General Regulations

Course Loads
The following sections define maximum load requirements for graduate students.

Maximum Graduate Credits Per Term: The maximum number of graduate credits in which a graduate student may enroll is 15 in a regular term and 9 in a summer term. The total number of graduate and undergraduate credits in which a graduate student may be enrolled at LSUS concurrently is 19 during a regular term and 10 in a summer term.

Credits Per Term for Full-time and Part-time Graduate Students: A full-time graduate student is one who is enrolled for 9 or more credits in a regular term or 6 or more in a summer term. A part-time graduate student is one who is enrolled in fewer than 9 credits in a regular term or fewer than 6 credits in a summer term.

For those who seek financial aid, full-time graduate status is defined as 6 or more hours for summer, and 9 or more hours for fall or spring terms; half-time graduate status is 6-8 hours.

Maximum Credits for Working Students: A student in the Master of Education Program who is teaching full-time may not enroll for more than 6 graduate credits without permission of the College of Education Dean.

Transfer Credits
For the master's degree a maximum of 6 term hours of graduate credit with grades of B or higher may be transferred from another regionally accredited institution with the approval of the graduate program Coordinator. The Graduate Council may grant permission to accept a greater number of transfer credits in individual cases. Graduate credits earned by extension from other universities, by examination, or by correspondence are not accepted. (See also “Specialist in School Psychology, Advanced Standing Candidate.”)

Students seeking the Master of Education degree at LSUS may transfer a maximum of 9 term hours of graduate credit with grades of B or higher from another regionally accredited institution, with the approval of the graduate program coordinator. In all cases, prior approval must be granted before transfer credit is accepted.

Graduate Credit
All courses that may fulfill graduate degree requirements at LSUS are numbered 600 or 700. Courses numbered 700 are open to graduate students only, except as indicated below. The student who has been admitted to the Graduate Program under the classification Regular, Precandidate, Provisional, Non-degree, or Transient may register for graduate courses.

A senior at LSUS who needs fewer than 15 term hours to complete requirements for the bachelor's degree and has maintained a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 may be permitted to register for graduate credit in courses, provided the student registers for all the remaining courses required for graduation and for no more than 15 term hours total. This privilege applies only during the final term of the student's undergraduate work and is extended only upon recommendation of the dean of the student's college and approval of the Coordinator of the graduate program involved. A student must complete all undergraduate degree credit courses in order to retain the privilege of obtaining graduate credit for the remaining courses.

Superior undergraduate students may register earlier than their final term for graduate-level courses; however, these courses do not count for graduate credit. For undergraduate enrollment by these students in 700-level graduate courses, the student must have earned at least 90 term hours with a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher. Approval by the dean of the student's college and the Coordinator of the graduate program involved is required.

Graduate credit courses in the College of Business are available to LSUS business undergraduates who have met all entrance requirements. (See also “Master of Business Administration.”)