Policy on Academic Standards
All graduate students are expected to be in good academic standing in order to maintain enrollment in the Masters Program. Good standing is defined as a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) and above.
According to the University of Maryland Graduate School policy, a student who has completed fewer than 12 credit hours and has a cumulative grade point average below 3.0 in the first term (semester or 12-week) will receive a warning. A student who has completed 12 credit hours or two or more terms (semester or 12-week) and whose cumulative grade point average is below 3.0 will be placed on probation and have one term (semester or 12-week) to raise their grade point average 3.0 or higher or be dismissed from the Graduate School. If the grade point average cannot be raised to 3.0 in that term, the student will be prevented from registering and will be immediately dismissed from the Graduate School. The entire policy is located here.
In rare cases, at the end of a student’s first semester, that student may be asked to sit out until the following Fall (or semester of admission) and repeat all failed courses to raise a very low GPA. This would be asked of a student whose GPA was so low that it would be impossible to achieve an overall GPA of 3.0 during the probationary period.
If a student has already earned the minimum number of credits required for their degree, but does not have the required 3.0 cumulative GPA necessary to graduate, that student must repeat courses, or take additional Smith School elective courses (not classes from another program or outside of the Smith School) until they achieve a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
All 400-level and above courses taken at any UM campus after admission is granted are included in the overall GPA.
For courses that are repeated, the most recent grade received becomes part of the GPA. All previous grades received for the course will be removed from the GPA (though they do remain as a part of the student’s permanent transcript record). Please note that all courses are not available each semester.
Consortium Courses - No consortium courses taken during a student’s probationary period will be counted by the college in calculating the GPA for probationary purposes. However, the student’s transcript may reflect the grade in the cumulative GPA.
For specific information and clarification of the policy on Academic Standards please contact your campus advisor.
Appeals Process
A student who has been dismissed may appeal to the Master’s Appeals Committee (composed of three faculty members) if the student believes mitigating circumstances exist. Students will be contacted by their MPO program advisor in these cases with next steps.
Grading System
UMD and Smith graduate faculty use the following grading system:
The information below provides the numerical value of each grade.
Grade | Quality Points |
|---|---|
A+ | 4.0 |
A | 4.0 |
A- | 3.7 |
B+ | 3.3 |
B | 3.0 |
B- | 2.7 |
C+ | 2.3 |
C- | 2.0 |
D+, D, D-, F | 0.0 |
Marking System
The University's marking system defining the standards for letter grades is as follows:
- A+, A, A- denotes excellent mastery of the subject and outstanding scholarship
- B+, B, B- denotes good mastery of the subject and good scholarship
- C+, C, C- denotes acceptable mastery of the subject
- D+, D, D- denotes borderline understanding of the subject, marginal performance, and it does not represent satisfactory progress toward a degree*
- F denotes failure to understand the subject and unsatisfactory performance*
The marking system defines the standards associated with letter grades under the previous, as well as the present, grading policy.
*The grades of D+, D, D-, F and I receive no quality points. Students do not earn credit toward the degree for courses in which they receive a grade of D+, D, D-, or F.
Complete grading policies can be found at The Office of the University Registrar.