Forms and Procedures

The Add Period starts on the first day of classes and is open for two weeks.  You can also use the Add Form to change a grade option, register for more than 16 credit hours, and change flexible credit hours.

Add Form

The Drop Period starts on the first day of classes and is open for four weeks.  Students can drop a course through WIN during the first two weeks of the drop period.  After the first two weeks and until the last day to drop, students must complete a drop form.  Note: Students cannot use a drop form to withdraw from school.

Drop Form

The School of Divinity encourages students to declare a concentration as soon as possible in their course of study in the MDiv program by submitting a Declaration of Concentration form to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Once approved, each student works with the concentration track director to design an appropriate course of study.

Declaration of Concentration Form

Please note that the following rules apply for requesting an Independent Study (IDS):

1. An independent study may serve as a general elective course, not as a core course or an area elective.
2. A student may take no more than six hours of independent studies in the MDiv program.
3. A student must have a GPA of 3.0 in order to register for an independent study.
4. A request for the study must be made in writing by the student to the faculty member.
5. The faculty member must be convinced that special circumstances warrant the request.
6. The terms for an independent study must be put in writing and agreed to by the student and the faculty member.
7. No faculty member is obligated to offer independent studies.
8. Credit varies from one to three hours.

Independent Study Application and Guidelines

Permission of both the course instructor and the School of Divinity Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is required in order to take courses outside of divinity in either the undergraduate college (example: Religion Department) or other professional schools.

Form for Registering for Courses Outside the School of Divinity

The grade of I (incomplete) may be assigned only when a student is unable to complete the work of a course because of illness or some other emergency.  The Incomplete Grade Form is signed by the instructor and deadlines are set by the instructor for when the work is to be completed.  The form is filed in the Office of Academic Affairs.  More information can be found in the Academic Bulletin.

Incomplete Form and Policy

Students may take courses using the Pass/Fail grade mode with the following limitations:

• You must have the permission and signature of the course instructor and your adviser.
• You can only use the pass/fail option on general elective courses, including courses used to satisfy a language requirement.
• You cannot use the pass/fail option on any required course, including disciplinary electives and any course fulfilling an area requirement.
• Excluding courses offered as pass/fail only, you can only choose to count 6 credit hours of pass/fail courses toward the MDiv.
• You cannot take more than 7 credit hours on a pass/fail basis in a single semester

Request a Pass/Fail

In order to have your degree audit processed for graduation, please complete the graduation application form with the Registrar’s Office.

Application for Graduation

In order to receive credit for CPE course work that is taken in an ACPE Accredited Institution, you must supply a transcript or certificate which shows that you have completed the CPE coursework.  You can receive up to 5 elective credit hours, pass/fail.

Academic credit earned at another school may be submitted for review during the first semester a student is enrolled in a degree program. Transfer credit is awarded through the Office of Academic Affairs at the recommendation of the Curriculum and Academic Policy Committee. A student may not transfer more than 24 hours of credit into the Master of Divinity program. No more than 10 of these transfer credits will be awarded as required courses. Students should be prepared to submit supporting documents, including course transcripts and syllabi, to the faculty committee and registrar.

The following requirements must be met before a request for transfer credit can be submitted:

1. The course must be taken at an institution accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council on Postsecondary Education.
2. Courses must be taken at the graduate or professional level.
3. A grade of B- or higher must be earned in the course in order for the course to be considered for transfer credit. If the course is to be considered for transfer credit as a required course, the grade earned must be a B or higher.
4. Applicants for transfer credit must have earned the credit after earning a bachelor’s degree.
5. The course must have been taken within the eight years prior to matriculating at the School of Divinity.
6. Any course credit earned that has been utilized or will be utilized for another degree program is not normally transferred.
7. No more than 12 hours will be transferred from a non-theological graduate program. If 12 hours are to be transferred, the student will be required to demonstrate the course’s or courses’ relevance to the Master of Divinity degree.

All enrolled divinity students who must withdraw from the University may do so by completing a withdrawal form and submitting the form to the Office of Academic Affairs. Ordinarily, a withdrawal signals the intent not to return to the University. Students who intend to return to the University should follow the process for Leave of Absence. Withdrawal/Leave of Absence forms are available in the Office of Academic Affairs.

While forms completed prior to the semester drop deadline will not result in academic penalties, meeting the deadline may not prevent negative implications for merit and need-based financial aid. Withdrawing from the University within the period allowed for dropping and adding courses may result in partial or total charges for the term and may alter scholarships, grants, and loan amounts, according to the published schedule. Students who borrow under federal loan programs are responsible for repaying loans granted based upon full-time enrollment. Students are strongly urged to discuss the financial implications of all withdrawals from the University with the financial aid office.

Withdrawing from courses after the last day to drop courses and before the last day of classes may result in academic penalties. If a student withdraws after the drop deadline and, in the judgment of the professor, is passing a course, a grade of WP will appear on the transcript and does not affect a student’s grade point average. If in the judgment of the professor the student is failing a course, a WF will be granted and will appear on the transcript. The grade of WF does factor into a student’s overall grade point average and as such may negatively affect academic standing. A course abandoned with insufficient reason for withdrawal is assigned the letter grade F. Students who drop all courses are considered withdrawn from the University. A student who has withdrawn from the School of Divinity and wishes to return within one academic year must reapply with the director of admissions and enrollment management at least one month prior to the semester in which they wish to re-enroll.

Withdrawal Form.