Academic Regulations for Degree Completion
I. Application for Degree and Commencement: Participation
A. Application for degree must be filed with the Office of the Registrar no later than the date published in the Academic Calendar.
B. Candidates may only participate in the commencement held at the end of the semester in which the requirements for the degree are completed.
II. Degree Evaluation
A. In preparation for graduation, students may conduct a preliminary review of coursework taken at APSU and any evaluated transfer work which is available in AP OneStop at onestop.apsu.edu.
B. To view, click on the Degree Works tile once logged in to AP OneStop.
III. Records Complete
A. All grades, undergraduate and graduate level, of “Incomplete (I), “In-progress (IP)” and “Not Recorded (NR)” must be removed for any degree at that level to be conferred.
B. All evaluation of transfer credits must be completed.
IV. Double Major: Concurrently Earning Two Majors Under the Same Degree
A. A student may concurrently earn two majors under the same degree by meeting all requirements for both majors as shown in the current edition of the University Bulletin at the time of admission to the majors and degree.
B. The awarded degree with the two majors completed will appear on the academic transcript.
C. Definition: The “degree” is the degree designation (such as Bachelor of Science) and the “major” is the declared major (such as Computer Science, General Agriculture, etc.).
D. As an illustration of a double major under the same degree, a student could earn a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Computer Science and a major in General Agriculture. One degree will be awarded.
1. In this illustration the Bachelor of Science degree with the majors of Computer Science and General Agriculture will appear on the academic transcript as awarded.
2. A second degree will not be awarded and a second diploma will not be issued.
V. Earning Two Majors Under Different Degrees Simultaneously: Students who pursue double majors under different degree programs must comply with the following:
A. Before graduation, the student must complete a minimum of 150 hours of which 60 must be earned in courses numbered 3000-4999. Two degrees will be awarded.
B. As an illustration, a student can earn a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in English simultaneously. The Bachelor of Science and the Bachelor of Arts are considered two different degrees. Biology and English are two different majors. In this illustration, two different degrees would be awarded and two different diplomas would be issued.
C. The student may elect to change one major to a minor. One degree will be awarded.
VI. Earning a Second Concentration Under Same Bachelor Degree Earned at APSU
A. A student who has already been awarded an undergraduate degree at APSU may also earn a second concentration under the same degree and major already awarded by meeting all of the requirements for that concentration as shown in the current edition of the University Bulletin at the time of admission to the second concentration.
B. The completed second concentration will be added to the academic transcript as a notation.
C. A second degree and major will not be awarded and a second diploma will not be issued.
D. Definition: The “degree” is the degree designation (such as a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts, etc.).
E. As an illustration of a second concentration under the same undergraduate degree and major, a student who earned a Bachelor of Science in General Agriculture with a concentration in Agri-Business can also complete the requirements for a second concentration in Agri-Science; however, only one Bachelor of Science degree will be awarded with a major in General Agriculture with a concentration in Agri-Business.
1. In this illustration, the Bachelor of Science with a major in General Agriculture with a concentration in Agri-Business will appear on the academic transcript as awarded and the additional concentration of Agri- Science will be added as a transcript notation.
2. In this illustration, a second Bachelor of Science degree and a second major of General Agriculture will not be awarded and a second diploma will not be issued.
VII. Earning a Second Baccalaureate Degree from APSU when first baccalaureate degree was earned from another institution
Different Baccalaureate Degrees
1. Definitions:
The “degree” is the degree designation (such as a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, etc.)
Students who hold a baccalaureate degree from APSU or any other regionally accredited college or university may subsequently earn a second (different) baccalaureate degree from APSU if the following requirements are met:
A. Hold an earned baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution or the equivalent of a baccalaureate degree from a foreign university as certified by an educational credential agency, including the history requirement as specified in the APSU General Education core;
B. Indicate second degree on the APSU Application for Admission submitted online to the Office of Admission or submitted online through AP OneStop. When applying as a second degree seeking student, the student must have previously earned a baccalaureate degree to pursue a second degree. (Please see the Academic Regulations for earning a second major or concentration under the same degree at APSU). Students who previously earned an Associate Degree are not considered second degree seeking;
C. Submit all transcripts from previously attended regionally accredited institutions or the transcripts and certification by an educational credential agency. Coursework that applies to the second degree must be reviewed. APSU majors with additional admission requirements may require a review of the entire transcript;
D. Seek Academic Advising. After reviewing the Degree Works evaluation online in AP OneStop at onestop.apsu.edu, the student must arrange an appointment with the academic advisor in the department of the second major;
E. Complete an additional 30 hours of APSU credit of which 24 of these hours must be earned in courses numbered 3000-4999, and meet the residency requirement of 25 percent of the overall degree requirements earned at APSU;
F. Complete, without exception, the requirements for the major and minor appropriate to the new degree (this requirement may be met by the major and minor of the curriculum for the first degree if appropriate for the second degree);
G. Transfer no more than 24 semester hours credit earned at other institutions after the last term in residence. Exceptions: Pre-professional programs;
H. Earn an overall GPA of 2.00. This GPA is calculated by using all course work transferred in from a regionally accredited college or university prior to Summer 2015, transferred in from non-regionally accredited institutions prior to Summer 2015, and all course work completed at APSU. Transfer work accepted Summer 2015 and after will not be included in this GPA calculation.
I. Earn an overall GPA of 2.00 in all courses used to satisfy the requirements for major, concentration and minor. The GPA is calculated by using all course work transferred in from a regionally accredited college or university prior to Summer 2015, transfer work accepted from non-regionally accredited institutions prior to Summer 2015, and all course work completed at APSU. Transfer work accepted Summer 2015 and after will not be included in this GPA calculation.
J. Complete the requirements of the major required by the school or department in which the major resides. Any substitutions for a required course must be approved by the department chair or director of the school requiring the course in the major or minor.
K. As an illustration, a student who has earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Physics at the University of Texas can attend APSU, as a second degree seeking student, to earn a Bachelor in Arts with a major in Foreign Languages.
Same Baccalaureate Degree, Different Major
A. Students may earn a second Major under the same degree, as long as the major is different from the one previously earned at APSU.
1. Definitions:
The “degree” is the degree designation (such as a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, etc.)
The “major” is the major designation (such as Criminal Justice, Psychological Science, Agriculture, etc.). The major must have a different Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code from the major previously earned at APSU.
2. As an illustration, a student who previously earned a Bachelor of Science degree with the major of Criminal Justice can return to APSU and earn an additional Bachelor of Science degree with the major of Computer Science.
3. In this illustration, an additional degree would be awarded and an additional diploma would be awarded.
VIII. Earning a Second Baccalaureate Degree from APSU when first baccalaureate degree was also earned at APSU
Students may not earn a second degree in a major previously earned at APSU.
1. Definition: The “degree” is the degree designation (such as a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts, etc.).
2. The following is an illustration of a student who previously earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with the major of Communication with a concentration in Journalism
i. the student could return to APSU and complete the requirements for an additional concentration in Sports Communication and a notation would be placed on the academic transcript for the additional concentration. In this illustration, no additional degree would be awarded and no additional diploma would be awarded.
ii. the student cannot return to APSU and earn an additional Bachelor of Arts degree with the major of Communication; however, the student could complete the requirements for a second concentration and have it annotated on the academic transcript as indicated above in VI.E..
N. Students may not earn a second bachelor’s degree in APSU’s General Studies major either after previously earning a bachelor’s degree, regardless of where the degree was earned, or simultaneously with another bachelor’s degree.
1. Previously Earned Degree: As an illustration, a student who has previously earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Physics at the University of Texas cannot earn a Bachelor of Science degree in General Studies at APSU.
2. Simultaneously Earning a Degree: As an illustration, a student who is currently earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at APSU cannot simultaneously earn an APSU Bachelor of Science Degree in General Studies.
Requirements for Degrees in Absentia
A student may plan to complete three years of college coursework before transferring to a professional school, and be a candidate for the bachelor’s degree at APSU after the successful completion of the first year’s coursework in the professional school, provided that the following is completed:
1. The candidate must submit a Degree in Absentia Plan to the Department Chair and receive approval; and this plan must be forwarded to the Office of the Registrar.
2. During the first year of enrollment in a professional program, the candidate must earn 120 or more credit hours, if the professional program grants undergraduate credit, when combined with professional school credits to satisfy APSU graduation requirements. Should the professional program grant graduate level credit only, a minimum of 90 hours of undergraduate coursework toward the APSU bachelor’s degree will be required to earn the APSU bachelor’s degree and an additional 30 hours of graduate level work will be required to reach the minimum of 120 earned credit hours for the program of study.
3.Candidates transferring back graduate level credit from the professional program will be granted a maximum of 30 hours of transfer work be utilized toward their Bachelor degree completion.
4.Candidates needing clinical internship credit register at APSU for a minimum of 15 hours of internship for those hospital programs generating 36 hours or less of credit applicable toward the degree in absentia (enrollment for these units shall be approved by the APSU clinical education coordinator).
5.The candidate must satisfy APSU GPA requirements and APSU departmental program requirements. It is strongly recommended to review the APSU Undergraduate Bulletin for major and/or minor requirements to completely understand those unique requirements.
6.The candidate must complete a program of study at APSU that must include (a) the General Education core requirements for a degree, in addition to (b) an approved major, (c) at least 24 semester hours earned in courses within the major numbered 3000 or above, and (d) at least 25 percent of the course work in the program of study APSU bachelor’s degree must be earned at APSU 30 APSU semester hours credit.
7.The professional school must be part of a regionally accredited institution. 8. Submit an application online for the baccalaureate degree through AP OneStop at onestop.apsu.edu by the published deadline. The link to apply for graduation may also be found on your degree evaluation in Degree Works.
8. The candidate files an application for degree by the deadline as published.
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