M.A. in International Studies

UW Academic Policies

The Jackson School ensures all of its degree programs comply with the Graduate School academic policies; however, it is your responsibility to fulfill all of your degree requirements. Please familiarize yourself with Graduate School policies.

Additionally, Washington Administrative Code 478-121 establishes the Student Conduct Code for the UW as a whole. Part III of chapter 121 sets forth procedures for hearings, disciplinary sanctions, and evidentiary standards.

Registration Policies and Deadlines

The UW Registrar’s Office (Schmitz Hall, 2nd floor) manages all registration processes for the university. You should familiarize yourself with the academic calendar to ensure you meet all registration deadlines.

Adding courses: Adding courses to your schedule is done through your MyPlan website or through your MyUW page and the UW Time Schedule. The registration windows are listed on the general UW academic calendar. As you will see on the UW Time Schedule pages, some courses in other departments prioritize students within their departments.

If you wish to take a class in a different department, you must occasionally wait until Registration Period II or III.

If a course at the Jackson School or another department requires an add code, please email the instructor.

If you are registering for JSIS 600A or JSIS 700, you will need an add code. To receive an add code, you must fill out this form and turn it in to THO 111 or email the completed form to jsisadv@uw.edu.

You must be registered for at least one class by the first day of classes or you will have to pay a $25 fee. If you add or drop a class after the first full week of the quarter, you have to pay a $20 fee. See more about dropping classes below.

Auditing courses: If you wish to audit a course, request permission from the instructor teaching that course; the decision to allow auditors rests solely with the instructor. Once you have received permission, register for the class as you normally would. Then fill out the Registration Transaction Form to change the course to audit and email it to regoff@uw.edu.

Dropping courses: You are allowed to add or drop a course with no penalty through the 7th calendar day of the quarter with no penalty or fine. You are allowed to drop a course from the 8th calendar day of the quarter through the 14th day of the quarter for a fine of $20, but no record of your dropped courses will appear on your transcript.

Each academic year (September through August) you may drop one course after the 14th calendar day of the quarter, but no later than the last day of the 7th week of the quarter. A “W” grade and the week designation (W3 through W7) will appear on your transcripts and you will be charged a $20 fee.

Withdrawal from courses: You are allowed to withdraw from courses with no penalty through the 7th calendar day of the quarter with no penalty or fine. Through the end of the Unrestricted Drop Period (traditionally, the end of Week 2; check the UW Academic Calendar for confirmation), you may withdraw by dropping all courses from your MyUW registration page. Beginning the first day of the Late Course Drop Period (traditionally, the beginning of Week 3) through the last date of instruction, you must withdraw by following the Adviser Assisted Drop process, as listed on the Current Quarter Drop webpage. You will not be able to completely withdraw or drop all courses using the MyUW registration tools or by emailing your campus registration team. For more information about the Withdrawal processes, visit this webpage.

On Leave and Reinstatement Policies

Students must be accounted for (i.e., either registered or officially on-leave) during every term except summer quarter until they complete their degree. Any student who does not apply for on-leave status before going on-leave for one or more quarters during the academic year will be dropped from the UW Graduate School and will need to request reinstatement to the UW before returning.

Filing for on-leave status: If you must take a leave of absence for personal or professional reasons, please notify the GPA via email. Then submit an online request to go on leave using your MyGrad Program portal. You must submit an on-leave request each quarter you are absent from the university. Students must have completed at least one quarter of study prior to filing an on-leave petition. International students must have completed at least three quarters of full time work before they submit an on-leave petition.

Once your request has been submitted, the GPA will approve or deny your request and you will then be prompted to pay a $25 non-refundable fee. On-leave requests can be submitted as early as two weeks prior to the start of the quarter, but they must be submitted, approved, and paid for no later than 11:59 p.m. PST on the last day of instruction (or the 10th week of the quarter).

The Graduate School has additional information about this process on this website.

Returning from on-leave status: In order to return from on-leave status, simply register for the quarter you wish to return. Please also notify the GPA so they can make any other necessary arrangements.

Reinstatement: If you failed to maintain your graduate student status (in other words, if you did not apply for on-leave status and did not register for classes), and you wish to resume your studies, first contact the GPA and the Graduate Program Coordinator to request permission. Once you have received permission from the GPC, you may request reinstatement to the Graduate School.

Requests will be approved or denied by the GPA according to previous communication.

If your request is approved, you must pay a non-refundable fee of $250 before you are eligible to register for the reinstatement quarter.

Academic Performance and Progress

Students who maintain satisfactory performance and progress towards the completion of their degree as outlined in this handbook may continue graduate study and research at the Jackson School. Our M.A. programs have defined the general expectations of our students as relates to coursework, research, program duration and timelines, progress evaluations by faculty, and professional behavior relevant to the program. Under extraordinary circumstances the GPC may waive these requirements on a case-by-case basis. The GPC should provide written documentation to the GPA for official record-keeping purposes.

The GPC, program faculty, and GPA evaluate progress on a quarterly basis to determine if a student has completed sufficient work at reasonable performance levels. The GPC and/or GPA will communicate with students any issues that arise with their work.

Unsatisfactory Progress: The steps defining the Jackson School’s management of cases of unsatisfactory performance and progress are defined by Policy 3.7. of the Graduate School’s memoranda. Below is an outline of its procedures.

The following three status levels are used to indicate unsatisfactory performance, to communicate clear expectations to the student, and to describe any consequences should those expectations not be met in the stated timeline. The goal of each step is to establish clear expectations and outline a path to return to satisfactory progress.

  • Warn: This is an early status for a student who has failed to meet expectations for performance or progress. The Jackson School will not notify the Graduate School, but will issue up to one warning letter directly to the student.
  • Probation: This status is used for a student who has failed to resolve problems with their performance or progress as outlined in the warning letter. The Jackson School will send a probation recommendation to the student with a copy to the Graduate School no later than the 10th business day of the probation quarter. A student may be on probation for no more than two quarters without making progress before the student enters the third status.
  • Final probation: This status is used for a student who has failed to resolve the documented problems in their probation status. The Jackson School will send a probation recommendation to the student with a copy to the Graduate School no later than the 10th business day of the probation quarter. If a student does not remove the final probation within one quarter, the Jackson School may drop the student from the school.

Appeals: Appeals must follow the process outlined in Graduate School Policy 3.8: Academic Grievance Procedure.