3361:50-77-12. The graduate school: admission to graduate degree programs

(A) Full graduate standing

(1) For admission to full graduate standing at the university of Cincinnati, a student must have a bachelor's degree from a college or university regarded as standard by a regional or general accrediting agency.

(2) Applicant should have at least a "B" grade average in relevant undergraduate course work, or otherwise give evidence of promise satisfactory to the admitting department.

(3) Judgments concerning admission or denial to particular degree programs and the criteria used for determining admission are initiated in the individual departments and schools. These criteria and judgments vary according to departments and schools and reflect not only estimates of the ability of students to do graduate work but also the ability of the department to absorb additional graduate students.

(B) Provisional admission

(1) Provisional admission may be granted to applicants who lack undergraduate work considered essential for graduate study in the major field. Course work, without graduate credit, will be required of provisionally-admitted students to make up such deficiencies before admission to full graduate standing can be granted.

(2) Graduates of non-accredited institutions may be granted provisional admission when their academic records warrant this status. Additional course work will be required of such students when deficiencies in their previous training are apparent.

(3) Graduates of accredited institutions whose scholastic records are below the standards for admission to full graduate standing may be admitted provisionally when extenuating circumstances can be shown to have affected their undergraduate grade point averages or when progressive improvement in the undergraduate programs warrants provisional admission.

(4) Graduate students may attain full graduate standing when the deficiencies responsible for their provisional status are corrected. They must also have maintained a satisfactory academic record in all course work taken as part of their graduate programs.

(5) Change from provisional to full graduate standing is effected, generally, by individual college and departmental graduate program directors in the department or school in which the student is seeking his/her degree. The bases for such changes in status are subject to review by the vice provost and university dean of the graduate school, and that office should, therefore, be routinely notified of each change of status.

(C) Non-matriculated student

(1) If given permission by the course instructor, non-matriculated students may take courses for graduate credit, but the number of credits taken under this classification which are accepted for a degree program is at the discretion of the department; ordinarily it will not exceed fifteen graduate credits.

(2) The only requirement for admission as an unclassified student, or special student, is evidence of a baccalaureate degree.

(D) Foreign student admission

(1) No foreign student should be granted admission on any basis other than full graduate standing.

(2) In instances where a foreign student holds a degree for which the United States equivalent is not known, or if it is determined by the department and/or the international services office that the applicant does not have the equivalent of a bachelor's degree, the department must submit a petition (for admission without the bachelor's degree) to the graduate council and provide any supporting documentation deemed pertinent.

(3) Before their admission to the university is completed, all foreign students must fulfill United States immigration service requirements and register with the international services office.

(4) Applicants whose native language is other than English must pass one of the following examinations by scoring at least the minimum for each test. Minimum scores are TOEFL five hundred and twenty paper based, one hundred and ninety computer based, and sixty-eight internet based; IELTS minimum is six point five; Pearson minimum is forty-seven. Individual colleges or programs may establish higher than the minimum scores as a condition of admission into that college or program.

(a) This requirement may be waived for a foreign student who has a degree from an accredited American college or university and who can document having studied English while a student in the American college or university, or for students whose previous degree was earned in a foreign institution where instruction is entirely or primarily in English. Programs may petition the associate dean of the graduate school for a waiver if an applicant can demonstrate acceptable English proficiency without taking an examination.

(b) The "Oral English Proficiency" (OEP) testing program is used to assess the oral English language skills of graduate students who are nonnative speakers of English and receive financial awards from general university funds.

(c) Students whose oral English proficiency has not been officially certified may not assume instructional responsibilities.

(d) Each student is allowed to take the OEP test twice without charge during an academic year.

(e) As an alternative to the OEP test, applicants may take the "Test of Spoken English" (TSE) before admission is granted.

(E) Admission without a baccalaureate degree

(1) Petitions for students without a baccalaureate degree seeking admission to the university should be filed in departmental offices and, after thorough review by the departmental graduate admissions committee, the department may recommend such admission to the graduate council. The final decision on such admissions rests with the graduate council.

(F) "Graduate Record Examination" (GRE) requirement

(1) Applicants for admission to many, but not all, colleges and departments are required to take the GRE. Individual colleges or departments should be consulted to determine specific requirements for admission. Many departments, although not normally requiring GRE scores, may require them as additional information in special circumstances.

(G) Admission decisions

(1) All decisions concerning admissions to established graduate programs rest with the departments. Departments have the authority to set application deadlines, to require certain pre-admission examinations, to require satisfactory completion of certain course work prior to admission, and to establish other pre-admission requirements.

(2) All departments must have established written criteria for judging the admissibility of applicants.

(3) Departmental decisions to admit or not to admit are final.

Replaces: 3361:50-77-12

Effective: 9/15/2012
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 3361
Rule Amplifies: 3361
Prior Effective Dates: 3/16/1978, 4/20/2000, 4/3/2001, 3/21/2005, 7/13/2007