A cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) is required for graduation. All graduate courses taken at YSU are included in the grade point average calculation. Good academic standing for graduate students is a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) for all graduate credit courses taken at YSU.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory academic progress at the graduate level is main­tained by satisfying the following criteria:

  • A degree-seeking graduate student must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). Any required course grade of D or F must be repeated and passed with a grade of C or better.
  • A degree-seeking graduate student must successfully meet the requirements, including the time requirement, of all comprehensive examinations of the degree program.
  • A degree-seeking graduate student must complete with a passing grade any thesis require­ments (or the equivalent) of the degree program.
  • A non-degree graduate student must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale).

Academic Suspension

A graduate student who is not maintaining satisfactory academic progress as determined by the graduate academic program director or department chairperson and graduate dean may be excluded from registration and dropped from the program in which he or she is enrolled. Such action constitutes academic dismissal from the College of Graduate Studies.

Upon completion of 9 semester hours, regularly admitted students who are “not in good standing” will be academically suspended if their semester GPA is below 3.0 for more than one semester.

Upon completion of 9 semester hours, provisionally admitted graduate students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). Provisional students whose GPA falls below a 3.0 will be academically suspended.

Students who fail to pass a comprehensive exam after three attempts will be academically suspended.

Any student in non-degree status whose cumulative grade point average drops below the minimum (3.0) will be prohibited from enrolling in further graduate coursework.

Registration for any session or continuous registration during a full summer counts as one semester for these purposes.

A graduate program may utilize additional academic standards to determine satisfactory academic progress and/or standards for academic suspension; however, such standards must be distributed in writing to all graduate students in the program and must be approved by the dean of The College of Graduate Studies.

Readmission Procedures

  • Under exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the Dean of The College of Graduate Studies, a program may readmit a suspended student. In such cases, the normal six-year limitation on coursework shall be applied.
  • Graduate students suspended for failing to maintain satisfactory academic progress may appeal their suspensions within one year in writing to the Graduate Council. The decision of the Council is final.
  • A graduate student who has been suspended for academic rea­sons may reapply to the College of Graduate Studies in order to begin a new degree program or to pursue studies in non-degree status. A readmitted graduate student is not permitted to register for any courses offered by the program from which he or she was academically suspended.