Admission

Admission to Graduate Programs

All students seeking admission to a graduate degree program must first meet the minimum standards of the Office of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also have the approval of the department in which the graduate degree program is offered. Admission to one program does not constitute admission to any other. The admission standards of the departments may exceed those of the Office of Graduate Studies. International Students must satisfy additional requirements.

Admission to Graduate Studies

Admission to Graduate Studies at Fairmont State University requires a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum 2.75 overall grade point average or a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale on the student’s last sixty (60) semester hours of baccalaureate degree courses. Official transcripts must be sent directly from the college or university that issued the baccalaureate degree to the Office of Admissions. Applicants cannot be admitted without an official transcript or graduate aptitude test scores on file with the Office of Admissions or the Office of Graduate Studies.

In addition, students must submit scores on a graduate aptitude test such as the Graduate Record Examination (for information on the GRE, click HERE), Miller Analogies Test (for information on the MAT, click HERE), or Graduate Management Admission Test (for information on the GMAT, click HERE). Students interested in the MBA program must submit GMAT or GRE scores.  Scores more than five years old are not accepted.  This score requirement may be waived for applicants who already possess a master's degree from Fairmont State or another institution.

Test scores alone may not determine admission to Graduate Studies. Letters of recommendation, statements of purpose, and personal interviews may also be used to assess a student’s preparedness for and probability of success in graduate school. Applicants who do not meet all minimum admission criteria may be admitted provisionally.

Due to the competitiveness of Graduate programs at Fairmont State Univeristy, the Office of Graduate Studies does not processes applications on a rolling basis.  Applications are considered according to the following schedule.

• Application package should be submitted by Feb 1 for full consideration and possible early admission
• March 15 admission decisions are made and applicants notified
• May 1 FINAL application deadline; applications received after this date will only be considered on a course space available basis
• NOTE - Because the MBA program starts in the summer, all MBA applicants should follow this timeline.

• Application package should be submitted by May 1 for full consideration and possible early admission
• June 15 admission decisions are made and applicants notified
• August 1 FINAL application deadline; applications received after this date will only be considered on a course space available basis

• Application package should be submitted by Oct 1 for full consideration and possible early admission
• November 15 admission decisions are made and applicants notified
• January 1 FINAL application deadline; applications received after this date will only be considered on a course space available basis

A complete application package includes:

• An Application form,
• Official transcripts from each college or university attended,
• Scores for a graduate aptitude test taken within the last five years, and
• A check or money order made payable to Fairmont State University for the $40.00 nonrefundable application fee.  This fee covers admission expenses for a period of two years.  If you wish to re-apply after the two year period has expired, an additional $40.00 fee will be required.

Application Procedures

Applicants must submit to the Office of Admissions a Fairmont State University Graduate Studies Application Form and official transcripts. Application forms are available from the Office of Graduate Studies or online.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all admission documents are received in the Office of Graduate Studies by specified deadlines. All credentials submitted by or on behalf of an applicant become the property of FSU. Material from applicants who do not submit all requested material will be shredded and discarded. Once an application has been submitted, applicants should notify the Office of Graduate Studies of any change in plans regarding enrollment at FSU.

Types of Admission

Regular Admission is granted when graduate students are degree-seeking students who meet all the criteria for regular admission to a program of their choice.  The student must:

• hold a bachelor’s or an advanced degree from an accredited institution;
• have a overall grade point average of at least 2.75 OR a grade point average  of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on the student’s last sixty (60) semester hours of baccalaureate degree courses;
• have no deficiencies in the chosen area of study; and
• meet all admission criteria established by a particular degree program (GPA, GRE, etc.).

Provisional Admission may be granted by recommendation of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and the Graduate Program Director, when the student possesses a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university but clearly does not meet the criteria for regular admission. The student may have incomplete credentials, deficiencies to make up, or may have an undergraduate scholastic record which shows promise, but less than the required grade point average for regular admission. If the student has program deficiencies, graduate courses may be taken to fulfill deficiencies but will not apply to the degree. A student admitted provisionally may only register for nine semester hours of graduate work and must complete those nine semester hours with a GPA of at least 3.0. Provisional Admission is the decision of the particular degree program. All conditions must be removed before a student achieves Regular Admission status.

Non-Degree (Post Baccalaureate) Admission

Students who wish to take graduate courses but do not wish to apply to a graduate program or who have not met all requirements for admission to a graduate program may be admitted as non-degree students. A non-degree student has not been admitted to a program. Admission as a non-degree student does not guarantee admission to any course or program. The reasons for non-degree admission may be late application, incomplete credentials, scholarship deficiencies, or lack of a degree objective. Even though a non-degree student has not been admitted to a graduate program, a unit may allow a non-degree student to enroll in its courses under the following conditions:

• The applicant must hold a bachelor’s degree;
• The applicant must submit an Application for admission to the Office of Graduate Studies;
• The applicant must submit an official transcript from each college previously attended; and
• The applicant must be approved by the FSU Office of Graduate Studies and the Graduate
  Program Director.

If application for admission to a graduate degree is received in a subsequent semester and requirements for admission to Graduate Studies are completed, a maximum of six semester hours completed at FSU before full admission is gained may be counted for degree credit with the approval of the department Graduate Program Director and the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies.

Non-degree students who have successfully completed six or more hours of graduate course work and who do not meet the minimum admission requirements for the Office of Graduate Studies may petition for admission following the procedure outlined in the section entitled “Appeal of Admission Denial” which follows. If admission is then granted, the student may receive degree credit for the previously mentioned six hours and for the hours completed during the semester in which the student was fully admitted. International students will not be admitted as Post Baccalaureate students.

Concurrent Admission

A senior Fairmont State University undergraduate student may be granted Concurrent Admission to enroll in up to six (6) credit hours of graduate courses under the following conditions:

• the student has an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0;
• the student must need no more than nine (9) credit hours of undergraduate work to complete their baccalaureate degree; and 
• the total number of courses per semester may not exceed 15 credit hours, including both undergraduate and graduate coursework.

Students must complete and submit a Concurrent Enrollment Application form. Graduate coursework may be used to complete undergraduate degree requirements. If graduate coursework is used to satisfy undergraduate degree requirements it may not also be used to satisfy graduate degree requirements.

Appeal of Admission Denial

Students who have been denied admission to Graduate Studies have the right of appeal through the Graduate Studies Council. Contact the Office of Graduate Studies for complete details on the appeal process.

Baccalaureate Degree Deficiencies

The applicant for graduate study ordinarily must have completed undergraduate work in the intended major field, including hours at the junior and/or senior level. Applicants who do not meet this requirement may be required to make up such deficiencies as prescribed by the graduate major in collaboration with the Office of Graduate Studies.

Readmission of Graduate Students

A returning graduate student who has not taken a graduate class at FSU for two or more consecutive academic years (summers included), must submit a new Application and be readmitted by the Program Director and the Office of Graduate Studies. The application must show any intervening graduate work. The Office of Graduate Studies may require official transcripts of such intervening graduate work. The applicable standards are those in effect when the student applies for readmission. Graduate course work more than seven years old may not be counted toward a graduate degree.

Program Advising

The Graduate Program Director will assign an appropriate Graduate Advisor, who is a member of the graduate faculty, to the student. The Graduate Advisor will:

• direct the student in the formulation of the program,
• approve course selections and course changes,
• give guidance relative to examinations for the program, and
• ascertain that the candidate is meeting the requirements for the degree.

The assignment of a Graduate Advisor does not relieve the student of the primary responsibility for adequate program planning and for progress toward completion. All degree-seeking students should work closely with their Graduate Advisors to prepare a plan of study or Degree Plan.

Degree Plan

Prior to the completion of 18 credit hours of graduate coursework, a Degree Plan must be submitted through the student’s graduate Advisor and Graduate Program Director. The form can be obtained from the Program Director, the Office of Graduate Studies or online. Failure to submit the Degree Plan in a timely manner may prevent the student from future course registration. It is at this time that any transfer credits are included on the Degree Plan. A Transfer of Credit form and official transcripts from the university from which the credits are to be transferred is required by the Office of Graduate Studies before the transfer credits can be added to the FSU transcript.

Admission to Degree Candidacy

The following policies govern the acceptance of a graduate student as a degree candidate:

• Admission to regular graduate standing.
• Completion of at least six and not more than eighteen semester hours of graduate study at FSU and a grade point average equal to or greater than that required for graduation in the particular degree program in which the student desires candidacy. Credits completed in excess of eighteen semester hours before applying for degree candidacy (submitting Degree Plan, see above) may not be accepted for inclusion in a degree program except upon identification of courses and written approval by the Graduate Program Director and Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies.
• Completion and submission of a “Degree Plan” form with their Advisor or Graduate Program Director. This is a detailed plan indicating all courses to be taken for the degree including any deficiencies identified on admission. The Advisor, the Graduate Program Director and Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, must approve subsequent changes in an approved Degree Plan.
• Indication of a choice of the thesis or the non-thesis degree program. A thesis topic must be approved prior to submitting the Degree Plan.
• Submission of official transcripts of transfer credit when courses taken at other graduate schools are included in the degree program (maximum - twelve semester hours.) In any case, the last eighteen semester hours taken in a Degree Plan must be taken at FSU unless the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies gives prior approval.
• Degree candidacy must be granted the semester prior to graduation.