Academic Details

Academic Details & Policies

Academic Load

Full-time students: are enrolled in a minimum of nine hours per semester and four hours during a summer term. 

Three quarter-time students: are enrolled in a minimum of seven hours per semester and three hours during a summer term. 

Half time students: are enrolled in a minimum of five hours per semester and two hours during a summer term.

Enrollments that exceed 16 hours during the fall and spring semester and nine hours during the summer term are exceptions and must be approved by the advisor and graduate dean. Additional credit may be earned via interim courses.

Advisement & Enrollment

When you are admitted to a degree program, you will be assigned an advisor in your major area of interest when the application for admission to a graduate program is approved. Advisors are available to assist you with enrollments and to provide general program information.

You have the final responsibility of insuring that program requirements are met.

Exceptions to requirements outlined in the Graduate Catalog must be approved by the advisor, chair, associate dean (where applicable), the dean of the academic unit, and the Graduate Dean.

Graduate students may pre-enroll on any of the enrollment dates listed in the course schedule or enroll during regular registration. For the fall and spring semesters, a special registration is held on the first Monday night evening classes are scheduled.

Candidacy for the Master's Degree

Admission to graduate studies and to a degree program is not the equivalent of Admission to Candidacy for the master's degree. It is your responsibility to initiate the application for candidacy after the completion of 24 - 30 semester hours. The candidacy form must be submitted to the Graduate Office no later than the first Monday after close of the drop/add date each semester. Your degree candidacy form should be completed in consultation with your major advisor and forwarded to the Graduate Office. The degree candidacy form must include only the courses that apply to the graduate degree program.

Course Numbering

5000 level Business courses may be taken only by M.B.A. graduate students. Courses at the 3000 and 4000 level, which are identified by an asterisk in the class schedule, are dual enrollment courses open to most graduate and upper-division undergraduate students. The courses may be used to meet requirements of a graduate degree if part of an approved program. The student must indicate at the time of enrollment if s/he wants a course for graduate credit. Members of the faculty differentiate between the work of graduate and undergraduate students in 3000 and 4000 level courses. Courses completed for undergraduate credit may not be repeated for graduate credit nor can the same class count toward undergraduate and graduate requirements.

Degree Completion Time

Graduate courses taken more than six years prior to graduation do not count toward the total number of credit hours required for a master's degree. Courses that are more than six (years old may count as degree requirements as recommended by the academic unit in which the master's degree is offered and approved by the Graduate Dean .

Inactive Students

1. Graduate students will become inactive if no coursework is taken within one year of admittance into a degree program.
2. Graduate students who have previously taken courses but have not completed any coursework for the past two years will receive a letter warning that their status will change to inactive if no coursework is taken for three years in a row.
3. After three years with no coursework completed, students will be made inactive.
4. Students will have to reapply to graduate school once they are made inactive.

Individual Study

As a graduate student, you may enroll in an individual study in areas not available in conventional classes. A maximum of four semester hours of individual study may be applied toward requirements of the master's degree upon approval of advisor.

Retention

A minimum graduate grade point average of 3.0 (B) is required in all master's degree programs. No grade lower than a "B" on applied music courses will be accepted toward requirements of the Master of Music degree. A maximum of six semester hours of "C" may be applied toward requirements of the Master of Business Administration and the Master of Education degrees.

After being admitted to a graduate program, you will be placed on academic probation if your graduate grade point average falls below 3.0 (B) after the completion of 12 semester hours, including transfer credit. During the first probation semester, you must have a cumulative GPA and/or semester GPA of 3.0. If neither the cumulative nor semester GPA is a 3.0, you will be allowed to register only as a part-time student (i.e., a maximum of five hours and three hours during the regular and summer term, respectively) until a cumulative GPA of 3.0 is achieved. If a student during a second semester of probation does not earn a 3.0 semester average, you will be dismissed from your graduate program. An academic reprieve is not applicable to graduate programs.

Seniors & Graduate Study

As a senior student, you may enroll in a maximum of nine graduate hours during your final undergraduate year if a full-course load is not required to complete the requirements of your bachelor's degree. The total undergraduate and graduate enrollment should not exceed 16 hours during a semester and nine hours during a summer term. Graduate work may not be used to meet undergraduate requirements, but it may be applied toward professional certification in some instances. (Exception - None of the 5000-level courses in the School of Business can be taken by students who have not received a bachelor's degree.)

A maximum of nine applicable semester hours of graduate credit from accredited colleges and universities may apply toward requirements of a graduate degree at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU). Only coursework with grades of "A" and "B" is eligible for transfer. All applicable graduate credit earned at SWOSU prior to admission into a degree program is considered as transfer credit.

Unclassified Graduate Students

If you have previously completed a master’s degree at SWOSU, but do not wish to pursue a graduate degree, you may be admitted as unclassified graduate students. You must follow the graduate studies admission procedures. A maximum of nine hours taken as an unclassified student may transfer into a degree program. The nine-hour transfer policy includes any hours taken at another university, as well as hours taken at SWOSU before admission to a degree program.

Web/Online Study

A maximum of nine applicable semester hours of graduate credit in web/online study may apply toward requirements of a graduate degree at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. All applicable graduate web/online study credit (maximum of nine semester hours) earned at SWOSU prior to admission into a degree program or taken from accredited colleges and universities will be considered transfer credit.