Minimum Registration Requirements
There are minimum hour registration requirements for an academic year, and every student must comply to remain an active graduate student. Please keep in mind that by only meeting these minimum requirements you are considered a part-time student; for full-time status there are different requirements.
| Requirement | Credits Required |
|---|---|
| If you are a new graduate student, you must register for a minimum of 2.0 hours in the semester or term you are admitted. | 2.0 Hours |
| Any time you use University facilities and/or faculty time, you must register for at least 2 credit hours. | 2.0 Hours |
| The semester of the oral defense of your thesis, project, or dissertation, you must be registered for at least 2.0 credit hours. | 2.0 Hours |
| The semester you are graduating (receive your diploma), you must be registered for at least 2.0 credit hours (1 hour for June graduates). | 2.0 Hours (1 hour for June graduates) |
To retain active status in your graduate program, you must receive acceptable grades in at least 6.0 credit hours each academic year (September through August)*. NOTE: Departments may require more registration each academic year. | 6.0 Hours |
*D, E, W, NS and I grades do not count towards the minimum registration requirement, nor do audit or independent study courses.
If you do not fulfill the minimum registration requirement within an academic year, you are dropped from your graduate program.
International students have different minimum registration requirements. For more information, please go to Full-Time Status.
Should you lose your graduate status, you must apply to "resume" your graduate studies if you decide to complete your graduate degree later (see Application to Resume Graduate Studies). Note: You must still be within the 5 year time limit for masters students when you graduate; or within the 8 year time limit for doctoral students when you graduate.
Students who are graduating must be registered for a minimum of 2 credit hours (1 hour for June graduates) when they defend and when they graduate. It is preferred that you register for dissertation, thesis, project, or internship hours.
| Semester/Term of Graduation | Hours Required (Part-time) |
|---|---|
| Fall | 2.0 Hours |
| Winter | 2.0 Hours |
| Spring | 1.0 Hours |
| Summer | 1.0 Hour Spring and 1.0 Summer; OR 2.0 Hours Spring; OR 2.0 Hours Summer |
- Students admitted Fall semester must register for at least two credit hours Fall and at least four additional credit hours by summer term.
- Students admitted Winter semester must register for at least two credit hours Winter and at least two additional credit hours by summer term.
- Students admitted Spring term must register for at least two credit hours Spring term
- Students admitted Summer term must register for at least two credit hours Summer term
- In subsequent years, all students will complete at least six credit hours per academic year.
- If a student applies for graduation, but does not complete all requirements within the academic year, the yearly six credit hour minimum registration requirement is still applicable.
- Your graduate program may have additional annual registration requirements beyond these university minimums.
- International students must register for at least 9 credit hours in both Fall and Winter semesters to fulfill U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requirements. Questions should be directed to International Services Office at 1351 Wilkinson Student Center (WSC).
Occasionally students in a non-thesis program have completed all course work and have nothing to register for when they graduate. When that occurs, you may pay for 2 hours by contacting Graduate Studies (same as tuition) to fulfill this requirement.