Course Policies

Graduate Student Permission to Enroll in a Course Below the 500-Level

With the approval of their director of graduate studies (DGS) and the associate dean for academic affairs, graduate students may enroll in courses below the 500 level, but these courses will not count toward the credits required for a post-baccalaureate degree and will not be included in a student’s GPA calculation. The grading basis for such courses will be A+*, A*, A-*, B+*, B*, B-*,C+*, C*, C-*, F*; the asterisk next to the letter grade indicates that the course will not count for graduate degree credit and will not factor into the GPA. Standard drop/add and course withdrawal deadlines apply.

To enroll in a course below the 500 level, a graduate student must complete this form, obtain the signature of the DGS and submit the form to gradacademics@duke.edu or to the Graduate School, 2127 Campus Drive, before 5:00 p.m. two business days before the last day of the drop/add period. Note: Full-time enrollment in graduate-level coursework is required for approval to add a course below the 500 level. For master’s students, full-time enrollment is 9 credits; Ph.D. students do not have set credit requirements to maintain full-time status.

Audited Courses

In order to audit a course, a student must have the approval of the instructor of the course. The student takes the written approval to the Registrar’s Office for manual registration. Any student registered full-time in a degree program may audit courses without charge during the fall and spring semesters. Otherwise an audit fee is charged. As a footnote, perhaps, it might be noted that students are frequently unaware of the opportunity to audit courses. It may be to students' interests to continue auditing select courses after they have completed all departmental course requirements, or after having completed the equivalent of 6 semesters of full-time tuition.

Inter-Institutional Courses

A Duke graduate regularly enrolled as a degree-seeking student and paying full fees can sign up for one course at UNC-Chapel Hill or NC State University each semester through an inter-institutional agreement that exists between these institutions and Duke. You can take a course through the inter-institutional agreement only if:

  • The course is not being offered at Duke during the same academic year;
  • The course is equivalent to a full, 1.0 cc Duke course (no partial credit);
  • The student can take it for credit (no audits); and
  • The student can take it for a letter grade (no Pass/Fail option).

Under the same conditions, one inter-institutional course per summer may be taken at a neighboring institution participating in the agreement provided that the student is concurrently enrolled at Duke for one full course credit.

Grades for inter-institutional courses will appear on your transcript and will be factored into your grade point average, if approved by your Director of Graduate Studies at Duke and the Home Institution registrar.  Information on inter-institutional courses can be found at the Registrar's Web site. The student must also obtain approval of the instructor of the course he or she wanted to take, fill out an inter-institutional approval form and have it approved and signed by the Director of Graduate Studies in the Duke department in which the course would fall.  Click here for information on the inter-institutional courses.