8. Graduate credit Graduate credit is granted only to degree students who: i) have been accepted into the department prior to registration in any course, seminar, research program, or other type of study. ii) are seniors close to graduation with at least a 3.0/4.0 grade point average during their last three semesters and who do not need the course credit to complete the B.S. requirements. (Petition forms are available in the Student Advising Services office. Exception registration is done within the department, by the assistant to the chair, with instructor permission.) Graduate credit is earned for "approved courses" consisting of a minimum of 3 semester hours (1 semester hour of credit is equivalent to 15 hours of class work per semester) and registration in thesis/dissertation which is under the direct supervision of the advisor. Graduate credit is granted for 500, 600 and 700 level courses, provided the advisement and registration requirements are met. Graduate courses from outside the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences or Natural Sciences and Mathematics must receive prior approval from the student's advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies. Informal Courses Informal courses usually include Individual Problems and Special Topics courses, which are taught on an informal basis. These courses require a complete narrative description on a special form designed for this purpose, which includes the signatures of the student, instructor, and the Director of Graduate Studies. A copy of this form (available on page http://www.mae.buffalo.edu/forms) should be submitted to the department graduate office during registration time, at the beginning of the semester, and is included along with the student's Application to Candidacy form. A maximum of six (6) credit hours of individual problems may be applied toward the minimum 30 credit-hour requirement for the Master's degree. Excluding those credits applied towards the Master's degree, a maximum of six (6) additional credit hours of informal course work may be applied towards the minimum 72 credit-hour requirement for the Ph.D. degree. Distance Learning 50% or less of student's credit hours can come from distance learning; e.g. - EngiNet Graduate Credit for Undergraduate Courses Students wishing to use an undergraduate course for graduate credit must submit a petition (http://www.grad.buffalo.edu/forms/students/petition.pdf) along with a statement or syllabus from the instructor showing the additional work required for graduate credit to the MAE graduate office during the first week of classes to receive approval. Copies of these petitions must be included along with the Application to Candidacy form. Retroactive approval will not be granted. Such courses must be limited to a maximum of two (2) advanced undergraduate courses at the 400 level. This maximum limit applies to the entire M.S. or Ph.D. degree program. Undergraduate courses may not be applied to the M.Eng. degree program. Undergraduate courses which carry four (4) or more semester hours of credit will receive a maximum of three (3) semester hours of graduate credit. Graduate students taking a 4 credit hour course must register and pay tuition for the full 4 credits. Other The following courses may not be employed to fulfill degree credit requirements: i) undergraduate courses in which a grade of C or lower is obtained. Credit for such courses will not be applied to the total program, but the grades will be counted in the overall average. ii) a graduate course already used to fulfill the requirements of an undergraduate degree program; repeat of graduate course already taken at undergraduate level. iii) graduate courses in which a grade of D, F or U is obtained.