Credit Transfer Request and Minor Approval

This document outlines the procedure and requirements for graduate students making special requests (Transfer credit, deficiency waivers, minor approval, etc.). Typical requests are for approval of transfer credit, waiving deficiencies, and approving courses in a minor. Requests should be made at the earliest possible time. Requests for transfer credit and deficiency waivers should be made in the student's first semester in the Computer Science and Engineering program, and requests for approval of minors must be made as early as possible (see below for more details).

In general, the student should write a letter to the graduate committee which precisely describes the request and how the requirements of the department are met. Specific information on requirements for typical requests is given below. Any supplemental information that the student has supporting the request should also be submitted (class syllabi, course descriptions, transcripts, etc.). The letter should be signed, which is the student's pledge that the information provided is correct. The letter may be delivered either to the main Computer Sciences office, or directly to the Graduate Coordinator.

Transfer Credit

For any courses to transfer, they must be graduate level courses and the student must have made a grade of A or B in the class. If the courses were not graded on the standard U.S. scale of A-F, then the student must justify that the grade is indeed equivalent to an A or B. Any courses that are not Computer Sciences must be transferred as a minor, and so must satisfy the requirements for a minor given below. Information on the course content must be supplied with the request for transfer. If the course is roughly equivalent to a class offered at UNT, then transfer credit will be granted only if the equivalent UNT course is not taken and counted on the student's degree plan.

Please note that at most 6 hours of credit may be transferred. Please use the following form: Course Equivalency Request Form (Return to csegrad@unt.edu and allow 6-8 weeks for processing)

Minor Approval

Please note that departmental policy (as given in the UNT Catalog and our departmental handout for graduate students) states that minors must be pre-approved and must be closely related to the student's Computer Sciences work and objectives. The degree of relation to Computer Sciences will be considered. Keep in mind that hours in a minor take away hours of Computer Science work, and if the minor is only marginally related to Computer Science (or involves little computational content) then more than 6 hours in the minor will not be approved.

Minors must be approved by both the graduate coordinator in the Computer Sciences department, and by an official (graduate coordinator or department chair) in the appropriate minor department here at UNT. The University requires that all courses in a minor must be from a single area, which means that all course designations must have the same prefix. If at all possible, minors should be approved before the courses for the minor are taken. If this is not possible, for example if the minor involves courses taken previously at another university, then the minor should be approved at the earliest possible time.