Advisor FAQs

  • Students without official transcripts – Degree seeking students may enroll for 1 Semester without the Graduate School having received their official transcripts. No degree seeking student may enroll for more than 1 semester without official transcripts being received by the Graduate School. Please note: new, recently undergraduates will not be permitted 1 semester of enrollment without an official transcript indicating they have completed an undergraduate degree.
  • Course substitutions/exemptions – If an advisor would like to change a student’s degree program, s/he must e-mail the substitutions/exemptions to the degree analyst in the Graduate School or by submitting a revised degree plan.
  • Change of Grades for in-progress course work – Please remember to check the student’s transcript to make sure all in-progress or incomplete grades have been changed. A change of grade form must be submitted to the Transcripts & Records Office to change the grade.
  • Degree Candidacy – Please remember to admit a student to degree candidacy, all probationary requirements, a degree plan, any qualifying exams AND a minimum of 6 graduate hours must have been successfully completed.
  • Transfer work– The maximum number of transfer hours ESU will accept is 9 hours for programs requiring fewer than 40 hours and 15 for programs requiring 40 or more hours of graduate course work. No course will be accepted for transfer credit unless the student has earned an A, B, or P. No grade of C or lower can be transferred. Transfer work must have been taken for GRADUATE CREDIT from the university from which the credit is transferred AND be applicable toward a graduate degree at that university. No transfer work will be accepted without an official transcript from the university.
  • Time Limit – The time limit to complete a master’s program or the EdS program is 7 years or 21 semesters. With departmental approval for extenuating circumstances, the time limit is 8 years, or 24 semesters. The time limit for the Ph.D program must be completed within eight (8) years from the date of first enrollment. The Graduate Council may consider a petition, with departmental approval, to validate course work in the ninth and tenth year. No work over ten years old can be used to satisfy the requirements for graduate degrees.
  • C grades – A course numbered 500-600 level in which a student received a “C” grade, cannot be used to fulfill graduate degree requirements. 500-600 level courses are considered lower-level graduate courses and grades of A, B, or P must be received in these courses. Please note: Not all 500-600 level courses are for graduate credit.
  • Enrollment in semester degree is conferred – Please remember a student MUST be enrolled in a minimum of 1 credit hour at ESU in the semester in which the degree is actually completed. Any requests for an exception to this policy must be directed in writing to the Dean of the Graduate School, with an explanation of why the exception should be granted.