Continuation

Students must achieve a satisfactory record of academic performance each term and make satisfactory progress toward graduation each year to continue at Duke University. Students who fail to meet the minimum requirements to continue will be dismissed from the university for at least two semesters. (A summer session may be counted as a semester.) Those desiring to return after the dismissal period may submit a petition to return to the Time Away Office. Visit undergrad.duke.edu/student-success/time-away-office for more information. If after returning the student fails again to meet minimum continuation requirements, the student will be dismissed for six terms, which includes the combination of consecutive summer, fall, and spring terms. Students admitted to degree programs from continuing education should consult their academic dean concerning continuation.

Satisfactory Performance Each Term (Semester Continuation Requirements)

A student who does not receive a passing grade in all courses must meet the following minimum requirements or be withdrawn from the college.

In the Fall or Spring Semester

(1) In the first semester of enrollment at Duke, a student must pass at least 2.0 course credits; (2) after the first semester at Duke, a student must pass at least 3.0 course credits; (3) a student enrolled in an underload after the first semester at Duke must earn all passing grades. Students may not carry an underload without the permission of their academic dean. For the purposes of continuation, incomplete work in any course is considered a failure to achieve satisfactory performance in that course. Therefore, where continuation is in question, incomplete work in any course must be completed with a passing grade in time for final grades to be submitted to the Office of the University Registrar no later than the weekday preceding the first day of classes of the spring semester, or one week prior to the first day of classes of the second term of the summer session, as appropriate. In the case of incomplete work in the spring semester, this requirement applies whether or not the student plans to attend one or more terms of the summer session. The student, however, may not enroll in a summer term at Duke unless the requirement of satisfactory performance each semester has been satisfied.

In the Summer Session

To continue enrollment at Duke in the fall, a student enrolled at Duke in any previous semester must not fail more than one full course taken during that summer. For purposes of continuation, incomplete work is considered a failure to achieve a satisfactory performance in that course. Therefore, when eligibility to continue from the summer session to the fall is in question, incomplete courses must be satisfactorily completed in time for a passing grade to be submitted to the Office of the University Registrar no later than the business day preceding the first day of fall classes.

Any student excluded from the college under the provisions of these regulations may on request have the case reviewed by the lead academic dean of Trinity College of Arts & Sciences.

Satisfactory Progress toward Graduation (Annual Continuation Requirements)

Each year prior to the beginning of fall term classes, a student must have made satisfactory progress toward fulfillment of curricular requirements to be eligible to continue in the college; i.e., a certain number of courses must have been passed at Duke according to the following schedule: 

For students who have interrupted their university studies, the continuation requirement must still be satisfied before the beginning of each fall term. For such students, the number of courses needed to satisfy the continuation requirement is determined from the table above, based on which semester they will enter in the fall term.

Courses taken in the summer term at Duke may be used to meet this requirement; except as noted, Advanced Placement may not be used to satisfy it. AP credits are not counted when determining annual continuation, however, they are counted toward graduation requirements. No more than two courses completed with D grades, 1.0 total course credit of PE; 1.0 course credit of activity courses (no house courses); 2.0 course credits of military science (junior/senior year only); and 6.0 course credits of professional or graduate school courses may be counted toward fulfilling this annual continuation requirement.