Academic Policies
Students are required to satisfy the degree requirements of the catalog in effect at the time of matriculation. A continuing student who desires to pursue a course of study added to the curriculum in a subsequent catalog year must submit a catalog change request to the Office of Academic Services. If the request is granted, the student will be bound by all policies and requirements in the new catalog. Students who discontinue study at Lindenwood University may be required to adopt the requirements of the catalog in effect at the time of readmission depending upon the length of the absence.
Note: The university reserves the right to modify its policies (other than degree requirements) at any time. Students must adhere to all university policies that are in effect during each term of enrollment.
Graduate degrees in art, education, counseling, communications, fashion design, human performance, nonprofit administration, nursing, and theatre are offered on a semester schedule. School of Business and Entrepreneurship programs and the Master of Public Administration, offered by the School of Human Services, are offered on a 5-term/year schedule. Programs offered through the School of Accelerated Degree Programs are offered on a quarter schedule and are outlined further in that catalog.
Note: Some semester courses are offered in a half-semester format during the fall or spring semester. Please check the course schedule for further information.
All academic credit is given in semester credit hours. Full- and half-time student status is determined by the number of credit hours in which a student is enrolled during a given term. In credit hours, the academic load designations for graduate students are as follows:
Semester Programs
Full time Enrollment
- Nine to fifteen credit hours
Half-time Enrollment
- Six to eight credit hours
Less than Half-time Enrollment
- Five or fewer credit hours
Five-term Programs
Full time Enrollment
Half-time Enrollment
- Three to five credit hours
Less than Half-time Enrollment
- Two or fewer credit hours
Notes: (1) In order to remain in compliance with U.S. visa regulations, students on an F1 visa must maintain full-time enrollment status by enrolling in a minimum of 6 credit hours per term in the 5-term program or 9 credit hours per term in semester programs.
(2) Course extensions (including culminating project extensions, capstone extensions, and thesis extensions) are not counted among a student’s “hours enrolled.” For this reason, students who are only enrolled in the completion of a thesis, capstone experience, or culminating project are considered less than half-time students.
(3) Active duty military personnel pursuing certain online graduate programs in the semester format may qualify for full-time enrollment status at 6 credit hours. Such students should contact the VA Certifying Official for more information.
Student work is defined as assignments, homework, and other academic activities to be completed outside of instructional time, including reading, studying, writing, research etc. Students should expect to spend a minimum of two hours per week completing this work for each credit hour enrolled (thus 6 hours of work outside of class per week for a 3-hour course), although the time spent outside of class may increase based on the topic and level of the course.
No extra credit is permitted at the graduate level.
A student who is not seeking certification or any degree with Lindenwood University may be accepted as a Non-Degree, “Special Status” student. Students accepted with Special Status may not take more than twelve credit hours of regular, undergraduate, or graduate credit without being fully admitted. This policy does not apply to cooperative (workshop) credit. Students accepted with Special Status are not eligible for financial aid or student loans as they are not fully admitted to the university. Payment arrangements must be made with the Business Office prior to attending class.