Administrative Policy
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Policy Statement
To receive an undergraduate degree, or to have a minor or certificate recorded on their transcript, students must complete a required minimum of their coursework from the campus that awards the degree, minor, or certificate (commonly referred to as “resident credit” or “credit in residence”).
Resident credit includes the traditional courses offered on the campus, as well as study-abroad credits earned through programs sponsored by the University of Minnesota campus, and credits earned in online courses offered by the University of Minnesota campus.
Students may earn a major and a minor from two different campuses. Students may earn a certificate from any certificate program to which they have been admitted on any campus.
A student may not complete more than one degree (e.g. BA, BS, etc) or program (e.g. major, minor, or certificate) in the same discipline. A single course cannot fulfill two requirements within the same program.
Minimum requirements for credits in residence are as follows:
Undergraduate (baccalaureate) degree
- At least 30 semester credits.
- At least 15 credits of the last 30 credits must be taken through a University of Minnesota campus.
- At least half of upper-division (3xxx-level or higher) credits that satisfy major requirements (major requirements include all courses required for the major, including courses in a subplan) must be taken through the campus in which the degree will be awarded.
Undergraduate minor
Minors are available to students pursuing a degree at the University of Minnesota while certificates can be awarded to individuals not in a degree program. An individual may not come to the University to earn a standalone minor.
Undergraduate minors appear on the University of Minnesota Transcript and do not lead to a baccalaureate degree. Undergraduate minors include a minimum of 12 credits.
- At least 3 upper-division credits that satisfy requirements for the minor must be taken through the campus that will award the minor
Academic Undergraduate certificates
Academic undergraduate certificates approved by the Board of Regents and appearing on the University of Minnesota transcript must be proposed and approved pursuant to the Adding, Changing, or Discontinuing Academic Plans policy.
Undergraduate-level academic certificates must ensure students receive undergraduate-level academic training. The minimum criteria are:
- 8 or more credits for certificates that require prior completion of a baccalaureate degree
- 14 or more credits for certificates that do not require prior completion of a baccalaureate degree.
- At least 3 upper-division credits.
- Crookston only: At least 50% of the course credits required for the certificate must be taken at the Crookston campus.
The Executive Vice President and Provost may, under extraordinary circumstances, waive the requirements in sections 2 through 5 above. The Chancellor for the Crookston campus may, under extraordinary circumstances, waive the requirement in section 6. The requirement in section 1 may not be waived.
Exclusions
This policy is not applicable to the Duluth campus.
Reason for Policy
It is expected that students who graduate from the University will have completed a minimum amount of coursework from the University campus from which they are seeking to graduate. Similarly, it is expected that students who receive the notation of a minor or certificate on their transcript will have completed a minimum amount of coursework from the University campus awarding that minor or certificate. This requirement allows the faculty of each campus to ensure the student meets the campus and institutional standards of achievement.
This policy implements criteria and requirements for accreditation established by the Higher Learning Commission. To meet the standards for accreditation, each University of Minnesota campus must maintain structures or practices that ensure the coherence and quality of the programs for which it awards a degree, including that at a minimum, 30 of the 120 credits earned for the bachelor’s degree are earned at the campus itself.