Registrar

Academic Policies

Graduate Courses

A qualified Vanderbilt University senior undergraduate may enroll in courses approved for graduate credit and receive credit that, upon the student’s admission to the Vanderbilt Graduate School, may be applicable toward a graduate degree. Vanderbilt cannot guarantee that another graduate school will grant credit for such courses. The principles governing this option are as follows:

  1. Work taken under this option is limited to those courses approved for graduate credit and listed as such in the Graduate School catalog, excluding thesis and dissertation research courses and similar individual research and readings courses.
  2. The student must, at the time of registration, have a B average in all prior work to be counted toward the bachelor’s degree, or a B average in all prior work to be counted toward the undergraduate major, or a B average in the preceding two semesters.
  3. The total course load, including both graduate and undergraduate courses, must not exceed 15 hours in any semester.
  4. A registration form for undergraduate Arts and Science students wishing to exercise this option is available in the College of Arts and Science office. The interested student must use this form to obtain the written approval of the following: a) their academic adviser, b) the instructor of the course, c) and the director of graduate studies of the department or program.

Reserving Credit for Graduate School

Arts & Science students who are interested in reserving the credit earned in a graduate course should consult with the Office of the Graduate School before attempting to register for graduate courses under this option.

  1. Arts and Science students who are interested in reserving the credit earned in a graduate course should consult with the the Graduate School before attempting to register for graduate courses under this option.
  2. The work must be in excess of that required for the bachelor’s degree.
  3. All of the above criteria apply under this option.
  4. The student must declare their intention to reserve this credit on the registration form.
  5. Permission for Vanderbilt undergraduates to enroll in graduate courses does not constitute a commitment on the part of any department to accept the student as a graduate student in the future.
  6. An undergraduate student exercising this option is treated as a graduate student with regard to class requirements and grading standards.

--quoted from the 2006/2007 Undergraduate Catalog, p. 156

How to Enroll in a Graduate Course

Qualified seniors who wish to enroll in a graduate course must first come to the Arts and Science Deans office in 311 Kirkland Hall to pick up an Undergraduate Enrollment Request for Graduate Level Course form. The student must then obtain the written approval of their academic adviser as well as the instructor of the course and the Director of Graduate Studies of the department in which the graduate course is being offered. Signed forms must be returned to the Office of Records and Institutional Research in order for the student to be enrolled in the class.

» Undergraduate Enrollment Request for Graduate Level Course form .