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Notification of Admission


Each applicant recommended for graduate admission by a department and determined eligible by the Dean of the Graduate College will be issued a Certificate of Graduate Admission for the term for which he or she has applied. The Certificate of Graduate Admission can be issued only by the Dean of the Graduate College. The Certificate is the sole official verification that graduate admission to The University of Arizona has been approved for a specific term. Questions about admissions or denial, however should be addressed to the specific academic department.

Applicants who do not enroll for the term to which they have been admitted must contact their department if they wish to defer enrollment to another term. If they want to be considered at a later time, they may be required to submit additional documentation. Admission to a specific term does not guarantee admission to subsequent terms.

The Certificate of Graduate Admission will specify the status to which the applicant has been admitted, as one of the following:

Regular Graduate Status: Students who meet all admission requirements and are selected by their academic department will be admitted to Regular Graduate Status. Only students in Regular Graduate Status can be awarded a graduate degree.

Admission with Deficiencies: When previous academic work does not meet the general requirements for the corresponding bachelor's degree at The University of Arizona or the requirements for the field in which the candidate proposes to specialize, additional undergraduate courses may be required. With departmental approval, a maximum of 16 semester units of undergraduate course work may be completed after admission to a graduate program to make up deficiencies. No graduate credit will be earned for this course work.

Provisional Admission: Provisional admission indicates some reservation on the part of the Graduate College or major department with regard to the applicant's qualifications to undertake graduate work leading to an advanced degree. This restriction does not, however, impair the student's opportunity to earn graduate credit in properly selected courses. If admitted provisionally, a student can request regular graduate standing upon completion of 9 credit hours of graduate work with a graduate grade-point average of 3.0 or better, in addition to meeting any other requirements established by their department. Students admitted provisionally because they lack only GRE or other standardized examination scores may request conversion to Regular Graduate Status immediately upon the receipt of the scores by their department. Students on Provisional Status who wish to be admitted to Regular Graduate Status should submit a " Provisional to Regular Graduate Status Request" form available from the Graduate Degree Certification Office or on line.

International Special Status: International students may be admitted initially to International Special Status for a period of enrollment limited to two academic semesters, with the understanding that they may be required to complete a number of units without earning graduate credit to make up deficiencies. Students in International Special Status must enroll full-time, taking a minimum of 9 units of credit per semester. At the conclusion of the student's first semester in residence, the Graduate College and the department will evaluate the student's progress. If the department recommends a change to Regular Graduate Status, the student can receive graduate credit for all graduate courses taken during the first semester in residence. If the academic unit does not recommend conversion to Regular Graduate Status, a final evaluation of the student's progress will be conducted following the student's second semester in residence. If the change is approved, the student can receive graduate credit for all graduate courses taken during the one semester immediately preceding the award of Regular Graduate Status. If the department cannot recommend a change to Regular Graduate Status after the second semester, the student will not be allowed to continue in the degree program. It is the responsibility of the student to initiate the paperwork requesting conversion to Regular Graduate Status, by submitting an "International Special Student Change of Status" form to the Graduate Degree Certification Office.

"Subject To" Admission: A student who is admitted pending completion of Graduate College requirements (as in the case of a student who applies for Fall admission while completing a bachelor's degree the previous spring) must submit the required documentation to the Graduate Admissions Office within 30 days of the beginning of the first term of enrollment. Failure to comply will result in the restriction of the student's record at The University of Arizona, prohibiting future registration, receipt of semester grades, disbursement of financial aid funds, and release of the official transcript and other student records.