University Bulletin (2023-2024)

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, quantitative reasoning), 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

Students may repeat a course once for the purpose of demonstrating a higher level of mastery. Students may only earn credit once per course (unless the course is explicitly defined as allowing repetition for credit). The original course grade remains on the transcript, but is not factored into the calculation of the GPA when the repeated course is taken and a final grade is assigned. The grade in the repeated course, regardless if it is lower than the original course grade, will be factored into the GPA. If the student earns a passing grade on the repeated course, it will earn credit toward the 128 credits required for graduation, and the original course will not.

As defined by the department, students may not repeat a course for credit at a lower level, when they have successfully completed a higher level course in the same sequence with a grade of C or higher.

Students who receive grades below a C for the original course and for the repeated course may petition to be allowed a second repeat attempt. Petitions will be heard by the Executive Council of the Committee on Academic Standing and require the consent and support of the department and instructor offering the course.

This policy applies to courses repeated when the second or final attempt is taken in fall 2019 or later. It does not apply to repeated courses taken prior to fall 2019; these courses are governed by the prior policy.