Graduation Requirements

General University Requirements

• A Grade Point Averages (GPA) of at least 3.00 must be earned in courses identified in the Official Graduate Studies Plan.
• Only 400 and 600 level courses approved by the graduate student's Graduate Advisor, Dean or designee, and Graduate Studies Committee, may be counted toward graduate program requirements.  Graduate students enrolled in 400-level courses which they intend to apply to their graduate program will be expected to complete additional course work requirements.
• In 400-level courses, a minimum grade of "B" is required for the course to count toward the program requirements.
• Courses at the 500-level are for professional development and are not applicable toward any degree.
• In 600-level courses, a grade of "C" is minimally acceptable, provided the student maintains a cumulative GPA of 3.00 (B) in all courses applicable to the graduate program.  At least 21 credits must be taken at the graduate level (600) for any master's degree, including thesis and research credits.  For performance comparison only, in 600-level courses a grade of "P" (Pass) is equivalent to a B or higher, but does not enter into the GPA calculation.
• Up to 9 semester credits not used toward any other degree or certificate may be transferred to UAA from an accredited institution and counted toward a degree or certificate.  Quarter credits will be converted to semester credits by multiplying quarter credits by two-thirds.  Acceptance of transfer credit toward program requirements is at the discretion of the School of Engineering.
• The Dean of the School of Engineering may allow credit earned at other universities in the Statewide system (i.e. University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Alaska Southeast), excluding thesis credit and credit used toward another degree or certificate, to be transferred to UAA, as long as at least nine credits applicable to the student's program are earned at UAA after acceptance in the program.
• Courses taken by correspondence, credit by examination, or graded Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) do not count toward graduate program requirements.  They may, however, be used to satisfy prerequisites or to establish competency in a subject, thus allowing the advisor or committee to waive certain courses in an established program, as long as the total credits in the program remains the same.
• If the requirements for a master's degree as specified in the entry-level catalog are not met within 7 years of formal acceptance into the program, that program will expire and the student must re-apply for admission and meet the requirements in affect at the time of formal acceptance.
• All credits counted toward the degree or certificate, including transfer credits, must be earned within the consecutive seven-year period prior to graduation.
• Students are expected to be continuously registered throughout their graduate program (see Continuous Registration in Chapter 10 of the University Course Catalog).

Additional University Requirements

• The student must complete at least 30 approved semester credits beyond the baccalaureate degree.  At least 24 credits in every graduate degree must consist of courses other than thesis and/or a research project.
• The student must complete all requirements established by the program and must pass a written or oral comprehensive examination, or thesis/project defense.
• When an oral comprehensive examination and/or thesis defense is required, the student may select an outside reviewer approved by the Dean or designee of the program to participate in the oral comprehensive examination to assure that the examination of defense is fair and appropriate.  The outside reviewer is a faculty member from another department in the university or other qualified individual in the area in which the student is seeking their degree.
• All theses must meet general UAA requirements for format as determined by the UAA Consortium Library.

For more information about the Graduate School program at the University of Alaska Anchorage, see Chapter 10 of the University Course Catalog