted only if there is substantial reason to expect that their academic performance will improve.

Policy for Assigning Grades

The following grading policy has been adopted for graduate courses in the School of Education:

A = Outstanding achievement. Unusually complete command of the course content; exceptionally high level of scholarship.

A- = Excellent achievement. Very thorough command of course content; very high level of scholarship.

B+ = Very good achievement. Thorough command of course material.

B = Good achievement. Solid, acceptable performance.

B- = Fair achievement. Acceptable performance.

C+ = Adequate achievement and performance.

C = Not wholly satisfactory achievement. Marginal performance on some aspects of the course requirements. Marginal achievement. Minimally acceptable performance on course assignments. Lowest grade which may be counted in graduate programs.

C- = Unsatisfactory achievement. Inadequate knowledge of course content. (Courses with a grade of C- or lower may not be counted in graduate programs.)

Pass/Fail Grading (P/F)

Pass/Fail grading allows students who earn any grade from an A to a D in a course to have a grade of P recorded on their transcript. A grade of F is included in the GPA, but the P grade is not averaged in the GPA. Students may not use either Pass/Fail graded courses in their degree programs.

Satisfactory/Fail Grading (S/F)

Courses graded Satisfactory/Fail (S/F) are not the same as courses graded Pass/Fail (P/F). S/F grading is applied to all students in a class. Only a few graduate courses, including some workshop courses and thesis courses, are eligible for S/F grading. A grade of F is included in the GPA, but a grade of S does not affect GPA.

For Satisfactory/Fail grading, a memo may be required from the instructor showing that a grade of B or higher would have been issued to the student for the course. Without this memo the course will not be counted toward a degree program.

Incomplete Course Work (I)

A grade of Incomplete may be assigned when, at the end of the term, a student has not completed all coursework. This grade may be given only when the completed work is of passing quality.

Unfinished coursework must be completed within one calendar year from the date the grade of I is assigned. The course must ordinarily be completed with the original course instructor. The instructor then completes an e- Grade Change to remove the incomplete and assigns a letter grade. Incomplete grades that are not removed within one year are changed to a grade of F. This change occurs automatically unless the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies receives and approves a petition for extension from the course instructor.

Accumulation of Incomplete Courses

Graduate students with 9 or more credit hours of incomplete (I or R grade) courses (excluding dissertation credits) may not be allowed to register in additional courses.

Deferred Grade (R)

An R, indicating that the grade has been deferred, may be assigned in thesis and dissertation courses, internship courses, and a few other selected courses where work is expected to take longer than one year to complete. Unlike a grade of I, a grade of R does not automatically change to an F.

Withdrawal from Courses (W and WF)

Withdrawal from enrollment in a course during the drop/add period (in the first week of each term) is not recorded on a student's transcript. Withdrawal after this time is recorded as a W on the student's transcript. During the first quarter of each term, students may withdraw without instructor consent. After this date, instructor approval is required. If a student is failing at the time of withdrawal, or simply discontinues attending the class, a grade of WF (withdrawal with failure) is assigned. This is treated as an F in grade point averaging. Near the end of the term withdrawal is not allowed at all, except in cases where a student is withdrawing from all classes. See the Schedule of Classes at http://enrollmentbulletin.indiana.edu/pages/index.php for pertinent dates.

Courses Counted in Graduate Programs

Courses at the 500 level and above are designated as graduate courses at Indiana University. Beginning master's courses are at the 500 level; advanced master's and beginning doctoral courses are at the 600 level; and advanced doctoral courses are at the 700 level. Some 300- and 400-level courses in the College of Arts and Sciences are also approved for graduate credit. These are listed in the University Graduate School Bulletin.

Not all courses listed in this bulletin are offered every year. Inquiries concerning the availability or suitability of a particular course should be directed to the appropriate departmental chairperson.

Correspondence courses and activity courses may not be used in graduate programs. (Activity courses are courses for learning and practicing a nonprofessional skill, such as a sports activity or playing a musical instrument.)

Semester Load

Full-time graduate students typically enroll in 9 to 15 credit hours per semester. Specialist and doctoral students should normally carry no more than 12 credit hours per semester. The maximum allowable course load for graduate students is 16 credit hours in any semester. The maximum load for summer sessions is 16 credit hours.

Graduate students holding appointments such as associate instructor, graduate assistant, and research assistant for 15 hours per week (.375 full time equivalency) or more must be registered for 6 credit hours during each semester (no registration is required during summer sessions). Fellowship holders must enroll in a minimum of 6-8 credit hours per semester. International students should check with the Office of International Services concerning required credit hours to meet visa requirements. Students holding government-guaranteed student loans must be enrolled in at least 8 credit hours per semester.

Additional policies apply. Please refer to the degree sections (Certificate and Masters, Ed.S., Ed.D., or Ph.D.) in the left-hand menu for more information.