Academic Standards

Grade Point Average

A student is required to maintain at least a B (3.00) average in all work attempted while enrolled in the Graduate School, and must have at least a 3.00 cumulative average to receive a graduate degree.

Nonacceptable Grades

  1. A student who receives a grade of C or below in a course may petition to repeat that course once, provided the course has not been previously applied toward a degree.
  2. Courses in which grades below B- (2.70) are received are not accepted for doctoral programs.
  3. Courses in which grades below C (2.00) are received are not accepted for master’s degree programs or for the removal of academic deficiencies.
  4. Courses taken toward the fulfillment of requirements for graduate degrees may not be taken pass/fail.

Probation

A student whose cumulative GPA falls below 3.00 is placed on academic probation. The student has two semesters in which to raise the cumulative GPA to 3.00 or above. If the student’s cumulative GPA is at or below 2.50, a dean’s administrative stop is placed on the student’s record, and the student may be withdrawn from course work for upcoming semesters.

If, after the two-semester probationary period, the student’s cumulative GPA is still below 3.00 or if other conditions placed by the major department or Graduate School are not met, a dean’s administrative stop will be placed on the student’s record and he or she may be subject to dismissal.

A provisionally admitted student whose GPA falls below 3.00 has a dean’s administrative stop placed on his or her record pending a review by the major department and the Graduate School.

No Credit

Course work to be applied toward an advanced degree may not be taken for no credit (NC). Courses taken for no credit cannot be used toward the minimum credit load requirement for full-time or half-time status.

Pass/Fail

No course work to be applied toward an advanced degree may be taken pass/fail.

Student Ethics

Students are expected to adhere to the highest codes of personal and professional ethics. Students who do not adhere to written guidelines regarding academic honesty and/or academic or research ethics may be dealt with according to the appropriate policy documents. Students found guilty of misconduct in any of these areas may have sanctions imposed, or may be dismissed from CU-Boulder.