3.5.1 On-Leave Status and Reinstatement for Graduate Programs except for Stacked Degree of Graduate Certificate Programs
To maintain graduate status, a student with the exception of students in a stacked degree program or students only in a Graduate Certificate program must be enrolled on a full-time, part-time, or official on-leave basis from the time of first enrollment in the Graduate School until completion of all requirements for the graduate degree. (Summer quarter on-leave enrollment is automatic for all graduate students who were either registered or officially on-leave during the prior spring quarter.) Failure to maintain either continuous enrollment or on-leave status constitutes evidence that the student has resigned from the Graduate School.
A student who has registered for a quarter may not submit a petition for on-leave status for that specific quarter unless the student officially withdraws from all courses before the first day of that quarter. Students who have been registered for even one day of a quarter are deemed to have status for the quarter and will be eligible to register for classes or apply for on-leave for the following quarter (spring enables registration for summer or autumn); the student’s email account will be active for the quarter, but library privileges will not be maintained once courses are dropped.
If a student who is in on-leave status registers in any other status, i.e. Non-Matriculated or Graduate Non-Matriculated, it will terminate the student’s official on-leave status for that quarter, even if the student subsequently drops those courses.
3.5.1.1 On-Leave Eligibility
To be eligible for on-leave status, a student must meet all of the following:
- Satisfy any graduate program policies pertaining to going/remaining on-leave.
- Be registered or on leave as a graduate student at the University of Washington the quarter immediately prior to going on leave
- Not be registered the first day of the quarter the student goes on leave.
- Eligible international students will be required to consult with International Student Services regarding the student’s immigration status prior to final approval
- Request leave on a quarterly basis and pay a non-refundable, quarterly fee
3.5.1.2 Access to University Resources While on Leave
On-leave students are entitled to the following:
- use of the University libraries
- access to student email accounts
- use of the Hall Health Primary Care Center on a pay-for-service basis
- pay for use of the IMA
On-leave students are not entitled to the following:
- extensive faculty and staff counsel
- examinations of any type (except for language competency)
- thesis/dissertation filing
- appointments as Academic Student Employees
- University housing
- student insurance
- any form of financial assistance
3.5.1.3 Reinstatement to the Graduate School if On-Leave Status was Not Secured and Registration Not Maintained
Students previously registered in the Graduate School who have failed to maintain graduate student status but wish to resume studies within the same degree program must file a request for reinstatement to the Graduate School. Requests will first be reviewed and approved by the department. Once the department has approved the request and the Graduate School has confirmed students’ eligibility for reinstatement, students will be notified to pay a non-refundable reinstatement fee before registering for the requested quarter of reinstatement.
3.5.1.4 Time to Degree and Limits for On-Leave Status
See Graduate School Policy 1.1 for limitations on time to degree and relationship to on-leave status.
3.5.2 Re-Entry for Students in a Stacked Degree or only in a Graduate Certificate
As described in Scholastic Regulations 102.7, the Graduate School approves and processes re-entry requests for students previously registered in the Graduate School who were only enrolled in a Graduate Certificate or in a Stacked Degree and have not maintained continuous enrollment.
Policy 3.5 revised: November 2021; December 2022; December 2024