Policies Governing Graduate Students

There are various policies that govern the way graduate students move through the various stages of their degree. On this page you will find information about some of those.
 

• Final Quarter Registration
  A student must maintain registration as a full- or part-time graduate student at the University for the quarter the master's degree, the candidate certificate, or doctoral degree is conferred.  
   
• Full-time Enrollment
  Full-time quarterly enrollment for graduate students is 10 credits.
   
• Repeating Courses
  Graduate students may repeat any course. Both the first and second grades will be included in the cumulative GPA. Subsequent grades will not be included, but will appear on the permanent record. The number of credits earned in the course will apply toward degree requirements only once.
    
• Withdrawal
  Withdrawal policies are located in the University of Washington Time Schedule: http://www.washington.edu/students/reg/wdoffleave.html  
   

• Enrollment Requirements:
  The enrollment requirement for the master's degree is 36 credits, 30 of which must be taken at the University of Washington.

  For the doctoral degree, the enrollment requirement is 90 credits, 60 of which must be taken at the University of Washington. With the approval of the degree-granting unit, an appropriate master's degree from an accredited institution may substitute for (30 credits) of enrollment.  Doctoral Study requires an immersion in an academic field and its intellectual community.  Degree-granting units may require a period of full-time and/or on-site study.

  Only courses numbered 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 can be applied to enrollment or course credit in the major field for advanced degrees (please see Graduate Courses earlier in this section regarding courses numbered 498 and 499). Courses numbered 300 are not applicable to enrollment or course credit toward advanced degrees except when applied by permission of the graduate program coordinator or supervisory committee toward the graduate minor or supporting courses. Courses numbered below 300 are not applicable to enrollment or course credit for advanced degrees.

   
• Transfer credit

  A student working toward the master's degree may petition the Dean of the Graduate School for permission to transfer to the UW the equivalent of a maximum of 6 quarter credits of graduate level course work taken while a registered graduate student in another accredited graduate school. These credits may not have been used to satisfy requirements for another degree. The petition must include a written recommendation from the graduate program coordinator and an official transcript indicating completion of the course work. Transfer credits are not entered on the UW transcript.

  University of Washington students who are within 6 credits of completing their undergraduate degree and who have met the requirements for admission to the Graduate School may register the quarter immediately preceding admission to Graduate School for up to 6 credits in 500-level courses in addition to the last 6 credits they require of undergraduate work. The graduate program which has admitted the student must approve registration for the courses. The student, after admission to the Graduate School, must file a petition with the Dean of the Graduate School to transfer the 6 credits.  The student must also provide a letter from the office of Graduations and Academic Records stating that these credits have not been applied toward the undergraduate degree.

  Approved transfer credits are applied toward total credit count for the master's degree only. (Transfer credits are not applicable toward a doctoral degree.)  The 18 quarter credits of numerically graded course work, and 18 quarter credits of 500-level-and-above course work may not be reduced by transfer credit.

  Credit taken as a non-matriculated student or post-baccalaureate student at the University of Washington may not be transferred into a graduate program. Credit by either independent study through correspondence or advanced credit examinations is not transferable.

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