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College of Liberal Arts
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies

Registration and Course Credit

Registration

The Graduate College will notify you officially by mail regarding your admission. Acceptance is for a specified semester; therefore, you should notify the Graduate College as soon as possible if you will not be enrolling in the semester for which you have been accepted.

Registration course schedules are published in advance of each semester. You may obtain information regarding registration each semester from the Registrar's Office at 512-245-2367, or at http://www.txstate.edu/registrar/, or the Graduate College at 512-245-2581. Registration in the Graduate College beyond the first semester depends on maintaining satisfactory academic progress.

Registration Termination

The Dean of the Graduate College may terminate the registration of any student who fails to comply with Graduate College and/or other appropriate university regulations.

Course Load

When enrolling through the Graduate College, the full-time course load during a long semester is nine semester hours; the maximum load is 15 hours. The full-time course load during each summer session is five semester hours; the maximum load is six hours.

An international student on an F-l visa must register as a full-time student each long semester (fall and spring semesters). As a graduate student, an international student must carry a minimum of nine semester credit hours, as required by immigration regulations, to be considered full-time.

Graduate assistants who are employed by the University must enroll for a minimum of nine hours of coursework each long semester. Any exception must be approved by Dean of Graduate College. Teaching Assistants should refer to the “Academic Policies, ‘Academic Information for Graduate Assistants’” section for course load information.

Overloads

Course loads exceeding the maximum hour loads listed above require written approval. Only the Dean of the Graduate College may authorize an overload. To request an overload, you must submit a written request to the Dean of the Graduate College at least three days before registration for review and approval. No overloads exceeding 15 semester hours total can be granted during the entire 10-12 week summer period.

Course Load Verification

Verification of students enrolled in the Graduate College varies by semester. If you are enrolled during the fall or spring semester, nine hours is considered full-time, six hours is 3/4-time, and five hours is half-time. If you are enrolled during a six-week summer session, five hours is considered full-time, four hours is 3/4-time, and three hours is half-time. If you are receiving VA benefits, you must check with Veteran's Affairs Office for enrollment requirement at 512-245-2641.

Continuing Education Study

Continuing education courses are non-credit hour classes and are not offered through the Graduate College. These courses do not apply toward doctoral degree programs at Texas State and are not considered for regular admission.

Correspondence Study and Extension Courses

Correspondence and extension course work cannot be used toward a doctoral degree at Texas State.

Course Credit

All courses required for the doctoral degree offered at Texas State University must be at the 7000 level. Background or leveling courses may be taken at the 1000-4000 (undergraduate level) or the 5000 (graduate level), but will not count toward a doctoral degree.

You must be enrolled in the course during the semester or summer session in which you receive credit for the class. You may not enroll in a class to:

  1. Receive credit for course work performed in a preceding semester or summer session.
  2. Receive credit for work performed at another college or university.

Repeating Courses

A student may repeat a course, but cannot receive credit for the course more than once unless the course description in the catalog specifically provides that the course may be repeated for credit. When a course is repeated once, the last grade earned ("W" and "I" grades excluded) is the only grade included in computing the student's cumulative record of hours attempted and grade points earned. When a course is repeated more than once, the second grade and all subsequent grades are included in computing the student's cumulative record of hours attempted and grade-points earned. If the last grade in a repeated course is lower than an earlier grade, the last grade is used to determine whether the course fulfills university requirements.

Post-Graduate Credit

Up to 6 hours of graduate-level courses taken as post-graduate certification with a grade of "B" or better may be petitioned for degree credit after a student is granted regular degree-seeking admission.

Transfer Credit

With the approval of the Department of Geography and the Dean of the Graduate College, Ph.D. students can transfer up to six semester hours of course work from another Ph.D. program that are directly applicable to the Ph.D. program at Texas State, provided:

  1. The credit was completed in residence at an accredited institution.
  2. Course work is at the doctoral level.
  3. The Graduate College is provided with written verification of your status at that University. Additionally, have your Departmental Graduate Advisor submit a written request to the Dean of the Graduate College asking for acceptance of the transfer work as part of your Texas State degree.
  4. Prior written approval is obtained from the Dean of the Graduate College if the credits are to be earned after your admission to the Graduate College. To gain this approval you must initiate a request for a letter of good standing well in advance of the time of your anticipated enrollment if you plan to take courses at another university to complete a part of your doctoral program at Texas State. Transfer credit cannot be permitted unless a letter of good standing has been issued prior to your enrollment in the course(s) to be transferred.

If you are currently working toward a doctoral degree at Texas State and wish to take a course at another accredited university to apply toward your degree at Texas State, you will need to:

  1. Receive prior permission from your Departmental Graduate Advisor to take a course elsewhere.
  2. Have your Graduate Advisor submit a written request to the Dean of the Graduate College so that the Dean can issue an official letter of good standing. The request from the advisor should identify the course(s) by name and number and should state what semester(s) and where you will be taking the work. If the Dean of the Graduate College approves the request, a letter of good standing will be sent by the Dean of the Graduate College to the university where you will enroll.
  3. Have an official transcript of your work forwarded to the Graduate College as soon as you have completed the work.

Transfer work will be accepted only if it bears a letter grade of "B" or higher, or a numerical equivalent. A grade of Credit, Pass, Satisfactory, etc., is unacceptable. Transfer work will not be accepted for graduate degree credit from another institution if such courses are designated as non-degree, background, preparatory, etc. No credit will be awarded until an official transcript showing the course work to be transferred is on file in the Graduate College. You may also be requested to provide a catalog that gives course descriptions for any transfer work requested.

Students on probation/suspension will not receive credit for transfer work.

Undergraduate-Level Background Course Work

Undergraduate courses taken to fulfill background requirements will be accepted for transfer only if such courses are of the same level as those specified on the official degree outline.

Withdrawal

Withdrawing from the university is an official action whereby a student informs the University Registrar, who in turn informs the instructor(s) of record, that the student will cease attending all classes in which enrolled.

The student must contact the University Registrar in person, by letter, or by fax to withdraw officially from the university. Visit the Registrar’s Office website or contact the Registrar’s Office at 512-245-2367 for the proper procedures. Students living in university residence halls must also contact the Residence Life Office in person, by letter, or by fax.

Dropping a Class

Dropping a class is an official action whereby a student drops a course(s), yet remains enrolled in at least one other course. Refer to the Schedule of Classes for details on dropping a class information or the
Registrars website.

Deadlines

The deadline for dropping classes or withdrawing from the University is two weeks preceding the beginning of final examinations during the fall and spring semesters (one week preceding final examinations during the summer sessions). When a student drops one or more classes or withdraws from the University, either a "W" or an "F" grade will be assigned for each course as follows:

  1. A "W" grade will be assigned automatically if a student officially withdraws from the University or officially drops one or more classes by the “automatic W” Drop/Withdrawal deadline.
  2. After the automatic "W" period, faculty assign grades to students who officially drop classes or withdraw from the University. Faculty assign a "W" grade only to those students who have a passing average at the time the drop/withdraw action is officially completed. Otherwise, faculty assign an "F" grade.