Policy

Miami Degree Residence

Students must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours offered through the Oxford and/or the regional campuses, including 12 of the final 30 hours required for the baccalaureate degree. Exceptions to this general rule are:

1. Students qualifying for a degree under one of the professional arrangement programs in the College of Arts and Science must earn 90 hours of Miami University credit applicable to a baccalaureate degree. Students pursuing baccalaureate degrees in the Farmer School of Business must complete 50% of their business course work at Miami University.
2. For the associate degree programs in specialized areas offered through the regional campuses:
   1. a minimum of 15 semester hours must be taken in residence through the regional campuses;
   2. a minimum of 9 of the last 20 credit hours must be taken through Miami University;
3. For the Associate in Arts degree:
   1. students must complete a minimum of 30 semester credit hours in residence through the Oxford and/or the regional campuses;
   2. a minimum of 9 of the last 20 credit hours must be taken through Miami University;
   3. only one area of concentration is awarded within the Associate in Arts degree;

Courses

All students who matriculated to Miami University beginning with the fall of 1992 must complete 36 credit hours of Foundation courses offered under the Miami Plan (please refer to the Miami Plan regulations as set forth in The Miami Bulletin - General Edition for additional information).

Students will ordinarily be graduated under the University and divisional requirements in effect at their entrance into Miami University; however, students always have the option of completing, in its entirety, a more current program. Exceptions may occur when changing professional or accreditation standards necessitate new requirements. If a student’s course of study is prolonged beyond ten years, curricula changes adopted after his or her entrance date may be required by the University, division, or department.

Students who have earned credits more than ten years before their planned graduation date must petition to their divisional committee of advisors to validate these credits. The student is responsible for supplying course descriptions or college catalogs from the institution he or she previously attended if credit is ten or more years old.

Basic physical education is optional, and no more than ten credit hours of basic physical education courses can be applied toward a baccalaureate degree. No more than five semester hours of credit for basic physical education courses can be applied toward an associate degree.

Students can register for no more than five credit hours per term or semester or ten credit hours per academic year for Independent Study (177, 277, 377, or 477).

Students cannot graduate with grades of IG, IGY, IU, IUY, N. S. or U. See Grades and Scholarship policy.

Scholastic

A minimum cumulative average of 2.00 is required for a baccalaureate degree. Other course requirements, grade point averages, and the number of credit hours required for the respective baccalaureate degrees are fixed separately by the various divisions of the University. A student must fulfill all of the requirements of his or her curriculum except for variations that may be authorized by the appropriate divisional committee of advisors.

For the granting of all degrees, in computing the average of a candidate, all credits and grades earned at Miami University are to be counted except those in-service courses in physical education earned through August 1970 and after August 2004. The conferral of all baccalaureate and associate degrees will be granted following the semester or term when all degree and other requirements have been met and after the student has applied for graduation. Exceptions to this policy can only be granted in the case of administrative error.

The minimum cumulative grade point average to receive an associate degree is 2.00. However, if in subsequent work a student’s cumulative average falls below 2.00, the student may receive an associate degree if the student had a minimum 2.00 cumulative average at the conclusion of the term in which the student completed the requirement for the degree. The student’s academic record would indicate date of completion of the degree requirement, the degree to be awarded at the next commencement.

Application Fee and Filing Deadlines for Graduation

Applications for Graduation

Students may graduate following any semester or term. Associate, baccalaureate, and graduate degree-seeking students are strongly encouraged to submit an online application the semester or term prior to the one in which they plan to graduate in order that graduation requirements can be checked by the Office of the University Registrar and the appropriate division. By filing the applications early, students will be notified of any problems so appropriate corrective action can be taken. Department and divisional requirements should be checked by the student in conjunction with his or her academic advisor. An application fee for graduation for those receiving an associate, baccalaureate, master’s, specialist, or doctorate degree must be paid regardless of attendance at commencement exercises. A graduation fee is assessed for the first instance of each degree application. Paid applications must be received no later than 30 working days prior to commencement to be included in publications. In the event a student does not meet requirements and is deleted from the graduation list, a new application must be submitted to be considered for a future graduation date.

Deadlines published in the Academic Calendar should be observed for the filing of graduation applications.

Additional Majors and Degrees

A student who is pursuing a program of study leading to completion of all degree requirements, including divisional requirements, in more than one department or area is expected to notify the Office of the University Registrar and the departments involved early in his or her program that he or she is a prospective multiple major and obtain an advisor in each department. A student who completes two or more different majors that result in the awarding of the same baccalaureate degree will receive that degree and will have all majors noted on his or her academic record. A student who completes two or more different majors that would normally result in the awarding of different bachelor’s degrees may receive each degree by applying and paying the fee for each. All requirements for each degree must be met.

A student who has previously received a bachelor’s degree from another accredited college or university may qualify for a bachelor’s degree from Miami by earning an additional 32 credit hours and meeting all specific requirements for the additional degree.

A student receiving a second bachelor’s degree from Miami University may be graduated with distinction if both his or her total average and the average on the work for the second degree qualify under provisions of the policy titled “Degree Honors and Distinction” (see also the section of this policy titled “Courses”). All Miami University grades will be used to calculate the average in determining graduation with distinction for the second and subsequent baccalaureate degrees. After terminating enrollment at Miami, a student who has previously received a Miami bachelor’s degree may transfer in no more than eight semester hours toward the requirements of an additional major, or any minor program.

A student who has received an associate degree may qualify for an additional associate degree by meeting all of the specific requirements for the second degree, and applying for and paying the second fee.

Related Form(s)

Not Applicable.

Additional Resources and Procedures

Websites

• The Miami Bulletin - General Edition
• Academic Calendar

FAQ

Not Applicable.

Policy Administration

Next Review Date

7/1/2023

Responsible Officer

• Provost & Executive Vice President
• Associate Provost

Legal Authority

Not Applicable.

Compliance Policy

No

Revision History

Amended July 2018; Amended July 2022

Reference ID

Student Handbook 1.10

Reviewing Bodies

• Administrative
• Miami University Senate