Grad

Admission to Graduate Programs

Admissions Policy

The University of Cincinnati welcomes graduate applications from students who:

  • hold a baccalaureate degree from a college or university regarded as standard by a regional accrediting agency and; 
  • have at least a B average (3.000/4.0 system) in undergraduate course work or otherwise give evidence of promise that is judged satisfactory by the admitting program and the Graduate College. Programs that wish to admit applicants who lack this 3.000 minimum GPA requirement must provide supporting evidence and rationale of how such students will be able to complete a graduate program that requires achievement of a 3.000 GPA, and indicate any support offered by the program to ensure the applicant’s success given the GPA deficiency. 

Decisions concerning admission to graduate programs rest with the programs, and criteria used for determining admission beyond these minimal requirements are established by the programs. All programs have established written criteria for judging the admissibility of applicants, which are published in each program’s graduate handbook. The program’s handbook for graduate study must be available to the student. Upon the student’s acceptance of the admission offer, the program and the student are bound by the terms and conditions set forth in the letter of appointment. 

Faculty and Administrators' Eligibility for Graduate Degrees

No holder of an academic administrative title at the University of Cincinnati (equivalent to assistant dean or above) may matriculate or be granted a graduate certificate or degree from the University of Cincinnati.

No graduate degree or certificate from the University of Cincinnati will be granted to any faculty member at the University of Cincinnati (full-time or part-time above rank of instructor) who teaches in the same department, division or school in which the degree is to be granted. This rule also applies to adjunct appointments at any faculty rank and to interdisciplinary degrees when the same college is one of the interdisciplinary colleges.

College deans may petition the Associate Dean of the Graduate College for a waiver of this policy on an individual faculty member’s behalf. The written request should describe the teaching responsibilities of the faculty member, indicating whether they are teaching graduate students and a plan for managing potential conflicts of interest.