Academic Catalog

Policy Summary

This policy establishes Northern Arizona University graduate admission requirements and standards for graduate degree-seeking and non-degree-seeking students. It outlines minimum academic requirements, transcript requirements, and additional criteria for international applicants. The policy also defines admission decision statuses, residency classification for tuition, and processes for deferrals and program changes.

Entities Affected by This Policy

• All colleges and instructional units or programs
• All students
• All faculty, instructors, and academic officials
• Office of the Provost
• Office of Student Life
• Office of the Registrar
• Office of Graduate and Professional Studies
• Strategic Enrollment and Marketing-Graduate Admissions

Policy

Graduate Degree Seeking Admissions Requirements

Students are required to be formally admitted to a graduate degree or certificate program. Applicants must have earned an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited and/or accredited by a Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) recognized accrediting body, institution with a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale, or the equivalent.

Students must submit a graduate admissions application unique to each graduate degree or certificate program they wish to pursue.

Students holding a cumulative GPA below 3.0 may be considered for conditional admission with a recommendation and rationale from the admitting academic program.

Academic programs, departments, or colleges may have additional admission requirements and application materials. The program establishes review criteria and acceptance standards, including the acceptance of the type of undergraduate degree or major (e.g., 120-credit degree, reduced credit bachelor’s, and/or major-specific criteria), other academic indicators, professional experiences, and/or scholarly focus. The program and/or department determines admission committee structure and guidelines. For these requirements, contact the specific academic program and/or refer to the Academic Catalog.

Transcript Requirements

Undergraduate transcripts from all undergraduate and/or graduate work completed in the U.S. must be submitted as part of the application.

Official transcripts, sent from the issuing institution directly to Northern Arizona University, will be required upon admittance to the graduate program for GPA and degree conferral verification. NAU students do not need to submit official transcripts for NAU coursework.

Applicants who have earned their degree(s) from an international institution must submit official transcripts directly from the university or college in the original language of the country. The official transcript must be accompanied by a comprehensive, professional evaluation (which includes a course-by-course translation, including units, grades, GPA, and certificate equivalencies by an approved evaluation agency). Applicants may use any of the Arizona Department of Education-approved evaluation services for the professionally evaluated translation. If the degree awarded and the date of award are not on the transcripts, applicants must also include a separate degree certificate document.

Additional International Graduate Admissions Requirements

International students may pursue fully online or in-person degree programs on the Flagstaff Mountain or Yuma campuses. In-person Graduate Certificates may only be pursued by international students if paired with a degree program.

International students may apply to most master’s and doctoral programs at the Flagstaff Mountain Campus. A list of program exceptions can be found on the International Graduate Admission website: NAU International Graduate Admission-NAU Office of Graduate and Professional Studies

International Transcripts

Applicants who have earned their degree(s) from an international institution must submit official transcripts directly from the university or college in the original language of the country. The official transcript must be accompanied by a comprehensive, professional evaluation (which includes a course-by-course translation, including units, grades, GPA, and certificate equivalencies by an approved evaluation agency). Applicants may use any of the Arizona Department of Education-approved evaluation services for the professionally evaluated translation. If the degree awarded and the date of award are not on the transcripts, applicants must also include a separate degree certificate document.

English Proficiency Requirements

If English is not your native language, you must provide proof of English proficiency. Scores must be sent directly to the Center for International Education from the Testing Institution. Please note that some departments have their own scoring requirements and may only accept certain English Proficiency Tests.

For details of eligible programs, special instructions, English proficiency requirements, cost of attendance, and immigration and visa requirements, visit the NAU International Graduate Admission website.

Graduate Non-Degree Seeking Admission

Individuals interested in personal enrichment or not ready to apply to a degree program may apply for admission as a non-degree student. Applicants are required to obtain a posted bachelor’s degree to be eligible for graduate non-degree admission.

Graduate non-degree-seeking students may take an unlimited number of graduate-level courses while in this status. However, upon admission to a graduate program, they may apply a maximum of 12 units of graduate coursework toward their degree if approved by the program.

Admission Decisions and Statuses

Only the Strategic Enrollment and Marketing-Graduate Admissions (SEM-Graduate Admissions) can make formal offers of admission. Academic programs make admission recommendations to the SEM-Graduate Admissions based on their review of all required application materials.

Admission to many academic programs is on a competitive basis, and those programs frequently set higher standards and evaluation criteria. Therefore, meeting the minimum requirements does not ensure admission to a graduate program.

Full/Unconditional Admission

If an applicant meets all admission criteria, has been evaluated and recommended for admission by the academic program, and has been evaluated and approved by SEM-Graduate Admissions, the applicant may be granted full/unconditional admission, barring any extenuating circumstances. The department establishes the admission decision timeline for each degree program.

Conditional Admission

If an applicant is not qualified for full/unconditional admission status, they may be granted conditional admission. Reasons for conditional admission vary and may include, but are not limited to:

• The bachelor’s degree is expected to be completed before the start of graduate work, but has not yet been posted to an official transcript.
• Minimum admission standards were not met, but the applicant demonstrates the potential to meet the requirements of the degree.
• Programmatic or discipline-specific requirements are deficient, or the applicant lacks certain prerequisites.

To change from conditional status to full/unconditional status, the student must complete all admission requirements and remove all deficiencies within the timeframe noted in the admission letter. Students who fail to meet conditional admission requirements may be denied admission upon academic department and SEM-Graduate Admissions review, without a probationary period.

Residency Classification

Residency Classification for tuition purposes is based on policies set by the Arizona Board of Regents. 

Deferred Admission

Students who are admitted to a graduate program but will not attend in the designated admission term may contact the admitting academic department to request a deferral. Students may request a deferral for up to one year from the original admission term or within the timeline designated by the academic department. The academic department establishes eligibility criteria.

If approved, the department will notify SEM-Graduate Admissions to update the admission term. Students may request a deferral only once after an initial admission. Additional deferral requests may require the submission of a new admission application.

Change of Graduate Program/Plan

A change of graduate program/plan usually requires a new submission of an admissions application for the new program. SEM-Graduate Admissions will determine any exceptions and what steps are needed to facilitate this change.

Appeal to an Admissions Decision

Students who wish to appeal their admission decision should contact the Graduate Coordinator for the specific program or the academic department for instructions on how to submit an appeal. Please note that an appeal option may not be available in all cases.