Master's Degree: Performance Standards and Progress

This policy sets minimum standards for master’s students to maintain academic good standing and satisfactory progress in their degree programs. Programs and collegiate units may have additional and/or more stringent requirements.

I. Requirements Upon Matriculation

1. Students are responsible for knowing all program requirements of their master’s program when they matriculate.
2. Upon matriculation, programs must:
   1. Provide each student a current graduate program handbook, specifying the program’s requirements and policies governing successful degree completion.
   2. Assign each student a temporary advisor.

II. Progress Review

1. Annual Review
   1. Programs must review the progress of each master’s student at least once per year. Students deemed not to be in good standing must be informed of the results of the review in writing, with a copy to the student’s advisor.
2. Degree Plan
   1. Master’s degree students must have an approved degree plan on file with their collegiate unit in order to defend the master’s thesis/professional engineering design project and/or apply for degree clearance. It is recommended that the degree plan be filed at least one term (fall or spring semester) before the intended term of the master’s thesis/project defense and/or application for degree clearance.
   2. Students intending to pursue a minor must include the proposed minor as part of their degree plan prior to the final examination. In master’s programs that do not include a final examination, the proposed minor must be included on the degree plan prior to filing for degree conferral.
   3. The approved degree plan must be centrally archived in the system of record.

III. Performance Standards

1. Continuous Enrollment
   Students are required to enroll every semester (fall and spring) from the time of matriculation until degree conferral except for cases with an approved Leave of Absence on the student’s record.
2. Time Limit for Earning the Master's Degree
   All requirements for the master’s degree must be completed and the degree awarded within five calendar years after initial enrollment in the graduate program or the more restrictive time frame specified by the program.
   1. Students unable to complete the degree within the time limits described above may submit a Request for Extension to the Maximum Time Limit for approval by their advisor/s, program director of graduate studies, and collegiate unit for one extension of up to 12 months.  The extension petition must be submitted by the student prior to the end of the term in which the time limit expires.
      • If a petition is approved, the student is notified in writing of the expectations for progress and of the expected timeline for completion and award of degree.
      • If the petition is denied, the student is notified in writing that they will be terminated from the graduate program upon expiration of the limit.
      • Students who have been terminated under such circumstances may apply for readmission to the program; however, readmission is not guaranteed.
3. Minimum Grade Requirements
   To remain in good academic standing, students throughout their master’s studies must meet the minimum GPA requirement specified by the graduate program or 2.800 (on a 4.000 scale), whichever is higher. Students who have filed a master’s degree plan must maintain a 2.800 GPA for courses included on the degree plan. Only courses with grades of A, B, C (including C-) and S can  be counted toward the degree. Students who have not yet filed a degree plan should maintain an overall GPA of 2.800. Students who fall below the program's minimum GPA requirement may be terminated from the program.
4. S/N grades for courses
   A minimum of 2/3 of the course credits included on a degree plan must be taken A/F.

Exception

Programs with a distinctive student population (e.g., students who are pursuing degrees in programs with specialized accreditation) or approved joint-degree programs may request a program-wide exception to the five-year time limit for earning the master's degree.

This policy does not apply to the M.B.A. [Twin Cities] degrees.

Effective Date

This policy applies to all students admitted after January 1, 2013. Students who matriculated before January 1, 2013 and maintained active student status may choose to continue under the policies in effect when they initially matriculated in their graduate program.