Grades, Graduate Students

Once a final grade has been submitted by the instructor and recorded on the transcript, the final grade cannot be changed, except in cases of a grading error.

In the case where a student believes an error has been made in calculating a grade in a Gallatin course, the student should first consult with the instructor who assigned the grade to discuss the grading requirements for the course and how the grade was determined. If the student is not satisfied with the outcome of the discussion and wishes to appeal the grade further, a formal written appeal should be submitted to the Associate Dean of Students. The Associate Dean of Students will then attempt to mediate a resolution between student and instructor. If the Associate Dean of Students is unable to mediate a resolution of the grievance, an independent review of the grade will be undertaken by the Student Discipline & GrievanceCommittee. All of the student's work will be reviewed to clarify how the grade was determined and to ensure the grade is consistent with the academic guidelines and policies of the School. If a case goes to the Committee for a review, all parties agree that the decision of the Committee in matters related to a Gallatin course grade is final.

Grades for courses taken in other schools of the University are governed by the school/department offering the course. Gallatin students must follow the grading policies and procedures of those schools and departments, including the policy and procedure to appeal another school’s grade. Other schools’ grading policies and procedures can be found in the appropriate school bulletin or by contact­ing the school’s academic affairs office.

In all cases, students are expected to act within the semester following the course to appeal a grade since faculty may not be available to review an appeal in future semesters or years. (For fall and January term courses, students must appeal no later than the following spring. For spring and summer courses, students must appeal no later than the following fall.)

Please note that since transcripts cannot be altered for any reason after a student has graduated, it is not possible to appeal a grade after graduation.

All grades applicable to the Gallatin M.A. degree and earned while a student is matriculated at New York University are recorded on the transcript and computed in the cumulative grade point average. Grades earned at other institutions are not recorded on the NYU transcript; nor are they computed in the GPA.

Information on New York University’s grading system and computing your GPA can be found on the Office of the Registrar’s website.

When a student completes the withdrawal process, the grade of “W” is posted on the transcript to indicate an official withdrawal of the student from a course.  The grade of “W” cannot be assigned by the instructor; the student must follow the official withdrawal process.

If a student’s request for an Incomplete is approved, the temporary grade of  “I” is posted to the student’s transcript to indicate that the student has, for good reason, not completed all of the course work but that there is a possibility that he or she will pass the course when all the requirements have been met.  The work required to satisfy the incomplete must be completed by the deadline otherwise, the temporary grade of “I” will become an “F.” The grade of “F” is a permanent grade which will be computed into the student’s GPA and it will not be removed from the transcript under any circumstance. In order to request an incomplete, students should review Gallatin’s incomplete policy and follow the procedure found on the Incomplete Grades Policy and Procedures page.

Some courses are not graded with the letter grades A through D. Instead, the grade of "P" is used to indicate that a student successfully completed the course with a passing grade (A through D). While students receive credit for courses graded with “P” (provided the course is accepted for credit toward the degree), the grade does not factor into the student's GPA.

Graduate students may not choose to take a course that is given for a letter grade on a pass/fail basis. However, several Gallatin courses must be taken on a pass/fail basis: private lessons, Master’s Thesis Seminar, Master’s Thesis and Defense and Thesis Advisement. All other University and Gallatin courses, as well as independent studies, tutorials and internships, are graded and may not be taken pass/fail unless the course is offered on a pass/fail basis only.

Students seeking to improve their grade point averages may retake a course.  While both instances of the course and the grades for each will appear on the transcript:

• Only the later of the two grades will be computed in the grade point average.
  
• If credit was given to the student the first time the course was taken, he or she will not receive credit when the course is repeated.
  

Students should also be aware that certain graduate schools will count both grades in the average.