Advanced Undergraduate Status Policies and Procedures

Advanced Undergraduate Status (AUS) is a distinct status granted to eligible undergraduate seniors enabling them to enroll in graduate courses during their senior year at BGSU.  

Application. The following process must be followed to request AUS.

1. An undergraduate student who wishes to take graduate courses must apply to the Graduate College for admission as an advanced undergraduate student (AUS) by completing the AUS request form, which can be found on our Documents & Forms webpage.
2. Advanced undergraduate applications are term specific and course specific and must be processed prior to the first day of the term.
3. To be eligible for advanced undergraduate admission the undergraduate student must be in Senior Status (having completed 90 semester hours of undergraduate work) during the term in which the requested courses are to be taken.
4. The eligible senior must have a minimum 3.0 GPA.
5. Only courses at the 5000 and 6000 levels can be taken under AUS status.

Approval Process. The student must have the endorsement of the instructor of the requested graduate course and the Department Chair or School Director of the unit offering the course. Upon final approval by the Graduate College, the Graduate College will notify the Registration and Records office to add the registration to the student’s schedule. If the course is added to the student’s schedule, without prior graduate College approval, the course will be dropped from the student’s schedule.

Student Status and Enrollment Implications.

1. An advanced undergraduate student is eligible for a maximum of nine semester hours of graduate course work during his or her tenure at the University.
2. If the student has graduated with a BA before the term requested then the request will not be processed. Advanced undergraduate requests can only be processed for those actively working on their baccalaureate degree.  Otherwise, graduates with a BA may register as a guest/non-degree seeking student prior to official admission into a graduate program. 
3. Once processed, if the graduate level course results in the student going over 18 credit hours, the Registration and Records office will consult with the student’s college for final approval.  All applicable excess credit fees assessed, as a result of going over 18 hours, will be the responsibility of the student. 
4. The classification as an advanced undergraduate is not equivalent to admission to any particular graduate degree program.
5. Advanced undergraduate students wishing to continue their studies as graduate students must apply for admission to their desired graduate degree program, and advanced undergraduate status does not guarantee that admission will be granted.

Transfer into a Graduate Program. Up to nine graduate credit hours taken as an Advanced Undergraduate Status (AUS) student may be transferred into a graduate degree program if the student:  1) is accepted into a graduate degree program; and 2) receives approval for course transfer by the graduate coordinator of the graduate degree program.

Prior to achieving the bachelor’s degree, an AUS student may decide to apply to an Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s Degree Program.  If so, and if applicable, the credit hours taken as an AUS student may be applied to the Accelerated program.  If a student wishes to do this, they should: 1) see the Accelerated program page; and 2) note that at the end of both the bachelor’s degree and master’s degree, a student must have a minimum of 150 credit hours (120 + 30 = 150 per state of Ohio regulations).