Scholarship Requirements

SCHOLARSHIP REQUIREMENTS

A student failing to receive a minimum acceptable grade in a course for graduate credit may not continue his/her program of studies without permission of the Supervisory Committee or the program Graduate Committee concerned. The committee's decision, along with an appropriate explanation and justification, must be filed in the Graduate Studies Office.

To receive credit in didactic and seminar-type graduate level courses, it is expected that students will perform at the level of B or above in any course that is offered for graduate credit. However, a minimum grade of C may be acceptable for graduate level courses, but receipt of two grades of C may be cause for dismissal. Any grade below C is not acceptable for graduate credit.

A student who fails to maintain an overall grade point average of at least 3.0 in any given semester will automatically be on academic probation and may not continue his/her program of study without special permission of the Dean for Graduate Studies acting on the recommendation of the appropriate graduate or supervisory committee. The recommendation must include a review of the student’s status and a program of remediation. To continue in the Graduate Studies program, the student must remove the probationary status (i.e., return to an overall 3.0 grade point average) within the next twelve (12) months.

Because research activities comprise a major part of the endeavors of graduate students, excellence in research is expected of all students. Therefore, a failing grade in any research activity (non-thesis research, Master’s Thesis, or Doctoral Dissertation) may be grounds for dismissal.

The above minimum scholarship requirements apply to ALL students enrolled in ANY course for graduate credit. Additional requirements may exist for certain graduate programs and departments as set forth in this Bulletin, in the departmental course listings and/or in department/program descriptions which may be provided to students at the time of admission.

If a student fails to pass the comprehensive examination or the final oral examination (defense of thesis/dissertation) for an advanced degree, his/her committee must report to the Graduate Studies Office, within seven days of the examination, the failure together with the committee’s recommended action. If this recommendation allows another examination, the committee should indicate what the student must do prior to such re-examination. No student shall be permitted to take either the comprehensive or final oral examination more than twice and the student must wait a minimum of three months before retaking the examination.

Grading System.

Graduate students are graded by letter grades as follows: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, P (Pass), F (Fail), WP (Withdrew Passing), WF (Withdrew Failing), and I (Incomplete). Only a Pass/Fail grade is to be used for research projects, thesis or dissertation work.

The grade of "I" is to be used by an instructor at the end of a term to designate incomplete work in a course. It is used when a student, due to extenuating circumstances such as illness, military service, hardship or death in the immediate family, is unable to complete the requirements of the course in the term in which the student is registered for credit. A grade of Incomplete is given only if a student has already substantially completed the major requirements of a course. Each instructor must judge each situation.

The instructor must also indicate by a departmental record, with a copy to the student, how and by when the Incomplete is to be removed, and if he/she is at the University at the time of the removal, supervise the makeup work and report the permanent grade. In the event that the instructor is not available at the time of the student’s application for removal of an Incomplete, the department chairperson shall supervise the removal of the Incomplete and turn in the permanent grade for the student.

Grades of Incomplete must be completed within one semester after they have been awarded or they will be automatically changed to a grade of F. Any extensions to the one-semester time frame must be arranged with the Dean for Graduate Studies prior to the Incomplete being changed to a grade of F.

A student with two or more current grades of Incomplete will not be permitted to enroll in any new courses until the number of current Incomplete grades becomes less than two.

All grades of "I" on courses which are part of the degree requirements must be removed at least one month before the final oral/written examination for the Master’s or Ph.D. degrees.

The following quality points are given for courses completed:

Grade point averages are determined by multiplying the quality points earned in each course by the number of credit hours for that course, adding the products for all courses, and then dividing the sum by the total number of credit hours in which quality points were earned. Grades of Pass are not used in determining grade point averages.

A student may repeat a course in which he/she has previously received an unsatisfactory grade with the approval of the student’s advisor, course instructor, and the Dean for Graduate Studies. A student registering for such a course should notify the Office of Academic Records of re-registration in the course. Both grades will appear on the transcript but only the last grade will be used in determining the grade point average.

Transfer of Credit

All graduate credits to be counted toward the satisfaction of subdoctoral degree requirements — including all transfer credits — must be approved and recommended by the cognizant Graduate Committee of the student’s major department or area. Not less than 50 percent of the course work required for any subdoctoral graduate degree must be completed at the University of Nebraska.

No graduate credit will be accepted for transfer unless earned at an institution fully accredited to offer graduate work; nor should the student expect any graduate credits to be transferred unless the Graduate Committee evaluates the quality and suitability as equal to or superior to offerings available at the University of Nebraska.

Students should order official transcripts of graduate work taken elsewhere at least one semester before the student intends to graduate. Transcripts should be sent to the Graduate Studies Office, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 987810 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-7810.