Grading System and Official Records
Grading System
The course marks used in the Divinity School are A, B, C, and D (all of which may have + or – modifiers) as well as P, F, R, and I or NGR. Marks above B-, or a mark of P, indicate a passing grade. The marks of B-, C, D and F indicate unsatisfactory work and carry no course credit.
The University Registrar maintains the following policy: “The end of the quarter for Autumn, Winter, and Spring is the Saturday of the 11th week. The end of the Summer Quarter is the Saturday of the 10th week. Degree conferral takes place on the Friday of the 11th week in the Autumn and Winter Quarters, the Friday of 10th week in Summer Quarter, and the Saturday of the 11th week in the Spring Quarter. Grades for graduating students must be submitted online by 11:59PM the Saturday one week before awarding of degrees. (If submitting a paper grade sheet, the deadline is 3:00PM on the Friday one week before awarding of degrees). All other final grades must be submitted to the University Registrar the Tuesday following the end of Winter and Spring Quarters and the Wednesday following the end of Summer and Autumn Quarters.” If an instructor does not submit grades by this time, the mark of NGR will appear on the transcript.
The mark of P indicates a passing a grade. The student should be in contact with the instructor at the beginning of a course to determine what constitutes a P. Both student and instructor should have a written record of what constitutes a P for the course.
The mark of R indicates that the student registered for the course as an auditor. It does not count for credit. Such registrations may only be undertaken with the permission of the instructor and must be performed by the Dean of Students Office. To register for a course as an auditor, the student must obtain the instructor’s approval and submit it to the Dean of Students office.
The mark I (Incomplete) indicates that the student registered for course credit but has not submitted all the evidence required for a qualitative grade, and has made satisfactory arrangements with the instructor to complete the work. Students who wish to take an Incomplete in a course must make a formal request using a form available from the Dean of Students office. Students have one year in which to complete Incomplete coursework, after which the I becomes permanent, and any grade submitted will be placed next to the I (e.g. I/B+). Students on financial aid should consult with the Graduate Financial Aid office to determine if and how a grade of I will affect their eligibility for loans.
Masters levels students (M.A. or M.Div.) with more than three Incompletes or ungraded courses on their transcript at the beginning of an academic year may not register for that year. Ph.D. students must resolve any Incompletes before taking qualifying exams.
Satisfactory Academic Progress
Following federal financial aid regulations, all students must be enrolled quarterly in course work and must maintain satisfactory academic progress in their program of study.
For all students, satisfactory academic progress is determined annually through progress reviews in the spring quarter for academic purposes, or at other intervals upon recommendation by the faculty and action by the Committee on Degrees, and by the Student Loan Administration in the summer for federal loan eligibility.
In general, students are making satisfactory academic progress when they have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 and have at least one passing grade entered per quarter enrolled. Students who receive a grade of I or NGR must complete coursework with a grade entered within one year of the quarter in which the course was taken. A Plan of Action for Incomplete Courses must be submitted to the Dean of Students if 1) a master's student has more than three incomplete grades, or 2) any student has not received a grade for coursework within one calendar year of the course enrollment.
All doctoral students who are enrolled in fewer than 300 units (typically 3 courses) will be enrolled automatically in an "Advanced Studies" course, which will carry up to 300 units.
All students enrolled in this course must receive a grade for the course for every quarter and the grade will be recorded by the Dean of Students on behalf of the faculty advisor. Grade possibilities for this course will either be a grade of "satisfactory" (S) or "unsatisfactory" (U).
For the autumn and winter quarters, the area’s faculty can determine whether the assigned grade will be either an "S" grade or whether the grade will be left blank until the spring quarter when the annual progress review is conducted by area faculty. A grade of "U" is to be entered in a particular quarter if a student's academic advisor communicates to the Dean of Students that the student is not making satisfactory progress or if a student has not met specific academic requirements set by an area or the academic advisor. A student scheduled to graduate in a particular quarter is to be assigned a grade by the convocation grade deadline for that quarter.
All students in the Divinity School have their progress reviewed annually in the Spring Quarter. Students in Master’s degree programs are reviewed by their program directors, with support from the Dean of Students office. Students in the PhD program are reviewed by their area faculty with external examiners or dissertation committee members as appropriate, either as part of a program milestone (e.g. Second-Year progress conference, Qualifying Exams) or as part of the area’s general review of its PhD students.
When the progress review suggests that a student is not making satisfactory academic progress, the Dean of Students office will contact the Director of Doctoral Studies and the faculty advisor in the case of doctoral students, or the program director in the case of masters students, to review the student’s case. After such consultation, the Dean of Students may bring the student’s case for review by the Committee on Degrees, which may impose academic probation.
If probation is warranted and administered, the student will be notified in writing by the Committee on Degrees regarding a) what is required to regain good academic standing and b) the deadline for doing so, normally 1-2 quarters. Failure to meet the terms of probation will result in the student’s withdrawal from the program. A student may only be on probation once during their course of study. If a student who has already been on probation subsequently fails to achieve satisfactory academic progress a second time, the Committee on Degrees may withdraw the student from the program.
Of course, there are personal and/or medical situations that may require reconsideration of these probation policies for students and candidates. These individual cases will be considered through the lens of University policies pertaining to leaves of absence, milestone extensions, and academic modification by the Dean of Students, the student’s program director, and the Committee on Degrees, which has final jurisdiction over a student’s standing in the program. (Doctoral students should consult the PhD student handbook, which has additional information about how Leaves of Absence affect eligibility for time to degree requirements.)
A student who anticipates difficulty in maintaining academic progress should speak with their advisor, program director, or the Dean of Students or Associate Dean of Students.
Students should be aware the Federal loans are contingent upon satisfactory academic progress. More information can be found at https://financialaid.uchicago.edu/files/documents/2018-2019-graduate-financial-aid-handbook.pdf.
Course Credits
A student who is registered for a course and successfully completes the requirements as prescribed by the instructor receives credit for the course on the records of the University. The student’s record, indicating the units of instruction successfully completed together with the marks received in the various courses, may be used for transferring course credits to another university.
Transcripts
A student may request a transcript of his or her academic record or certification of student status by contacting:
Office of the University Registrar
1427 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
web site: http://registrar.uchicago.edu/transcripts
A lifetime fee for transcripts is assessed once upon matriculation.