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To be eligible for graduation, a student must have at least 124 credits, a 2.00 cumulative grade point average(GPA), and must have satisfactorily completed the tutorial and a departmental, interdepartmental or independent major and the College residency requirement.
The following criteria apply:
The maximum credits that can be included in the 124 credits are listed below:
- 48 credits in any one department (For the purposes of this requirement, Chinese and Japanese and Studio Art & Art Historycredits are to be considered as belonging to separate departments.)
- 92 credits in any one division
- 8 practica credits with no more than 4 credits in PhysicalEducation (PHE 100 or PHE 101)
- Practica credits include:MUS 101, PHE 100, PHE 101, THD 100, THD 205
- 16 credits in performance
- Performance credits include: MUS 120, MUS 122, MUS 220, MUS 221, MUS 320, MUS 420, THD104,THD204
- 6 credits in Music 101, 120, 122, 220, 221, 320, and 420 in any one semester
- 12 credits of individual study work (Plus-2, 297, 299, 387, 397, 399, and 499) in one department
- 8 credits of internship study (300)
- 16 credits of “D” grades
No credit with a grade below “C” may count toward the satisfaction of any requirement for a major or an interdisciplinary concentration. (This includes all extra-departmental and cognate courses.)
All entering first-year students are required to take the tutorial. The previous work of transfer students is evaluated for possible exemption from the tutorial requirement; third-year transfers are automatically exempted. Students select a tutorial from the list of those to be offered each year (see Tutorials).
The tutorial is graded on an “A” through “F” basis with no S/D/F grading option. A student must complete the tutorial with a grade of “C” or higher to meet the tutorial graduation requirement and to be eligible to enroll in individual study work (Plus-2, 297, 299, 387, 397, 399, and 499) and internships (300). Any student earning a grade of “D” or “F” in the tutorial will be reviewed by the Committee on Academic Standing and will minimally receive an academic warning. Additionally, a student earning a grade of “D” or “F” in the tutorial will be required to complete an appropriate course determined by the Dean of the College and the Dean of Student Success and Academic Advising in order to fulfill the tutorial requirement. This course must be completed with a grade of “C” or higher during his/her/hir next semester at Grinnell. The designated replacement course for the tutorial also has no S/D/F grading option. After successful completion of the tutorial replacement course, the student will be eligible for individual study work and internships.
Because a residential college seeks to create an environment in which students and faculty benefit from the exchange of insights, ideas, and experiences, a residence requirement provides adequate time for such an exchange for the student’s development both inside and outside the classroom. Contemplative study, maturation, and time for reading and discussion in the College community all are considered important to a student’s development.
All students are expected to complete eight college semesters at the minimum semester course load, a specified number of which must be in residence at Grinnell. (More than the minimum semester course load is required to maintain normal scholarly progress. See the Academic Reviewsection of this Handbook.) Students who enter Grinnell as first-semester first-year students or who transfer to Grinnell as second-semester first-year students are required to complete at least six semesters at the minimum semester course load in residence at Grinnell. (See the table below.) One semester of approved off-campus study may count toward the six- semester residency requirement.
Transfer students who enter as first-semester second yearstudents, as second-semester second-year students,or as third-year students must complete at least four semesters at the minimum semester course loadin residence at Grinnell. The only off-campus programs that can be counted toward residency for second-year and third-year transfer students are those operated by Grinnell College: the Grinnell-in-London and Grinnell-in-Washington programs. (See the table below.)
| # of Semesters to Complete at Grinnell | Number of Off-Campus Study Semesters Permitted | Clarification |
| 4 | 1 | Must be GILor GIWoff campus study |
| 5 | 2 | 1 OCS and 1 GILor GIW |
| 6 | 2 | 2 OCSor 1 OCSand 1 GILor GIW |
| 7 | 2 | 2 OCSor 1 OCSand 1 GILor GIW |
| 8 | 2 | 2 OCSor 1 OCSand 1 GILor GIW |
| OCS = Off campus study, GIL/GIW are Grinnell sponsored OCS | ||
If an eighth-semester student in good academic standing leaves the College with eight or fewer non-major credits to complete toward the degree, these credits may be completed at another accredited college or university, as long as the college residence requirement has been met and prior approval has been granted by the student’s adviser and the Registrar. Degrees are not conferred beyond three years after the date a student leaves Grinnell.
Requirements for Accelerated/Early Graduation
Students who enter Grinnell as first-semester first-year students may develop degree programs of six or seven semesters at the minimum semester course load. The major adviser and the Committee on Academic Standing must approve the student’s plan for accelerated graduation. The Application for Accelerated Graduationmay be obtained from the Office of the Registrar. In completing the application, students should consult the “Elements of a Liberal Education” section of the Grinnell College Academic Catalog. A completed application must be submitted no later than Friday of the first full week of classes of the semester proposed for graduation. However, it is in a student’s interest to apply for accelerated graduation no later than the time of registration two semesters prior to the expected date of accelerated graduation so that the student has two semesters in which to address any academic deficiencies identified by the Committee on Academic Standing. Students may graduate after six or seven semesters if they have satisfied requirements for the degree, including the requirements for major, residence, and total credits, and if they have demonstrated a commitment to a strong program of liberal education, normally including three four-credit courses in each of the three major divisions of the College. The last full semester of work before graduation must be completed at Grinnell, except for students participating in Cooperative Programsleading to second degrees.
The class standing of a student who is attempting to follow an approved accelerated program to graduate in fewer than eight semesters is not reclassified forward on the basis of credits earned until his/her/hir final semester. The credits necessary to remain in good academic standingare determined by a student’s actual class status, not by the accelerated program he or she is attempting.
Requirements for Extended Graduation/Ninth Semester
All students are expected to complete their academic programs within eight semesters at the minimum semester course load.Some students may be permitted to take more time. Examples would include students with disabilities that prevent them from carrying a full course load or students who have fallen behind normal scholarly progress. In all cases of extended study, the student must secure prior approval from the Committee on Academic Standing. The Petition for a Ninth Semestermay be obtained from the Office of the Registrar. The Committee on Academic Standing will review such requests in consultation with appropriate administrative offices.
The College reserves the right to refuse college housing to students beyond eight semesters, and the College will not provide its own aid funds to students who exceed eight semesters of college residence.
Each department recommends for graduation with honors those senior majors who have clearly distinguished themselves within their major field of study. In order to qualify for recommendation, a student must, after the semester prior to graduation (typically after the seventh semester, except in the case of accelerated graduation), have achieved at least a 3.50 grade point average in the major field and a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.40. Students found responsible for academic dishonesty are not eligible for honors, except students who receive a less-than-typical outcome for the offense. The required seven semesters of study to qualify for honors need not all be completed at Grinnell; however, only credits completed at Grinnell, Grinnell-in-London, and Grinnell-in-Washington, D.C. and will be used in determining grade point eligibility.
These are minimum, College-wide criteria for honors. Students should consult the individual department listings in the Grinnell College Academic Catalogfor departmental minimum criteria for honors and may consult with the chair of the major department for further clarification, if needed. Honors are awarded for graduation based on the requirements published in the Academic Catalogat the time of graduation, not at the time in which the student declares their major.
Students may participate in only one Commencement program. Students who plan to graduate in December are typically included in the Commencement program the following May. Some December graduates, however, may wish to participate in the Commencement program immediately preceding their final semester. Students who have remained in good academic standingthe previous two semesters, and who can reasonably complete all requirements by the end of the following December may be allowed to participate in Commencement with approval from the Registrar. These students will not receive a diploma until after their degree has been conferred.
