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Undergraduate Students Taking Graduate Courses

Section:300
Section Title:Academic
Policy Number:300-ZZ
Policy Name:Undergraduate Students Taking Graduate Courses
Approval Authority:Provost/VP for Teaching, Learning & Growth
Responsible Executive:Provost/VP for Teaching, Learning & Growth
Responsible Unit:Office of the Provost
Date Adopted:April 2016
Date Revised:March 2019, May 2019, September 2020, July 2023

Policy

Ramapo College undergraduate students may take graduate courses at Ramapo College.

 

Reason for Policy

To delineate the procedures whereby undergraduate students may take graduate courses.

 

To Whom Does The Policy Apply

Ramapo College undergraduate students

 

Related Documents

Procedure

 

Contacts

Office of the Provost: 201-684-7532

 

Procedure

Matriculated Undergraduate Students Taking Graduate Courses

 A Ramapo College undergraduate student who wishes to take a Ramapo College graduate course must be a matriculated undergraduate student in good standing, must receive positive endorsement from their academic advisor, and must receive permission from the Director of the graduate program that sponsors the course that they wishes to take. Granted this permission, the student will be considered a non-matriculated student in the graduate program and will be charged undergraduate tuition and fees for the graduate course. Under these conditions, an undergraduate student may take a maximum of TWO graduate courses (not to exceed 8 credits) during their undergraduate career and must be on track to complete at least 48 credits at Ramapo, as required by the Undergraduate Residency Requirement Policy and the Minimum Graduation Requirements Policy.

 

Undergraduate Students Accepted into 4+1 Bachelor’s + Master’s Programs Taking Graduate Courses

Undergraduate matriculated students pursuing a 4+1 Bachelor’s + Master’s program may, with the permission of the Director of the graduate program, take ONE  ADDITIONAL graduate course, for a maximum of THREE TOTAL graduate courses (not to exceed 12 credits) that will be billed at the undergraduate tuition rate. Undergraduate students may be registered for up to 8 graduate credits in a given semester; undergraduate students may not be registered for more than 50% of their credit load in graduate-level courses.  Students who have already graduated from Ramapo College with an undergraduate degree and return to pursue a graduate degree will be charged graduate tuition rates.  Undergraduate students cannot take 600-level or higher MBAD (MBA) courses.

The graduate course appears on both the undergraduate transcript and the graduate transcript with the same subject code, number, title, number of credits, and grade. In addition, the course requires graduate-level work.

As part of the undergraduate transcript, the course counts in the student’s undergraduate semester and cumulative GPAs, overall and (if applicable) major GPAs, and total number of credits attempted and earned. The course also affects the student’s undergraduate academic standing, applies towards undergraduate degree requirements.

If the student graduates with the undergraduate degree and later matriculates in a Ramapo College graduate program, the student may also use those graduate courses, if applicable, to satisfy graduate degree requirements.

 

 

Post-Baccalaureate Students Who Want to Take Graduate Courses

Students who enroll at Ramapo College after earning their baccalaureate degree elsewhere or at Ramapo have the following two options:

  • Post-baccalaureate students may choose to maintain their post-baccalaureate status, register for undergraduate courses, and be charged at the undergraduate tuition rate. These “post-bac students” are not eligible to register for graduate courses unless and until they apply for, are accepted, and subsequently enroll in a graduate program through the normal Graduate Admissions process. Upon enrollment in the graduate program, students will register for graduate courses, be charged at the graduate tuition rate, and be subject to graduate program policies and procedures.
  • Post-baccalaureate students pursuing a certification in the Teacher Education program may, at time of admission, matriculate at Ramapo College for a second degree in Elementary Education and, in doing so, will be eligible for the 4+1 Elementary Education + M.A. in Special Education program as described above. If accepted by the Director of the graduate program, students must complete the 4+1 Graduate Major Declaration Form available through the Office of the Registrar. Second-degree students must also follow all Ramapo College policies including, but not limited to, completing half of the major at Ramapo, completing a minimum of 48 credits at Ramapo, and taking the last 32 credits in residency. (See Minimum Graduation Requirements Policy and Undergraduate Residency Requirement Policy.) Post-bac, second-degree students may need to take additional courses to meet these minimum requirements in order to be able to take up to THREE graduate-level courses that will be billed at the undergraduate tuition rate.