Senior Petition

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ONLY

How Does It Work?

Students can take courses at the graduate level while completing their undergraduate degree. These courses will NOT count toward the students undergraduate degree requirements. 

Who Can Apply?

An undergraduate may submit the senior petition to take courses for graduate credit provided that:

  1. the student is a senior (rank 4; have earn 90 or more credit hours)
  2. the credit for the course is not used to meet baccalaureate degree requirements
  3. the student’s cumulative point-hour ratio is 3.3 or above in all undergraduate work
  4. the student secures permission by the end of the first day of classes from
    • the instructor in charge of the course
    • the secretary of the student’s college or school
    • the Graduate School
  5. the course is offered for graduate credit

These courses may not be counted toward a graduate degree until the student has been admitted to the Graduate School and until the Graduate Studies Committee accepts them and notifies the Graduate School.

If approved, the hours are counted in the student’s graduate earned and cumulative credit hours, and the grades are counted in the student’s graduate cumulative point-hour ratio. No more than nine graduate credit hours may be completed under Senior Petition.

What Courses Can Be Used?

All undergraduate requirements in the student's respective program must still be met. In order to receive graduate credit the courses must be letter-graded and meet the following requirements:

  1. Must be 5000-level or higher
  2. Must meet the course requirements for the graduate degree being pursued
  3. Must be taken upon enrolling in the combined degree program
  4. Must not be a capstone course

Technical electives are the most frequent means of satisfying the requirements above, but relevant graduate courses in other subjects, such as Mathematics, are an option as well. Coursework taken prior to senior petition approval cannot be counted for graduate credit under any means.

A student enrolled in the Graduate School does not earn graduate credit for any of the following reasons:

  1. the course is numbered at the 3999-level or below
  2. the course is numbered at the 4000-4999 level in the student’s own academic unit
  3. the course is one of the following foreign language courses: German 6101 or 6102, Russian 6171 or 6172, French 6571 or 6572
  4. the course is designated “non-graduate credit” (undergraduate “UG” option) by the student’s advisor at the time the student registers or adds the course
  5. the course is taught by a graduate student enrolled at this university

View and download petition form