Graduate On-Leave Status

Graduate students are required to maintain graduate status during their program of study. Failure to maintain this status requires reinstatement to the University of Washington. Students who desire to take a quarter or quarters off without going through the reinstatement process must apply for on-leave status for each quarter they do not register. For complete details regarding the on-leave policy, refer to Policy 3.5.

On-leave Eligibility

Must have been registered or on-leave the previous quarter.
Must satisfy any graduate program policies pertaining to going/remaining on-leave.
Must have registered for at least one quarter of graduate study at UW and have approval from their graduate program.
Must request this leave on a quarterly basis.
Students on F-1 & J-1 visas should review International Student Services’ webpages on Time Off to ensure they understand the enrollment requirements and exceptions related to their visas.
Pre-registered students must officially withdraw via MyUW or the Registration office prior to the first day of the quarter. Registered students are not eligible for on-leave status.

Students on leave are entitled to:

return as a graduate student to the graduate program
use University libraries
maintain access to the UW email account
use Hall Health Primary Care Center on a pay-for-service basis
use the IMA with additional fee (UW Seattle campus students only)

Students on leave are not entitled to:

faculty and staff counsel/resources (very limited counsel/resources are permitted)
examinations of any type (except for language competency)
thesis/dissertation filing
University housing
student insurance
financial assistance

Procedure for Requesting Leave

Beginning September 28, 2011, students requesting on-leave status must submit an online Request for On-Leave Status via MyGrad Program. Students do not request leave for Summer Quarter. (Summer quarter On-Leave enrollment is automatic for all graduate students who were either registered or officially On-Leave during the prior Spring Quarter.)

Deadlines: Each quarter, students can submit the request as early as two weeks prior to the first day of instruction and must submit payment of the non-refundable fee no later than 5:00 p.m. PST on the last day of the quarter (students planning to request loan deferment, see section below).
The following students may request up to three consecutive quarters of leave at one time: Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) students, military personnel with deployment orders, UW Fulbright grantees, and Bonderman Travel grantees.
Payment: all students pay for on-leave, with the exception of military personnel on deployment orders (deploying students must still log onto MyGrad to “Pay” after receiving the departmental approval email, but they will be exempted from payment at the last step).

Students Requesting Loan Deferment

Students who are officially on-leave for reasons related to their educational study (internship, Peace Corps, dissertation research, etc.) are expected to communicate with their lenders if they will come out of their grace period due to lack of enrollment.
Students should plan to complete the on-leave process by submitting payment of the fee no later than 5:00 p.m. PST by the 2nd Friday of the quarter.
Students who are officially on-leave by the 2nd Friday of the quarter will have their on-leave status reported to the National Student Clearinghouse.
Additional information can be found at Enrollment Verification and Degree Certification.

Note: The Required Off-Site Education Approval (R.O.S.E.) process has been discontinued as of Summer Quarter 2017.

Domestic Students

Complete and submit the online Request for On-Leave Status via MyGrad Program. Student will receive a confirmation email that the request has been submitted.
Request will be reviewed and approved by the departmental Graduate Program Coordinator (faculty advisor). Upon approval, students will receive a confirmation email that the department has approved the request.
Return to MyGrad Program to pay the $25.00 non-refundable quarterly On-Leave fee via MasterCard or Visa credit card. Students will receive a confirmation email that their quarterly leave has been processed and their registration status for that quarter is “On-Leave.”
Print confirmation of on-leave verification to be presented for access to the UW libraries and IMA.

International Students

Students on F-1 & J-1 visas should review International Student Services’ webpages on Time Off to ensure they understand the enrollment requirements and exceptions related to their visas.
Complete and submit the online Request for On-Leave Status via MyGrad Program.
Request will be reviewed and approved by the departmental Graduate Program Coordinator (faculty advisor). Upon approval, students will receive a confirmation email that the department has approved the request.
Return to MyGrad Program to pay the $25.00 non-refundable quarterly On-Leave fee via MasterCard or Visa credit card. Students will receive a confirmation email that their quarterly leave has been processed and their registration status for that quarter is “On-Leave.”
Print confirmation of on-leave verification to be presented for access to the UW libraries and IMA.

Reinstatement to the Graduate School

Students previously registered in the Graduate School who have failed to maintain graduate student status (on-leave status was not secured or registration was not maintained) 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.

For questions regarding on-leave status, please contact the Graduate Program Advisor within your graduate program and/or Graduate Enrollment Management Services at uwgrad@u.washington.edu or 206.685.2630.

Revised January 23, 2023