Semester and Credit Requirements for Graduation

Credits Required For Graduation

All students are required to complete a minimum of 128 credits. A minimum of 112 of the 128 credits must come from Brandeis fall/spring semesters, Brandeis Summer School, approved fall/spring Study Abroad programs, or approved Justice Brandeis Semester programs. A combined maximum of 16 credits may come from External Credit Sources (see below).

Transfer students must complete a minimum of 64 of the 128 credits from Brandeis fall/spring semesters.

A cumulative GPA of at least 2.000 is required for graduation.

Semesters Required For Graduation

Students entering as freshmen are required to complete a minimum of seven full-time semesters from Brandeis fall/spring semesters, approved fall/spring Study Abroad programs or approved Justice Brandeis Semester programs. At most one of these seven semesters may be a Study Abroad semester or a summer Justice Brandeis semester. (For students wishing to complete two semesters of study abroad, or two summer Justice Brandeis semesters, or one semester of each, the minimum number of semesters becomes eight full-time semesters.)

Transfer students must complete a minimum of four full-time semesters from Brandeis fall/spring semesters.

A student's final semester cannot be spent on a Study Abroad program. In order to receive credit for work done abroad, students must return to Brandeis for at least one semester during the academic year.

Options For Fulfilling the Academic Residency Requirement

External Credit Sources

A combined maximum of 16 credits from the external sources listed below may be applied toward the 128 credits needed for graduation. Students may request credit from these sources through the Office of the University Registrar.

1. Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate Exams
2. Approved courses taken while on a leave of absence for medical reasons
3. Approved courses taken through an approved summer study abroad program
4. For students who applied for fall-term admission as freshmen, but who were accepted for the following spring term as members of the midyear class:
   1. Approved college courses taken during the fall semester immediately prior to entering Brandeis
   2. Approved courses in General Chemistry I and II (plus labs) taken the summer prior to entering Brandeis

External Exams/Courses for Purpose

Advanced Placement exams and International Baccalaureate exams, college courses taken while in high school or summer courses taken outside of Brandeis, may be used for placement purposes, general degree requirements (for example, school distribution, foreign language), and major/minor requirements as allowed by individual departments and programs. Courses transferred for purpose have no numeric credit value and will not count toward the 128 credits required for graduation. Students may request a transfer of courses from these sources through the Office of the University Registrar.

Repeating Courses for Courses Repeated Prior to Fall 2019

Although students may repeat, for the purpose of demonstrating a higher level of mastery, courses in which a passing grade already has been earned, such repeated courses do not yield additional credit toward the 128 credits required for graduation, are not included in the calculation of the grade point average, and do not count towards rate of work in the semester taken, if the repeated course is taken prior to fall 2019.

Students may repeat a course in which a failing grade has been earned. The repeat course, if a passing grade is earned, yields credit towards the 128 credits required for graduation. Both grades in the courses are included in the calculation of the grade point average, if the repeated course is taken prior to fall 2019.

For the current repeat policy, please see the Undergraduate Requirements Beginning Fall 2019.