Frequently Asked Questions

Degree Progress Frequently Asked Questions

Undergraduate FAQ

The 25 percent rule is based upon the total number of upper-division major units required. For example, for an undergraduate program that requires a total of 28 upper-division units, a maximum of 7 units (25 percent of the total 28 units) are available to substitute or waive. All substitutions and waivers that exceed 7 units violate the 25 percent rule. Please remember that the substitution of courses with the same department prefix is exempt from the limit.

The 25 percent rule for minors consists of two parts:

  • No more than 25 percent of all required units may be substituted; and
  • No more than 4 units may be waived for minors that require 17 to 20 units, or no more than 8 units may be waived for minors that require more than 20 units.

 

If a minor requires a total of 18 units, then a maximum of 4.5 units (25 percent of 18) may be substituted, and a maximum of 4 units may be waived. Substitutions violate the 25 percent rule if they exceed 4.5 units. Waivers that exceed 4 or 8 units, depending upon the total number of units required for the minor, also violate the 25 percent rule. Please remember that the substitution of courses with the same department prefix is exempt from the limit.

A transfer course is considered upper division only if it was considered upper division at the transfer institution. An upper-division transfer course will be listed under the “Summary of Upper Division Courses” on the Transfer Credit Report (TCR). Please remember that lower-division courses (USC or transfer) cannot be substituted for upper-division course requirements.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A student may be able to graduate with a missing grade depending on the term in which it was received and its effect on degree requirements.

Courses taken prior to fall 2005: The student may graduate with the missing grade only if the course is not needed to fulfill any degree requirements and if the GPA requirements are still met when the missing grade is calculated into the GPA with zero grade points. The missing grade will remain on the transcript and cannot be resolved once the degree has been awarded.

Courses taken fall 2005 or later: If the grade is not resolved after one calendar year, it will be changed to a UW. If the course is not needed to fulfill any degree requirements and if GPA requirements are still met when the missing grade is calculated into the GPA with zero grade points, Degree Progress will change the grade to a UW upon request and post the degree.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yes, if a student received a grade of NP in a GE course, the student may take another GE course with the P/NP grading option without exceeding the 4-unit limit on P/NP coursework. Only grades of P affect the four-unit limit for GE courses graded P/NP.

An undergraduate Leave of Absence can be submitted through the Leave of Absence website.  

Terminated post: A post that has been discontinued by the university. Students have a maximum of five years from the term of discontinuance to complete the degree requirements for a terminated post. Once the five-year time limit has elapsed, the post may no longer be pursued.

Expired post: A post that is no longer active for a student.

Degree Progress can enter a two-for-one exception.

The STARS report cannot distinguish between majors in the college or in a professional school. Degree Progress manually adjusts the basic college requirement during the term in which a student pursuing a double major is expected to graduate.

To be eligible to graduate in a specific term: A student must complete ALL degree requirements on or before the last day of, and meet the administrative deadlines for, that term.

A student is eligible to follow a catalogue year only if they were enrolled in a term included in the catalogue year and if their program of study was available during the catalogue year. A student may not follow a catalogue year prior to the term of admission.

Only first-time freshmen are eligible for Freshman Forgiveness. These students may repeat a maximum of three courses taken during the first two semesters at USC in which they received grades of D+ or below. Only the subsequent letter grade, even if lower, will be calculated in the grade point average. 

Students first admitted to spring semester who were first-time freshmen elsewhere in the previous fall may repeat a maximum of two courses taken during the first semester at USC in which they received grades of D+ or below. The same provisions stated above apply.

No, a course used for Freshman Forgiveness must be taken for a letter grade. Both courses will remain on the transcript, but only the second course will be available for degree credit.

Yes. Both courses will be available for credit. However, the prerequisite course will not be available for credit if it is within the same discipline and taken after the higher level course has been passed.

The student population is divided among analysts alphabetically by last name. Please refer to the Staff Directory page to find your analyst.

The Registrar’s office receives many such requests from former students wanting to find out what degree requirements remain outstanding. For students who have not attended in many years, Degree Progress staff members spend a considerable amount of time to locate records and determine remaining degree requirements. In consideration of the resources required to prepare these degree checks, a document preparation fee has been established.

Students who have not attended USC in more than 10 years will pay a nonrefundable $150 fee for this service. Students who have not attended USC since 1985 will pay a nonrefundable $300 fee.

To request a degree check please refer to the Staff Directory page and contact the analyst who handles the alphabetical split under which your last name falls. Students whose names may have been changed legally: Please use the last name you used when you were a student.

Graduate FAQ

The 25 percent rule is based upon specified course requirements. For example, a graduate program may require 48 units total but specify only 8 of those units (excluding 594 Master’s Thesis and 794 Doctoral Dissertation). Students in this program would be able to waive or substitute a maximum of 2 units (25 percent of 8). All substitutions and waivers that exceed 2 units violate the 25 percent rule and require additional approval. Violations of 25 to 50 percent require the dean’s approval. Waivers or substitutions over 50 percent are very exceptional and must be approved by the vice provost for graduate programs.

No, substitution of courses with the same prefix are exempted from this limit, as are transfer courses in the same discipline and graduate degree programs with three or fewer required courses.

An exception will be put into “history”, i.e. invalidated, if it violates the 25 percent rule or if it uses a required course as a substitute for another required course.

To be eligible to graduate in a specific term: A student must complete all degree requirements on or before the last day of, and meet the administrative deadlines for, that term.

The date entered in the DATE field for all completion options such as COMPX, DEPTA, or PROJ must be the date that the examination, required work, or project was completed.

The STARS report cannot display page-three entries until the application for degree check has been submitted.

READMIT is processed manually by Degree Progress on a weekly basis. All entries made in one week will be processed during the following week.

Degree Progress can correct out-of-sequence registrations in 594 or 794 and should be notified before applying any out of sequence coursework on page 1 of GRAD.INFO.

Terminated post: A post that has been discontinued by the university. Students have a maximum of five years from the term of discontinuance to complete the degree requirements for a terminated post. Once the five-year time limit has elapsed, the post may no longer be pursued.

Expired post: A post that is no longer active for a student.

For a student pursuing a master’s degree, the application for a degree check should be submitted at least one semester prior to the student’s expected term of completion.

For a student pursuing a doctoral program (excluding DPT, OTD, and some DMAs), the application for a degree check should be submitted once the DOC has been recorded.

Degree Progress can enter a two-for-one exception.

A student is eligible to follow a catalogue year only if they were enrolled in a term included in the catalogue year and if their program of study was available during the catalogue year. A student may not follow a catalogue year prior to the term of admission.

Students must email the Registrar One Stop Center to request that domestic transfer work be made available in GRAD.INFO. Once evaluated, the coursework will appear in GRAD.INFO, and students will receive a graduate transfer credit statement. For more information please visit Graduate Transfer Credit.

Yes, a grade of W does satisfy the continuous enrollment requirement.

The student population is divided among analysts alphabetically by last name. Please refer to the Staff Directory page to find your analyst.

Yes, a maximum of 12 units of coursework with a V may be applied. Please contact the appropriate counselor once the courses have been applied so that they may be coded accordingly.

The Registrar’s office receives many such requests from former students wanting to find out what degree requirements remain outstanding. For students who have not attended in many years, Degree Progress staff members spend a considerable amount of time to locate records and determine remaining degree requirements. In consideration of the resources required to prepare these degree checks, a document preparation fee has been established.

Students who have not attended USC in more than 10 years will pay a nonrefundable $150 fee for this service. Students who have not attended USC since 1985 will pay a nonrefundable $300 fee.

To request a degree check please refer to the Staff Directory page and contact the analyst who handles the alphabetical split under which your last name falls. Students whose names may have been changed legally: Please use the last name you used when you were a student.

Progressive Degree FAQ

Units for progressive degrees cannot actually “overlap” or apply to both degrees. A course must be taken at the undergraduate or the graduate level, but not both. The “overlap” refers to a reduction in the total number of units that may be required for the graduate degree.

Yes. To revise the previously approved course plan, a progressive degree student must submit a new course plan with all the appropriate signatures. The STARS report cannot be updated to reflect program changes without the revised course plan.

Yes. A progressive degree student must submit a new course plan with all the appropriate signatures, along with a Change of Major form.

No. Degree Progress enters all of the appropriate information for the student when the progressive degree application is processed.

The progressive master’s degree can be reduced by one third. 

For example: A 30-unit program can be reduced to 20 units. A 32-unit program can be reduced to 22 units (round up from 21.33). A 48-unit program can be reduced to 32 units.

No. This value is always based on the traditional unit value of a program. 

For example: A 30-unit program can be reduced down to 20 total units, but then all 20 units must be taken at the 500 level or above.

No. Only one progressive master’s degree is allowed.

If a student wishes to switch to the regular master’s program, they must go through the formal steps necessary for admission to that program. This means they will need to take the GRE and submit the graduate application, along with all the required supplementary information and documents.

Progressive degree students must complete their undergraduate degree and master’s degree within six years (12 terms). The time limit begins with the term in which the student completed their first college-level course (transfer* or USC) after high school graduation. Petitions to extend the time limit should be sent to Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Programs Dr. David Glasgow. Degree Progress will enter approved time extensions on the STARS report.

*Transfer students whose transfer coursework extends beyond the 12-semester (six-year) rule for degree completion may have their transfer coursework evaluated for semester-equivalency (e.g., a transfer student completing 32 units over eight semesters equates to two semesters equivalency). No petition required. This assessment will be made by the admitting master’s program. The admitting program will determine a completion term as part of the application process and list this term on the proposed course plan.

The established university minimum GPA for admission to a progressive degree program is a 3.00 or above. Schools and academic departments can raise this standard for their applicants. The Viterbi School of Engineering currently requires a 3.200 or above.

Yes. Course plans may include the placeholder “graduate degree electives” for the number of elective units allowed by the graduate program.

Students must complete the courses specified by their course plan AND the course requirements specified by the catalogue for the graduate program. Often these overlap. If appropriate, the department may waive or substitute course requirements specified in the catalogue. The limits on waivers and substitutions still apply to progressive degrees.

No. The course plan must clearly indicate whether each course will count for undergraduate OR graduate credit. If a student uses a graduate-level course in the undergraduate program, but the catalogue specifies it as a requirement for the graduate program, a Subject Credit waiver must be granted to fulfill the course requirement in the graduate program.

If a student has not yet been admitted to the progressive degree program, they must follow the standard policy for taking graduate-level coursework for graduate credit:

  1. Have a 3.00 cumulative GPA or above;
  2. Be within 12 semester units of completing the bachelor’s degree; and
  3. Not exceed 16 registered units for the semester.

Additional Information