The designated student status as determined by the number of enrolled credits is as follows:

• Full-time (nine or more credits) 
• Half-time (6-8 credits) 
• Part-time (less than 6 credits) 

Graduate courses require a concentration of effort and time on the part of the student. Therefore: 

• any student employed full-time will be permitted to enroll for no more than six credits of graduate study per semester 
• full-time study is permitted for the student who is either not employed or employed not more than twenty hours a week 
• foreign students holding an I-20 must be enrolled for a minimum of nine credits per regular semester 
• the maximum summer session course load is six graduate credits per term 

• a student may not register for credits in excess of those mentioned above except with the approval of the chair of the major department and the Dean of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education.