Duke University Registrar: A Comprehensive Guide to Academic Policies and Procedures
Duke University's Graduate School Academic Affairs office and other registrar offices oversee a multitude of essential student records and specialized course registration procedures. This article aims to provide a detailed overview of these processes, covering topics such as enrollment requirements, course transfers, leaves of absence, interinstitutional registration, and record requests. It is designed to be understandable for a wide audience, from prospective students to current graduate candidates.
Enrollment and Credit Requirements
Full-Time Enrollment
Master’s students studying at Duke on a visa must maintain full-time enrollment status in every spring and fall semester except their final/graduating term. A minimum of 9.0 credits is required to be considered a full-time master’s student. Full-time students may enroll in up to 15 credits of coursework each semester. After completing at least one graduate semester in good academic standing, a student may request an overload to enroll in more than 15.0 credits in a semester, subject to the Director of Graduate Studies' approval.
Course Auditing
The course auditing fee is waived if a graduate student is enrolled full-time, encouraging continuous learning and exploration of different subjects.
Music Lessons
Students wishing to enroll in Music lessons courses will be charged a lessons course fee that is not covered by standard PhD or master’s tuition.
Course Management
Dropping Fuqua MBA Courses
Students do not have access in DukeHub to drop a Fuqua MBA course during drop/add. To drop a Fuqua MBA course during drop/add, students should contact the Graduate School Registrar, who will execute the drop for the student. Standard course withdrawal policies apply to discontinue a Fuqua MBA course after the drop/add period concludes.
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Transferring Course Credits
After successfully completing a minimum of 12 graduate course credits at Duke, master’s students may request the transfer of up to six (6) post-baccalaureate course credits to the Duke transcript, subject to the approval of their Director of Graduate Studies. To be eligible for transfer, the courses must be at the graduate-level, be not more than six years old, and have been graded B- or better. Transferring coursework does not reduce the minimum of 30 units at Duke required for a master's degree, nor does it reduce the number of semesters master’s students must pay full-time tuition (3). Students are required to register for units at Duke equivalent to the number of transferred units.
Leave of Absence
Students in good academic standing may apply for a total of two semesters of leave. Those who have been on a leave of absence and who intend to resume a degree program must give the department and the academic dean notice of this intention one month before the first day of the semester of their return.
Summer Enrollment Leave (SEL)
Unenrollment will result in cancelation of the summer stipend, tuition, and fees. Student medical insurance coverage will be maintained. SEL is applicable only to students who will be away from their program of study for the entire summer.
En Route Master's Degree for Ph.D. Students
Students actively enrolled in a Ph.D. program within The Graduate School (TGS) of Duke University can pursue one master's degree en route to the Ph.D. without being charged for an additional 30 units of graduate credit. This is limited to master's degrees conferred by TGS and may be in either the same department or discipline as the Ph.D. or in a different department, as long as that department offers an en route TGS master's degree and has approved the awarding of it concurrently. All students who wish to receive an en route master's degree must pass a master's milestone examination in the department in which they intend to receive a master's degree. Students who wish to pursue a master's degree in a different department from their Ph.D.
Transferring Between Ph.D. Programs
Ph.D. students may, with the approval of both departments or degree programs, request a transfer from one Ph.D. program to another within The Graduate School. Requests for transfers should occur before students take the preliminary examination in their current program.
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Interinstitutional Registration
Duke University participates in interinstitutional registration, allowing students to take courses at other universities under certain conditions. UNC-Chapel Hill is considered the home institution of students enrolled in a degree-seeking program at the university. The University Cashier will bill the student for all courses taken (including interinstitutional courses) at the prevailing tuition rate of UNC-Chapel Hill. The host institution will not bill the student unless there is a special fee associated with a particular course. Remote course enrollment through the interinstitutional program is offered at the discretion of the host institution.
Grading and Credit
A student taking a course by interinstitutional registration will be graded in accordance with the grading system of the institution where the course is taken. Grades will be converted to the UNC grading system prior to being recorded on the academic record. One course per summer session term, provided they are also registered for at least three credit hours at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Restrictions
Graduate/Professional students are not permitted to register for any undergraduate level courses.
Application Process
UNC-Chapel Hill students wishing to take courses at any of the participating interinstitutional universities must complete the Interinstitutional Approval Form. Students must be registered for at least the minimum number of credit hours for interinstitutional eligibility prior to submission of the request. The deadline to submit an interinstitutional request to the Office of the University Registrar coincides with the last day for students to add courses to their schedule in ConnectCarolina as noted on the Academic Calendar. If a student is interested in a course that begins after this deadline, due to differing University schedules, or separate modules that the course is being offered in, the deadline will be the fifth day after the start of that class. After approval from Special Enrollment has been granted, a copy of the student’s completed Interinstitutional Approval Form will be sent to the registrar’s office of the host institution. Once their registration date for visiting students opens, they will attempt to register them for their desired course(s). Confirmation of enrollment status is sent to the student and Special Enrollment from the host institution. Important: Registration for a requested course must be confirmed by the visiting institution for enrollment to be complete.
Requesting Student Records
The School of Medicine Registrar Office (SMRO) coordinates the review of records for all requests, with exceptions noted below. There are specific forms to request records for programs within the School of Medicine and a separate form to request other records.
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Restrictions and Requirements
Requests from attorneys on behalf of the student will not be completed. Parents wishing information in their students’ education records should be encouraged to have their child set-up Guest Access. Guest Access is a feature in ACES that is optional and allows students to assign access to certain parts of the academic, financial aid, bursar, or insurance information to any guest desired. Students control which information each of their guests can see. Information is available on the SISS Web page. A death certificate or obituary notice may be required in certain cases. If additional records are requested, i.e. student conduct records, additional academic records, etc., the requestor must specifically state this. A subpoena is a court order for the production and delivery of records to a court.
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