Qualified undergraduate seniors enrolled at St. Catherine University have the opportunity to take up to 12 credits in participating graduate programs while completing their undergraduate degree. These graduate credits count as electives toward the bachelor’s degree, or (with approval) as course replacements within the student’s major in the undergraduate program. Additionally, the credits apply toward the graduate degree if the student is admitted into that graduate program after completing the bachelor’s degree.

Determining eligibility

Undergraduate students must meet the following conditions to be eligible to enroll in a graduate course:

• Current enrollment in a bachelor’s degree program at St. Catherine University (College for Women or College for Adults)
• Completion of at least 90 semester credits by the first day of the graduate class
• Completion of at least 16 credits in residence in the College for Women or College for Adults bachelor’s program
• An institutional cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
• In need of elective credits (or approved course replacement within the major*) to complete their bachelor’s degree requirements**
• Approval from the Academic Advising Office

*Students who wish to use a graduate-level course to fulfill a requirement within their undergraduate major must receive approval from the chair of the major department or the course instructor prior to registration. Taking a graduate level course does not guarantee approval by the department chair to accept a graduate course as a substitution for an undergraduate major requirement.

** Graduate courses may be offered at differing credit amounts than undergraduate courses. Students should work with their academic advisor to ensure they are meeting all credit requirements at the undergraduate level to complete the bachelor’s degree requirements.

There is no petition process for exceptions; if a student does not meet all of the above requirements, the student is not eligible to take graduate level courses.   

Determining eligibility for enrollment in graduate-level course work

Students who are approved by the Office of Academic Advising must also be approved by the director or course instructor of a participating graduate program for enrollment in graduate-level course work. Please note that being eligible to take a graduate-level course does not guarantee approval by a graduate program director to enroll in a graduate-level course.*

The following graduate programs allow students to enroll in select courses:

• Master of Arts in Holistic Health Studies (MAHS)
• Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership (MAOL)
• Master of Public Health in Global Health (MPH)
• Master of Business Administration (MBA)
• Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS)
• Graduate Degree Programs in Nursing

*The MAOL and MBA programs also require students to have two or more years of professional work experience.

The participating graduate programs reserve the right to limit the number of undergraduate students in the graduate courses. Students who receive approval for graduate enrollment will be registered for specific graduate courses on a first-come, first-served basis. Undergraduate students must complete all of the coursework and meet the same academic expectations required of the graduate students in the classes.

Additional information

• Students may not take credits in excess of what is required to complete their bachelor’s degree (major, core, elective, etc.)
• Students may not take more than one graduate course per semester
• Students must be concurrently enrolled in undergraduate and graduate work during the same semester (they may not be enrolled only in graduate-level coursework for the semester)
• Students are billed at their current undergraduate tuition rate for the graduate credits
• Graduate-level courses must be completed for a letter grade
• If a student is interested in completing a graduate course in more than one graduate program, the overall limit remains at a total of 12 credits at the graduate level. The student must submit the required documents specific to each graduate program, and receive approval for enrollment from each program director.
• Acceptance and enrollment in a graduate-level course does not guarantee admission into a graduate program if the student applies for graduate admission in the future