A student is admitted to the Graduate College on full status or limited status and classified as a degree-seeking or non-degree student. The admission status is stated in the notice of admission letter. Students must have full graduate standing and be degree-seeking in order to be awarded a graduate degree.
Full Status
A student who meets all admission requirements set by the Graduate College may be approved for full status admission. However, if the admitting graduate program wishes to admit the student on limited status due to departmental deficiencies, the Graduate College will admit on limited status even if all normal minimum requirements are met.
Limited Status
A student who does not meet one or more of the admission requirements may be approved for limited status admission. Students must be in good standing by addressing all requirements in order to be awarded a graduate degree. There are different types of limited status:
- Limited status due to a lack of demonstrated English language proficiency. Students admitted with limited status due to lack of demonstrated English language proficiency will be required to take the English as a Second Language Placement Test (EPT) at the beginning of their first term of enrollment. The results of this test may satisfy this requirement or indicate that the student is required to complete additional English as a Second Language courses. The student must complete those required courses during their first year following enrollment at the university.
- Limited status due to low GPA or no comparable bachelor’s degree. Students are admitted on limited status and must meet their program’s minimum GPA requirements by the end of the first semester.
Non-Degree Status
There are a number of restrictions and conditions that apply to non-degree status. A non-degree student:
- may only receive an assistantship appointment if the non-degree status is a result of an exchange agreement that includes an appointment in the terms of the agreement or a petition to hold the assistantship is approved (one semester appointments only);
- is not eligible for financial aid administered by the Graduate College, such as fellowships and conference travel awards;
- must reapply for admission and pay the application fee if they wish to become a degree-seeking student;
- is limited to taking fewer than 12 hours per fall or spring semester (fewer than 6 hours in the summer), which means they are not considered to be full-time for most purposes; exceptions are BTAA Traveling Scholars and international students participating in special exchange programs for which full-time approval has been obtained from the Graduate College prior to admission;
- may have limits on transferring credit if subsequently admitted to and enrolled in a degree program.