Policy on Undergraduate Students taking Graduate Courses

A student who has earned at least 90 undergraduate credit hours at John Carroll University, which may include transfer credit, with a cumulative JCU grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 is eligible to enroll in graduate coursework at JCU in the following circumstances.

Students not participating in integrated graduate programs (i.e. non-matriculating graduate studies):

Undergraduate students who have not been accepted to a JCU integrated graduate program (e.g. 3 + 2, 4+1 programs) may apply to the Graduate School to take up to 6 credits of graduate coursework in their final year at JCU–hereinafter referred to as "non-matriculating studies".

Under no circumstances may coursework taken in this scenario:

  • Satisfy undergraduate program or core requirements

  • Contribute to the 120 credit hours required for the baccalaureate degree

  • Factor into any aspect of the undergraduate grade point average (GPA)

  • Fulfill any other requirements toward undergraduate graduation

Registration for graduate courses is contingent on application to the Graduate School and acceptance for non-matriculating graduate studies at least two weeks prior to the date of registration. Students must be enrolled in a full-time load of undergraduate coursework in order to also register for graduate courses in that term, but the cumulative total of undergraduate and graduate coursework cannot exceed 18 credits. If a student is in their final semester of enrollment and their outstanding undergraduate requirements equal less than 12 credits, they must be registered for all outstanding undergraduate requirements in order to register for graduate coursework–this scenario has significant financial aid ramifications and the student is responsible for understanding the implications of this for their particular situation.

Graduate coursework taken by a non-matriculating student may later be applied toward a JCU Master’s degree or certificate program. If a student who takes graduate courses under the auspices of non-matriculating graduate studies subsequently matriculates into a JCU Master’s degree or certificate program, all of their graduate course grades will be reflected in their JCU graduate degree or certificate GPA unless the student is approved for academic forgiveness, per that policy.

Students admitted to and participating in integrated graduate programs:

Students must apply to the Graduate School and be accepted into an integrated graduate program (e.g. 3+2, 4+1 programs) before beginning coursework under the following provision. Admission requirements and due dates for application varies by program. Admission decisions to integrated graduate programs are final.

Students who have been accepted into a JCU integrated graduate program are eligible to take up to 12 credits of 5000-level graduate coursework during their final undergraduate academic year at JCU and may use these credits to dually satisfy both undergraduate and graduate degree requirements, including total credits toward degree completion. Graduate courses’ final grades will factor into the GPA of all undergraduate programs (i.e. majors, minors, etc.) for which it is being used, but will only factor into the cumulative graduate GPA (i.e. graduate courses will not apply to the undergraduate cumulative GPA).

After admission to an integrated graduate program, in order to be eligible to begin graduate coursework at JCU, the student must already have completed:

  • At least 90 undergraduate credit hours, which may include transfer credit

  • At least three-quarters of all academic programs, including majors, concentrations, and minors

  • All undergraduate Integrative Core Curriculum requirements except those within the major (i.e. capstone, additional writing, and oral presentation)

For students to earn credit toward a graduate program, they must be enrolled in the graduate-level section (e.g. 5000-and-up) of the course. In cases of cross-listed undergraduate and graduate sections, the student must register for the graduate section. Graduate courses taken for credit toward the undergraduate degree must satisfy graduate-level minimum grade standards (i.e. a C or higher) or undergraduate standards, whichever is higher. In general, more rigorous GPA requirements exist for coursework applied toward a graduate degree and students are responsible for understanding the requirements of their Master’s degree programs.