Courses and Grading

1. Course Numbering System at the University of Massachusetts

001-099	Noncredit
100-199	Introductory lower division (freshman)
200-299	Other lower division (sophmore)
300-399	Upper division (junior/senior)
400-499	Upper division (junior/senior); graduate credit may be awarded only to candidates outside the department’s own graduate program when taught by a member of the Graduate Faculty.
500-599	Combined graduate/undergraduate
600-699	Master’s or first-year graduate
700-899	Doctoral and advanced graduate
900-999	Post-terminal degree

Fixed Numbers (Graduate/Undergraduate)

590	Experimental courses
591-595	Seminars, variable titles
596	Independent study
597	Special topics, variable titles

Fixed Numbers (Graduate)

690, 790, 890	Experimental courses
691-695, 791-795, 891-895	Seminars, variable titles
696, 796, 896	Independent study, variable titles
697, 797, 897	Special topics, variable titles
698	Practicum
699	Master’s thesis
899	Doctoral dissertation

2. “More Restrictive” Program Regulations

Any Graduate School regulation or procedure shall not preclude graduate programs from developing specific regulations or procedures which are more restrictive or selective.

3. Retaking Courses

Unless otherwise noted a course may be taken more than once but may be offered only once toward degree requirements.

4. Grading Policy

The following letter grades can be given to graduate students in graduate-level courses: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, F. These grades carry the following numerical equivalents for purposes of computing cumulative averages: A = 4.000, A- = 3.700, B+ = 3.300, B = 3.000, B- = 2.700, C+ = 2.300, C = 2.000, and F = 0. Graduate students enrolled in undergraduate courses may receive grades of C-, D+ and D (C- = 1.700, D+ = 1.300, D = 1.000).

5. Incompletes

A student can obtain credit for an “incomplete” only by finishing the work of the course before the end of one calendar year from the time of enrollment in that course. At the end of that period, if a grade is not submitted an IF (Incomplete Failure) will be recorded. The initiative in arranging for the removal of an “incomplete” rests with the student. This regulation does not apply to thesis and dissertation credits but does apply to terminal project credits.