Academic Regulations < Johns Hopkins University

Academic Regulations

The following academic regulations 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.

Advisors and Degree Audit

Once an offer of admission is accepted, students are assigned an advisor. Students are strongly encouraged to contact their advisor prior to registration. Logging of course and program completion, as well as viewing of approvals and exceptions approved by a student’s advisor, can be tracked through the degree audit system viewable through SIS.

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

Students must submit a written request to the Student Academic Success Office. The request should include 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.

Leave of Absence

Students who do not plan to enroll in classes for a period of more than one year must notify the Student Academic Success Office in writing and request a leave of absence for a specified period of time. The appropriate program chair will make the decision to approve or not approve the request. A 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. If warranted, 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, or who have not enrolled for more than one year without having requested a leave of absence, will assume the status of a student who has withdrawn from the program. Such students must reapply and are subject to the admission requirements in force at the date of the new application. Acceptance is not guaranteed even for students previously admitted. Courses taken prior to the interruption of studies will not count toward requirements if they are not completed within the time allowed for degree completion.

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 both required. Requests to transfer courses cannot be processed if the transcript is not official. The fee for transfer is $490 per course.

After being accepted into a Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals program of study, students may not take classes at another institution for transfer back to their Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals program. Courses successfully completed at Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals may be accepted for transfer credit at other institutions, but such transferability is solely at the discretion of the accepting institution.

Whiting School of Engineering Policy on Double-Counting Courses

The Whiting School of Engineering has established the following policies on double-counting coursework for all students in the full-time (Homewood) programs and the part-time Engineering for Professionals 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 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 they 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/master’s) program or seeking a Whiting School of Engineering 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. Whiting School of Engineering 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 either are in a Whiting School of Engineering combined bachelor’s/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 Whiting School of Engineering master’s degree, any graduate-level coursework (as defined by the Whiting School of Engineering 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.

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

Students pursuing (1) a Whiting School of Engineering master’s and a master’s from any JHU school simultaneously or (2) a Whiting School of Engineering 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 Whiting School of Engineering full-time 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.

TIMING AND RAMIFICATIONS FOR CURRENT STUDENTS

This policy will be applied to all students entering a Whiting School of Engineering master’s program in fall 2007 and beyond. Any student who has entered a Whiting School of Engineering master’s program before then will be exempt from this policy and should follow the course arrangement made with their advisor, provided it is in compliance with departmental, school, and university requirements.

DECLARATION OF A DOUBLE-COUNTED COURSE

Whiting School of Engineering master’s students wishing to double-count courses must submit these courses to the Whiting School of Engineering master’s program for approval. If it is learned that a student has double-counted a course for the Whiting School of Engineering master’s degree without permission of the Whiting School of Engineering master’s program, this program reserves the right to revoke the degree.

EP 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.

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.

POST-MASTER’S CERTIFICATE OR GRADUATE CERTIFICATE

Program Chairs and advisors may make exceptions to certificate requirements at their discretion
No grade below B– can be counted toward a graduate certificate or 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 PROVISIONAL STUDENTS

Provisional students 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 their decision within 10 university business days. 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 CONDITIONAL STUDENTS

Conditional students 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.

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.

Students who fail to make satisfactory academic progress will be withdrawn from their program. To resume study in an EP program, a withdrawn student will need to reapply and earn readmission.

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.

The Whiting School assumes that students possess an acceptable written command of the English language. It is proper for faculty to consider writing quality when assigning grades.

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.

Conditions for resolving an incomplete are established by the instructor. A final grade must be submitted to the Registrar within four weeks after the start of the following term. A grade of F will be assigned if the incomplete work is not submitted by the deadline. For the academic year 2023–2024, the dates by which final grades for incomplete work must be resolved are as follows.

EP - Incomplete
Term	Date
Summer term	September 26
Fall semester	February 20
Spring semester	June 19

Students who expect to complete degree requirements but have an incomplete are not certified for graduation until the end of the following term.

Grade Reports

At the midpoint of each term, instructors are requested to provide a list of students whose work at that time is unsatisfactory. Students are notified by the Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals Registration Team if their names are reported so they can take corrective action. These early reports are for the benefit of students and their advisors and are not part of the permanent record.

Grades are available online at https://sis.jhu.edu/sswf. These reports cannot be requested by telephone or personal inquiry. Students with questions regarding their grade reports or who want their transcripts sent to other institutions should make arrangements with the Office of the Registrar at 410-516-8080 or web.jhu.edu/registrar.

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.

Second Master’s Degree

After receiving a master’s degree from the programs, students may continue their graduate education in a second field if the appropriate prerequisites of the new program are fulfilled.

To receive a second 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 Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals 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 an on-site class or unable to engage in an online class module, especially for an extended period of time, should notify the instructor as far in advance as possible. It is the student’s responsibility to discuss missed assignments and exams with the instructor.

Faculty Attendance for On-Site Courses

If an instructor is unavoidably late for class, the EP Registration Team will attempt to notify students and tell them to wait if it is practical. If an instructor is unable to meet a class, every attempt will be made by Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals staff to inform students of the cancellation, a makeup time for the class (if available), and information regarding assignments. If an instructor informs the Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals office of a class cancellation with enough lead time, students will be contacted.

Academic Misconduct

The Homewood and Engineering for Professionals Graduate Academic Misconduct Policy can be found at https://ep.jhu.edu/wseacademicmisconductpolicy. In addition to being familiar with this policy, all EP students are required to complete training on academic ethics as part of their orientation. Students are automatically enrolled once they have registered for their first course with EP.

THE ROLES OF STUDENTS AND FACULTY

Academic misconduct by graduate students is unacceptable. It is the responsibility of all graduate students to adhere to strict standards of integrity in their professional and scholarly activities, as well as to high standards of conduct in their non-academic activities, and students are encouraged to report known or suspected acts of misconduct. It is the responsibility of the faculty and other supervisors of scholarly activities to monitor carefully the academic and other scholarly activities of graduate students under their supervision and to subject these activities to rigorous evaluation.

PROCEDURES FOR RESOLVING

If a student is suspected of academic misconduct, the faculty member responsible for the course in which the misconduct allegedly occurred must review the facts of the case promptly with the student. If, after speaking with the student and any witnesses, the faculty member believes that academic misconduct has occurred, the faculty member must immediately contact their Academic Integrity Officer or designee to:

determine whether the offense is a first offense or a subsequent offense, and
review the options and procedures available under this policy.

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 at it.jhu.edu 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 it.jhu.edu for additional information on the unacceptable use of IT resources.