GRADUATE STUDENT CLASSIFICATION

A graduate student is defined as any student who holds an undergraduate degree from a four-year institution accredited by a regional accreditation body. All students taking graduate courses must apply for admission to the Office of Graduate Studies and Research. At that time, each student is placed in one of the following student classifications:

1. Degree-Seeking Graduate Students: A student pursuing a program of study leading to a Master's Degree or to a Specialist Degree. To be classified as a degree graduate candidate, a student must meet the requirements for admission to degree status as stated by the Office of Graduate Studies and Research and by the appropriate department or program.
2. Non-Degree Graduate Student: Non-degree graduate students are those who do not wish to pursue an advanced degree or who have not yet completed all admission requirements for degree admission. Non-degree students may register for undergraduate or selected graduate courses for such purposes as certification, self-improvement, or employment requirements. Students in this status are not limited in the number of hours completed, although only 12 graduate hours taken in this status can apply to a graduate program. Certain non-degree classifications allow students to obtain financial aid. These classifications are: initial certification, additional endorsements, and pre-master's coursework.
3. Senior (undergraduate) Student: A student requiring fifteen hours or fewer for the Bachelor's Degree may be allowed to enroll in graduate classes. Qualified students must have a G.P.A. of 3.00 or higher, will not be permitted to register for more than six semester hours of graduate courses, and the maximum load of undergraduate-graduate hours may be no more than twelve hours.
    
   Enrollment must be approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, the instructor or department chair, and the student's advisor. Graduate courses taken to complete requirements for the Bachelor's Degree may not be used subsequently to satisfy requirements for a graduate degree. However, graduate courses not applied to the baccalaureate degree may be applied toward a graduate degree.