Graduate Degree Requirements

Graduate students have higher expectations placed upon them than undergraduate students. These expectations are in the areas of scholarship, participation, leadership, and integrity. Graduate coursework is designed to advance students personally and professionally and produce scholars, researchers, and practitioners educationally empowered as critical thinking citizens and agents of innovation, opportunity, and change.

The following Degree Requirements are pending approval by the Board of Trustees in August 2026.

For more information on policies and procedures concerning graduate study at CMU, please refer to the Graduate Policies and Procedure Manual. For writing guidelines for culminating activities, see Colorado Mesa University Culminating Activities for Graduate Degrees: General Writing Guidelines manual. Because individual graduate programs can enforce degree requirements that exceed university minimums, policies can also be found in programmatic handbooks. It is strongly recommended that students contact their academic program for additional information.

Graduate Degree Requirements

Credits in a master’s degree program should be designated minimally at the 500 level. The student’s Graduate Advisor, in consultation with the student’s Graduate Committee or Graduate Program Director/Coordinator, should approve all courses applied to graduation requirements.

Up to nine credit hours of course work completed as a non-degree student may be credited subsequently to a degree program with the approval of the Graduate Program Director/Coordinator in consultation with the student’s Graduate Advisor and the program’s Graduate Committee.

Note: Upon prior written permission of the instructor, the academic advisor, and the department head, a currently enrolled undergraduate student may take up to six 500-level graduate credit hours and apply them to an undergraduate degree in addition to a graduate degree.

Doctoral Degree Requirements

A minimum of 60 credit hours is required for doctoral degrees. Additional graduate hours may be required as specified by individual graduate programs.

The doctoral degree requires a culminating activity in the form of a dissertation, practicum, research project, capstone experience, and/or comprehensive exam. In addition, some graduate programs require a qualifying examination for advancement to candidacy approximately midway through the program and may require an oral defense at the completion of the program. Refer to academic departments for specific culminating degree requirements or to find out if a qualifying examination is necessary.

Doctoral programs may also require a formal paper and oral presentation in defense of the culminating activity. In the case of programs requiring a qualifying examination, eligibility to take the exam is determined by the Program Director/Coordinator, based on the completion of program specific policies. Examinations are graded as Pass/Fail as determined by members of the student’s Graduate Committee. The result of the exam are forwarded to the Director of Graduate Studies.

Other criteria and requirements for doctoral programs may exist. Refer to specific guidelines for each graduate program.

Masters Degree Requirements

A minimum of 30 credit hours is required for master’s degrees. Additional graduate hours may be required as specified by individual graduate programs.

In 3+2 (or similar) programs, credit used for the graduate portion of the program, should minimally be at the 500 level.

Master’s degrees require a culminating activity(ies) in the form of a thesis, practicum, research project, capstone experience and/or comprehensive exam. In addition, some graduate programs require a qualifying examination for advancement to candidacy approximately midway through the program and may require an oral defense at the termination of the program. Refer to academic departments for specific culminating activity requirements.

Graduate Certificate Requirements

Graduate certificates contain a minimum of 6 credit hours.

Graduate certificate programs may be embedded within graduate degree programs, but such certificates are not automatically awarded upon the completion of a graduate degree. Students must apply to have the certificate awarded.

Graduate certificates are not required to address all graduate-level student learning outcomes, but are required to address some of the institutionally established outcomes.

Dual-listed Courses

Undergraduate courses may not be taken for graduate credit. Within undergraduate courses that are dual-listed (for example 460/560), the graduate student is expected to perform at a higher level and complete more extensive and challenging academic work than the undergraduates in the same course.

Note: At least 70 percent of a student’s master’s degree program must be in courses that are at the 500 level and not dual listed. All courses in the doctoral program must be at the 500 level or above.

Grades

Grades of “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” and “F” are used and computed in the GPA. Other marks used are “I” (incomplete); “W,” (withdrawn); “NC,” (no credit); and “P,” (passing). At the discretion of graduate programs, Pass/Fail (or “P/F”) grades may be allowed for research, practicum, seminar, and thesis courses. Grades of “I,” “W,” “NC,” and “P” are not counted in determining GPA. University policy is that courses for which “D,” “F,” “I,” “W,” or “NC” grades are awarded shall not count in graduate degree programs and shall not satisfy program deficiency requirements.

Grades for program deficiency, leveling, or prerequisite courses must meet programmatic requirements.

Incomplete (“I”) grades are temporary grades given to a student only in an emergency case and at the discretion of the instructor.

At the end of the semester following the one in which an “I” is given, the “I” becomes the grade that is submitted by the instructor to the Registrar’s Office. If the instructor does not submit a grade by the deadline for that semester, the grade becomes an “F.” For, example, a grade of “I” given spring semester should be addressed by the end of the subsequent term unless a longer term is specified by the instructor.

Extension of the time to complete work may be made in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the instructor. A student with an “I” grade, however, may not change the “I” by enrolling in the same course another semester, except in the case of thesis and dissertation courses, which require continuous enrollment while progressing toward the degree. Grades can be changed, using the Special Grade Report, within the first two weeks of the semester following the receipt of the original grade by the Registrar’s Office.

GPA Requirement

Students must have a cumulative GPA of at least a 3.0 to graduate.

Students may not apply coursework with a grade of “D” or lower toward graduation requirements for a graduate program. Students may have the option to repeat a course for grade improvement to a “C” or better, depending on individual program guidelines. Individual graduate programs can institute policies that exceed these minimums.

As allowed by specific program requirements, students may repeat a maximum of two different courses at the graduate level for up to 6 credit hours. No course may be repeated more than once, except in the case of thesis and dissertation courses, which require continuous enrollment while progressing toward the degree. When a course is repeated, the highest grade earned is computed into the student’s GPA. All attempted courses and grades remain in the academic record but are not computed in the overall average. In these cases, transcripts will contain a statement indicating the grade point average has been re-computed and stating the basis for re-computation.

Students with a semester grade point average and/or cumulative grade point average of less than 3.0 are placed on academic probation. Students have one semester to improve to good standing. Two semesters of probationary status may result in dismissal from the graduate program.

Transfer of Graduate Credit

Upon approval, up to 30% of the credit hours required for a graduate degree may be transferred from another accredited institution. Individual graduate programs may have more stringent transfer limits. Please consult the individual program for specific limits.

Requests for credit to be transferred toward a graduate degree are reviewed by the appropriate program Graduate Admission Committee. Recommendations are then reviewed by the Academic Department Head and sent to the Registrar for review and documentation. The desired transferred credit should represent graduate-level work relevant to the degree being sought with course content and level of instruction resulting in student competencies at least equivalent to those of currently enrolled students at CMU as determined by the program’s Graduate Admission Committee.

Probation

Students may be placed on probation in a degree program for the following reasons:

Students with a semester grade point average and/or cumulative grade point average of less than 3.0 are placed on academic probation. Students have one semester to improve to good standing. Two semesters of probationary status may result in dismissal from the graduate program.
Students may be placed on probation at discretion of the department when there is a concern that they are at risk of being terminated from a program for cause.
Students are notified of their probation in a written letter from the graduate program Director/Coordinator after the director has consulted with the student's Graduate Committee and the Academic Department Head. The letter will specify the date and reason for probation as well as what steps should be taken to have the probation lifted.
Appeals of probation follow the Appeals Process outlined in the Graduate Policies and Procedures Manual.

Dismissal from Program

Students may be dismissed from a degree program for the following reasons:

The student earns a “D” or “F” in a course.
The student is placed on probation for a second time.
The student fails to maintain a 3.0 semester GPA and/or cumulative GPA for two semesters.
The student fails the written and/or oral comprehensive examination or its approved equivalent as specified by specific program requirements.
The student submits an unsatisfactory thesis, practicum paper, or culminating activity.
The student exceeds the time allowed for completion of the program prior to completing all degree requirements.
The student has not maintained a “C” or better in all credit-bearing courses.
The student violates the criteria or procedures in this manual or set forth by the department in its graduate handbook.
The student fails to behave in a professional manner, this includes instances of academic dishonesty.
The student fails to make satisfactory progress on the remedial terms specified in a formal letter of probation.
The student is found to have committed research misconduct by the Office of Sponsored Programs.

Individual academic programs are allowed to impose policies that exceed university probation and dismissal minimums.

Students are notified of their dismissal in a written letter from the Graduate Program Director/Coordinator after the director has consulted with the student’s Graduate Committee and the Academic Department Head. The letter will specify the date and exact reason for dismissal and copy will be sent to the Director of Graduate Studies and the University Registrar. Appeals of dismissal follow the Appeals Process outlined in the Graduate Policies and Procedure Manual (X.A).

Readmission

Students who have been dismissed from a degree program may re-apply for readmission to the program after a one semester suspension, not including summer term. In this case, a percentage of the credit for coursework (excluding thesis and dissertation credits) previously earned at Colorado Mesa University can be applied to the degree after readmission. Limitations regarding time to complete the degree will be reset as though the student was entering the program for the first time.

Additional documentation may be required of students seeking readmission to the program from which they were previously dismissed. Students must consult their academic program for limitations, policies, and procedures on readmission.

Program Time Limits

Master’s degree students have six calendar years from the date of first registration in a Colorado Mesa University graduate program to complete the program. At the end of the fifth year or after 10 semesters, the Graduate Program Director/Coordinator should notify students that they have one academic year or two semesters to complete their program requirements.

Doctoral students have 10 calendar years from the date of first registration in a Colorado Mesa University graduate program to complete the program. At the end of the eighth year or after 16 semesters, the Graduate Program Director/Coordinator should notify students that they have two academic years or four semesters to complete their program requirements.

Students may submit a written request for a time extension to their advisor and the Graduate Program Director/Coordinator, which should be approved by the Academic Department Head and Director of Graduate Studies. Departments or individual graduate programs may set shorter time requirements.

Individual academic programs are allowed to make stricter time limits. Students should consult their academic program for those policies.