All degree-seeking graduate students are expected to follow a course of study appropriate to their degree program while meeting grade requirements and academic regulations. Students at the thesis or dissertation stage should regularly submit progress reports or chapter drafts to their committees.
Academic Standing
To remain in good academic standing and to meet the requirements for the awarding of a graduate degree or certificate, a student must demonstrate acceptable performance in course work after being admitted to a graduate degree or certificate program. This requires a 3.00 cumulative GPA for upper-division and graduate-level courses (numbered 300-400 and 600-700) completed at UH Mānoa. Please check with your program for additional course grade requirements.
In addition to the expectation of successful completion of course work described in the previous paragraph, good academic standing requires satisfactory progress in the graduate program. The student’s advisor, the graduate program chair or the Dean of Graduate Division may render judgments as to whether satisfactory progress is being made toward the degree, taking into account all aspects of academic performance and promise, not necessarily coursework alone. A positive judgment is required to remain in good academic standing. The student’s department and individual advisory committee are responsible for evaluating the student’s performance with respect to programmatic, departmental and/or professional standards. Failure to meet these standards may result in termination of enrollment.
Academic Probation and Termination
In order to remain in good academic standing, graduate students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 once they have a total of 8 credit hours attempted and any higher or additional academic standards established by the faculty of the program of study. For Graduate Division purposes, total credit hours attempted is defined as the sum of credit hours for all graduate courses in which a graduate student is enrolled as of the official university enrollment report date or ‘census date.’ Thesis (700) and dissertation (800) courses are not included as they may be repeated multiple times and no grade (NG) is assigned until the degree is conferred.
Students who fail to remain in good academic standing in accordance with the paragraphs above, will be automatically placed on academic probation by the Graduate Division, during which time they will have an opportunity to correct their academic deficiencies. The probationary period will last for the following semester. The student must be registered during the semester s/he is placed on probation. No extensions of the probationary period will be granted due to incompletes (I). Enrollment at the graduate level will be automatically terminated by the Graduate Division for students who fail to correct their academic deficiencies by the end of the probationary period. Graduate students will not be allowed to register for classes and will be subject to immediate dismissal if it is mathematically impossible to achieve an overall cumulative GPA of 3.00 by the end of the probationary period.
Students who fail to meet their program’s criteria may be placed on probation or dismissed at the request of the program. Students may appeal dismissal decisions by following the process outlined in the Academic Grievance section.
Progress Forms
The Graduate Division uses a set of three forms to track and monitor the academic progress of master’s Plan A and doctoral students. The graduate chair shall submit the forms in sequence to the Office of Graduate Student Services, as each appropriate stage in the student’s program of study is completed. No forms are required of master’s Plan B/C or MFA students. The forms are used to report the following:
| Pre-Candidacy Progress (Form I) |
Submit Form I immediately after results of the general or qualifying exam become available. |
| Advance to Candidacy (Form II) |
Submit Form II prior to registering for Thesis 700 or Dissertation 800 or before the last day to add courses during the semester of registration. Registration in Thesis 700 or Dissertation 800 is allowed only after this form and all necessary attachments have been received and approved by the Graduate Division. |
| Thesis or Dissertation Examination Evaluation (Form III) |
Submit Form III immediately after results of the final exam become available or no later than three weeks prior to the thesis/dissertation due date as indicated in the Calendar. |
| Thesis or Dissertation Submission (Form IV) | See Thesis & Dissertation > Final Defense. |