Grading

The grading system in the DPHPM for the MPH documents the academic progress of students, and is designed to recognize superior work as well as provide indications of academic problems, and follows the grading system of the SGS,.  Faculty assign a letter grade reflecting the performance of each student in a course.  Grade points are assigned to each letter grade based on a 4-point system.

Cumulative grade point averages are calculated each term.

Students will receive a grade of A, B, C, or F in all courses as designated by the grading scheme for that course. PUBH 889: Practicum in Public Health and PUBH 893: Capstone Integrative Learning Experience (CILE), are the exceptions, in that they are graded Pass/Fail (P/F). 

Students can drop a course before the end of the first week, with no impact on the transcript. Beyond that point, the letter "W" is used to indicate withdrawal from a course. There is no academic impact on a student’s grade point average (GPA). In addition, if a student takes a leave of absence during a term they have started courses, a “W” will be the final grade for any course they are registered/checked-in for. However, progress may be affected because students are required to repeat the course in its entirety.  Students may withdraw from individual courses during the first 67% of the course. After that time, students cannot drop a course.

A "CC" is used to designate a Continuing Course, and is a temporary grade, assigned only for CILE and the Practicum courses.  In this case, students must demonstrate progress in the course.

Until all course work is completed successfully, a student receives a grade of Incomplete "I" following approval from the Dean of Students for the Incomplete (generally, this is due to serious illness or catastrophic events during exam week).  The grade "I" is a temporary grade and requires that course work be completed by the deadline set by the Course Instructor. If this is not done the grade will automatically change to an “F”.  A student does not repeat the course if he/she has received an "I" grade.

For a student to maintain good academic standing, a grade point average of at least a 3.0 (B average) and a P grade in all pass/fail courses must be obtained.  The 12 credits of MD and DVM courses that are applied toward the public health degrees in the dual degree programs are not calculated into the overall grade point average of the 42 credits required for completion of the MPH degree.  They are regarded as transferred credits and considered a Pass. The requirement of at least a 3.0 or B average applies to the remainder of the 42 credits (excluding pass/fail courses) that are offered for the completion of the public health graduate degrees.