Satisfactory Performance and Progress

Admission to the Graduate School allows students to continue graduate study and research at the University of Washington on the condition that they maintain satisfactory performance and progress towards the completion of their graduate degree program.

Graduate School Memorandum 16: Academic Performance and Progress outlines the general conditions by which students maintain good standing, with satisfactory performance and progress to degree, and those that fall short of that standard, and require action on the part of the program, school, and student.

IAS graduate programs staff and IAS faculty are available to support you in achieving academic success and maintaining satisfactory academic performance and progress.

Requirements for Satisfactory Performance and Progress

In order to remain in good standing in your program and the University of Washington Graduate School, students must meet the following requirements, consistent with Memo 16:

  • Maintain a quarterly and cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher.
  • Earn a grade of 2.7 or higher in each core course. Please note that core courses must be taken sequence.
  • Earn a grade of 2.7 or higher in any elective course used to satisfy requirements for the degree.
  • Maintain graduate status via enrollment in the graduate school or approved on-leave status, as outlined in Graduate Memo 9: On Leave Policy to Maintain Graduate Student Status.
  • Meet established benchmarks for your degree’s research or creative project. This includes the developmental and completion stages for capstone, portfolio, and thesis projects, including proposal submissions, advisor nominations, and reviews.

The IAS Graduate Office reviews the grades and benchmark approvals of IAS graduate students on a quarterly basis, and will consult with Graduate Program Directors on cases that do not meet these guidelines, or in which grades are missing or incomplete without a plan for their completion. Faculty instructors and faculty advisors may also make the Graduate Office or Program Director aware of concerns about students’ academic performance or progress.

Memo 16 also outlines a sequence of recommended program actions for graduate students whose academic performance or progress does not meet program or Graduate School standards. These actions include academic warning, academic probation, final probation, and in rare cases, a drop from the program. At each stage, these actions are intended to communicate the performance issue that occasions the action, what corrective action is needed on the student’s part to meet performance and progress guidelines to satisfaction, and the potential consequences of not correcting the performance issue. Program Directors and the IAS Graduate Office will work with students to create academic plans that can support them in resolving performance and progress issues.

Note on Repeating Courses

If a student fails to earn a grade of at least 2.7 in a course listed as a degree requirement, the student will be required to repeat the course and earn a passing grade and may be required to do so before continuing on to subsequent required courses. Graduate students may also, of their own accord, choose to repeat any course. However, graduate courses in IAS are offered only once each academic year. Consequently, students who repeat courses will likely delay their graduation. When a course is repeated, both the first and second grades will be included in the cumulative GPA, but the number of credits earned in the course will apply toward the degree requirements only once.