Graduate Admission Categories

Admission to the Graduate School is determined by the Dean of the Graduate School after evaluation and approval of credentials and recommendation by the faculty of the academic discipline concerned. A baccalaureate degree is the minimum credential required for admission to the Graduate School. Students may apply for admission before this requirement is met but may not enroll as graduate students until this degree is conferred.

Once you have been accepted for admittance to the Graduate School, you will be assigned an admission category. You will find your assignment on your admission letter. Below is an explanation of those categories.

Categories of Admission: Degree Seeking

Full Standing – Applicants who are recommended by the faculty of the academic area concerned and whose credentials include a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution, a 3.0 or equivalent grade-point average on the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work, and an acceptable score on the standardized test appropriate to their discipline, may be considered for admission in full standing to a degree program.

Provisional* – Applicants who have not met requirements for full standing admission but whose credentials include a baccalaureate degree and who indicate a reasonable chance for success, may be admitted in this category on rare occasions (typically less than 10% of a program’s students should be admitted with provisional status). The program shall specify the requirements for the student to be re-classified as a full standing graduate student, and such requirements can include up to 9 hours of remedial coursework. Upon advancement to full standing admission and recommendation of the departmental chair concerned, credit earned while enrolled in this status may be applied to a degree program. Students admitted in this category must satisfy all conditions of admission by the end of their first 9 hours of enrollment or their status will be changed to nondegree. Provisionally admitted students may take graduate courses as part of fulfilling the requirements for full admission status. Students admitted in this category are not eligible for graduate assistantships or federal financial aid. Provisional students may not preregister for a second enrollment. *Note: Students in this category may not be eligible for some types of financial aid.

Qualifying – Applicants whose academic qualifications are not sufficiently strong to warrant admission to a degree program, but who take courses that will strengthen their qualifications to enter graduate degree programs, will be admitted as qualifying students. Courses completed in this category may not be applied to a graduate degree program at The University of Mississippi. Students admitted in this category are not eligible to receive graduate assistantships. While in qualifying status, a student may take a minimum of 9 hours and a maximum of 18 hours. When recommending admission into this category, departments are required to specify up to 18 hours of undergraduate course work, and/or to specify a non-course requirement, to be completed satisfactorily before the student is considered for admission into a graduate degree program. *Note: Students in this category may not be eligible for some types of financial aid.”

Categories of Admission: Non-degree Seeking

Non-degree I** – Applicants with no intention to pursue or qualify for a graduate degree program and whose undergraduate grade-point average is below 2.7 will be admitted in this category. Enrollment is restricted to courses at the 400 level and below.

Non-Degree II** – Applicants with no intention to pursue a graduate degree program and whose undergraduate grade-point average is 2.7 or higher will be admitted in this category. Students admitted in this category cannot register for thesis or dissertation hours. Enrollment is restricted to courses at the 600 level or below unless the student has permission from the department offering the course to enroll in a 700 level course. Non-degree II students who later apply for and are accepted in a degree program may apply a maximum of 9 hours of graduate work taken in this category.

Non-degree III** – International applicants who will be enrolled in a Graduate Accelerator Program and have a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution with an earned grade-point average of at least 2.5 may be admitted to this category. A student in this category may not register for thesis or dissertation hours. Applicants must meet the English language proficiency requirements established for admission to the Graduate Accelerator Program. Non-degree III students who later are admitted to a degree program may apply a maximum of 12 hours of courses taken in this category to the degree.

Visiting – A student who wishes to enroll in graduate course work for transfer toward a degree at another institution may be admitted in a visiting status. A visiting student must have written approval of the institution to which the credit will be transferred. Credit earned as a visiting student at The University of Mississippi may not be applied toward a degree program at this institution.

**Note: Admission as a Non-Degree does not guarantee admission to any degree program; students in the Non-Degree I or II category are NOT eligible for financial aid.

**Non-Degree students must ask for department permission to take a class before enrolling.