Purpose
To define academic performance and research progress expectations, and to outline the review procedure and consequences for the graduate degree programs within the William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Scope
All matriculated graduate students in the William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Policy
Students may continue in graduate degree programs if they maintain satisfactory performance as well as satisfactory progress toward completion of their degree program(s). Graduate Certificate (ACSTR, ACSYS, MAS), Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics (MSAA), Master of Aerospace Engineering (MAE) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 each quarter they are enrolled. Students must also receive a minimum grade of 2.7 for any individual course to be counted toward their graduate degree.
Additionally, students in research-based programs must maintain satisfactory progress in independent study/research, thesis/dissertation research and writing, and complete any degree milestones set by the department within established timelines (e.g., Thesis Defense, Qualifying Exam, General Exam, Final Exam).
Applicable to all students
Each quarter, the Department receives a Low Scholarship list from the Graduate School identifying
students whose quarterly GPA and/or cumulative GPA fall below 3.0. The Department Graduate Program Advisors will review the academic records of these students and make recommendations to the faculty Graduate Program Coordinator based on the following guidelines.
Quarterly low academic scholarship
No formal action will be taken for students in multi-year programs whose names appears on this list because their QUARTERLY GPAs are below 3.0, unless the condition is caused by anomalies that require immediate corrective attention (e.g., a student receives a grade of 0.0/NS/NC in a course, or a student receives multiple grades below a 2.7 in a single academic quarter), in which case they may be placed on “Notify” status or recommended for placement on “Academic Alert” status.
Students in one-year Graduate Certificates with a QUARTERLY GPA below 3.0 will be treated as an anomaly that requires immediate corrective action. The Graduate Program Advisors (and/or their faculty advisors) will notify students of the low scholarship and will be available to help them develop a plan to rectify the problem.
Cumulative low academic scholarship
The department does not generally enforce cumulative low scholarship “Notify” status or “Academic Alert” status until a student has been enrolled for two quarters (three quarters for students in the part-time Master of Aerospace Engineering program) unless the condition is caused by anomalies that require immediate corrective attention (e.g., a student receives a grade of 0.0/NS/NC in a course, or a student receives multiple grades below a 2.7 in a single academic quarter), in which case they may be placed on “Notify” status or recommended for placement on “Academic Alert” status.
Cumulative low academic scholarship, “Notify”
Students whose names appear on this list because their CUMULATIVE GPAs are below 3.0 at the end of their second quarter (third quarter for students in the part-time Master of Aerospace Engineering program, and first quarter for Graduate Certificate students) will be placed on “Notify” status. This is the status for a student who has failed to meet expectations for performance or progress, with the goal of resolving problems before escalating to official “Academic Alert” status. Please see UW Graduate School Policy 3.7 for additional details.*
If the condition is caused by anomalies that require immediate corrective attention (e.g., a student receives a grade of 0.0/NS/NC in a course, or a student receives multiple grades below a 2.7 in a single academic quarter, the student may instead be escalated to “Academic Alert” status, see next bullet point). Students must meet with their Graduate Program Advisor (and/or their faculty advisors) to discuss a plan and timeline for academic improvement and any other conditions of the “Notify” status.
Cumulative low academic scholarship, “Academic alert”
Students whose names appear on this list because their CUMULATIVE GPAs are below 3.0 at the end of their third quarter (fourth quarter for students in the part-time Master of Aerospace Engineering program, and second quarter for Graduate Certificate students) will be recommended for placement on “Academic Alert” status. This status is used for a student who has failed to resolve problems with student performance or progress that the program has previously documented and communicated.
Please see UW Graduate School Policy 3.7 for additional details.* Students must meet with their Graduate Program Advisor (and/or their faculty advisors) to discuss a plan and timeline for academic improvement and any other conditions of the “Academic Alert”.*
Cumulative low academic scholarship, “Final academic alert”
Students who are on “Academic Alert” and whose names appear on the low scholarship list a second time because their CUMULATIVE GPAs are below 3.0 will be recommended for placement on “Final Academic Alert” status. This status is used for a student who is on “Academic Alert” status and has failed to resolve problems with student performance or progress that the program has previously documented and communicated. Please see UW Graduate School Policy 3.7 for additional details.*
Cumulative low academic scholarship, “Academic drop”
Students who are on “Final Academic Alert” and whose names appear on the cumulative low scholarship list for a third time because their CUMULATIVE GPAs are below 3.0 will be recommended to be dropped from the Department. “Academic Drop” is an official action that terminates a student’s enrollment from a graduate program because the student has failed to resolve documented problems in the student’s “Final Academic Alert” status. Please see UW Graduate School Policy 3.7 for additional details.*
Applicable to students in research based programs
Quarterly lacking research progress or milestone attainment
Students who have been identified by their supervising faculty member (instructor of their 599/600/700/800 credits) as lacking in concrete research progress or milestone attainment may be placed on “Notify” status or recommended for placement on “Academic Alert” status. The Graduate Program Advisor(s) and the student’s faculty advisor(s) will notify students of the lacking progress and will help develop a plan to rectify the deficiency through concrete and unambiguous deliverables. Subsequent quarters of lacking research progress or milestone attainment may result in escalation to “Final Academic Alert” or “Academic Drop” status. Please see UW Graduate School Policy 3.7 for additional details.*
Lacking research progress or milestone attainment, “Notify”
This is the status for a student who has failed to meet expectations for performance or progress, with the goal of resolving problems before escalating to official “Academic Alert” status. Please see UW Graduate School Policy 3.7 for additional details.*
If the condition is caused by anomalies that require immediate corrective attention, the student may instead be escalated to “Academic Alert” status, see next bullet point). Students must meet with their Graduate Program Advisor (and/or their faculty advisors) to discuss a plan and timeline for improvement and any other conditions of the “Notify” status.
Lacking research progress or milestone attainment, “Academic alert”
This status is used for a student who has failed to resolve problems with performance or progress that the program has previously documented and communicated. Please see UW Graduate School Policy 3.7 for additional details.* Students must meet with their Graduate Program Advisor (and/or their faculty advisors) to discuss a plan and timeline for improvement and any other conditions of the “Academic Alert”.*
Lacking research progress or milestone attainment, “Final academic alert”
This status is used for a student who is on “Academic Alert” status and has failed to resolve problems with performance or progress that the program has previously documented and communicated. Please see UW Graduate School Policy 3.7 for additional details.*
Lacking research progress or milestone attainment, “Academic drop”
Students who are recommended for “Academic Drop” status will be recommended to be dropped from the Department. “Academic Drop” is an official action that terminates a student’s enrollment from a graduate program because the student has failed to resolve documented problems in the student’s “Final Academic Alert” status. Please see UW Graduate School Policy 3.7 for additional details.*
Additional notes
Students will be required to satisfy specific criteria as part of rectifying “Notify”, “Academic Alert”, or “Final Academic Alert” status. All criteria required to return to satisfactory progress status will be detailed in the “Notify”, “Academic Alert”, or “Final Academic Alert” letter sent to the student.
*Appeals must follow the process outlined in Graduate Policy 3.8.
Last revision: January 2026