Am I allowed to take any undergraduate classes and count them toward my graduation requirements?

Typically it is not advisable to use undergraduate courses for graduate study; however, policy states that up to 15 semester credits of undergraduate level coursework may be used for a graduate degree, if that coursework is applicable to the Program of Study (for instance, if a case can be made that the subject matter of the course is directly relevant to what the student is doing for a thesis). In our department, we typically only allow 5000 courses to count toward your graduate degree. In some instances, up to 3 semester credits of coursework at the 3000-4990 level may be included within the 15 semester credit limit, if the course is outside the student’s graduate-degree field. In both cases, however, the student must have their supervisory committee’s approval in writing (and on file with the DGS) prior to enrolling in the course. The Graduate Dean has final say about whether such courses may be counted on the Program of Study. Courses that students are expected to have taken as undergraduates and prerequisites for graduate courses are not acceptable; neither may language courses taken for an MA count toward a student’s Program of Study. If students are interested in taking a 3000 level course in our department because the subject matter is relevant to their Program of Study, the student may petition to enroll in the course with the Directed Study course number, English 6920; in this case, the student is expected to negotiate a Directed Studies contract with the faculty member that requires additional coursework, writing, reading, etc., above and beyond what would be expected of undergraduate students, in order to make the course equivalent to a graduate course. However, please be advised that faculty members have final say about whether to allow graduate students to enroll in their undergraduate courses at any level, and any course the grad student takes must be taught by member of the graduate faculty (ask DGS about this, if you have questions). Also be aware that you may take no more than three credits total of Directed Study (Engl. 6920) for your degree. The reason for this limit is that Directed Study credits take students out of scheduled graduate seminars and place an extra supervision burden on faculty, who are not paid extra for supervising 6920 projects. In special cases, however, a faculty member may request that the three-credit limit be waived to allow a student to take an additional three credits of 6920 under his or her supervision.

For information from the Graduate Degree Requirements Page, see (http://catalog.usu.edu/content.php?catoid=3&navoid=254#Graduate_Degree_Requi)