Academic Requirements, Policies, and Procedures

Continuous enrollment

All full and part-time graduate students must maintain continuous enrollment at Washington State University from their first semester until their degree is completed, regardless of campus location.  

To maintain continuous enrollment, students on all campuses must register for at least 2 graduate credits per enrolled semester, excluding summer except under circumstances directed by their advisor, such as summer thesis/dissertation defenses.  

Doctoral students who have successfully completed their preliminary qualifying exams, all their program requirements except for their completed dissertation & final exam, and who no longer have available funding may enter continuous doctoral status (CDS). CDS allows doctoral students to continue working on their dissertation without enrolling for credit for the number of semesters allotted by the graduate school after the successful completion of the student’s preliminary qualifying exams (usually 4 years from the date of passed exam). To enter CDS, doctoral students simply do not sign up for credits and will be automatically placed in CDS. Students who have not completed their dissertation within this post-prelim time limit will need to request an official extension. 

Students unable to maintain continuous enrollment (e.g., medical, family, financial, military service) may also apply for a graduate leave of absence.  

See chapter 5 of the Graduate School Policies & Procedures Manual for more information on continuous enrollment policies.

Normal Academic Load

The Graduate School defines a normal academic courseload as being between 10-12 credits. Some circumstances may require more than this. However, students should do their best to maintain a 10-12 credit courseload for a majority of their degree, as it can put students above the credit limit for satisfactory progress and may potentially impact their financial aid.

Minimum GPA 

All WSU graduate students must maintain a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA to be considered in good academic standing at the University.

Failure to do so may result in probationary status or termination from the graduate program. Please see the Graduate School Policies and Procedures Manual for more details on minimum GPA requirements.

Total Credits & Satisfactory Academic Process 

Students must satisfy a certain number of credits per degree prior to submitting their program of study for it to be approved by their advisors and the Graduate School. These requirements are listed below. Also, students must take a minimum of 10 WSU credits per semester to be considered full-time.  

Students on assistantship (RA, TA, or GA) must maintain full-time status during any semester in which they have an assistantship. These may be any combination of graded and/or research credits.

Students should read the program requirements in this handbook, listed in summary below. To track these requirements, use the Graduate School’s Program of Study form. 

• Master’s thesis-track degrees: No less than 30 hours of approved graduate credit including a minimum of 21 hours of graded coursework, 1 credit of SOE 501 Graduate Skills Seminar, and 4 hours of 700 master’s research. Of these 21 hours of coursework, the student may use up to 6 credits of non- graduate level credit (300 or 400 level) with the approval of their department. 
• Master’s non-thesis degrees: No less than 30 hours of approved graduate credit including a minimum of 26 hours of graded coursework, 1 credit of SOE 501 Graduate Skills Seminar, and a minimum of 4 hours of 702 master’s Research. Of these 26 hours of coursework, the student may use up to 9 credits of non- graduate level credit (300 or 400 level) with the approval of their department. 
• Doctoral Degrees: Of the minimum 15 hours of core graded coursework (students with an M.S.) or minimum 24 hours of core graded coursework (students without an M.S.) required on the Program of Study, 15 credits must be at the 500-level and taken at WSU.

Expectations for Research Credits: SOE 700/800

During the regular academic year (Fall and Spring semesters), academic research and training is required to measure academic progress through SOE 700 (MS level) or SOE 800 (PhD level) credits each term. With the help of their graduate advisor, students must complete a SOE 700/800 syllabus expectation plan within 14 business days of the beginning of the semester.  This form can be found on the graduate student resource page on the SOE website and on the Canvas page for SOE 700/800. Completing the form will be a formal assignment for SOE 700/800 and required for achieving a satisfactory grade.  Course expectations for SOE 700/800 include the following:

• Meet with the instructor in the first or second week of each semester to make a Semester Plan. The plan will include goals, due date or timeline, product (e.g., dataset, draft, code). The goals will align with the student’s phase of graduate school, field of study, career aspirations, and number of research credits.
• For every research credit, expect to work approximately of 3 hours per week. Intensity of research work may vary across the semester, so the focus will typically be on results rather than specific number hours worked.
• Meet with the instructor according to a schedule agreed upon by instructor and student (e.g., weekly or every other week).
• Make progress on the identified goals approved by student and instructor. Progress towards these goals and toward the completion of your degree will be considered in the evaluation of a satisfactory or unsatisfactory grade.
• Adhere to professional and ethical standards, including those detailed in the Graduate School Policies and Procedure Manual.
• The instructor and student should each keep a copy on file for the duration of the student’s graduate program.
• If the goals change substantially during the semester, the instructor and student may decide to create a new semester plan.

Whereas students are not typically enrolled in research credits during the summer, they are still expected to make progress on their academic research and training. Summer progress should be determined by the student’s graduate program and advisory committee and should align with their overall academic goals and timeline. Although the exact number of hours may fluctuate, students should anticipate spending a substantial amount of time on their academic work outside of their RA duties to ensure satisfactory progress in their graduate program

WSU Graduate School policy states that two unsatisfactory (U) marks on a student’s research credits (SOE 700, SOE 702, or SOE 800) on their transcript is automatic grounds for dismissal by the Graduate School. Students and advisors should therefore meet as soon as possible after foreseeing a potential problem with research during a semester (or, after a student’s first “U” grade) to discuss plans for meeting research requirements within the constraints of Graduate Policy for the following semester. Graduate students and advisors should let the Associate Director of Graduate Studies & the department Graduate Coordinator know as soon as possible that a student has received a “U” grade, and the “U” should be mentioned on the student’s annual review. If advisors wish to continue working with a graduate student after they receive two unsatisfactory grades on their research credits, the department Graduate Coordinator will need to write an exception to policy memo for the Graduate School. Please contact the Graduate Coordinator to facilitate this process.