Transfer credits

You may transfer graduate credit from another university if the work received a grade of B or better. Transcripts will be evaluated to determine the number of transferable graduate credits. This evaluation will be made by the Transcript Evaluator. It is important to note the following transcript-related policies:

• M.A. and M.F.A. students must complete a minimum of 22 graduate credits at Iowa State University, regardless of how many credits are transferred in. (This is a university requirement.)
• M.F.A. students can arrange to transfer in credits. The actual number of transfer credits approved, however, will be determined on a case-by-case basis through a review of courses by the Transcript Evaluator in consultation with a student’s adviser/major professor. Courses more than five years old at the time the M.F.A. is awarded cannot be accepted unless the student makes an argument (in writing) that the course work is not outdated. (See Over-age courses for more information.) This is university policy.
• Ph.D. students can arrange to transfer up to 36 graduate credits that are either directly equivalent to Iowa State RPC or ALT courses or part of the RPC concentration in the program of study. The actual number of transfer credits, however, is usually much lower (between 12 and 21 credit hours). Courses more than seven years old at the time the Ph.D. is awarded cannot be accepted unless the student makes an argument (in writing) that the course work is not outdated. (See Over-age courses for more information.) This is university policy.
• A pass/fail course cannot be transferred unless the student can provide a letter from his or her professor indicating the specific grade that would have been awarded. This too is university policy.
• A course counted by the home institution as counting toward your undergraduate degree cannot be counted. Only those courses taken for graduate credit separate from undergraduate work can be counted. This, again, is university policy.

If you wish to transfer graduate credit, you need to submit the following to the Graduate English Office for approval by the Transcript Evaluator:

• Transfer Credit Petition form
• completed POS Planning Sheet showing where in your degree program the transfer credits will be used (e.g., literature, linguistics, electives, primary core, secondary core, concentration, research methods)
• transcript showing the grade received in each course
• memo signed by your program adviser/major professor requesting approval of the transfer credits that includes a rationale for having the course(s) in your POS
• description of each course's content, including major readings, assignments, and exams (include a copy of appropriate pages from the catalog copy of the outside institution).

POS waivers/equivalencies

Waivers/equivalencies occur when a student is transferring in a course equivalent or when a student's prior experience allows the student to take a more advanced course as an equivalent to a required course. Documentation for waivers/equivalencies should include a signed memo from the program adviser/major professor that provides a clear rationale. This memo is to be submitted to the Graduate English Office and directed to the Director of Graduate Education, who will approve or deny the request. Approvals for waivers/equivalencies should be obtained before being listed on the POS Planning Sheet and the official POS form. (Students must attach a copy of their approved waiver/equivalency request with the POS Planning Sheet.) Similarly, permission must be obtained in advance as a POS equivalency for any given 590 to be listed on a student's POS. Note that receiving a waiver for a particular course does not change the number of required POS credits. Students may be asked to take additional courses to replace the credits associated with courses waived.

POS Planning Sheets

All graduate students are to file the appropriate POS Planning Sheet. M.A. and M.F.A. students should submit the planning sheet by the deadline in their first semester of course work before registering for second semester courses. Ph.D. students should submit the planning sheet by the deadline in their third semester of course work before registering for fourth semester courses. The POS Planning Sheet is used to plan the student's POS in consultation with the program adviser/major professor before submitting the planning sheet to the Graduate English Office for approval by the Director of Graduate Education. A copy of the approved POS Planning Sheet should be attached to the official Graduate College Program of Study (POS) form along with other necessary documentation (i.e., Transfer Credit Petition, waivers/equivalencies, over-age course justification, Petition for Concentration, Petition for Environmental Courses Outside English).

Undergraduate courses taken as a gradute student

Undergraduate courses in another department, taken while you are an ISU graduate student, may be used as electives for your graduate degree as long as (1) that department lists the course for non-major graduate credit in the Iowa State University Catalog (see Statistics 401, for example), (2) the course is taught by a member of the graduate faculty, and (3) the credits for the course were not used toward the undergraduate degree.

Graduate courses taken as an ISU undergraduate

If you completed a bachelor’s degree at ISU and took graduate courses as an undergraduate, you may use up to 9 credits of that graduate course work toward your graduate POS requirements if you earned grades of B or higher. Courses not used to meet the minimum undergraduate degree requirements are eligible for consideration. Any student wishing to count ISU graduate credits taken as an undergraduate must have those credits certified for use in the graduate POS by the Graduation Office (10A Alumni Hall; 294-9372; graduation@iastate.edu).

Dual-listed courses

A graduate student may take up to 6 credit hours of dual-listed courses toward his or her program of study. Dual-listed courses permit undergraduate and graduate students to be in the same class, but to receive credit under two different course numbers. Graduate students must fulfill additional requirements in such courses. If the dual-listed course is to be used in the program of study, (1) the course needs to be taken as part of a graduate, not an undergraduate, program of study, (2) the course must be taught by a member of the graduate faculty, and (3) the extra work needs to be completed for graduate credit.

599 and 699: Registering for creative component/thesis/dissertation credit

All M.A. students must complete 3 hours of research credit in either English 599 or English 699. English 599 is the course to enroll in when writing a creative component. English 699 is the course to enroll in when writing a thesis. You may take more than 3 credit hours of 599 or 699 (e.g., to meet assistantship requirements), but only 3 credit hours will count towards your M.A. degree. (See thesis and creative component options.)

All M.F.A. students must complete 6 hours of research credit in English 699. You may take more than 6 credit hours of 699 (e.g., to meet assistantship requirements), but only 6 credit hours will count towards your M.F.A. degree.

All Ph.D. students must complete 12 hours of research credit in English 699. You may take more than 12 credit hours of 699 (e.g., to meet assistantship requirements), but only 12 credit hours will count towards your Ph.D. degree.

Registration reference numbers for 599 or 699 may be obtained in the Graduate English Office, 403 Ross Hall, once paperwork forming your POS committee is submitted to the Graduate College.

590: Independent Studies/Special Topics

Courses numbered 590 provide a way to study important material that is not otherwise available to you in the graduate curriculum. The number of 590s allowed in any program of study is restricted, and such courses both involve special conditions and require special arrangements between you and an instructor. In no case should a 590 represent, in whole or in part, work on the creative component, thesis, or dissertation; that work should be done under the 599/699 research numbers. The Director of Graduate Education will not approve 590 proposals that include such research for the final degree project.

At the Ph.D. level, 590 credits normally serve to complete the concentration (Ph.D. in RPC only) or represent credit hours brought in from a master's program. Individually guided research intended to prepare students for writing a dissertation is taken as 699 credits.

To qualify for English 590 courses, you must have completed 12 credit hours of study toward your graduate degree, you must have no incompletes, and you must have submitted to the Graduate College your paperwork forming your POS committee.

To request approval to take English 590, you must

• obtain a Request for English 590 form and guidelines
• fill out the form and obtain the necessary signatures after consulting with the instructor and your adviser/major professor
• submit the completed form to the Graduate English Office for the approval of the Director of Graduate Education no later than the end of the first week of the academic term in which 590 would be taken. It is to your advantage to submit the form the semester before you wish to take the 590 in case you need to consider other options. Registration reference numbers may be obtained in the Graduate English Office once the Request for English 590 is approved.

Over-age courses

As a general rule, courses that M.A. and M.F.A. students wish to count toward the POS need to have been taken within five years of the time the master's degree is granted. Courses that Ph.D. students wish to count toward the POS need to have been taken within seven years of the time the Ph.D. is granted. "Over-age" courses (courses that are older than five or seven years) must be justified in a written argument to the major professor and the Director of Graduate Education; both must approve the justification. Approval for these over-age courses must be submitted when filing the Program of Study form with the Graduate College. Guidelines for making arguments for over-age courses are in chapter 6 of the ISU Graduate College Handbook.

Audits

You may audit courses (receive no grade or course credit) in English or in other departments. Students pay full tuition for any course audited. To have an audited course appear on your transcript, you must complete the Request for Audit(s) to Appear on Transcript form and file it with the Graduate College after obtaining signatures of the course instructor and your major professor.

Grades

Grades are posted online through AccessPlus approximately one week after final exams. You can have your grade slip mailed to you by signing a Student Request for Mailing Grade Report form in the Registrar's Office.

Grade appeals

If you feel that an instructor has graded your work unfairly, or has discriminated against you in grading, you may have your grade reviewed. The first step is to talk to the instructor, of course, but if the issue cannot be resolved, then you should follow the procedure in chapter 9 of the ISU Graduate College Handbook.

Incompletes

A course mark of "I" (Incomplete) may be given only when the following conditions have been met:

• the student is unable to complete work due to circumstances beyond his or her control
• the instructor agrees that the reason is legitimate

The best policy is to plan your work so you will not need to ask any instructor to issue a mark of "I". If you do receive an incomplete, you must have the mark of "I" removed within one calendar year—but the instructor may stipulate an earlier date.

NOTE: "I" (Incomplete) grades automatically change to an F after one calendar year. This policy does not include "I" grades in either 599 or 699.

Academic standing/probation

To stay in good academic standing, you must maintain a 3.0 grade point average in all courses taken, except research credits.

If your grade point average drops below 3.0, you will be placed on academic probation. You will not be allowed to register for future terms while on probation unless the Director of Graduate Education recommends to the Graduate College that further registration be permitted. After you attain a 3.0 grade point average, you will be removed from academic probation.

While on academic probation you are not eligible to hold an assistantship or receive tuition scholarships. However, if you are placed on academic probation you should contact the Director of Graduate Education immediately for a waiver that would allow you to keep your assistantship for one semester giving you a chance to remedy this situation.

Co-major degree program

A co-major is a program of study for a single degree in which the requirements for two separate majors are met. POS committees include co-major professors, each representing one of the co-majors. The M.A. programs in English and TESL/Applied Linguistics or in English and RCPC, for example, are co-majors (see Co-major in M.A. Programs). The M.F.A. program in CWE and both Ph.D. programs in ALT and RPC are not available as co-majors.

Transcripts

Information on how to order an official transcript from the Office of the Registrar (214 Alumni Hall; http://www.public.iastate.edu/~registrar/) is available online at http://www.public.iastate.edu/~registrar/info/transcpt.html. A fee is charged for an official copy ($12.00 per copy). Your academic record is available on your AccessPlus student account or can be accessed by the Graduate English Office, and your program adviser/major professor receives copies of your grade reports. These, however, do not serve as "official" documentation.

Academic leave/Re-entry

If you must stop taking courses for a semester or more, you should request to be put on academic leave. You can do this by submitting a memo to the Graduate English Office for approval by the Director of Graduate Education explaining your circumstances. If an academic leave is approved by the Director of Graduate Education, you will not have to be formally readmitted in order to resume your studies. Two consecutive calendar years of non-registration puts students on “inactive” status and requires submission of a Reinstatement to Active Status form and the written approval of the graduate program and the Graduate College to obtain “active” status and resume course work.