General Academic Requirements for ME Graduate Degrees
GPA Expectations
Effective Summer 2022, a graduate student is expected to maintain a graduation index of 3.0 or better. Students who earn a grade lower than C in a course on the Plan of Study (POS) must re-take the course. Once the course has been retaken, the student will need to update their POS with the new semester in which a better grade was received with a POS change request.
The student also is expected to earn satisfactory (S) grades in research (ME69800 for MS and ME69900 for D-PhD and PhD, or ENGR 69810 (online Master’s research).
A student with cumulative GPA below 3.0 and/or unsatisfactory research grades for two semesters (consecutive or non-consecutive) will receive a dismissal letter from the Graduate Chair. There is no appeal when 2 ‘u’s in research are received, and there are no second appeals if your academic performance deteriorates after an initial appeal was approved.
(Note: Students enrolled in the graduate program prior to Summer ’22 semester are grandfathered in with the prior academic requirements: a minimum of 2.85 GPA is expected to be maintained in order to graduate, and courses with lower than a C- on your POS must be re-taken, and POS must be updated with the new semester the course was re-taken. Students will be automatically dismissed if cumulative GPA is equal to 2.75 or lower, after completing 12 credit hours or more of graduate coursework, or if 2 ‘u’s in research are received.)
Computing the GPA
The graduation index for graduate students includes all grades earned in 50000 and 60000 level courses taken while enrolled as a graduate student. Transfer courses or graduate courses taken as an undergraduate are not included in the GPA calculation, even when the student is in a 4+1 program. If a Purdue course taken by a graduate student is repeated for a grade, the new grade will replace the first provided that specific course was originally taken while the student was enrolled as a graduate student, in the same program, and the course is classified as non-repeatable. (Please check course details when you register as not all courses, especially variable title courses (ex: 59700) are non-repeatable.) A course may be retaken only once for a replacement grade. GPA Calculator
Semester Grade Review
The ME Graduate Committee reviews the grades and research performance each semester of all students in the ME graduate program. Students who fail to perform either coursework or research at a level acceptable to the Advisory Committee, to the ME Graduate Committee or to the Graduate School may be dismissed from the graduate program. The ME Graduate Office will send a reminder of academic requirement notifications to those students not maintaining a 3.0 semester or cumulative GPA and/or failing to make satisfactory progress in their research, once final grades have completely posted. A warning letter may include conditions to be met within a specified time period.
Unsatisfactory coursework and/or research, if continued, may lead to dismissal from the ME Graduate Program. A student whose cumulative GPA is below 3.0 will be dismissed from the program after the second semester where the GPA is below 3.0. Students in this situation will have the option to appeal, if they’ve not already been approved for a prior appeal. A student who receives “U” in research, for two semesters (consecutive or nonconsecutive), will automatically be dismissed from the program. There is no appeal available when 2 ‘u’s in research are received. Should the student's Major Professor and Advisory Committee advise the ME Graduate Committee of unsatisfactory performance in research, the student may be considered for dismissal at the end of any semester, even if grades haven’t posted or only one ‘u’ in research has been received.
Dismissals
The Graduate Committee will dismiss a student from the ME graduate program who fails to meet the grade requirements or has more than one semester of unsatisfactory research (consecutive or nonconsecutive). The Committee’s action will take place after grade reports are received at the end of the semester (which may extend into the following semester). The Graduate Chair will determine the effective date of dismissal. Course registration will not be allowed after dismissal takes effect and registration for the current term will need to be canceled by the student, if an appeal is not approved. It is understood that dismissal from the graduate program includes termination of any assistantship or fellowship held by the student. If a PhD student is dismissed from their program, they cannot transfer into a Master’s in ME program, if they already have a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from any institution (this would also apply for students who completed a combined degree elsewhere that is identified on their transcript as Mechanical Engineering and ‘X’, where ‘X’ could be any other field, like Aerospace, etc.
Appeal Process
When a student is notified they’re being dismissed because of their academic performance (GPA), if an appeal is an option, it will be listed in the dismissal notification. When an appeal option is available, if a student and the Advisory Committee feel that extenuating circumstances are involved in the unsatisfactory performance of the student, the student may appeal a dismissal by making a written request to the Graduate Committee. A student whose Advisory Committee does not support an appeal may petition the Graduate Committee directly. An appeal may be successful only if evidence is presented to show that extenuating circumstances were responsible for the student's performance, and a reasonable plan exists for the student to successfully complete the program.
Time Table for Appeals
- When grades are completely posted after the semester (which may extend into the following semester), the ME Graduate Office will review all ME graduate students’ grades.
- The ME Graduate Office will identify all students not meeting the academic grade and research requirements.
- Students having a cumulative GPA below 3.0, or two semesters of unsatisfactory research performance (consecutive or non-consecutive), will receive a letter informing them that they are being dismissed from the ME program. The letter will be sent via email to the student and Major Professor’s Purdue email address. If an appeal option exists, it will be stated in the notification letter. There is no appeal option for students who receive 2 ‘u’s in research, or who have already been approved for a prior academic appeal.
- The student will be given a specified due date for submitting an appeal in the dismissal letter. The appeal must include a written letter to the ME Graduate Committee by the student explaining the contributing circumstances and explaining why those circumstances no longer exist and the changes that will be put in place to be successful going forward. Accompanying the thesis-based student’s letter must be a letter written by a member of the student’s Advisory Committee, preferably the Major Professor, and preferably signed by the Advisory Committee members supporting the appeal, explaining the reason the student should be allowed to continue in the graduate program and outlining the process put in place to assist the student to succeed.
- The notification to the Purdue Graduate School and the effect on the coming semester’s registration will be delayed to allow for the appeal process to take place. If no appeal is made, or if the appeal is denied, the student’s registration should be canceled by the student and OGSPS (formerly the Purdue Graduate School) and ISS (if an international student) will be notified that the student has been dismissed from the program.
Important: An appeal requires evidence (1) that explains the extenuating circumstances that were responsible for the student’s unsatisfactory performance, (2) that gives a clear plan for remedying past problems and proceeding forward, and (3) that shows a reasonable chance exists for the student to successfully complete the program.
ME Graduate Office
585 Purdue Mall, Room ME2185
West Lafayette, IN 47906
MEgradoffice@purdue.edu
(765) 494-5730
Virtual office hours available every Tues/Wed/Thurs