ACADEMICS

Graduate Admission

Unconditional Admission

The following are the minimum requirements for unconditional admission to a graduate degree program. Additional criteria may be utilized to determine admission to specific programs.

  1. Applicant must have earned a four-year bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college/university.
  2. Minimum 2.50 (4.0 system) grade point average on all work attempted or 2.75 GPA on the last 60 hours attempted.
  3. Satisfactory scores on standardized test(s) specified by the academic college (if applicable).
  4. Submission of all official admission documents to the Graduate School.

Students must obtain unconditional status and meet all admission requirements before a degree will be conferred by Louisiana Tech University. Additional information can be found in the University Catalog (see Grade Requirements for Students Unconditionally Admitted).

Conditional Admission

 The following are the minimum requirements for conditional admission to a graduate degree program. Additional criteria may be utilized to determine admission to specific programs.

  1. Applicant must have earned a four-year bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college/university.
  2. Minimum 2.25 (4.0 system) grade point average on all work attempted or 2.50 GPA on the last 60 hours attempted.
  3. A maximum of 9 semester hours may be earned while students fulfill stipulated admission conditions. If conditions are not removed after 9 hours of graduate course work, the student will be dropped from the Graduate School.

Conditional status may be changed to Unconditional status when a student earns a minimum of 9 hours of graduate credit at Louisiana Tech, provided he or she has fulfilled the conditions of admission and has a B average (3.0/4.0 scale) on all work pursued for graduate credit, including no grade lower than C and not more than one course with a grade of C. Students must obtain unconditional status and meet all admission requirements before a degree will be conferred by Louisiana Tech University. Additional information can be found in the University Catalog (see Grade Requirements for Students Conditionally Admitted). Please note that these admission requirements are the minimum established by the Graduate School. Departments and degree programs may have additional and more stringent admission conditions. Please check the relevant web pages for program-specific admission requirements.

Transfer Admission

The transfer admission category applies to an applicant who

  1. is currently enrolled in a graduate program at another institution in the US and seeks admission to Louisiana Tech University’s Graduate School without completing that program, or
  2. was previously enrolled in a graduate program at another institution in the US, but did not complete that degree.

Transfer admission students must meet the same requirements as entering graduate students, and be in good academic standing at the current institution (i.e., be eligible to return to the previous institution). An official transcript from the current institution reflecting the up-to-date academic record must be submitted before an admission decision can be made.

Graduate Non-Degree Admission Categories

Graduate Certificate Program

 A set of pre-determined subject-matter-specific graduate courses pursued to enhance an individual’s mastery of a subject area without enrolling in or completing a master’s program. As such, certificate programs are not shortened versions of existing master’s programs. Successful completion of a Graduate Certificate Program results in the receipt of a certificate that specifies graduate certification in a specific area and is accompanied by the appropriate posting on the official Louisiana Tech University Certificate transcript. Students must understand that they are not admitted to a graduate degree program.

Life-Long Learning

 Designed to allow students desiring to enroll in graduate courses for the purpose of professional development or certification. There is no limit to the number of courses that students may take in this category as long as the minimum 3.0 GPA grade standards set for conditional admission are maintained. Students may apply for a graduate degree program at any time by completing a Graduate School application and by meeting the admission requirements for that specific program. Upon admission to a graduate degree program, students may file a written request with the college that up to a maximum of 12 total semester hours of graduate credit earned under Life-Long Learning be applied to their graduate degree program Plan of Study by special permission of the college and Program Chair assigned to the student’s degree program. These courses will be specifically identified on the Plan of Study.

Inter-Institutional Cooperative Program (ICP)

Students may enroll in graduate courses through the ICP program between Louisiana Tech and Grambling State University. Students must apply for transient status and follow the appropriate admission procedures. Transient admission is good for one quarter only. Courses taken through the ICP program must be included on a student’s approved Plan of Study in order to count towards degree requirements, and all course prerequisites must be met. Students not in good standing at one university are not eligible to enroll in graduate courses at the other university.

Transient

Students admitted to a graduate program at another institution wishing to take a course(s) for transfer credit may be allowed to take such a course(s) with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies in the college in which he or she would normally enroll. Students must provide official transcripts certifying active pursuit of an advanced degree at another institution and must be in good academic standing. A maximum of 12 hours of transient credit will be allowed. Transcripts shall note that such credit is associated with the transient admission. Transient admission is good for one quarter only.

Concurrent Bachelor’s/Master’s Program

Graduating seniors currently enrolled in a regionally accredited institution (referred to as home institution from this point forward) who have a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.20 on all undergraduate work attempted may be allowed to register for a combined load of undergraduate courses and courses for graduate credit (500 level) if they meet the following University of Louisiana System criteria. Students not meeting undergraduate preparatory requirements will not be eligible for this program. Student must obtain written approval of the appropriate Louisiana Tech University college’s graduate director/coordinator, academic dean, Dean of the Graduate School, and International Student Office, if applicable.

Students must adhere to the following requirements:

  1. Provide a minimum of 2 letters of reference from faculty members in the department where the student is currently pursuing the undergraduate degree along with a graduate concurrent application and processing fee.
  2. Not lack more than 30 semester hours to complete baccalaureate degree requirements.
  3. Not earn more than 12 graduate credit hours while completing baccalaureate requirements. Seniors may be allowed to take 6 graduate credit hours upon written approval of their Associate Dean/Graduate Director, and Dean of the Graduate School.
  4. The student retains undergraduate status at the home institution until he/she is awarded the baccalaureate degree.
  5. While in the concurrent program, the student shall maintain a minimum cumulative graduate GPA of 3.0 and remain in good academic standing at the home institution.
  6. Submit official transcripts from home institution at time of application and upon completion of degree.

At the time of matriculation from the baccalaureate program and upon application to the graduate program, students seeking admission to a Master’s program other than the program in which they were granted concurrent enrollment must meet the same admission requirements as other applicants to the program to which they are seeking admission. GRE and GMAT scores may be waived for students admitted to the Baccalaureate and Master’s Concurrent Enrollment Program upon approval from the academic program provided they successfully complete a minimum of 3 graduate semester hours towards the applicable program.  Each application is considered on a case by case basis.

Students failing to maintain a minimum quarterly and cumulative 3.0 graduate GPA will be dropped from the concurrent program and will need to appeal for reinstatement prior to any further graduate admission or enrollment. All Graduate School admission criteria, including appropriate test scores, will be required of any students failing to maintain appropriate graduate GPA while in the Concurrent Program.

Additional information about the Concurrent Bachelor’s/Master’s program can be found in the University Catalog, Graduate School section.

Graduating Seniors – Accelerated Baccalaureate and Master’s Program

Louisiana Tech undergraduate students in the Concurrent Enrollment Program may, subject to the approval of the undergraduate degree program administrators, use up to 12 credit hours of graduate courses to satisfy requirements in their undergraduate curriculum. The maximum number of hours that can be double counted in this fashion is subject to the requirement that the combined Baccalaureate and Master’s curricula will total a minimum of 144 credit hours