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E1.3 Grades

Updated: May 11th, 2012

Minimum grade requirements. In order for students to be in good standing, they must maintain an overall grade-point average of at least 3.0 on the basis of all upper division and graduate courses (100- and 200-level) taken in graduate standing. Grade-points earned in Berkeley courses numbered below 100 or above 300 are not included in determining a student’s grade-point average for remaining in good standing or earning a degree. Some departments may have higher performance standards than the minimum B average required by the Graduate Division (Graduate Services Degrees, 318 Sproul Hall, 642-7330).

It is important for first-year students to take courses on a letter-graded basis in order to establish a grade-point average for future fellowship and academic appointment considerations. Too many courses graded S/U early in a student’s career make such decisions more difficult. No more than one-third of a student’s total units may be graded S/U (see the section “Limits on S/U coursework” below).

Students should keep track of their grades each semester. Retroactive requests for adjustment of student records are approved only with substantial support from the Head Graduate Adviser.

The basis of grade-point averages. Students’ grade-point averages are computed on letter-graded courses completed at UC Berkeley, not including courses taken through University Extension. The basic scale is as follows: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=zero. (Plus and minus grade designations provide three-tenths more or less than the base grade, except for A+, which carries 4.0 grade points only.) Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory, Incomplete, and In Progress grades carry no grade-points and are excluded from all grade-point computations.

Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades (S/U). The Graduate Division prefers students to enroll in courses for letter grades; however, graduate students in good standing may take courses on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) basis with the consent of their Graduate Advisers. A Satisfactory grade implies work of B minus quality or better. Courses graded S/U are not included in the grade-point average. Units from a course graded U may not be counted toward fulfillment of students’ degree programs (Graduate Services Degrees, 642-7330).

Limits on S/U course work. Academic Senate regulations state that credit for courses taken on an S/U basis is limited to one-third of a student’s total units (excluding courses numbered 299 or those in the 300, 400, or 600 series). Included in this one-third calculation are any units completed in an Education Abroad Program, a UC intercampus exchange program, or course work undertaken at the institutional partner of a Berkeley joint doctoral program.

For master’s degrees, two-thirds of all course work (not just required core courses included on the master’s advancement to candidacy form) must be letter-graded. Within these limits, courses in the 100 and 200 series graded Satisfactory may be accepted for academic residence.

To change the grading option. Students may change from a letter grade option to Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory or from S/U to a letter grade by filing a Petition to Change Class Schedule. The petition is available from Graduate Services Degrees (318 Sproul Hall), the Office of the Registrar (120 Sproul Hall), and online (http://registrar.berkeley.edu/GeneralInfo/elecforms.html). After the Head Graduate Adviser endorses the petition, the student files it with the Registrar if the request is made before the last day of instruction.

However, changes made after the last day of instruction must be reviewed by the Graduate Division. The Head Graduate Adviser must sign the Petition to Change Class Schedule and provide a memo of support, including a detailed explanation for the request, accompanied by an additional memo of support from the instructor of record.

The Graduate Division will not approve a retroactive petition to change grading option simply because the student anticipates a low grade or wants to convert a letter grade to S/U if the student did not earn at least a B minus in the course (Graduate Services Degrees, 642-7330).

In Progress grades. Courses that extend over more than one semester are graded at the end of each intervening term with the provisional grade of In Progress (“IP”). At the end of the final term, the instructor reports a letter grade for both semesters to the Office of the Registrar. The IP grade is not included in the grade-point average.

Students who do not complete a course sequence may petition to drop the course retroactively without academic penalty. The Registrar will automatically change an IP grade to an Incomplete grade if the student has a break in a course sequence (Office of the Registrar, 643-6173).

Incomplete grades. Instructors can give an Incomplete grade (“I”) when a student’s work is of passing quality but is incomplete because of circumstances beyond the student’s control, such as sudden illness the day of the examination.

How students replace Incomplete grades. Instructors are expected to grade the work a student submits in a timely fashion and to replace the Incomplete grade. To replace an Incomplete grade on their records, students file a Petition to Remove an Incomplete Grade, available in department offices and through the Registar’s Office website (http://registrar.berkeley.edu/GeneralInfo/elecforms.html). The processing fee must be paid before the petition is submitted to the department. After the department records the grade replacing the Incomplete, the petition is submitted to the Registrar’s Office. When the earned grade is recorded by the Registrar, the student receives full unit credit and the grade points are added to the student’s grade-point average (Office of the Registrar, 643-6173).

Penalties concerning Incompletes. Unlike undergraduates whose” I” grades become F grades or NP if not replaced within two semesters, graduate students have no specified time limit for making up Incompletes, unless specified by the student’s major. Departments may set their own more restrictive policies on Incomplete grades. At a minimum, the following academic penalties apply:

students who have three or more Incompletes are academically ineligible to hold a student academic appointment
master’s students must remove all Incompletes (and In Progress grades) in required courses in order to receive their degrees (Graduate Advisers should review transcripts at least annually to make sure that students are not accumulating an excessive number of Incompletes); for award of the Master’s degree, a student can have no more than one Incomplete per year of the degree program in a non-required course (e.g., for a two-year Master’s program, two Incompletes in courses not required are allowed)
doctoral students are not eligible to apply for the Qualifying Examination or advancement to candidacy if they have more than two Incompletes
there may be departmental regulations that if a student accumulates more than two Incompletes he or she is not considered in good academic standing and may face probation and dismissal

Completing required courses — Master’s students. Each semester, the Graduate Services Degrees Unit checks the records of master’s students who will receive degrees that term. If a student has Incomplete (I) or In Progress (IP) grades in courses listed on the advancement to candidacy form, staff will assume that the courses are required for the degree and remove the student’s name from the degree list unless the Head Graduate Adviser has submitted a memo stating which outstanding I or IP grades are not required for the degree. Therefore, it is up to the student and the Head Graduate Adviser to review the student’s record well before the degree is expected and to inform the Graduate Services Degrees Unit as to which Incomplete or In Progress courses are not required. If the explanation was submitted when the student applied for advancement to candidacy, the Head Graduate Adviser does not need to resubmit the information.

The student’s name will also be removed from the degree list if final grades for required courses are not recorded by the Registrar before the degree list is submitted to the Academic Senate (about two months after final examinations). To prevent delays and misunderstandings, professors should meet the grade submission deadlines of the Registrar.

Credit by examination. Students may petition for a limited amount of course credit toward their degrees by passing examinations on material covered in certain courses in lieu of taking those courses. To have a Petition for Credit by Examination approved by the Registrar’s Office and the Graduate Division, the following conditions must be met:

the student must be registered for at least 12 units of upper division or graduate work when he or she takes the examination.
the student’s grade-point average must be at least 3.0.
the courses must be ones that can be tested by examination. Graduate seminars and research courses cannot be taken for credit by examination.
the course must be listed in the General Catalog and be offered during the semester in which the exam is to be taken.

How students petition for credit by examination. The Petition for Credit by Examination is available through the Registrar’s Office website (http://registrar.berkeley.edu/GeneralInfo/elecforms.html). The student should have the petition approved by the instructor of the course, and then send it to the Graduate Division for approval by the cognizant Associate Dean, in care of the Graduate Services Degrees office, 318 Sproul Hall. After the Graduate Division has approved the petition, the student submits the petition to the Registrar’s Office for approval and pays a processing fee. If approved, the Registrar’s Office will either forward the petition to the instructor for the exam to proceed or notify the student that the petition has been denied.. The instructor records the grade on the petition and forwards it to the Office of the Registrar (120 Sproul Hall). According to Academic Senate regulations governing the assignment of these grades, the final result of the exam can be reported to the Registrar only as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory.

Repetition of courses. Graduate students may repeat courses in which they received a D+, D, D-, F, or U for up to a total of 12 units. They must repeat courses for which they received below a C- grade if a passing grade in the course is required by the department as part of the degree program.

If a student repeats a course in which he or she received a grade of D+, D, D-, or F, the units are counted only once, and only the most recently earned grade and grade points are counted for the total of 12 units of repeated work.

Students who elect to repeat a course for which they received a letter grade of D+ or lower must get written approval from the Head Graduate Adviser and endorsement by the Graduate Division. This will prevent the Registrar from counting the units and grades more than once. Contact the Graduate Services Degrees Unit (642-7330) for assistance.

Substitution of courses. Students may substitute one course for another for which they received a D+, D, D-, F, or U only if:

circumstances beyond their control prevent them from retaking the course before the date they expected their degree to be conferred (e.g., the course was not offered or was renumbered, or scheduling conflicts existed between the original course and other courses required for the degree).
the Head Graduate Adviser certifies that the content of the course to be substituted is equivalent to that covered in the original course.

Any substitution of courses in a student’s master’s degree program requires the approval of the Head Graduate Adviser and the Graduate Division. If approved, the student must follow the procedure under the “Repetition of courses” section (above) to avoid having the units counted twice by the Registrar. For assistance, please contact the Graduate Services Degrees Office (642-7330).

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