Students who have voluntarily withdrawn from a Master’s Program, or have been away from the program without notifying the university, may submit a petition for re-admission. Students should address their petition to the Graduate Program Director. The Director may consult with the faculty in the department and the Graduate Dean to discuss feasibility of re-admission. The decision to re-admit students is made by the Graduate Dean after consultation with the Graduate Program Director.
Re-admission is only considered when the time frame for completion of all degree requirements is still feasible. Normally, six years is given for all Master’s degree requirements.
In order to have a petition for re-admission to be considered, a former student should submit the following to the Graduate Program Director:
- Full name at time of previous enrollment.
- Name of previous degree program.
- Dates of attendance.
- Reasons for withdrawal or absence.
- Comments on how you have maintained current knowledge of your field.
- Timetable for completion of degree requirements including expected date of graduation, if re-admitted.
- If expected date of graduation is outside of original time to degree limits, please include a request for extension. Normally extensions are only considered for an additional one to two years.
- Statement of your understanding of which courses previously taken will still count towards your degree requirements (based on time to degree requirements) and which courses you will need to re-take.
- Statement of your understanding of other degree requirements you have completed that will count or need to be re-taken such as passing of comprehensive exam or completion of thesis, etc.
The number of years to degree is important for the value of the Villanova degree. Upholding these standards is considered a fair practice for current students and is an indicator of quality in a graduate program.
Students who are successfully re-admitted are subject to the rules and degree requirements as specified in the Handbook of Degree Requirements in effect for the academic year in which they are re-enrolled. This means that students must complete any new courses or other graduation requirements that are currently required. Students must be prepared to re-take expired courses and should submit only reasonable requests to be considered.
Students who are dismissed from the university for failure to make satisfactory academic progress, or maintain satisfactory academic performance, or for failure of comprehensive exams, or for an academic integrity violation, may not re-apply.