Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 478-161-015 establishes registration expectations for graduate students at the University of Washington as follows:

“Graduate students are required either to be registered each quarter (except summer) or to be officially on leave until the completion of all requirements for the graduate degree toward which such a student is working. Graduate students who do not maintain continuous enrollment must file an on-leave application with the graduate school. An “on-leave graduate student” is a graduate student in good standing who is away from the university and has been granted on-leave status. Failure to register each quarter (except summer) or to go on leave will constitute presumptive evidence that the student has withdrawn and resigned from the graduate school. The quarter-off eligibility is not available to graduate students.”

Students who meet the conditions above have “graduate student status,” at the University of Washington. Graduate student status applies across all graduate programs in which a student is enrolled. The following policies establish procedures for students who are not registered for classes to maintain or regain graduate student status.

3.5.1 On-Leave Status

On-leave status allows students to pause their studies during the academic school year while maintaining graduate student status.

3.5.1.1 Academic Program Requirements while on Leave

Students in requested on-leave status may be required to complete administrative tasks to maintain graduate student status but cannot be required to make any specific academic progress, including expectations described in Academic or Final Academic Alerts, except to meet time to degree limits.

Deadlines for resolving an ‘Incomplete’ grade remain unchanged while a student is on leave.

3.5.1.2 On-Leave Status Eligibility and Requirements

To be eligible for on-leave status during the academic year, a student must:

satisfy any graduate program(s) policies pertaining to going/remaining on leave.
receive approval from all graduate programs in which they are enrolled.
be in graduate student status at the University of Washington the quarter immediately prior to going on or continuing leave.
not be registered on the first day of the requested on-leave quarter.
not be registered in any other student status (e.g., Non-Matriculated or Graduate Non-Matriculated), as this will terminate on-leave status—even if the student later drops those courses.
not be suspended from the University (except in the case of emergency suspensions).

[Note: The “good standing” referenced in the WAC quoted above is separate from “good academic standing.” As such, the WAC does not prohibit students in Academic Alert or Final Academic Alert from being granted on-leave status.]

3.5.1.3 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 Husky Health Center Primary Care Center on a pay-for-service basis
pay for use of the Intramural Activities Building (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

3.5.1.4 Time to Degree and Limits for On-Leave Status

Time in on-leave status counts toward the time to degree limits (See Graduate School Policy 1.1 for information on time to degree limits), except in the case of emergency suspensions (see 3.5.1.5)

3.5.1.5 On-Leave Status during Emergency Suspensions

Students placed on emergency suspension, and meeting requirements 3 through 6 in section 3.5.1.2 are also placed in on-leave status at the request of Community Standards and Student Conduct Office. Any revocation of campus privileges established in the suspension supersede the privileges typically afforded students on leave. Time in emergency suspension will not count toward time-to-degree limits.

3.5.2 Graduate Student Status in Summer

In summer quarter, graduate student status is maintained regardless of registration. On‑leave status as described in 3.5.1 is not available.

3.5.2.1 Academic Program Requirements in Summer

Programs may require summer registration and can issue Academic Alerts as described in Policy 3.7.3 if students fail to register for required summer curriculum.

If described in written program guidelines, programs may require some academic work (e.g., workshops, research, or exams (not general or final)) between spring and autumn quarters for students regardless of registration status.

Because on‑leave status is unavailable in summer, programs with registration or other summer requirements should define how they will handle student requests—made only for good cause—to delay required summer work. Approval of such requests is at the program’s sole discretion. Programs must document decisions and plans for meeting requirements at a later time (which may be a subsequent summer).

Students cannot be required to meet expectations described in Academic or Final Academic Alerts if not registered in summer, except to meet time to degree limits. Academic Alerts issued at the beginning of summer quarter by programs that do not require summer registration should extend through fall quarter, ensuring students have time to complete required work.

3.5.2.2 Access to University Resources during Summer

Unregistered students in summer maintain the same access to university resources as described for students in on-leave status in 3.5.1.3.

3.5.3 Program Withdrawal

Students in graduate student status can request withdrawal from a graduate program, effective the quarter following their request. For doctoral students, with program approval, this request can be made in conjunction with a request to move into an “exit master’s,” if one exists for that program. Students who withdraw from a program may only re-enter through reinstatement (see below).

3.5.4 Reinstatement for Graduate Programs except for Stacked Degree or Graduate Certificate Programs

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 as described in Scholastic Regulations 102.7E. This must be approved by the program, requires a non-refundable fee, and is not official until the student registers for coursework. [See Also: Guidance (Student Status) – Reinstatement & Re-Entry].

3.5.5 Re-Entry for Students in a Stacked Degree or only in a Graduate Certificate

As described in Scholastic Regulations 102.7F, the Graduate School will review and approve reentry requests for students who were previously enrolled solely in a Graduate Certificate or Stacked Degree program and who have not maintained graduate student status. This must be approved by the program and is not official until the student registers for coursework [See Also: Guidance (Student Status) – Reinstatement & Re-Entry].

Policy 3.5 revised: November 2021; December 2022; December 2024; April 2026