University Academic Requirements
Degree Requirements
Degree Requirements for Undergraduates
Requirements in this catalog apply to students who enter the University between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023. Students who entered the University at an earlier time but who wish to change to the requirements of this catalog must apply to the appropriate office for the change. Students will be held responsible for all work required for graduation and for the scheduling of all necessary courses.
Credit Requirement
To be eligible for graduation from the University of New Hampshire, a student must obtain a passing grade in a minimum of 128 semester hours; for associate degree graduation, 64 semester hours. The student must also meet the curricular, departmental, scholastic, and other requirements that have been sanctioned by the proper authorities.
To be eligible for graduation, all baccalaureate, associate in applied science and associate in art students enrolling for academic year 2022/23 must fulfill four types of University requirements: Writing, Discovery (or General Education for associate degree students), degree, and major.
Minimum Graduation Average
A cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 in University of New Hampshire courses is the minimum acceptable level for undergraduate work in the University and for graduation. In addition, some majors require a grade-point average greater than 2.0 in certain courses or combinations of courses. The Academic Standards and Advising Committee examines the records of students periodically and may place academically deficient or potentially deficient students on warning, or may exclude, suspend, or dismiss those who are academically deficient.
Residence
“Residence” is being enrolled in University of New Hampshire courses after admission to and matriculation in a degree program. Students who are candidates for bachelor’s and associate degrees must attain the last one-fourth of their credits toward the degree in residence unless granted permission by the Academic Standards and Advising Committee to transfer part of this work from other accredited institutions.
Certification of candidate for graduation
Degrees are awarded three times a year: December, May and September. Candidates for graduation shall be certified as to their college requirements by the several college faculties to the Registrar, who shall recommend them to the president for their appropriate degrees provided they have satisfied all University requirements for graduation.
Modifications tend to occur in major programs during the period of students' undergraduate careers. Students are expected to conform to these changes insofar as they do not represent substantive alterations in their course of study.
Note: Although the University will try to provide sufficient facilities so that students may pursue any major or curriculum for which they meet the requirements, such a privilege cannot be guaranteed, since rapidly increasing enrollment sometimes results in the overcrowding of required specialized courses. On occasion, students may remain in a crowded curriculum if they are willing to take certain courses during the summer session.
Quota of Semester Credits
Students registering for more than 20 credits must receive the approval of the college dean. Additionally, students taking more than 20 credits in a single term will pay a per-credit surcharge.
Baccalaureate and associate in arts undergraduates are assigned class standing on the basis of semester credits of academic work completed with a passing grade, as follows: to be a sophomore, 26 credits; to be a junior, 58 credits; to be a senior, 90 credits. Associate in applied science undergraduates: to be a senior, 26 credits.
Grades
Grading and honors policies as stated in this catalog apply to all undergraduate students.
Instructors assign grades as listed below; grade points per credit are indicated in parentheses. For all undergraduate courses, grading standards established by the Academic Senate are that a C indicates competent, acceptable performance and learning; B indicates superior performance and learning; and A indicates excellent performance and learning. These standards apply to all undergraduate courses, instructors, departments, subjects, and colleges. The University reserves the right to modify grading and honors practices.
- A (4.0) Excellent
- A- (3.67) Intermediate grade
- B+ (3.33) Intermediate grade
- B (3.0) Superior
- B- (2.67) Intermediate grade
- C+ (2.33) Intermediate grade
- C (2.0) Satisfactory, competent
- C- (1.67) Intermediate grade
- D+ (1.33) Intermediate grade
- D (1.0) Marginal grade
- D- (0.67) Intermediate grade
- F (0.0) Failure, academic performance so deficient in quality as to be unacceptable for credit
- AF (0.00) Administrative F (usually indicates student stopped attending without dropping the course); is included in grade-point average
- CR—Credit, given in specific courses having no letter grades, designated credit/fail
- P—Passing grade in a course taken under the student pass/fail grading alternative
- W—Withdrawal, assigned if withdrawal is later than fifth Friday of classes (but not after midsemester); is not included in grade-point average
- WP—Withdrawal, assigned if withdrawal is after mid-semester and if student is passing; is not included in grade-point average
- WF—Withdrawal, assigned if withdrawal is after mid-semester and if student is failing; is included in grade-point average
- AU—Audit, no credit earned
- IC—Grade report notation for student's incomplete coursework
- IA—Indicates "incomplete" in a thesis or continuing course of more than one semester; the grade earned will replace "IA" assigned in previous semesters
- IX—Grade not reported by instructor
Students earning a semester or cumulative grade-point average less than 2.00 are placed on "academic warning."
Pass/Fail
While earning a bachelor's degree, students may choose the pass/fail grading alternative for a maximum of 4 credits per semester up to a total of 16 credits toward the degree.
Pass/fail cannot be used for Discovery requirements, for writing-intensive courses, for courses required by a student's major or second major, for option or minor requirements, for ENGL 401 First-Year Writing, or for repeated courses. In addition, B.A., B.F.A., and B.M. degree candidates may not use pass/fail for courses taken to meet the foreign language requirement, and no Paul College course may be taken on a pass/fail basis by a student majoring in administration, economics, or hospitality management.
The minimum passing grade for credit is a D- (0.67); any grade below this minimum is a fail. All grades will be recorded on the grade roster as A, B, C, D, F, or intermediate grades. The pass/fail marks will be placed on students' transcripts and grade reports by the Registrar's Office. The course will not be included in the grade-point calculation, but the pass or fail will be recorded, and in the case of a pass, the course credits will be counted toward degree requirements. Associate in arts students, see the University of New Hampshire at Manchester.
Honors
An undergraduate degree student, after completion of at least 12 graded (not CR or P) credits in University of New Hampshire courses, is designated as an honor student for a given semester if the student has
- completed at least 12 graded credits for that semester and earned at least a 3.50 semester grade-point average; or
- earned at least a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average and at least a 3.50 semester grade-point average regardless of the number of graded credits that semester.
Bachelor's degree candidates who have earned honors for their entire work at the University will be graduated with honors based on the final cumulative grade-point average, provided that a minimum of 64 graded credits have been completed in University of New Hampshire courses. The Latin equivalent of the honors classification will appear on the student's academic record and diploma. The student's honors classification will be noted in the commencement program.
UNH Credit Hour Policy
The University of New Hampshire is in compliance with the federal definition of credit hour. For each credit hour, the university requires, at a minimum, the equivalent of three hours of student academic work each week assuming a 15-week semester (student workload for shorter length terms must be increased proportionally per week to maintain required approximately 45 hours of work per credit per term) Student work reflects intended learning outcomes and is verified through evidence of student achievement.