COURSES APPROVED FOR GRADUATE CREDIT
Graduate credit for work successfully completed at the University of Oklahoma is allowed only for courses listed with a G before the course number. Daggered courses (†G) are not applicable for graduate credit for majors in the academic unit offering the courses. Whether a particular course is acceptable as credit toward the degree on which the student is working is determined by the academic unit and/or advisory committee and the Graduate Dean. Graduate credit for work successfully completed at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center is allowed only for courses listed in its Graduate College Bulletin.
GRADES IN THE GRADUATE COLLEGE
The grades awarded in the Graduate College are A, B, C, D, F, S, U, I, W and X. The following explanations apply only to those courses that are approved for graduate credit. Students may not repeat a course in which they have earned a grade of A or B unless the course is one in which there is a change of content.
AW, meaning administrative withdrawal, is a neutral grade assigned when the student is involuntarily withdrawn by the institution during the designated semester for disciplinary or financial reasons, or for inadequate attendance.
D is failing insofar as credit toward a graduate degree is concerned and cannot be used to satisfy prerequisite requirements and/or requirements for certificates.
I is a neutral grade meaning Incomplete. It indicates that the student has not yet completed all required coursework. The instructor will indicate to the student what must be done to complete the course and set a time limit appropriate to the circumstances. However, the time allowed may not exceed one calendar year. If, by the end of the year, no change in grade has been submitted, the grade of I will become permanent on the student’s record. After a grade of I has become permanent, a student may re-enroll in the course. Credit for courses in which a student has received an I at the University of Oklahoma cannot be transferred from another institution. The one-year time limitation concerning removal of incompletes does not apply to graduate research and certain graduate problems courses.
P and NP, meaning Pass and No Pass, are used as grades in a course in which a student has enrolled under the “pass/no pass” grade option. The grades of P and NP are considered neutral in the computation of the student’s grade point average. P indicates work equivalent to a grade of C work or better. NP indicates no credit for a pass/no pass option enrollment. Graduate students may use the pass/no pass option only with courses that will not apply toward a graduate degree.
S and U are neutral grades meaning Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory. The grade of S signifies work equivalent to a grade of B or better. The grade of U indicates that no credit is received for the work undertaken.
The grade of S is used in the final semester to indicate that a thesis, dissertation, or equivalent work is complete and deposited. The S grade may not be used for lecture/recitation courses except with the approval of the Graduate Dean. In special problems, individual research, and directed readings courses, if the course is graded S-U, S is the only passing grade accepted.
S and U grades may be used for seminar courses provided that the seminars are taught on a noncompetitive basis and that all students in the course are graded on this basis.
W, meaning withdrawal, is a neutral grade assigned when the student is passing at the time of withdrawal.
X is a neutral grade used only for the thesis and dissertation research courses numbered 5980 and 6980, and for thesis and dissertation equivalent courses numbered 5880 and 6880. It indicates that satisfactory progress is being made toward the thesis, dissertation or equivalent work. The grade of X is used until the thesis or dissertation is complete. When the thesis or dissertation is deposited, the grade for the final semester is S.
Enrollment
To be eligible for enrollment, the student must have been admitted to both the University and to the Graduate College before the registration period ends for any given semester.
ENROLLMENT APPROVAL
All enrollments must be approved by the academic unit adviser or, in the case of unclassified students, by the Graduate Dean if no academic unit adviser has been assigned. A student whose initial enrollment in the University of Oklahoma is during the summer session will be subject to the University of Oklahoma catalog or bulletin in effect for the academic year following that summer.
ASSIGNMENT OF AN ADVISER
Although the Graduate Dean is a general adviser for all graduate students, a student is under the immediate direction of a graduate adviser in the academic unit of the major field. With the permission of the academic unit, students admitted in Unclassified status may be assigned a graduate adviser in the academic unit most closely related to their academic interest. All other students admitted as unclassified should report directly to the Graduate College for advising.
FULL-TIME AND MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT
Full-time enrollment for a graduate student is nine or more credit hours during the fall and spring semesters; four or more credit hours during the summer session. Audit courses do not count towards the number of hours. A student may not carry more than 16 hours per regular semester nor more than nine hours per summer session without the permission of the Graduate Dean.
ENROLLMENT OF GRADUATE ASSISTANTS
A graduate assistant holding a 0.5 FTE appointment will be required to enroll in at least six credit hours during the fall and spring semesters and at least three credit hours for a summer session to be classified as a full-time student in the Graduate College. Students appointed to graduate assistantships should note in the Graduate Assistant Handbook the special rules applying to them. Graduate assistants with 0.5 FTE appointments enrolled in less than nine hours are not considered full-time for financial aid purposes. A minimum of six hours of enrollment is required to receive funds as a part-time student from the Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant program. Programs with higher minimum enrollment requirements than those listed in this section shall so indicate in that section of the General Catalog which specifically describes their program. This information is also available in the academic unit and the Graduate College.
ENROLLMENT OF UNDERGRADUATES IN GRADUATE COURSES
Eligibility
Qualified junior or senior undergraduates at the University of Oklahoma may, with permission from the academic unit, enroll in 5000-level graduate courses. Undergraduates may not enroll in 6000-level courses except by permission of the academic unit and the Graduate Dean.
Application for Graduate Credit
To apply for graduate credit, undergraduates must have a minimum overall grade point average of 3.00. The student must submit to the Graduate College the Application for Graduate Credit for Courses Taken During the Junior and Senior Years. The application must be submitted by the end of the second week of enrollment in the class for which graduate credit is requested.
To enroll in the course for graduate credit, the student must receive permission from:
The approval of the instructor signifies that the junior or senior will be graded at the same level as the graduate students in the class.
Earning Graduate Credit
Credit for courses earning graduate credit may not be applied toward the bachelor’s degree. Conversely, courses applied toward a bachelor’s degree may not be applied toward a graduate degree. When the student has completed the requirements for the bachelor’s degree, the Graduate College will request that the student’s undergraduate college verify that the course was not required for the bachelor’s degree and that a grade of A, B, or S was earned in the course. If all of the above stipulations are satisfied, the Office of Academic Records will note on the student’s transcript that graduate credit was earned in the course.
Limitations
Each graduate degree has a prescribed set of courses required for that degree, and not all graduate-level courses can be applied to fulfill those requirements. Therefore, prior to enrolling in graduate-level courses, the student should consult with the academic unit from which he or she plans to receive a graduate degree to plan an appropriate program.
ENROLLMENT IN OU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER COURSES
A graduate student may enroll in graduate courses at the OU Health Sciences Center if they are appropriate for the degree sought. At the time of registration, a brief form for inter-campus registration must be completed at the Office of Admissions on the Norman campus. The courses taken will be reported and listed on the transcript of the student in the same manner as courses taken on this campus. Tuition waivers awarded from the Norman campus Graduate College may not apply to courses taken at the OU Health Sciences Center. Consult with the Graduate College for additional information.
ENROLLMENT IN LAW COURSES
The College of Law will allow graduate students at the University of Oklahoma to enroll in College of Law courses as long as the graduate student has the advance approval of: the student’s Dean or academic unit chair; the Dean or Associate Dean of the College of Law; and the professor teaching the course.
The course must be determined by the graduate student’s academic unit to beneficially contribute to the student’s graduate degree program. Of necessity, students desiring to take College of Law courses will only be allowed to do so after law students have enrolled and space remains in the class. Tuition waivers awarded from the Norman campus Graduate College do not apply to courses taken at the OU College of Law.
Grading Scale
Graduate students enrolled in College of Law courses may be graded on an S/U grading scale. Students who receive at least a 4 on the College of Law grading scale will be accorded an S in the course whereas those students receiving below this will receive a U.
ENROLLMENT IN A GRADUATE PROGRAM AT ANOTHER UNIVERSITY
A University of Oklahoma graduate student must have the approval of the Graduate Dean to enroll concurrently in a graduate program at another university. Failure to obtain this approval could lead to disenrollment as a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma.
Auditing Courses
A graduate student may enroll as an auditor with the approval of the course instructor. Junior and senior undergraduate students may audit 5000-level courses if they have received permission from the instructor and the academic unit. Undergraduates may not audit 6000-level courses, except with the permission of the instructor, the academic unit and the Graduate Dean.
Degree Completion
To qualify for a higher graduate degree, students must achieve an overall grade point average of 3.00 or higher in the degree program coursework and in all resident graduate coursework attempted. A student must also have at least a 3.00 in all coursework (undergraduate and graduate combined) attempted. All these grade point calculations are based on coursework attempted since the completion of the most recent degree earned at the University of Oklahoma.
APPLICATION FOR GRADUATION
Students must apply for the appropriate degree early within the semester in which they propose to graduate. The “Application for Graduation” must be filed with the Office of Academic Records indicating the student’s name exactly as it is to appear on the diploma and giving the exact date for which the student was admitted to candidacy.
GRADUATION
Degrees are conferred at the regular commencement exercises in May and in absentia at the end of the fall semester and summer session. Attendance at the commencement exercises when the degree is conferred is requested of all candidates. Appropriate academic attire must be worn. The Graduate College will not approve any changes in the student’s permanent record once the graduate degree is awarded.