Registration Requirements

The Graduate School 's handbook provides detailed guidelines for degree and registration requirements. Students who plan to transfer credits from other institutions to complete degree requirements should consult this on-line handbook: http://www.catalogs.umn.edu/grad/index.html. Only general information is provided below.

All students

The Graduate School requires graduate students to register EVERY SEMESTER. If a student only needs to register to meet the Graduate School 's registration requirement, there is a no-credit, no-fee registration option – Grad 999. See details at www.grad.umn.edu/Current_Students/registration/ . Students not registered every fall and spring term are considered to have withdrawn and their Graduate School records are deactivated. Those who wish to resume graduate work must request readmission to the Graduate School to reactivate their status.

Graduate students must register for 6-14 credits to be considered full-time. Advanced master's and advanced doctoral candidates (i.e., students who have completed all their program coursework and required thesis credits, but still are working full-time on the research or writing of their thesis, papers, or dissertation) may be eligible for “Full-time with one credit registration” courses that enable them to be certified as “full-time” students when registered for one credit. See details at: www.grad.umn.edu/Current_Students/registration/.

All graduate students must register before the first day of the term to avoid a late registration fee. Be aware that a typical assistantship or tuition fellowship only pays for 14 credits, and these are for degree program courses. Students will be billed for credits over 14 and for courses not related to their field of study (e.g., martial arts and dance).

Master's Degree

Master's degree students are required by the Graduate School to complete at least 60 percent of the coursework for their official degree programs (excluding thesis credits) as registered University of Minnesota Graduate School students. With approval of the adviser, DGS in the major, and Graduate School , transfer coursework may make up the remaining 40 percent (maximum) of the degree coursework. Work to be transferred must be graduate level (post baccalaureate) and have been taught by faculty authorized to teach graduate courses. It is the student's responsibility to provide appropriate course documentation supporting proposed transfer credits to the program. Courses taken before the awarding of a baccalaureate degree cannot be transferred. See details at: www.catalogs.umn.edu/grad/gen/masters.html

Doctoral Degree

No more than 12 credits can be transferred from another institution. See the Graduate School Handbook for more detail at www.catalogs.umn.edu/grad/gen/phd.html.