With the approval of their graduate degree program, students may, but are not guaranteed, transfer of graduate-level structured coursework from regionally accredited institutions; this includes USF System Institutions. These courses must have grades of B or better to be eligible for transfer of credit. To ensure compliance with Institutional Enrollment Requirements (Residency),It is up to the Program to determine the number of credits that may be transferred in from the Graduate Certificate into the Graduate Program, up to the 49% limits specified in the transfer of credit policy; these hours are reflected in the individual degree program listings in the USF Graduate Catalog in effect at the time of initial enrollment for that degree program. For doctoral programs, this percentage is based on the post-baccalaureate minimums. No coursework may be transferred that was completed five or more years prior to enrollment in the graduate degree program. Acceptance of transfer of credit requires approval of the student’s academic advisor, Graduate Program Director, College Dean or designee, and the Dean of the Office of Graduate Studies or designee. The graduate degree program / department will be responsible for evaluating, approving, and initiating the transfer using established criteria to ensure academic integrity of the coursework. This must be completed and submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies preferably in the first semester, but no later than the second semester the student is enrolled in the graduate degree program. Credits obtained from USF System Institutions will be calculated into the GPA at USF and will be noted on the transcript as the grade earned. Credits from other regionally accredited universities are not calculated into the GPA at USF. Also see Course Currency Policy in Section 5 - Course Information | Are transfer credits accepted towards my MPH degree? | | Use of "c" to note degree candidate |
| The College of Public Health does not permit students who are pursuing masters or doctoral degrees to use the degree acronym after their names and a small "c" for candidate. In other words students are not permitted to use MPHc, MSPHc, MHAc, PhDc, or DrPHc. If students, after successfully completing all comprehensive exams (core and concentration) for the master degrees or the qualifying exam for the doctoral degree wish to put after their name the words "master degree candidate" or "doctoral degree candidate*" – we allow this. The use of the degree acronym and small "c" creates confusion for faculty, employers, and other individuals who are reviewing students' CVs and other materials. It creates a situation wherein a student appears to have earned a degree when such is not the case. As a degree-granting College, we do not allow this. |
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| title | Are transfer credits accepted towards my degree program? |
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| Please see USF policy regarding Transfer of Credit.
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| title | Can I substitute a course taken at another institution for a requirement in my |
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| MPH title | Yes you may. You need to see your advisor and explain what course(s) you would like be substituted. |
They will then have you complete the following forms as well as submitting any supporting documents. http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/pdf/coursesubstitute.pdfhttp://www.grad.usf.edu/inc/linked-files/transfer_course.pdfYou may begin and complete the process in Archivum. Please click here to see the steps of starting and completing the process. |
Courses may not be dropped after the last day of classes except in cases of University Administrative error| Expand |
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| title | When can I drop a course? |
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A student may drop a course(s) during the following times: - During regular registration and the drop/add periods (first five days of classes). No entry of the course(s) will appear on any permanent academic records and full refund of fees is due for course(s) dropped within those periods.
- Between the second and tenth week of the semester (except for summer sessions - see the Summer Schedule of Classes for dates). Registration fees and tuition must be paid for the course(s) and the academic record will reflect a “W” grade for the dropped course(s).
- Following the tenth week deadline if the request meets one of the following exceptions:
- Illness of the student of such severity or duration to preclude completion of the course(s) as confirmed in writing by a physician (M.D.).
- Death of the student or death in the immediate family (parent, spouse, child or sibling) as confirmed by documentation (death certificate, obituary) indicating the student’s relationship to the deceased.
- Involuntary call to active military duty as confirmed by military orders.
- A situation in which the University is in error as confirmed by an appropriate University official.
- Other documented exceptional circumstances beyond the control of the student which precluded completion of the course(s) accompanied by explanatory letter and supporting documentation.
without academic penalty See the COPH Schedule for dates. After the After the final drop date the form required for this action is |
a available in the . Form should be completed and sent to COPH Academic and Student |
Affairs Office. Please see our staff to assist you. Petitions Affairs cophpermits@usf.edu for final signature and processing. Petitions submitted will take 2-3 weeks to process before a change in the OASIS system is noted. |
Students on probation may only enroll in graduate courses (5000‐7000 level) that are part of the approved degree program requirements as specified in the Graduate Catalog. Students with a GPA below 3.00 for two consecutive semesters will be prevented from registering for courses without the permission of the College Dean. The College Dean will notify the Dean of the Office of Graduate Studies in cases of academic dismissal. To be readmitted, the student will need to reapply for admission, meeting the admission criteria in place at the time. | Expand |
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| title | What happens if my graduate GPA (course average) drops below 3.0? |
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Any student who is not in good standing at the end of a semester shall be considered on probation as of the following semester. The college or program may also place students on probation for other reasons as designated by the college or program. Notification of probation shall be made to the student in writing by the department, with a copy to the College Dean. At the end of each probationary semester, the department shall recommend, in writing, to the College Dean one of the following: 1. Removal of probation;
2. Continued probation; OR
3. Dismissal from the degree program. For USF policies regarding Academic Good Standing and Probation please refer to the USF Catalog. For information on the Automated Probation Process go |
to http://www.grad.usf.edu/inc/linked-files/probation-procedure.pdf.
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| title | Can I miss a semester of taking classes? |
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| Yes. But be careful of time to degree. Master's and Ed.S. degrees must be completed within five (5) years from the student's date of admission for graduate study. Courses taken prior to admission to the USF graduate |
programmajor, for example as non-degree seeking or from other institutions |
that were transferred in, can be no older than seven years at the time of graduation, must be transferred in prior to graduation (preferably before the end of the student's second semester). Master and Ed.S. degrees (including |
dual degree programsconcurrent degrees) that require course work in excess of 50 credit hours may be granted a longer |
statute of limitations time limit by the University Graduate Council. Time Limit Extensions
In the event that a student nears the end of the time limitation as specified above, but the student needs more time to complete the degree, the student may submit a request for an extension using the Time Limit Extension Request Form, available on the Office of Graduate Studies |
website http://www.grad.usf.edu/student-forms.phpForms webpage. Requests must include: - the reasons for the delay in completion,
- the anticipated time needed for completion,
- endorsements from the graduate faculty advisor, graduate
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program- major, and College Dean or designee,
- a detailed plan of study denoting the pathway to completion and timeline for the the remaining requirements for the degree
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Editor's note Note — for the time limit extension procedures, if the time limit extension will cause courses taken |
or transferred into program 7 10 years, then a request for course concurrency may be required or the courses may be invalidated toward the degree requirements, per the time-limit policy. If approved, the time-limit extension |
also applies to courses applied toward the degree, with the exception of those transferred in or from completed majors. However, |
programs majors may require additional or repeat coursework as part of the condition of the time-limit extension. Students who exceed the time limitations may have their registration placed on hold until a request for extension has been approved. Only one time-limit extension request is permitted. Students who are temporarily unable to continue the |
program major should submit a Leave of Absence Request, which extends the time limit for the duration of the approved Leave for up to two years (see the section on Leave of Absence in the Enrollment Requirements section.) Note - Time Limit Extensions are valid for a maximum period of two (2) years from the date of request. For more information and guidance, contact the Office of Graduate Studies and 813 974-6505.
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| title | I stopped attending my program, but I would like to start again. What do I need to do? |
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All graduate degree-seeking students must be continuously enrolled. Continuous enrollment is defined as completing, with grades assigned, a minimum of 6 hours of graduate credit every three continuous semesters. Colleges and programs may have additional requirements. Students on an approved leave of absence are not subject to the enrollment requirement for the time approved for the leave. Students who have been Admitted to Doctoral Candidacy must follow the Dissertation Hour Enrollment in place of the Continuous Enrollment requirement as specified here for all graduate students (not in candidacy). See also the Time Limitations Students who do not meet the enrollment requirements will become inactive. Once inactive a student will have to be readmitted or reinstated. Students should contact their advisor to determine the course of action. See the USF Readmission Policy. |
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| title | Can nondegree credits be used toward a degree program? |
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Yes. Non-degree coursework is considered transfer coursework. With the approval of their graduate degree program, students may, but are not guaranteed, transfer of graduate-level structured coursework from regionally accredited institutions; this includes USF System Institutions. These courses must have grades of B or better to be eligible for transfer of credit. To ensure compliance with Institutional Enrollment Requirements (Residency), up to a maximum of 49% of a given graduate degree program’s minimum hours may be transferred; these hours are reflected in the individual degree program listings in the USF Graduate Catalog in effect at the time of initial enrollment for that degree program. For doctoral programs, this percentage is based on the post-baccalaureate minimums. No coursework may be transferred that was completed five or more years prior to enrollment in the graduate degree program
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| title | Can I apply a course I took 15 years ago towards my degree? |
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| All courses, with the exception of those approved for transfer of credit, should meet the time limit specified for the degree and be academically relevant as determined by the faculty in the graduate |
degree programmajor. Courses used for the graduate degree requirements can be no more than ten years old at the time the degree is conferred. |
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| title | Is there a current list of all the courses offered? |
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| For a listing of the most current, approved course descriptions refer to the USF Course Inventory available online |
at http://ugs.usf.edu/course-inventory or in the course description listing in the Graduate Catalog. |
at: https://documents.health.usf.edu/display/COPH/8+Course+Listing
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| title | What is considered a graduate level course? |
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| Any course that is 5000 level or higher. Some courses have similar course titles but are different levels. It is expected that the 4000 and 6000 courses will have distinct syllabi demonstrating different depth and breadth of the subject matter as reflected in the course requirements. The courses presuppose different audiences, and the intention is to offer them at distinct levels. |
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| title | Am I allowed to audit a course? |
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A student who wishes to sit in on a class to review the course material may do so; however, the student is not allowed to take exams, earn grades, or receive credit. The student’s status for that class is an audit and his/her presence in the classroom is as a listener. Audit status must be obtained only during the first five days of the term by filing an Audit Form and a date-stamped permit from the college/department on the campus where the course is being offered, with the Registrar’s Office. IN-STATE fees are assessed for all audit courses. Procedure and forms for requesting to audit are available on the Registrar’s website
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| title | Am I allowed to take a course using the pass/fail option? |
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Graduate students may not take courses in the major on an S/U (satisfactory/unsatisfactory) basis unless courses are specifically designated S/U in the Catalog. Students may take courses outside of the major on a S/U basis with prior approval of the course professor, major professor or advisor, and the Dean of the College in which the student is seeking a degree. The student may apply a maximum of six hours of such credit (excluding those courses for which S/U is designated in the Catalog) toward a master’s degree. Directed Research, Thesis, and Dissertation courses are designated as variable credit and are graded on an S/U basis only. Before a student begins work under Directed Research, a written agreement must be completed between the student and the professor concerned, setting forth in detail the requirements of the coursePlease refer to the USF Catalog for Satisfactory (S)/Unsatisfactory (U) course policy. |
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| title | Will credits that have been transferred affect my GPA? |
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| No. Transfer work transfers credit hours only. No grades are transferred, therefor not affecting your GPA at USF. This does include non-degree courses that were |
took taken at USF, if it was taken at USF it will go towards your GPA. |
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| title | Who do I contact if my advisor is unavailable or out for an extended period of time? |
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| You |
would want to contact your department administrator for assistanceshould contact the graduate advising team via email at COPH-Grad@usf.edu. You can also contact the Office of |
Graduate Studies Academic and Student Affairs in the College of Public Health at |
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