Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures

Graduate School Policies 

UW Student Conduct Code

Grading:

Graduate students must complete a minimum of 18 credits in numerically-graded (i.e., 0.0 to 4.0) courses.

• Numeric grades are entered as numbers, the possible values being 4.0, 3.9, . . . and decreasing by one-tenth until 1.7 is reached. Grades below 1.7 are recorded as 0.0 by the Registrar and no credit is earned.
• CR/NC (Credit/No-Credit) - Academic departments (not students) decide whether or not a course will be graded C/NC. In these courses, students do not have the option of receiving a numerical grade.
• S/NS (Satisfactory/Non Satisfactory) - During the registration process, the UW registration system allows students to request an S/NS grade option rather than a numerical grade. However, graduate students are advised not to request the S/NS option for iSchool courses because Information School courses taken for the S/NS grade will not count towards the degree.

Grade/GPA and Credit Requirements:

Graduate students at the University of Washington must earn a minimum grade of 2.7 in order for a course to be counted toward the MLIS degree. Graduate students are expected to maintain a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) at or above 3.0. Students whose GPA falls below 3.0 are considered to be making unsatisfactory progress and referred for low-scholarship action (e.g., academic warning, probation, drop) by the UW Graduate School and the Information School.

Credit Requirements for Full-Time and Part-Time Enrollment:

For the purposes of some financial aid, full-time students must be enrolled in at least ten credits per quarter and part-time students must be registered for a minimum of five credits per quarter. Students receiving financial aid should carefully check credit requirements for their particular financial aid package. Graduate Assistants (20-hour per week appointments) must register for a minimum of ten credits during the autumn, winter, and spring quarters. Summer quarter Graduate Assistants must register for a minimum of two credits.

Withdrawal from a Course:

Note the appropriate timeframes in which withdrawal is allowed by referring to the UW Academic Calendar.

For all state supported students including Informatics, MLIS Residential and the PhD program, please go to this link for information on how to withdraw from a course: http://www.washington.edu/students/reg/wdoffleave.html

For all fee-based students including MLIS Online and MSIM graduate programs, a request to drop or withdraw from a course must be submitted in writing to UW Professional & Continuing Education Registration Services. The request must include a signature if sent via mail. Email requests are acceptable only if the request comes from your email account listed in our records. If you fail to attend class, or if you only notify the instructor that you wish to drop the class, you have not officially withdrawn from the course. Please note that you cannot withdraw from a UW Educational Outreach course via MyUW. Mail, fax or email your request to:

UW Professional & Continuing Education
Registration Services
uweoreg@pce.uw.edu
4311 11th Ave NE
Seattle WA 98105
Fax: 206-685-9359

Transfer Credits:

MLIS and Day MSIM students may request to transfer in up to 12 quarter credits from another accredited institution if the credits meet certain University and School requirements. Exec MSIM students may request to transfer in up to 8 quarter credits. Requirements include that the student was registered as a graduate student at the time the courses were taken. View the complete list of transfer credit requirements and fill out the “Transfer of Credit Approval Form” found in the MSIM Student Guide or the MLIS Student Guide.

Final Quarter Registration:

A student must maintain registration as a full- or part-time graduate student at the University for the quarter the degree is conferred.

Continuous Enrollment: 

To maintain graduate student status at the University, students must be continuously enrolled (taking at least one course per quarter as a graduate student) every quarter except summer. Graduate students should request On-Leave Status (see below) if they are not able to be continuously enrolled.

On-Leave Status:

On-Leave Status allows students to remain in their program even if they are not registered for classes. This status may be granted for a maximum of four consecutive quarters. To be eligible for on-leave status, students must have completed at least one quarter of the program. Students who go “on leave” without formally requesting On-Leave Status may be required to reapply to the University of Washington and to the graduate degree program if they wish to return at a later date. To request On-Leave Status, go to www.grad.washington.edu/forms/on-leave-request.pdf, fill out and sign the form. Scan/email or fax the form to your academic advisor at least two weeks prior to the quarter in which you would like to go on-leave. The Associate Dean for Academics will review your request, and if approved will sign the form. The form will then be sent back to you via scan/email or fax. You must then mail the form to the UW Registrar’s Office along with the $35 payment by the 5^th calendar day of the quarter in which you are going on-leave. 

Six Year Completion Rule: 

The UW Graduate School requires that all work for the master’s degree be completed within a six-year period. Completion of all degree requirements is expected to occur within six calendar years from the student’s initial registration in the program, even if the student is not registered during some portion of that time. This includes absences of any kind including formal On-Leave quarters. In addition, transfer credits must also have been taken within the six-year period. If a student has valid reasons for delay and can demonstrate satisfactory progress toward completion of the program requirements, the student may petition to the UW Graduate School for an extension beyond six years.

Low Scholarship/Unsatisfactory Progress:

The Dean will issue a letter of concern each time a student appears on the Low Scholarship list. A copy of the letter will be placed in the student’s file. The student’s adviser will be alerted. 

• No Action: No Action will be reported to the Graduate School if the cumulative GPA is above 3.00.
• Warn: The Dean will issue a warning letter to students whose cumulative GPA has dropped slightly below 3.0 – i.e., 2.99 – 2.95
• Probation: A state of Probation is triggered if a student has a cumulative GPA less than 3.0 for two consecutive quarters.
• Final Probation: A state of Final Probation is triggered if a student has a cumulative GPA less than 3.0 for three consecutive quarters.
• Drop: A Drop recommendation is triggered if a student has a cumulative GPA less than 3.0 for four consecutive quarters. A Drop recommendation means immediate drop from the University of Washington. This is recommended for students who fail to progress toward completion of the graduate program.

Master’s Degree Request:

Submit your master’s degree request online with the Graduate School at the beginning of the quarter in which you intend to graduate. The request period commences on the first day of that quarter in which you intend to graduate until the Sunday of the seventh week of that same quarter. If you do not file a timely master's degree request (before the Sunday of the seventh week) you can pay a $250 Degree Late Fee and apply up until the Sunday of the ninth week of the quarter. For more detailed information view the Degree Late Fee policies and procedures.