<p>Hi
I heard from many instructors, friends in graduate school that the range of grade in graduate school is going to shrink and B- is actually F in Engineering majors. I would like to know if anyone can explain about this a little more? because this is completely different from undergraduate.</p>
<p>The rule in graduate school is that you need to maintain a B average to remain in good academic standing. This means that anything below a B is essentially a failing grade.</p>
<p>So what if an undergraduate student takes a graduate course. what is going to be the policy for him/her ?
Professor cannot grade him harder than others and he/she does not need at least B to be in a good standing.</p>
<p>It depends on the university. At my school, Illinois Institute of Technology, it is not possible to give a “D” grade in a graduate course. The only options are “A”, “B”, “C”, or “E”. I have had undergraduates in my graduate courses and I have always graded them on the same footing. However, permission is required for an undergraduate student to take a graduate course so there is some control on the front side over who can take a graduate course. I would not allow a student with a GPA below 3.0 to take my graduate course.</p>
<p>The corollary is, though, that grades below a B are rarely given out. In graduate classes, an A is the standard; that means that you are performing as you should be. A B grade sometimes means you are performing a bit below expectations for the class. A C is really like a failing grade, and they are given out about as often as F grades are in undergrad. You have to really be screwing up.</p>
<p>This is in general, of course; it differs by graduate program. And to a certain extent, your GPA doesn’t really matter. I don’t even know what my PhD GPA was.</p>