Academic Policies Graduation Policies and Procedures

Petition to Graduate

Undergraduate students should submit a formal petition for the degree through the online petition process no later than the published deadline and pay the graduation fee. Login to Owl Express; select Registration and Student Records tab; select Petition to Graduate. Once submitted, the graduation petition process will initiate a petition fee assessment and a review of the student’s academic record to determine eligibility toward the degree. Expect up to eight weeks for a completed degree audit. Petition status changes are viewable at the Display Petition Status link in Owl Express, and the student will be prompted by email to view status changes in addition to essential audit results and graduation policies. A student may request in absentia status by writing to the Registrar prior to the graduation exercises.

Graduation Petition Acceptance Petition Deadline

It should be noted that program and course requirements and university policies are subject to change without advanced notice. Changes in policy and requirements enacted by the Board of Regents take precedence over existing university policies and requirements. The University will make reasonable efforts to accommodate students affected by such changes, but reserves the right to determine where and to what extent it will grant exceptions to new policies and requirements. In cases where courses are deleted, students must substitute courses deemed acceptable by the faculty or chair responsible for the degree program in question.

Other Requirements

• Satisfactorily complete any grades of I (Incomplete), IP (In Progress), or NR (Not Reported) grades.
• Satisfactorily complete a minimum of 39 semester hours at the 3000-4000 level, including at least 21 semester hours at the 3000-4000 level in the major field of study in residency.
• Satisfactorily complete all requirements for the degree no later than the last day of finals in the term in which the degree is to be awarded. Students who fail to meet this deadline will not receive their degree until the next semester.

In all instances, meeting the requirements for graduation is the responsibility of the student.

Commencement Ceremony

• Students are only permitted to participate in the commencement ceremony for the semester that all degree requirements will be completed.  Students are not permitted to walk in an earlier semester.
• Students who have petitioned for multiple degrees that fall into the same ceremony may only walk for one degree.
• Students who are unable to attend the ceremony of their expected semester of graduation may contact the Office of the Registrar to request permission to participate in the commencement ceremony of the following semester.
• Participation in a commencement ceremony does not constitute earning a degree, and the conferred date on a diploma will coincide with the semester that the degree requirements are completed.
• Students are invited to take part in commencement, but participating is not required in order to have a degree awarded.
• Students who petition after the established deadline are not guaranteed to be represented in the commencement program or receive ticket allotment for the ceremony.

Catalog for Graduation Evaluation

Each student should meet with his/her academic advisor or departmental representative to determine the appropriate catalog to be used for academic advisement and for evaluation of graduation requirements. Catalog selection applies only to the course requirements of that catalog; all other academic procedures and graduation requirements must be satisfied according to regulations in effect at the time of graduation.

A student may elect to be evaluated for graduation from any catalog in effect during the time he or she has been enrolled, provided that enrollment has been continuous, and the student does not change majors. If a student changes majors, he/she will be evaluated for graduation using the catalog in effect at the time of the change, or any subsequent catalog as long as the student is continuously enrolled.

Students readmitted will be evaluated for graduation from the catalog in effect at the time of readmission or reinstatement, or any catalog in effect during subsequent periods of continuous enrollment. Students may not elect a catalog for a discontinued/deactivated degree program.

Age of Credit

Courses, in general, have no limit imposed on the age of credit.  However, each department may elect to restrict the age of courses applied to a specific degree program.

Deficiencies

A student who has received a grade of “I”, “IP”, “F” or “WF” in a course has a deficiency in the course. A student whose final grade is “F” or “WF” has a failure in that course. The student should repeat and pass the course in residence at Kennesaw State University before credit will be allowed. Repeating the course does not remove the “F” or “WF” from the total cumulative average.

Duplicate Courses or Dual Credit

If a student has two courses that are so similar as to be considered the same, he/she may only use one to meet program of study degree requirements.  Only one course may be counted as hours earned, and only one course may be used for graduation purposes. 

Graduation  Requirements: 

To be eligible to receive a baccalaureate degree, a student must meet the following requirements: 

• Each undergraduate student must have a minimum institutional Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 for graduation. Specific degree programs may have higher requirements.
• Complete all required General Education courses; ENGL 1101 AND ENGL 1102 require a grade of “C” or higher (or equivalents, if a transfer student).
• Complete the chosen program of study with the grade of “C” or better in all courses listed under the major, including those listed as Lower Division Major Requirements.
• Complete a minimum of 120 semester hours.  Specific degree programs may require additional hours.  A minimum institutional grade point average of 2.0 on all course work attempted at KSU is required.  No course may be counted more than one time in meeting the total credit hours required for the degree.
• Have at least a 2.0 institutional grade point average with at least 30 hours of credit for KSU coursework not excluded because of repeated courses or Academic Renewal status.  If the student has fewer than 30 earned hours of credit for non-excluded KSU coursework, he/she must have a 2.0 cumulative grade point average.
• Earn at least 25 percent of the credit hours required for a baccalaureate degree, exclusive of the university-wide requirements (WELL 1000 and the first-year seminar/learning community), through instruction offered by Kennesaw State.

Degree Program Hours

Baccalaureate degrees consist of a minimum of 120 semester hours, exclusive of the university-wide requirements (WELL 1000 and the first-year seminar/learning community). Exceptions to the maximum degree length requirements have been made with the approval of the Board of Regents. A baccalaureate degree program requires at least 21 semester hours of upper division courses in the major field to be completed at KSU, and at least 39 semester hours of upper division work overall are required for the degree. 

State Legislative Requirements 

Undergraduate students cannot graduate or receive a degree without successfully completing course work or passing a satisfactory examination on the history of the United States and the history of Georgia and the provisions and principles of the United States and the Constitution of Georgia.

HIST 2112 or HIST 2111 with a grade of “D” or better satisfies legislative requirements for US & GA History provided an emphasis in US and GA content is evident; POLS 1101 with a grade of “D” or better satisfied US & GA Constitution provided an emphasis in US and GA government content is evident. An exemption exam is required for students with transfer credit that do not meet the aforementioned standards.

Core Curriculum Requirement

Kennesaw State University will develop a policy to comply with BOR Academic Affairs Handbook policy 2.4.4 which requires that new students complete AREA A prior to reaching a specified number of hours.

ENGL 1101 and 1102: The Campus Writing Requirement

At Kennesaw State University ENGL 1101 and ENGL 1102 (English Composition I & II) are required for all undergraduate degrees. A grade of “C” or better is required for ENGL 1101 and ENGL 1102.

Residency Requirements

Students must earn at least 25 percent of the credit hours required for a baccalaureate degree, exclusive of the university-wide requirements (WELL 1000 and the first-year seminar/learning community), which includes at least 21 hours of upper division courses (Coles College of Business requires 33 hours), through instruction offered by Kennesaw State. Credit hours earned through instruction offered by KSU does not include coursework transferred from other institutions, prior learning assessments, credit by examination (e.g., CLEP, AP, IB), or credits earned through a consortium that did not originate from KSU (i.e., cross registration).

Graduation with Honors

An institutional grade point average of at least 3.5 is required for students to graduate cum laude, 3.7 to graduate magna cum laude and 3.9 to graduate summa cum laude from a baccalaureate program. Graduation with honors requires that students earn at least 60 semester credit hours in residence at Kennesaw State University for the bachelor’s degree.

To receive honors at graduation, “second degree” and Academic Renewal students must have at least 60 earned hours of credit at KSU after the “second degree” or Academic Renewal status was granted. In addition, for honors, students who have repeated courses must have at least 60 earned hours of credit at KSU after the hours for the repeated courses have been excluded.

Double Majors

Double major consists of two separate majors in the same baccalaureate degree (for example, Bachelor of Science with separate majors in Mathematics and Physics). One diploma will be issued for the degree.

Students are eligible for a double major when the following conditions are met:

• All of the requirements for two KSU majors are satisfied, including all residency and institutional requirements for each major; and
• KSU courses taken to meet residency and institutional requirements of one major may be counted toward the residency and institutional requirements for the second major; and
• The second major must be completed at the time of graduation with the first major.

Whether in one degree or two, a student may not graduate with more than two majors. 

Dual Degree

A dual degree consists of two separate majors leading to different baccalaureate degrees (for example, Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in English and Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Mathematics). Two diplomas will be issued.

Students are eligible for a dual degree when the following conditions are met:

• All of the requirements for two KSU degree programs are satisfied, including all residency and institutional requirements for each degree program; and
• KSU courses taken to meet residency and institutional requirements for one degree may be counted toward the residency and institutional requirements of the second degree; and
• The second degree must be completed at the time of graduation with the first degree.

Second Bachelor’s Degrees

A second bachelor’s degree consists of students who have previously earned or are currently pursuing a baccalaureate degree from an institution regionally accredited by the Commission on Colleges and are also enrolling and obtaining a second baccalaureate at KSU. The second degree can be the same as the first degree (for example, Bachelor of Science in Mathematics - first degree, and Bachelor of Science in Physics - second degree) or the second degree can be different from the first degree (for example, Bachelor of Arts in English- first degree, and Bachelor of Science in Mathematics- second degree).

The second baccalaureate degree requires satisfying the following requirements:

• Meet all major requirements (including prerequisite courses) listed for the chosen program of study.
• Complete the Georgia Legislative History and Constitution requirements.
• Earn at least 25 percent of the credit hours, exclusive of the university-wide requirements (WELL 1000 and the first-year seminar/learning community), through instruction offered by Kennesaw State. If the first baccalaureate degree was earned at KSU, these hours must be in excess of any hours used toward the first baccalaureate degree, unless the first degree was received within five years of receiving the second degree.
• Complete at least 21 semester hours of upper-division coursework in residence beyond the courses required for the student’s first degree.
• If the first degree is earned at Kennesaw State University, a student may seek a second baccalaureate degree only if the second major is different from the first major.
• Complete (for students with majors in the Bagwell College of Education) the lower division major requirement courses in Education.

Certificate Programs

• Students admitted to a certificate program may apply the courses completed for the certificate toward a degree program if they are accepted to a degree program.
• Students admitted to a degree program may be awarded a related certificate based on completion of the courses in the certificate program provided they also apply for the certificate.
• Students who wish to apply for a certificate should contact their academic department or the Office of the Registrar for instructions on how to proceed.

Minor Requirements

• A minor program is a prescribed area of academic study consisting of 15-18 semester hours.
• At least nine of the required hours must be at the upper-division level, i.e. courses numbered 3000 or above.
• The prescribed courses for a minor may be taken from one or more academic disciplines. Courses taken in Core Area F (lower division major requirements) may be counted as coursework in the minor.
• Courses taken to satisfy Core Areas A through E (general education) may NOT be counted as coursework in the minor.
• A course may not fulfill requirements of more than one minor or certificate.
• Students must earn a grade of at least “C” in all course work applicable to a formal minor.
• When a student’s major and minor programs require the same courses, the credit hours for some of those courses may be counted toward both the major and minor. Typically, at least 9 hours of minor must be non-duplicative with course requirements in the major, however some individual programs have been approved to allow fewer non-duplicative hours between closely related majors and minors. Courses in the minor may be used to fulfil electives (free electives, technical electives, related studies, etc.) required by the student’s major degree program. At least 6 hours of the upper division hours must be earned in residence at KSU.
• Some departments may allow fewer than 9 hours for the minor to be non-duplicative with the major; for requirements on specific minors, students should contact the home department. If a department wants to allow fewer than 9 hours for the minor to be non-duplicative with the major, the department housing the minor should make this request to the Office of the Registrar.

Effective Fall 2019 and retroactive to past catalog, the Minor Requirements section has been updated to the following:

• A minor program is a prescribed area of academic study consisting of 15-18 semester hours.
• At least nine of the required hours must be at the upper-division level, i.e. courses numbered 3000 or above.
• At least six credit hours of the upper division credit hours must be earned in residence at KSU. 
• The prescribed courses for a minor may be taken from one or more academic disciplines.  Courses taken in Core Area F (lower division major requirements) may be counted as coursework in the minor.
• Courses taken to satisfy Core Areas A through E (general education) may NOT be counted as coursework in the minor.
• Students must earn a grade of at least “C” in all course work applicable to a formal minor.
• When a student’s major and minor require the same courses, there is no limit on duplicative credit. 100% sharing between a major and minor is permitted. A course may satisfy the requirements of the major, a first minor and a second minor.

In order to graduate with a minor that will be noted on the student’s permanent record, the student must declare the minor through Owl Express. Additional minors must be declared through the Office of the Registrar using a completed and approved minor form.