Date of Catalog for Checking Degree or Certificate Requirements
Students are subject to current administrative, academic, and general policies and regulations. The 2024 Undergraduate Catalog becomes effective fall semester 2024.
Students may use the Undergraduate Catalog as a basis for degree/certificate requirements issued for any semester including or following the date of his/her first enrollment in the university so long as it is dated not more than eight years prior to the date the degree or certificate is conferred. A student must attempt academic credit at UCM during the semester of the catalog chosen or have attended consecutive semesters at another regionally accredited institution of higher education in Missouri. Dual credit enrollment can count to establish catalog year, but students are encouraged to follow the most current catalog available when they begin regular enrollment at UCM. Students may change catalog term at any time during their enrollment, moving to an earlier or later catalog term, as long as they attempted hours during that term. Students considering changing catalog term should consult with their Academic Success Advisor. UCM follows the catalog agreement described in Policies and Procedures for the Review of Academic Program Proposals: New Academic Programs, Off-Site Delivery of Existing Programs and Program Changes (Missouri CBHE, April 1997). However, the university reserves the right to add, change, delete, and interpret policies at any time and to require these be met by those seeking degree/certificate candidacy and/or conferral.
General Education Requirements
See The General Education Program section of this catalog for a detailed description and course listing for the UCM General Education Program. The minimum number of required General Education semester credit hours for all students, regardless of their program of study, is 42. Some degree programs may require up to six additional hours of General Education depending on the math, science, and technology courses required.
In addition, some majors and minors have specific required General Education courses. If a major or minor requires specific General Education courses, they are listed in this catalog for each program and are marked with a “GE” symbol.
If a student changes majors or minors from a program that does not require specific General Education courses to a program that does, a student may have to take additional credit hours in one or more of the defined areas of the General Education program if she/he has not taken the specific General Education course listed as a major or minor requirement. Transfer students must also meet all major and minor required general education courses, even if a prior degree or the Missouri 42-hour core (MOTR Core 42) has been completed.
Upper-Level Credit
Upper-level credit is coursework completed at the 3000 and 4000 level. Hours earned as SC or CR credit (AP/CLEP/IB/military credits/work experience/prior learning) do not count towards upper-level credit. Transfer credit will retain the leveling as designated by the original granting institution regardless of whether a UCM equivalent’s leveling is different. All courses taken at a two-year college and any 1000/2000 level courses taken at a four-year institution will not be applicable toward upper-level hour (3000/4000 level) requirements, even if these courses are articulated to upper-level UCM courses or used as substitutions for upper-level UCM courses.
Candidates for a bachelor’s degree must complete a minimum of:
- 30 total semester hours of upper-level credit
- 20 semester hours of upper-level credit must be earned at UCM
- 12 upper-level hours must be in the major subject, nine of these must be earned at UCM
- One upper-level hour must be in the minor subject earned at UCM
Hours in Residence
Residence requirements establish a minimum number of credit hours which must be earned from UCM. Online courses and courses which are offered off campus but through UCM do count towards residence hours. Hours earned as SC or CR credit (AP/CLEP/IB/military credits/work experience) do not count towards residence hours.
A candidate for any bachelor’s degree must have earned the following minimum hours in residence at UCM:
- 30 hours overall
- 20 upper-level hours (3000/4000 level courses)
- 15 hours in the major
- 9 upper-level hours in the major
- 9 hours in the minor (if applicable)
- 1 upper-level hour in the minor (if applicable)
- the last 12 semester hours or any hours during the final semester required for the degree*
A candidate for any undergraduate certificate must have earned at least fifty percent of the certificate hours in residence at UCM.
*Students who have an extenuating circumstance during their final semester may petition to take some of their final hours off campus. The petition is available at https://www.ucmo.edu/current-students/office-of-the-registrar-and-student-records/internal-resources/shared/forms/ . The petition must include the institution where the course(s) will be completed, the course prefix/number at both UCM and the transfer institution, and the reason the student is unable to complete the course through UCM. If the course is part of a major or minor program, the appropriate UCM school will also have to approve the petition. Official transcripts from the transfer institution must be received prior to the deadline for UCM degree conferral. The deadline to submit the petition is one month prior to the start of the semester during which coursework is to be taken.
United States and Missouri Constitutions Requirement (State Law Requirement, Section 170.011)
Missouri state law requirement, Section 170.011 RSMO Supp (1988) requires that all students at public Missouri institutions have a course that teaches the constitutions of Missouri and the United States. Find more information about this requirement at moga.mo.gov/statutes/c100-199/1700000011.htm. The following courses in the UCM General Education program fulfill this requirement: HIST 1350 , HIST 1351 , HIST 1402 and POLS 1510 or POLS 2511 and are denoted with a “#” in the General Education course listing. These courses must be taken from institutions in the state of Missouri. Courses from out-of-state institutions which are articulated or substituted for these courses will not fulfill state law requirement Section 170.011 RSMO Supp (1988). Students who have one of these courses from out of state or who have already fulfilled all nine hours of Knowledge Area III in the general education program may fulfill this requirement by passing an exam on the constitutions of the United States and of Missouri. This test is offered online, at no cost by the School of Social Sciences and Languages (Wood 203). Testing information can be obtained by calling 660-543-8840.
Missouri Higher Education Civics Achievement Examination Requirement (State Law Requirement, Section 170.013)
Missouri state law requirement, Section 170.013 went into effect Fall 2019 for students pursuing a degree at any public Missouri institution and requires that all students shall successfully pass an examination on the provisions and principles of American civics with a score of seventy percent or greater as a condition of graduation. The subject matter of the 50 question, multiple-choice test includes the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other areas of government and American history. Students may fulfill this requirement by passing an exam offered in Blackboard or by providing proof on an official transcript of having passed the exam at another Missouri higher education institution. This test is offered online, at no cost. Students are encouraged to take and pass the test during their first semester at UCM. The test may be taken any number of times until a passing score of at least 70 percent is earned. When the test is passed the requirement will show as fulfilled on the Central Degree Audit and a notation will be added to the student’s transcript. Students who have not passed the exam by the time they have reached 60 credit hours will have a hold on their account and be prevented from enrolling in future coursework until the exam is successfully passed. Questions about the content of the test may be referred to the School of Social Sciences and Languages (Wood 203, 660-543-8840). Information about the Blackboard Civics Exam cohort may be referred to Testing Services (testingservices@ucmo.edu, 660-543-4919).
Application for Graduation
An application for an undergraduate degree or certificate to be awarded must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office using the form in MyCentral. Students should apply for graduation one semester prior to their intended graduation after enrollment has been completed for their last semester (October/November for spring/summer semester graduation and March/April for fall semester graduation). The student’s Central Degree Audit should reflect that all remaining requirements are in progress. All curriculum substitutions (if applicable) should be received by the Registrar’s Office prior to filing the application for graduation. Applying at this time ensures that students are made aware of any graduation deficiencies prior to the start of their graduation semester.
Graduation applications must be received by the Registrar’s Office no fewer than six weeks before the date the degree is to be conferred for the student’s name to be included in the printed commencement program. Only degree candidate names are included in the program. Certificate candidates are not included.
Students who fail to apply or apply for the incorrect term for graduation but are identified as meeting degree requirements by a UCM faculty or staff member will have their degree awarded. Students who meet degree requirements must be awarded their degree but are welcome to continue to enroll in additional classes after applying to the Undergraduate Admissions office as a post-baccalaureate student.
Degrees and certificates are conferred three times per year: May, August, and December at the end of each semester. Students who complete degree requirements prior to the end of a semester will not have their degrees awarded until the end of the semester. The Registrar’s Office may confer degrees and certificates through the following deadlines (or the earliest preceding business day): January 15 (fall semester), May 31 (spring semester), and August 31 (summer semester). Students who fail to apply for graduation or complete all degree/certificate requirements by these dates will have their degree or certificate awarded at the end of the following semester if requirements are completed and an active graduation application is on file with the Registrar’s Office. UCM will not back-date a degree.
All students are billed a one-time, non-refundable graduation fee per graduation semester of $50. Students who earn multiple degrees or certificates in different semesters will be billed each semester. Graduation charges will be placed on student accounts about six weeks before the conclusion of the student’s final semester. This fee applies to all graduates and is not dependent upon ceremony participation.
UCM offer’s commencement ceremonies two times a year for degree candidates: May and December. Commencement ceremonies are for degree candidates only; students earning only an undergraduate certificate do not participate in the ceremony. All summer degree candidates are invited to participate in the May ceremony if they are enrolled in all remaining requirements. Students who are unable to participate in the ceremony that corresponds with the semester of their graduation due to extenuating circumstances may petition to participate in a later ceremony up to a calendar year after their graduation date. An additional fee of $50 will be applied to the student’s account for each semester after their original ceremony (summer graduates who wish to walk in the December ceremony are not charged this fee). This fee will be applied during the term that they participate in a ceremony.
Questions about applying for graduation or commencement should be directed to the Registrar’s Office in WDE 1000 (660-543-4914, graduation@ucmo.edu).
Participating in a Later Graduate Commencement Ceremony
Students with unusual, extenuating circumstances who are unable to attend the ceremony which corresponds with the semester that their degree is awarded may submit an Application to Participate in a Later Commencement Ceremony to the Registrar’s Office. Ceremony participation may not occur more than one calendar year after a student’s actual degree conferral, and once approved for a “late walk”, students may not change the semester requested. To be considered to “walk late”, students must already be approved for graduation during the term that they will be completing degree requirements. Students whose requests are approved will be charged a non-refundable $50 “walk late” fee per semester after the term of degree conferral. This fee is in addition to the regular $50 graduation fee that is applied to all students’ accounts.
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