Academic Regulations < Johns Hopkins University

Academic Policies

The following academic policies are the general requirements governing study in the Engineering for Professionals program at Johns Hopkins University. Students are expected to be familiar with these requirements and with the specific regulations set forth in the sections relevant to particular programs of study.

Requirements for degree and certificate programs described in this catalogue are subject to change. When this occurs, students may fulfill any set of requirements in force during their time in the program.

Note that only graduates who complete degree requirements prior to the ceremony date will be allowed to participate in Commencement activities.

Time Limitation

To be counted toward the degree or certificate, all coursework in the program, including transferred and double-counted coursework, must be completed within a five-year time period, which begins with the start of the first course applied to the student’s program.

In exceptional cases, courses older than five years may be reviewed for revalidation. Students should refer to the Course Revalidation Policy for more information.

Course Revalidation

Courses older than five years at the time of a student’s graduation term cannot be applied toward a student’s master’s degree program requirements. In exceptional cases, credits may be eligible for revalidation review.

Current Engineering for Professionals students may request a course revalidation review for a maximum of two courses or 20% of the total master’s degree coursework requirement. These may be JHU courses or those that received transfer credit at EP. Courses completed more than seven years from the term of the revalidation request cannot be considered.

Revalidation Request Process

To request a course revalidation, students must submit the Course Revalidation Request Form. If a student requests the revalidation of a transfer course, the form will require the upload of the original course syllabus and description. If this is not available, students can substitute a letter or email from the course instructor certifying that no significant change has been made to the course content since the date of the student’s completion.

The revalidation request requires approval from the student’s Program Chair. If the revalidation request is successful, the course will be valid from the date of the revalidation approval.

If the revalidation is not successful, the course will no longer count toward the student’s degree requirements. The student will be responsible for completing coursework to replace the expired credits.

Voluntary Leave of Absence

EP students are expected to follow the university-wide Student Leave of Absence policy.

Students who do not plan to enroll in classes for more than one year or three consecutive terms must submit the University Leave Request Form. The leave request must be approved by the Associate Vice Dean of Professional Education, or designee. A voluntary leave of absence cannot be granted for more than two years.

Students who are granted a leave of absence must resume their studies at the end of the allotted leave time. The time permitted to complete program requirements will be extended by the length of time granted for the leave of absence. Students who do not resume their studies after a leave of absence has expired will assume the status of a student who has withdrawn from the program. Such students must request reactivation and may be subject to the admission requirements in force at the date of the reactivation request. Reactivation is not guaranteed even for students previously admitted.

Voluntary Withdrawal

Students who wish to withdraw from their EP program should submit the Voluntary Withdrawal from the University form.

If a student is currently enrolled in classes and does not wish to finish the semester, they must also drop or withdraw from their classes through SIS. Please refer to the tuition refund schedule posted on the Refund Policy and Schedule website. For extenuating circumstances, students can submit the Drop or Withdraw with Tuition Refund request form.

When a withdrawn student wishes to return to their EP program, the student must submit the EP Reactivation Request form. Neither reactivation nor transfer of credits is guaranteed. A student must receive reactivation approval before registering for courses.

Students wishing to take a break from their degree program should consider taking a Voluntary Leave of Absence.

Transferability of Courses

Courses successfully completed through Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals may be transferred to other institutions. Transferability is solely at the discretion of the accepting institution.

Transfer Courses

Requests to transfer courses from another institution toward the master’s degree and certificate will be considered on an individual basis. A maximum of two Engineering for Professionals master’s degree course requirements and one Engineering for Professionals certificate course requirement may be waived with documentation and approval of outside coursework. Any course considered for transfer must apply to the time limitation of the degree or certificate. All coursework in the program must be completed within a specified period, which begins with the start of the first course in the student’s program; this includes any courses accepted for transfer. Transfer courses must be graduate-level, credit-bearing from an accredited institution, may not have applied to a degree at an institution outside of JHU, and directly applicable to the student’s program of study at Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals. In very rare circumstances, where a program has established a non-credit to credit pathway, a student could receive credit for specific alternative learning experiences.

For students who earned an undergraduate degree outside of the Whiting School of Engineering or the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, coursework completed before the undergraduate degree was conferred can only be applied to a Whiting School of Engineering master’s degree if evidence is provided by the degree-granting institution that the course was not applied to the undergraduate degree and with advisor approval.

Continuing Education Unit (CEU) courses are not eligible for transfer. Requests should be submitted in writing to the student's program coordinator. An official transcript and course description for the course to be transferred are required. Requests to transfer courses cannot be processed if the transcript is not official. The fee for transfer is $510 per course.

After being accepted into a Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals program of study, students may not take classes at another institution to transfer back to their Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals program.

Policy on Double-Counting Courses

Engineering for Professionals has established the following policies on double-counting coursework for all students in the part-time programs. If an individual program adopts double-counting policies more strict than these, the program’s policies override the school-wide policies. Students are encouraged to refer to individual program policies.

With bachelor’s‐master’s and master’s‐master’s double‐counting, across any number of degree programs, a student can reduce the number of master’s courses required by up to two (with the approval of the programs involved). Beyond that, the remaining courses must be unique to the degree program. With a ten‐course master’s degree program, for example, eight of those courses must be unique to the program and not applied to a different degree at any level. A student can double‐count any number of undergraduate courses to the various master’s degrees (but at most, two to each master’s program) and he/she can double‐count the same course across any number of degrees pursued (again, with the approval of the programs involved).

BACHELOR’S–MASTER’S DOUBLE COUNTING COURSEWORK APPLIED TO A BACHELOR’S DEGREE

Students either in a Whiting School of Engineering combined (bachelor’s/WSE-EP master’s) program or seeking a WSE-EP master’s degree after having earned a Whiting School of Engineering or Krieger School of Arts and Sciences bachelor’s degree may double-count two courses (graduate-level) to both programs with the permission of the master’s faculty advisor. WSE-EP master’s degree candidates may not double-count courses applied to a bachelor’s degree earned at a different institution. Individual graduate programs reserve the right to enforce stricter policies.

COURSEWORK NOT APPLIED TO A BACHELOR’S DEGREE

For students who are either in a Whiting School of Engineering combined bachelor’s/WSE-EP master’s degree program or have already earned a Whiting School of Engineering or Krieger School of Arts and Sciences bachelor’s degree and are seeking a WSE-EP master’s degree, any graduate-level coursework (as defined by the WSE-EP graduate program) not applied to the undergraduate degree may be applied to the graduate degree, regardless of when that course was taken (i.e., before or after the undergraduate degree has been conferred) with the permission of the master’s faculty advisor.

For students who earned an undergraduate degree outside of the Whiting School of Engineering or the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, coursework completed before the undergraduate degree was conferred can only be applied to a WSE-EP master’s degree if evidence is provided by the degree-granting institution that the course was not applied to the undergraduate degree, and with advisor approval.

MASTER’S–MASTER’S DOUBLE COUNTING COURSEWORK APPLIED TO A MASTER’S DEGREE

Students pursuing (1) a WSE-EP master’s and a master’s from any JHU school simultaneously or (2) a WSE-EP master’s after having earned a master’s from any JHU school may double-count either two semester-length courses or three-quarter-length courses across two master’s programs as long as the courses are equivalent to the graduate-level or higher in the WSE-EP graduate programs. The student must receive approval from both master’s degree program faculty advisors if both sets of degree requirements will be completed at the same time. For a student to double-count coursework from two master’s degrees whose requirements are met at different times, the student must obtain only the approval of the faculty advisor in the program to be finished second. Individual graduate programs reserve the right to enforce stricter policies.

Policy on Double-Counting Courses - Certificate to Master’s Degree

Students pursuing (1) a WSE-EP post-baccalaureate (graduate) certificate and a WSE-EP master’s degree simultaneously, (2) a WSE-EP master’s degree after having earned a WSE-EP post-baccalaureate (graduate) certificate, or (3) a WSE-EP post-baccalaureate (graduate) certificate after having earned a WSE-EP master’s degree in a different discipline, can double-count up to five applicable courses between the two programs. At least five courses must be unique to the master’s degree (i.e., not double-counted).

In all cases, the student must receive approval from program representatives to ensure that these courses meet both certificate and degree requirements. Courses cannot be double-counted toward two certificate programs. Courses cannot be counted toward more than two programs (certificate or degree). Program-approved courses not applied to any certificate or degree from an outside institution or within JHU are not considered double-counted courses. All coursework, including double-counted courses, must be completed within a specified time period. Students should refer to the Time Limitation Policy for more information.

Declaration of Double-Counted Courses

Students pursuing a WSE-EP master's degree who wish to double-count courses must submit these courses to their WSE-EP master’s program for approval. If it is learned that a student has double-counted a course for the WSE-EP master’s degree without permission of the WSE-EP master’s program, this program reserves the right to revoke the degree.

Academic Standing

The university reserves the right to exclude, at any time, a student whose academic standing or general conduct is deemed unsatisfactory.

MASTER’S DEGREE CANDIDATES

Program Chairs and advisors may make exceptions to degree requirements at their discretion.
Only one C-range grade (C+, C, or C–) can count toward the master’s degree.

GRADUATE CERTIFICATE OR POST-MASTER’S CERTIFICATE

Program Chairs and advisors may make exceptions to certificate requirements at their discretion.
Only one C-range grade (C+, C, or C–) can count toward a graduate certificate.
No grade below B– can be counted toward a post-master’s certificate unless otherwise stated in the certificate program requirement.

ACADEMIC PROBATION FOR ALL FULLY ADMITTED AND NON-DEGREE-SEEKING EP STUDENTS

Any student receiving either one grade of D+, D, or F or two grades of C(+/–) during their program of study will be placed on academic probation. Students placed on probation are permitted to retake any graduate course in which they have earned a grade of C+ or below. Students may attempt no more than two retakes during their program of study at JHEP; this may be on the same course or two different courses. If a grade of B– or above is earned in the repeated course, the probationary status will be removed. Please note that not all courses are offered every term. If an additional grade below B– is received before the course is repeated and successfully completed, the student will be dismissed. Dismissal appeals may be submitted to the Student Academic Success Office.

There are circumstances described below where students will not be placed on probation but will be immediately dismissed from the program.

ACADEMIC DISMISSAL FOR ALL FULLY-ADMITTED AND NON-DEGREE-SEEKING EP STUDENTS

The following are causes for dismissal from the program:

Students already on probation receiving an additional grade of C+ or below
Students receiving a grade of C(+/–) and a subsequent D+, D, or F
Students receiving three grades of C(+/–)
Students receiving two grades of D+, D, or F
Students receiving grades of D+, D, or F and C(+/–) in the same term

Applicants who have been dismissed or suspended by any college or university, including Johns Hopkins, within the past four years are not eligible for admission.

ACADEMIC DISMISSAL FOR EP Students with PROVISIONAL Status

Students with provisional status who earn below a B– in a prerequisite course will have their provisional status removed, which will result in their dismissal from their program of study. Students may request to maintain their provisional status by submitting a Statement of Reconsideration to the Student Academic Success Office within 10 university business days of receiving a loss of provisional status notice. The student’s Statement of Reconsideration must: (1) include an explanation of why they were unsuccessful in the course(s) (e.g., extenuating circumstances out of the student’s control, remediation need, etc.), (2) outline why they believe they will be successful taking the course on their second attempt (e.g., extenuating circumstance barriers no longer present, completed remediation, etc.), and (3) list any supporting resources the student intends to employ to ensure earning a B- or better in the future (e.g., attend weekly office hours with the course instructor, seek peer tutoring, etc.). The request and statement will be reviewed by the student’s program leadership, and the student will be notified of the decision in writing by the Student Academic Success Office. If the student’s request is granted, the student will be permitted to retake the course(s) in which a grade below B- was earned. The student is not permitted to take any additional prerequisite courses until the course retake is successfully completed. Provisional students may only submit a Statement of Reconsideration once during their program. If the student’s request is denied, the student’s provisional status will be removed, and the dismissal will be processed.

ACADEMIC DISMISSAL FOR EP Students with CONDITIONAL Status

Students with conditional status who earn below a B– in a conditional course will have their conditional status removed, which will result in their dismissal from their program of study. Students may request to maintain their conditional status by submitting a Statement of Reconsideration to the Student Academic Success Office within 10 university business days of receiving a loss of conditional status notice. The student’s Statement of Reconsideration must: (1) include an explanation of why they were unsuccessful in the course(s) (e.g., extenuating circumstances out of the student’s control, remediation need, etc.), (2) outline why they believe they will be successful taking the course on their second attempt (e.g., extenuating circumstance barriers no longer present, completed remediation, etc.), and (3) list any supporting resources the student intends to employ to ensure earning a B- or better in the future (e.g., attend weekly office hours with the course instructor, seek peer tutoring, etc.). The request and statement will be reviewed by the student’s program leadership, and the student will be notified of the decision in writing by the Student Academic Success Office. If the student’s request is granted, the student will be permitted to retake the course(s) in which a grade below B- was earned. The student is not permitted to take any additional graduate-level courses until the course retake is successfully completed. Conditional students may only submit a Statement of Reconsideration once during their program. If the student’s request is denied, the student’s conditional status will be removed, and the dismissal will be processed.

SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS

Students with full-admit, conditional, and provisional enrollment status must continue to make satisfactory academic progress to remain enrolled in the EP program. Satisfactory academic progress is defined as follows, depending on the student’s status: 

Full-Admit Status: students must earn at least one final course grade of C– or higher in at least one of three consecutive terms of enrollment, including the summer term. The following will not count toward satisfactory academic progress: a grade of F, D, D+; a second (or beyond) grade of C-, C, C+; a course drop; a course withdrawal; a course audit.
Conditional Status: students must earn one final course grade of B– or higher in at least one of three consecutive terms of enrollment, including the summer term. The following will not count toward satisfactory academic progress: a grade of F, D, D+, C-, C, C+; a course drop; a course withdrawal; a course audit.
Provisional Status: students must earn at least one final course grade of B– or higher in at least one of three consecutive terms of enrollment, including the summer term. The following will not count toward satisfactory academic progress: a grade of F, D, D+, C-, C, C+; a course drop; a course withdrawal; a course audit.

Full Admit students and students with conditional status who fail to make satisfactory academic progress will be withdrawn from their program. To resume study in an EP program, a withdrawn student must submit the Engineering for Professionals Reactivation Request Form. Students with a provisional status who fail to make satisfactory academic progress must contact EP’s Admissions Office at ep-admissions@jhu.edu to request reactivation.

Code of Conduct

JHU students must abide by the JHU Code of Conduct.

Grading System

The following grades are used for the courses.

Special Grades
Letter	Definition
A+, A, A–	Excellent
B+, B, B–	Good
C+, C, C–	Limited Satisfactory
D+, D	Unsatisfactory
F	Failure
I	Incomplete
W¹	Official Withdrawal
AU¹	Audit

¹: Grade not assigned by instructors.

A grade of F indicates the student’s failure to complete or comprehend the coursework. A course for which an unsatisfactory grade (D+, D, F) or a limited satisfactory grade (C+, C, C-) has been received may be retaken. The original grade is replaced with an R. If the course includes laboratory work, both the lecture and laboratory work must be retaken unless the instructor indicates otherwise. A grade of W is issued to those who have dropped the course after the refund period (the sixth class meeting for on-site courses, sixth week/module for online courses) but before the drop deadline.

The transcript is part of the student’s permanent record at the university. No grade may be changed except to correct an error, replace an incomplete with a grade, or replace a grade with an R.

Course Auditing

When a student enrolls in an EP course with “audit” status, the student must reach an understanding with the instructor as to what is required to earn the “audit.” If the student does not meet those expectations, the instructor must notify the EP Registration Team in order for the student to be retroactively dropped or withdrawn from the course (depending on when the “audit” was requested and in accordance with EP registration deadlines). All lecture content will remain accessible to auditing students, but access to all other course material is left to the discretion of the instructor.

Incompletes

A grade of incomplete (I) is assigned when a student fails to complete a course on time for valid reasons, usually under circumstances beyond their control. Students should have at least 70% of their coursework completed to qualify for an incomplete. Students with extenuating circumstances who have less than 70% of their coursework completed should request a Late Drop or Withdrawal with Tuition Refund to see if they are eligible for a late drop or withdrawal from the course.

Conditions for resolving an incomplete are established by the instructor and must be signed by both instructor and student as an Incomplete Grade Contract. The terms of this contract must be finalized before the end of the term. A final grade must be submitted to the Registrar by the specified time in the contract. The default grade provided by the instructor will be assigned if the incomplete work is not submitted by the deadline. The default dates by which final grades for incomplete work must be resolved are as follows:.

EP - Incomplete
Term	Date
Summer term	First day of the 4th week of the Fall term
Fall semester	First day of classes of the Spring term
Spring semester	First day of classes for the Summer term

Under extremely rare circumstances, instructors may extend the deadline date for the incomplete grade. This extension date may not occur beyond the end of the immediately following term. Students who expect to complete degree requirements but have an incomplete are not certified for graduation until the end of the following term.

Grade Appeals

A student’s concerns regarding grades must be first discussed thoroughly with their instructor. If the student and the instructor are unable to reach an agreement, the student may appeal the instructor’s decision, in writing, to the appropriate program chair, and, finally, to the associate dean. At each review level, evaluation criteria will be limited to:

verification that there was not an error in recording the grade and
verification that the grade was determined on the basis of considered academic judgment.

Grade appeals must be initiated within one semester after completing the course in question.

Course Retake Policy

A student may retake up to two graduate courses during their program of study. A retake is defined as taking the same course more than once. This may be the same course twice or two different courses once. The original grade will be replaced with a grade of R. The most recent grade will be the student’s grade of record.

Second Master’s Degree

Students are not advised to enroll in two different graduate degree programs at the same time. After completing one graduate degree, students may continue their graduate education in a second field if the appropriate prerequisites of the new program are fulfilled.

To receive a second EP master’s degree, all requirements for the second program must be satisfied. If the following conditions are met, up to two courses taken as part of the first degree may be applied toward the requirements of the second:

The course(s) must satisfy the requirements of the second degree.
The student’s advisor must approve the course(s) as appropriate to the plan of study.
The course(s) must fall within the five-year limit for the second degree; i.e., completion of the second degree must fall within five years from the date of the first class counted toward that degree.

Graduation

Note that only graduates who complete degree requirements prior to the ceremony date will be allowed to participate in Commencement activities.

Students who expect to receive a degree or certificate must submit an application for graduation. The graduation application should be submitted during the final term in which degree requirements will be completed. Instructions for completing the graduation application can be found by logging into SIS and clicking on the program of study.

Students who are planning to graduate should complete all coursework on time and should not request to receive a grade of I (incomplete) during their final semester.

Approximately two months after the semester begins, students who have submitted the application for graduation receive a preliminary letter stating that their names have been placed on the tentative graduation list for the semester in which they anticipate completing their degree requirements.

Commencement information is sent the first week in March. To receive their diplomas, students must pay all student accounts in full and resolve all outstanding charges of misconduct and violations of academic integrity. Students will receive an e-bill notification in the spring from Student Accounts. The e-bill will be sent to the student’s JHU email account. For graduation fees, see the Tuition and Fees section. Johns Hopkins University diplomas indicate the school (e.g., Whiting School of Engineering), degree, and major (e.g., Master of Science-Computer Science) without identifying the student’s focus area/track or course modality (e.g., online).

Honors

Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals students will graduate with honors if they have earned an A+, A, or A– in all graduate courses taken between admission and graduation from the degree program. Any other grade except a withdrawal or audit will disqualify students from receiving honors. The designation “Honors” will appear on student transcript(s).

Student Attendance

Students are expected to regularly attend and be active in all courses in which they are enrolled. Although WSE-EP and the university have no specific rules governing absences, the course instructor may announce certain attendance/participation requirements. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of those requirements. Students who know they will be absent from a synchronous class or unable to engage in an asynchronous online class module should notify the instructor in advance. It is the student’s responsibility to discuss missed assignments and exams with the instructor.

Students who experience extenuating circumstances that prevent them from attending and completing a course beyond the course drop or withdrawal deadline can request a Late Drop or Withdrawal with Tuition Refund to see if they are eligible for a late drop or withdrawal from the course.

Academic Misconduct Policy Requirements

Students must review the Graduate Academic Misconduct Policy and successfully complete the academic ethics module in WSE-EP’s new student orientation prior to accessing their first course. Students are automatically enrolled once they have registered for their first course with WSE-EP. This policy is applicable to all full-time and part-time full admit, conditional status, and provisional status students enrolled in degree or non-degree seeking programs.

Copyright Violations

Copying, downloading, or distributing music, videos, software, games, or other copyrighted materials without permission of the owner violates both federal law and university policy and will be submitted for disciplinary action.

Original works fixed in any tangible medium of expression, which includes storage within computers, are copyrighted to the author from the moment of creation. No notice of copyright is required. Except under limited circumstances for limited purposes, students may not make or distribute copies of material belonging to others without their permission. Unless a site specifically grants students permission to download and copy material from the site, students should assume that they cannot do so. Students should also assume that all person-to-person sharing of music, programs, videos, and software is a violation of copyright. Copyright violations will be submitted for disciplinary action.

Computer Usage

Because Johns Hopkins University Office of Information Technology updates its policies frequently, please visit the Johns Hopkins University IT website for the latest information on usage and security. The following includes key elements of the policy, which is posted in all Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals computer labs.

Acceptable use of IT resources is use that:

is consistent with Johns Hopkins’ missions of education, research, service, and patient care and is legal, ethical, and honest;
it must respect intellectual property, ownership of data, system security mechanisms, and individuals’ rights to privacy and freedom from intimidation, harassment, and annoyance;
it must show consideration in the consumption and utilization of IT resources; and
it must not jeopardize Johns Hopkins’ not-for-profit status.

Incidental personal use of IT resources is permitted if consistent with applicable Johns Hopkins University and divisional policy, and if such use is reasonable, is not excessive, and does not impair work performance or productivity.

Please visit the IT website for additional information on the unacceptable use of IT resources.