Undergraduates Taking Graduate Courses

PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to set forth the university’s expectations and guidelines regarding the determination of academic credit for coursework.

POLICY
Undergraduate students are expected to complete their degree requirements using undergraduate courses. On occasion, undergraduate students may use graduate courses to fulfill the minimum of 120 credit hours required for graduation. Only students with senior standing (students having completed 90 or more credit hours) and a minimum GPA of 3.0 may request to take one graduate course per semester. Students must request and obtain approval from the chair or program director of the program offering the graduate class and the chair or program director of their undergraduate major, as well as the associate dean of the graduate program, prior to enrolling in a graduate course. Undergraduate students may only take a total of two graduate courses as undergraduates and are generally limited to courses numbered 500-599. In exceptional cases, students may request to take courses at the 600-level or higher, using the same procedures. Any graduate courses taken under this policy will appear on a student’s undergraduate transcript and the grades earned will factor into the student’s undergraduate grade point average.

Undergraduate students pursuing university-approved undergraduate and graduate curricula (4+1 programs), should follow the curriculum map of their program(s). Any graduate courses taken under this policy will appear on a student’s graduate transcript and the grades earned will factor into the student’s graduate grade point average, unless the courses are needed to meet the 120 credit undergraduate minimum requirement. In that case, the chair or program director requests that they be counted as undergraduate credits. Regardless of the number of graduate credits completed as an undergraduate, a minimum of 24 graduate credits must be taken at the graduate level while enrolled as a graduate student.

Undergraduates enrolled in programs in which the bachelors and masters degrees are awarded simultaneously (NYSED approved 5 year programs), should follow the curriculum map of the program. For students in these programs, the chair or program director will designate graduate courses that may be taken as an undergraduate student, but all students shall take a minimum of 24 graduate credits as a graduate student.

If students have less than 24 credits remaining in the graduate curriculum, they will take electives to complete the minimum number of credits required.