Maintaining Continuous Matriculation

All graduate degree seeking students must maintain continuous matriculation from the time of admission until the completion of all degree requirements. There are three ways that a student can maintain continuous student status:

A student must be registered for at least one graduate credit hour per semester,
or;
A student must be registered for Continuous Enrollment status (i.e. GPS 798 at the masters level or GPS 898 at the doctoral level)
or;
A student must be on an approved Leave of Absence.

Degree seeking students who are actively taking required and elective courses must register for those courses. Students who have completed course work requirements for their degree, but are utilizing the resources of the University (e.g., the library, email, faculty advising and mentoring) during thesis or dissertation research and writing, must register for at least one graduate credit hour each semester. After completion of required and elective courses, including internships and practicum experiences, registration for at least one graduate credit hour is required for graduate students:

to take candidacy or qualifying examinations,
to take comprehensive examinations,
to complete the requirements of an incomplete course,
to receive faculty mentoring for thesis or dissertation and research and writing,
to defend a thesis proposal,
to defend a thesis,
to defend a dissertation proposal,
to defend a dissertation.

Continuous Enrollment (registering for GPS 798 and GPS 898) may be used when a student has completed all requirements except one course that will not be offered in the current semester, but will be offered the following semester. Summer sessions in which there are no graduate department program requirements are not included in this policy. Students in "summers only" programs must be enrolled in fall, spring, and summer semesters for graduate credit. If there are no courses that can be taken in a given semester, "summers only" students may register for GPS 798 Continuous Enrollment, with permission of the department.

GPS 798 and GPS 898 Continuous Enrollment registration instructions and forms are available on the Registrar's web site (http://registrar.gallaudet.edu) and from the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School (https://my.gallaudet.edu/graduate-school-forms-and-documents/continuous-enrollment-ce). The form must be completed and approved by the academic advisor, the department chair, and the Dean of the Graduate School. The fee for all students who are approved for GPS 798 and GPS 898 Continuous Enrollment, including staff and faculty who receive tuition waivers, is $100 per semester. Completion of GPS 798 and GPS 898 Continuous Enrollment results in earning no credit and a grade of NG (no grade) at the end of each semester.

Leaves of Absence (LOA) are requested and approved through the graduate department and the Graduate Dean. To request an LOA, a student must follow the procedures outlined in the Graduate Catalog section on Graduate LOA. When an LOA is approved, the student does not register for classes at the University for the approved span of the LOA and they do not have access to University resources such as use of the official Gallaudet email account, graduate faculty mentoring or graduate advisor time, and the Library. More information about LOAs can be found elsewhere in the graduate web catalog.

Please Note: Failure to register for graduate credit or Continuous Enrollment status, including completing Business Registration (making payment or signing a promissory note for classes) by the last day of the Academic Calendar graduate school "Add/Drop Courses" date for a given semester will result in termination from the program of study. A student who is terminated due to non-registration must apply for readmission to the program of study.