On-Leave status entitles students in good standing to use the University libraries and maintain access to their email accounts. They are NOT entitled to extensive faculty and staff counsel, examinations of any type (except for language competency), thesis/dissertation filing, University housing, student insurance, or any form of financial assistance. Students may use the Hall Health Primary Care Center on a pay-for-service basis and can pay to use the IMA.

Policy

To maintain graduate status, a student must be enrolled on a full-time, part-time, or official On-Leave basis from the time of first enrollment in the Graduate School until completion of all requirements for the graduate degree. (Summer quarter On-Leave enrollment is automatic for all graduate students who were either registered or officially On-Leave during the prior Spring Quarter.) Any student who fails to register for classes or On-Leave status after being admitted to the UW will need to reapply to the Graduate School if he/she wishes to be considered for readmission by his/her program. Failure to maintain either continuous enrollment or On-Leave status constitutes evidence that the student has resigned from the Graduate School.

To be eligible for On-Leave status, the student must have registered for, and completed at least one quarter as a graduate student at the University of Washington immediately prior to going on-leave; international students must complete three consecutive quarters (see International Graduate Students section below).

Registration is required to take the master’s final examination or doctoral general or final examinations. Students may either be registered or eligible to use the Graduate Degree Late Fee for filing the Request for Master’s Degree, submitting a thesis or dissertation, and receiving the degree.

Any student who has registered for a quarter may NOT submit a Petition for On-Leave Status form directly to the Registration Office for that quarter unless he/she officially withdraws from all courses before the first day of the quarter. Students who have been registered for even one day of a quarter are deemed to have status for the quarter and will be eligible to register for classes or apply for On-Leave for the following quarter (Spring enables registration for Summer or Autumn); the student’s e-mail account will be active for the quarter, but library privileges will not be maintained once courses are dropped. (See Procedure section below if On-Leave status is desired after the first day of the quarter and courses were not dropped before the quarter began.)

If a student who is in On-Leave status registers in any other status, i.e. Extension, Non-matriculated, Graduate Non-matriculated, etc., it will terminate their official On-Leave status for that quarter, even if they subsequently drop those courses.

International Graduate Students

International graduate students must be registered full time, (10 or more credits) for three consecutive quarters in order to be eligible for On-Leave status. It is the student's responsibility to know and be in compliance with F-1 student immigration requirements.

Recent changes in Immigration Law assess severe penalties to those who violate their immigration status. Penalties can bar a person's return to the U.S. for up to ten years. International graduate students must follow the On-Leave Status procedures stated below to ensure that F-1 student immigration status remains valid. When the Petition for On-Leave Status form has been approved by the graduate program, the student must take the On-Leave Graduate Student Card to the International Services Office, Room 459, Schmitz Hall and consult with an international student advisor who will then document the On-leave status in the U.S. Immigration system.

Procedure

Seattle Campus: A Petition for On-Leave Status form may be secured from the department, the Registration Office in 225 Schmitz Hall or Graduate Student Services in G1 Communications Bldg. This form must be approved by the departmental, faculty Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) and submitted to the Seattle Campus Registration Office (225 Schmitz Hall, Box 355850, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-5850), no later than 5:00 PM of the fifth day of the quarter. A nonrefundable fee is either mailed with the form to the above address, or paid to the Cashier’s Office (129 Schmitz Hall). With departmental permission, a student may go On-Leave for up to four consecutive quarters at one time. If a student wishes to remain in On-Leave status for more than 4 consecutive quarters, the student must submit another Petition for On-Leave Status form as well as another fee.

If a student (from any UW campus) failed to drop classes before the first day of the quarter, and the department GPC believes On-Leave status is needed for the quarter (i.e. it would work a hardship on the student to be without UW library privileges for the current quarter), the form will first have to be brought to the Graduate Student Services (GSS) office in G1 Communications before being presented to the Registration Office. The Registration Office will not accept forms from students who have been registered for any portion of the quarter without the additional signatures of GSS staff. Remember, students who have been registered for any portion of a quarter are eligible to register for classes, or file for On-Leave status during the immediately subsequent quarter.
 

Readmission to the Graduate School if On-Leave Status was not Secured and Registration not Maintained

A student previously registered in the Graduate School who has failed to maintain graduate student status but wishes later to resume studies must file the on-line application for readmission to the Graduate School (click here) by the regularly published closing dates. If the student is readmitted by the department, registration will occur during the usual registration period. If the student has attended any other institution during the period when not registered at the University of Washington, official transcripts must be submitted. An application for readmission carries no preference and is treated in the same manner as an application for initial admission, including the required payment of the application fee.
 

Time to Degree and Limits for On-Leave Status

The Graduate School normally allows six years to complete requirements for a master's degree and ten years for doctoral degree. Periods spent On-Leave or out of status are included in these limits. Before approving a Petition for On-Leave Status for a student whose leave period will take them in excess of these limits, the department must first file a Petition to the Dean of the Graduate School (via MyGradProgram) explaining why this action is being requested. This Petition to the Dean must be approved by the Graduate School before the Petition for On-Leave Status is filed.