Admission as a Nondegree Student
A person who would like to take graduate coursework without becoming a candidate for an advanced degree may apply for admission to a graduate program as a nondegree student. Admission as a nondegree student is not available in all graduate programs. Enrollment as a nondegree student is normally limited to one year. Nondegree students are not eligible to be teaching assistants, assistant instructors, graduate research assistants, academic assistants, assistants (graduate), or tutors (graduate).
The applicant must submit an application and transcripts of all college coursework to the Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC); Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) scores are not required unless otherwise specified by the graduate program. International students whose native language is not English must also submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) unless otherwise exempt . Admission must be recommended by the Graduate Studies Committee for the program and approved by the graduate dean.
A graduate nondegree student who later wishes to seek a graduate degree must meet the requirements for admission, submit all required materials and items by the program’s deadline, and must pay the usual application fee. A degree-seeking student may petition to have applied to the master’s degree up to six semester hours of graduate credit earned while he or she was a graduate nondegree student.
Exchange students. A graduate student who is admitted to the University through a reciprocal exchange program is classified as a nondegree student. An exchange student may not register for more than two long-session semesters and one summer session. The transferability of academic credit to the student’s home institution is determined by the home institution.
An exchange student who wishes to take a graduate course must obtain the approval of the instructor and of the graduate advisor for the program that offers the course, must meet all course prerequisites, and must meet any other requirements affecting nondegree students. An exchange student may later apply for admission to the University as a degree-seeking graduate student. To do so, he or she must submit the usual test scores, application fee, and other required material by the graduate program’s deadline.
Exchange students admitted as graduate nondegree students. If a graduate nondegree exchange student is later admitted to the Graduate School as a degree seeker, the Graduate Studies Committee may ask for the graduate dean’s approval to include on the student’s master’s degree Program of Work up to six hours of graduate coursework that he or she completed as a graduate nondegree exchange student. All requirements related to courses that may be counted toward graduate degrees apply, including rules concerning courses counted toward another degree.
Exchange students admitted as undergraduate nondegree students. If an undergraduate nondegree exchange student is later admitted to the Graduate School, graduate courses that he or she took as an undergraduate nondegree exchange student may not be counted toward a graduate degree.