Grading Policies

All students must maintain a 3.0 average in all graduate programs at George Mason University. Therefore, no more than two C’s are permitted in graduate study. Students are automatically put on probation and must bring their GPA back up to the satisfactory level of 3.0. A graduate student is dismissed upon accumulating either grades of F in two courses or nine credits of unsatisfactory grades in graduate courses. These are minimum standards of academic performance. Some programs have higher standards. A grade of B- computes to a 2.8 which will lower GPA to below a 3.0 which is considered unsatisfactory. Students may not graduate with a Master’s degree with a GPA below a 3.0

Grades of B- or lower in licensure courses must be repeated. Candidates can not apply for licensure with a grade of B- or below in any licensure course and will not be recommended for licensure by CEHD.

Grades for Full-Time Summer Courses: An “In Progress” grade will be given for the full-time summer courses until field work is completed; a final grade for summer courses will be issued once field experience reports are completed. The field experience timeline determines the due dates for all summer field experience assignments.

Grades for regular fall, spring and summer semester courses: Fall, spring, and summer part-time courses and those master's degree courses offered during the fall and spring semesters are fully completed during the semester in which the course is taken. Students in good standing in a graduate course may request an incomplete (IN) from the instructor. It is the instructor’s decision to grant or not grant an incomplete. Students who are not working successfully in a course may not request an incomplete unless there is a documented medical reason. If a grade of IN is granted students are given nine weeks into the next semester to complete the assignments. After the nine-week period all IN grades become an automatic F. Students should check the online schedule of courses to determine the due dates for incomplete grades with the GMU Registrars Office. Mason grading policies are available online in the graduate catalog.

It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of all Mason grading policies. For more information about GMU grading policies click here.