Incomplete (I) Courses

Students are expected to complete all coursework by the end of the semester in which a course is taken. In special circumstances, when students are unable to complete the required coursework for reasons beyond their control, instructors may grant students permission to delay submission of their work by allowing them to take an Incomplete and recording the symbol of I in the student's academic record. The decision to grant an Incomplete is entirely at the discretion of the faculty member teaching the course.

You may request an Incomplete only if your prior class performance and attendance have been satisfactory and only if your request is made before the date when the instructor must report final course grades.

To request an Incomplete, you must meet with the course instructor, providing a satisfactory explanation of your inability to complete the coursework and a plan for concluding the course in a timely manner. The conditions of the Incomplete must be detailed in an Incomplete Contract signed by both you and the faculty member teaching the course. CCAS expects all graduate coursework to be completed within one semester, but your instructor may specify a shorter or longer deadline (not to exceed one calendar year).

After finalizing the Incomplete Contract with your instructor, you should submit it to your program’s Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) for review. Your DGS will forward the signed contract to the CCAS Office of Graduate Studies.

If you do not complete the required coursework by the deadline specified in the Incomplete Contract (or by the end of the following semester if no date is specified), then the Incomplete will convert either to a grade of F or to the grade you have earned for the course by the end of the semester in which the course was taken, as determined by the course instructor. (If you withdraw or are dismissed from your graduate program before completing an Incomplete course, you will be officially withdrawn from the course, and the symbol I will be replaced with the symbol W on your transcript.)