Faculty Adviser

Your faculty adviser's name appears on your Student Center home page on MyMadison. Prior to your initial registration, you should consult with your adviser to plan your program of study. Later, your adviser will be available to oversee subsequent changes in your program, guide you in meeting the specific requirements of your degree, and conduct your final examination.

Program of Study

You, together with your adviser, will design a program of study (Optional Program of Study Template) that will allow you to satisfy the requirements for the degree you seek. The published descriptions of degrees establish only the minimum requirements. It is the prerogative of each school or department to make changes in programs at any time prior to graduation. This is one reason that it is important for you to maintain close communication with your adviser. Your Program of Study will be kept by your adviser until the semester prior to your graduation. At least half of the credits in your final Program of Study must be in courses numbered 600 or above.

Transfer Credit

If you wish to request transfer credit for courses taken before you started at JMU, you must submit a Graduate Transfer Credit Request Form to your adviser during your first semester of enrollment. If you wish to take graduate courses at another institution while enrolled at JMU, you must obtain prior approval from your adviser, department head, and The Graduate School.

It is the student's responsibility to request that an official transcript be sent to TGS upon completion of the course work. Ordinarily, permission is not granted to take a course elsewhere for transfer credit during the semester in which the degree is to be awarded.

(Effective February 1, 2024) A student may transfer in no more than one third of credit hours required for a program from institutions other than JMU, and no more than two-thirds of credit hours required for a program (including internal from JMU) prior to acceptance into the graduate program. The maximum transfer credit hours allowed is calculated based on the minimum number of hours required for the degree. 

Only courses in which a grade of 'B' or better is earned may be considered for transfer. Courses taken for pass/fail or satisfactory/unsatisfactory will not be considered for transfer. 

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