Course and Credit Regulations

A. Classification of Courses

(Courses numbered below 400 are offered only for undergraduate credit.)

B. Course Limitations and Restrictions

1. General limitations on graduate coursework include the following:
   
   1. Only courses approved by the Graduate Council may be taken for graduate credit.
   2. A student cannot receive graduate credit for any course without having been admitted to the Graduate School prior to enrolling in the course. A student cannot receive graduate credit for any course in which a freshman or sophomore student is enrolled.
2. Graduate credit cannot be earned for a course previously completed for undergraduate credit with an undergraduate grade recorded. The course may not be rescheduled for graduate credit, nor may the undergraduate credit be changed retroactively to graduate credit.
3. Credits applied toward a non-doctoral degree may not be older than six years.
4. Graduate credit cannot be earned through credit examinations.
5. A non-doctoral student may earn a maximum of 6 semester-hours of graduate credit for application toward a graduate degree in courses in the sequence 497-498, 597-598, and 697-698 or in other individual or special-studies courses. A doctoral student may earn a maximum of 12 hours of credit in such courses for application toward the Ph.D. degree.

C. Course Load

1. The maximum course load for a graduate student is 16 semester hours during a regular semester or 9 during a summer session. Under special circumstances, a student registered for graduate work may also pursue undergraduate courses for undergraduate credit. In such cases, the maximum number of hours, both graduate and undergraduate, is 16 during a regular semester or 9 during a summer session.
2. To qualify as a full-time student, a graduate student must carry a minimum of 9 semester credit hours during a regular semester and a minimum of 6 semester credit hours during a summer session.
3. No specific minima are specified for part-time students. The course load for a part-time student shall be adjusted according to the time devoted to graduate classes, research, and study.
4. A graduate assistant must be a full-time student during any semester in which an assistantship is held. The academic load for a graduate assistant shall be adjusted to fit the particular situation. Assistants with full assistantship responsibilities must take 9 semester hours of graduate-level courses during a semester.

D. Transfer of Credit

1. The Graduate School recognizes the appropriateness of accepting credits completed at another regionally-accredited institution for coursework there that is equivalent to coursework here. The principle involved is one of correspondence between credit asked for and credit offered in the Graduate School. A maximum of 12 semester hours of transfer graduate credit may be applied toward fulfillment of requirements for the master’s degree. The number of hours transferred may not, however, exceed one-third of the semester hours required for the degree. The maximum number which can be transferred in a 30 or 33 hour program is 9. An unspecified number of semester hours of transfer graduate credit may be applied toward fulfillment of requirements toward the doctoral degree, but the majority of credits toward a graduate degree must be earned at UL Lafayette. Transfer of graduate credit requires the approval of the Dean of the Graduate School and is subject to the following conditions:
   
   1. The student must be a degree-seeking student in regular admission status. A student may not have graduate credits transferred to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette while in conditional status.
   2. The student shall have earned the credits in residence as a graduate student in an accredited United States institution that regularly grants the master’s degree and/or the doctoral degree. Transfer credits from non-U.S. institutions may be granted upon special petition to the Graduate Appeals Committee. In such cases, the evidence presented in favor of transfer shall be extremely persuasive.
   3. The credits must not have been earned after having become ineligible to continue graduate study at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
   4. Each course transferred must be acceptable to the student’s major department.
   5. A grade of B or better must have been earned in each course.
   6. Time limitations must be satisfied. Credits applied toward a master’s degree may not be older than six years; seven years for a doctoral degree.
   7. The application for transfer must be made in writing according to the procedure specified by the Graduate School office.
   8. A University of Louisiana at Lafayette graduate student wishing to earn course credits at another institution to be applied toward completion of degree requirements is urged first to secure prior written permission from the major department and the Dean of the Graduate School.
2. Transfer of credit shall not reduce minimum residence requirements.
3. Written notification of the action taken on a transfer request will be given to the student.
4. Transfer of graduate credit does not automatically mean application of such credit toward completion of degree requirements. Use of transferred credits for a curriculum other than the one for which they were originally intended requires approval of the department concerned and the Dean of the Graduate School.
5. A student wishing to use credits earned while in Entrée status toward completion of degree requirements must have such credits transferred to the degree program, meeting all the appropriate conditions specified above. No more than 2 courses taken while in Entrée status can be applied to the fulfillment of degree requirements.
6. In the case of multiple master’s degrees, as many as 9 semester hours of graduate credit earned at a regionally accredited American institution and applied toward one master’s degree may be used towards a second master’s degree. The department in which the second degree is pursued and the Dean of the Graduate School must both approve the request. Credit toward a second master’s degree may not be at variance with regulations regarding residence requirements, grade-point average, or restrictions on transfer of credit.