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Courses
As a graduate student at Western, your coursework is a foundational component of your academic program. Courses are designed to provide you with the specialized knowledge, research skills, and theoretical frameworks necessary to excel in your field. While your primary course selections will be determined by your specific program requirements, you may also have opportunities to explore subjects outside of your immediate area of study.
This page provides essential information on the procedures for enrolling in various types of courses. Please consult the relevant section below for detailed guidance.
Graduate courses are administered by a student's individual graduate program prior to the beginning of the academic term. For assistance in enrolling in courses, students are advised to contact their graduate program and/or supervisor for further details and instructions.
The student must declare an intention to audit a graduate course by the enrolment deadline for the term, using the Graduate Course Audit Form. The student must have the instructor's signed approval to audit the course, as well as approval from the Supervisor (if applicable) and Graduate Chair. An Audit requires regular attendance and any other obligations as stated by the course instructor in the Comments/Expectations section of the Graduate Course Audit Form. If these requirements are not met, the audit will be removed from the student's record at the instructor's request.
After the enrolment deadline, a student may not make a change from auditing a course to taking it for credit, or vice versa, within a given term. A student may, in a subsequent term, enroll in a given course for credit that has previously been audited.
Graduate courses delivered online may not be audited without special permission from the program.
Graduate Students may take undergraduate courses without additional charge only if needed for their degree requirements and with the approval of the Graduate Chair and the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Graduate students taking undergraduate courses must follow the undergraduate regulations, as stipulated in the undergraduate calendar under "add/drop deadlines".
To register in an undergraduate course, you must use the Graduate Student Taking Undergraduate Course Form. Undergraduate courses, or combined courses in which undergraduate students predominate, must be less than one-third of the student's total course requirement for the graduate degree. Graduate students may not take an undergraduate course at a Western-Affiliated University College (with the exception of programs whose home unit is an Affiliated University College).
Undergraduate students wishing to take a graduate course as part of their undergraduate program must get approval from the course instructor, the Dean of the undergraduate faculty, and the Vice-Provost of Graduate Studies. The undergraduate student must have a strong academic record (minimum 80%).
Students approved to take a graduate course must be aware that the requirements in a graduate course and the standards expected are significantly higher than those in an undergraduate course. The course credit is not transferable if the student subsequently is admitted to a graduate program.
Graduate students may enrol in courses outside of their program with permission of the instructor and the student's home program. The Request Form must be completed and submitted to the home program for enrolment.
References
- Senate Academic Policy, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Program Design - Course Registration:
- Senate Academic Policy, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Program Design - Courses, Milestones & Course Outlines: