Graduate Academic Status Probation and Disqualification
Academic standing is calculated at the end of each semester after deductions have been made for approved course repeats, and after year-old unresolved Incomplete grades are changed to IC (Incomplete Charged) on the transcripts. Transcript entries of IC are included in grade point average (GPA) calculations, and treated in the same way as grades of "F".
The SDSU campus GPA includes all courses taken through the San Diego or Imperial Valley Campus, Special Sessions courses offered through SDSU Global Campus, and any Open University courses taken after spring 1998. Open University courses taken prior to spring 1998 and all Global Campus extension courses are considered transfer credit, and do not count in the SDSU GPA.
For graduate students, the post-baccalaureate overall cumulative GPA (referred to as “overall cumulative GPA” below) is calculated using all graded courses listed on the SDSU transcripts after the student has earned a Bachelor’s degree at any institution, whether registered through Global Campus, San Diego, or Imperial Valley campus. It includes transfer courses that have been formally articulated by the SDSU College of Graduate Studies. When no transfer courses have been formally evaluated and recognized by the College of Graduate Studies, the SDSU campus GPA and overall cumulative GPA are identical.
A student is in good academic standing when their overall cumulative GPA and SDSU GPA are 3.00 or higher. If either the overall cumulative GPA or the SDSU campus GPA fall below 3.00, the student will be placed on academic probation.
Once on probation, a student must maintain a 3.00 term GPA or they will be subject to disqualification. Provided the student earns a 3.00 GPA or better in SDSU coursework during the first semester while on academic probation, they will continue on academic probation for a second semester. “Semester” refers to fall and spring semesters, and does not include summer or winter sessions.
A graduate student on academic probation is subject to academic disqualification if they 1) earn a semester GPA less than 3.00 while on probation, or 2) have failed to increase both the overall cumulative GPA and SDSU GPA to 3.00 or higher by the end of the second term on probation.
Disqualified students cannot enroll in SDSU or classes through SDSU Global Campus for one full semester. In order to resume studies in a SDSU graduate program after one semester, the student will need to file an application for readmission, as well as a Petition for Reinstatement. Readmission to SDSU (whether the same graduate program or a different program) is not guaranteed. Each applicant will be considered on an individual basis by the corresponding graduate advisor, who provides a recommendation to the Graduate Dean through the petition process.
Academic probation is removed when both the overall cumulative GPA and SDSU GPA are 3.00 or higher.
The above policies and processes are identical to those in place prior to Fall 2021, with the exception that the GPA thresholds were 2.85 rather than 3.00.
Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, SDSU students were not placed on academic probation after the spring 2020 semester regardless of term, SDSU, or cumulative grade point averages. Students who were on probation in the spring 2020 semester were not subject to disqualification, nor was the semester counted toward the maximum semesters of probation.