The major department or division and College of Graduate Studies will classify applicants as Full, Provisional, or Special Standing.

Full Standing

This category indicates that the student has an adequate background for pursuing graduate work and that all minimum requirements for admission to graduate standing have been met.

Provisional Standing

This category indicates that the student does not qualify for full standing due to deficiencies in meeting specific program requirements.  "Provisional Standing" is not equivalent to "conditional" admission for the purpose of international student enrollment.

The College of Graduate Studies will change a student's Provisional Standing to Full Standing when the deficiencies identified at the time of admission are removed, provided, at the sole discretion of the department and college: the deficiencies are cured prior to the completion of 15 graduate hours; or after acceptable completion of 9 graduate hours if the sole deficiency is caused by an unacceptable admission exam.  A student's failure to remove the deficiencies by the deadline established by Tennessee Tech will result in a registration hold being placed on future registrations until such time as the deficiencies have been removed.

Special Standing

This category denotes that the student has declared a non-degree graduate objective. Students who declare a non-degree graduate objective or transient students who have been admitted to graduate schools of other institutions are assigned to Special Standing. 

Admission to the Graduate School in any of the categories described above does not imply acceptance to candidacy for a graduate degree. The requirements for candidacy are explained elsewhere in this publication.

Individuals who wish to enroll in graduate level courses and who do not wish to seek graduate degrees (non-degree graduate students under the category of Special Standing), must submit an application, application fee, and proof of having earned the baccalaureate degree. Students admitted under this category of Special Standing must submit official transcripts of degree conferral's no later than the end of the first semester of enrollment or will be denied registration in subsequent semesters.

Change of Classification

Students who have been admitted to graduate study with Provisional Standing may, upon the approval of the departmental chairperson (or Program Director for students in the Ph.D. programs) and the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, request and be granted Full Standing after removing any entrance deficiencies noted at the time their applications for admission were approved. Deficiencies may be removed by:

• establishing credit in the courses recommended by the departmental chairperson as necessary to remove a deficiency, or any group of courses which the departmental chairperson may approve as a suitable substitute for the listed courses; the courses used for removal of deficiencies must be passed with a grade of "C" or better and these courses will not be counted in the graduate program nor in the computation of the graduate quality point average;

• the completion of at least nine (9) semester credits of graduate work, including six (6) semester credits in the major field, with a minimum quality point average of 3.0 for students who entered with a questionable undergraduate background; and obtaining satisfactory scores on admission tests.

In any instance, a student must apply for reclassification to Full Standing prior to the completion of 15 graduate hours. Students who have been admitted to graduate study with Special Standing are not eligible for reclassification until their graduate and undergraduate records have been evaluated by the department in which they wish to major. Credit earned while in Special Standing may not be counted toward a degree until approved by the major departments but in no case will more than nine (9) semester credits be counted.