Application for Nondegree

Nondegree graduate status provides an opportunity for students to take graduate courses without being admitted to a specific graduate major and degree. Nondegree is not specific to a graduate major, department, or discipline.

Anyone who meets the graduate admission requirements is eligible for nondegree status. Students can choose to do nondegree if they are looking to take courses for personal enrichment, professional development, or to boost their GPA.

When a student is not chosen for admission to pursue a graduate degree with the ISU Graduate College, sometimes the graduate major program will encourage students to consider doing a semester of nondegree status. A semester of nondegree provides an opportunity to the student to take graduate-level coursework and establish a graduate GPA.

Application and Admission Requirements

The Graduate College expects a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 on a 4.00 scale from an applicant’s undergraduate degree program. However, we view applications holistically, and other qualifications may support admission. Additional information can be found in the Graduate College Handbook section 1.1.3.

Submit your application here: https://www.admissions.iastate.edu/apply/online/

Cost of Attendance and Financial Aid

Please consider using the Cost of Attendance chart found here: https://www.financialaid.iastate.edu/cost/cost-of-attendance/graduate-students/. All tuition and fees questions can be directed to the Office of the Registrar: https://www.registrar.iastate.edu/fees.

Graduate students must be degree-seeking  to receive Federal financial aid. Degree-seeking  status is achieved when pursuing an approved master’s degree or higher. Nondegree students are not considered  degree-seeking.

Course Availability

Graduate students, including those who are nondegree, are eligible to take any level of course 100-600. Some departments may choose to set restrictions on certain courses, however. Please review the Course Catalog to view what courses are offered at ISU, and the Schedule of Classes will show what is being offered for specific semesters.

Nondegree Advisor

The Graduate College staff serve as the advisor for nondegree students.

Nondegree graduate students are entitled to all services provided by the Graduate College.

Changing to Degree-Seeking

A nondegree graduate student who subsequently seeks admission to a degree program must apply to and be accepted by the program and the Graduate College for degree study with a declared major. Once admitted to a degree program, the student’s Program of Study (POS) Committee will recommend which courses, if any, earned under the nondegree option may be included in the program of study. A maximum of 9 semester hours of credit earned under the nondegree option may be applied to an advanced degree (Graduate College Handbook Chapter 1.1.3).

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