Academic Policies

Degree Requirements

In addition to the university-wide requirements, the Graduate School of Business and Leadership requires the following: 

  • Graduate and doctoral students must fulfill all degree requirements within 10 years from the beginning of the first course taken at NLU in the specific program to which they are admitted
Specific graduate programs may have additional degree requirements. See programs for details. 

Transfer between Graduate Programs

Please see Enrollment and Registration Policies for more information.

Transfer of Credit Completed at another Institution

In addition to the university-wide requirements, the following criteria apply to non-institutional graduate transfer credit in the Graduate School of Business and Leadership:

  • A maximum of nine semester hours may be transferred
  • Credit earned more than six calendar years before graduate admission is not transferable
  • A “Pass” grade for a completed pass/fail graduate course is acceptable. A letter is required from the Registrar of the institution where the course was taken verifying that the grade is equivalent to at least a "B" (3.0 on a scale of 4.0)
  • Students may transfer credit hours once admitted into a program

Specific graduate programs may have additional transfer credit requirements. See programs for details.

Exceptions to these rules may be appealed to the Admissions and Academic Standards Council of the Graduate School of Business and Leadership. Petitions must be presented to the Council by the student's advisor. 

Note: NLU credit completed under a different program is subject to Application of Academic Credit Toward Multiple Programs Policy.

Required Course Waiver

Students may request a waiver for one or more required courses if previous academic work or experience indicates a high degree of competency in the content of the course. The waiver does not grant equivalent credit toward the degree; it permits the student to substitute an appropriate elective course for the waived course. The student and advisor must complete a Student Adjustment Form and submit it with appropriate documentation to the Dean or Dean’s designee. If approved, the waiver is entered in the degree audit system.