Admission statuses

Regular status

To be considered for Regular status, applicants must have a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.75 or the equivalent (on the U.S. 4.0 scale) from the degree granting institution(s). Applicants who have earned 9 or more letter-graded graduate credits must have a minimum graduate GPA of 3.0 or the equivalent; this graduate GPA supersedes the undergraduate GPA.

University Conditional status

Applicants who have a cumulative undergraduate GPA between 2.5 and 2.74 or the equivalent from the degree-granting institution(s) are eligible for University Conditional status. Students admitted with University Conditional status must achieve a 3.0 cumulative graduate GPA, based on all graduate courses taken at PSU, once they have completed 9 letter-graded graduate credits after admission. Students who meet the University Conditional status GPA requirement will automatically be converted to Regular status. Students with University Conditional status who do not earn a cumulative graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher once completing 9 letter-graded graduate credits at PSU after admission will have their admission canceled.

Department Conditional status

Department Conditional status may be imposed on a student who has a deficiency in departmental requirements. These conditions may include GPA requirements or additional coursework and may be more rigorous than University Conditional status or other University standards. Department Conditional status is removed once a department determines the appropriate requirements have been met. Students who do not fulfill the requirements of their Department Conditional status can have their admission canceled by the department.

Both University Conditional and Department Conditional status

Students who have both University Conditional status and Department Conditional status are subject to all of the policies stated above. University Conditional status and Department Conditional status are removed independent of each other, and usually not at the same time.

Postbaccalaureate

Students not currently working toward a degree but who wish to register for more than 8 graduate credits per term may be admitted to postbaccalaureate status. A postbaccalaureate student may find departmental enrollment limitations on many courses.

A postbaccalaureate student wishing to be admitted to a graduate certificate or degree program must apply in the same way as any other applicant, meet the general University requirements, and be recommended for admission by the department. Courses completed in a postbaccalaureate status are not automatically applied toward a graduate degree; each course must be evaluated and recommended by the department and is considered pre-admission credit to which all pre-admission limits and requirements apply. See Pre-admission and transfer credit for additional details.