Graduate Courses and Degree Requirements
All courses counted toward graduate degrees must be graduate-level courses. Graduate courses are numbered at the following levels: 500, 600, 700, and 800.
Some, but not all, 400-level courses have a graduate-level section for which graduate students may enroll and receive graduate-level credit counted toward their graduate degrees. A student who has taken one of these 400-level courses as an undergraduate may not take the course again at the graduate level for graduate credit. When students register for the graduate section of a 400-level course, they should verify that they are on the class roster for the graduate section. This verification can be provided by the academic advisor and the instructor of record.
At least one-half of the graduate courses for the master’s degree must be at the 500-level. Individual programs may limit the number of hours of 400-level graduate coursework that may be counted for the degree. See the individual programs for these limits.
Students pursuing the Master of Science in Education degree, with the exception of specific Secondary Education programs, may not count 400-level graduate courses toward the degree. Coursework for the Master of Science in Education must be taken at the 500-level. See the individual programs for these limits.
All coursework for the EdS must be at the 500- and 600-level. Courses taken at the 500-level while matriculating in a Class A master’s level program, and not used as credit toward the Class A master’s level program, may be used as credit toward the EdS Class AA level, up to the prescribed limit for course transfer (six hours) as indicated in the Transfer of Graduate Credit section of this catalog.
Students pursuing the EdS degree may not count 400-level graduate courses toward the degree. Half of the EdS coursework must be at the 600-level.
Courses at the 600-level are offered only to students who hold the master’s degree (except for the MFA in Visual Communication Design – those courses are at the 600-level because the MFA is a terminal degree).
All coursework for the DNP must be at the 700-level, unless otherwise specified by the director of the program.
All coursework for the DSc must be at the 800-level, unless otherwise specified by the director of the program.
Course descriptions are provided in each academic department section of this catalog, arranged by academic school, and are listed in numeric order. Graduate semester hour credit value for each course is indicated after its title. Prerequisites and corequisites, if any, are listed at the beginning of the course description. The minimum degree requirements are listed by program, and programs may be found within their academic departments.
Second Master's Degree
A student may be permitted to apply some credit earned from one master’s degree toward a second master’s degree at JSU. Such permission is granted at the discretion of the Dean of the Graduate School in collaboration with the graduate program coordinator/director of the specific program. It is the student’s responsibility to apply for this credit from the first master’s and submit the request through the applicable department head and dean, to the Dean of the Graduate School. The total amount of credit applied from a previously earned graduate degree at JSU and external transfer credit combined is limited to the same maximums as transfer credit that are specified in the Transfer of Graduate Credit section of this Bulletin:
- Six (6) hours toward a 30 semester hour program;
- Nine (9) hours toward a 33 semester hour program; and
- Twelve (12) hours toward a 36 or more semester hour program.
NOTE: Some programs, such as Instructional Leadership, may prohibit the application of any previously earned credit.
Second Concentration
Students may elect a second concentration in certain majors. If all requirements for each concentration have been completed prior to awarding of the degree, the comprehensive examination will cover coursework for both concentrations and each concentration will be noted on the student transcript. After completing a degree with one concentration, a student may elect to return to JSU to complete an additional concentration. In this case, the concentration will not appear on the transcript. At the request of the student, a letter of verification will be written by the Dean of the Graduate School, certifying that the student has met the requirements for a second concentration.