A student transferring from an unfinished master’s program may not transfer more than six semester credit
hours into either a Notre Dame master’s or Ph.D. program.
If the student has completed a master’s or Ph.D. program, he or she may transfer up to nine semester credit
hours to a Notre Dame master’s program and up to 24 semester-credit hours to a Notre Dame Ph.D. program.
Occasionally, a student may need to do dissertation research at another institution. Normally, the student
would register for the appropriate number of credit hours of research at Notre Dame. If the student does not
enroll at Notre Dame and expects to count research hours earned elsewhere toward the Notre Dame degree,
the student must have the approval of the department and the Graduate School in advance. The University
requires similar prior approval for formal courses taken elsewhere and applied to the degree program. Twenty-
four credit hours, including research credit hours, is the maximum acceptable for transfer into a Notre Dame
doctoral program.
No grades of transferred courses are included in the student’s G.P.A.
Academic Integrity
Integrity in scholarship and research is an essential characteristic of our academic life and social structure in the
University. Any activity that compromises the pursuit of truth and the advancement of knowledge besmirches
the intellectual effort and may undermine confidence in the academic enterprise. A commitment to honesty is
expected in all academic endeavors, and this should be continuously emphasized to students, research
assistants, associates, and colleagues by mentors and academic leaders.
The procedures for ensuring academic integrity in the Graduate School are distinct from those in the
Undergraduate Code of Honor. The following apply to both degree-seeking and non-degree-seeking students.
Violations of academic integrity may occur in classroom work and related academic functions or in
research/scholarship endeavors. Classroom-type misconduct includes the use of information obtained from
another student’s paper during an examination, plagiarism, submission of work written by someone else,
falsification of data, etc. Violation of integrity in research/scholarship is deliberate fabrication, falsification, or
plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reporting research or other deliberate misrepresentation in proposing,
conducting, reporting, or reviewing research. Misconduct does not include errors of judgment, errors in
recording, selection, or analysis of data, differences in opinions involving interpretation, or conduct unrelated
to the research process. Misconduct includes practices that materially and adversely affect the integrity of
scholarship and research.
Any person who has reason to believe that a violation of this policy has occurred shall discuss it on a
confidential basis with the department chair or director of the appropriate institute. If a perceived conflict of
interest exists between the chair/director and the accused, the next highest academic officer shall be notified of
the charge. The chair/director shall evaluate the allegation promptly. If it is determined that there is no
substantial basis for the charge, then the matter may be dismissed with the fact of dismissal being made known
to the complainant and to the accused if he or she is aware of the accusation. A written summary of charges,
findings, and actions shall be forwarded to the dean of the Graduate School as a matter of documentation.
Otherwise, the chair will select an impartial panel consisting of three members, one of whom may be a graduate
student, to investigate the matter. The chair will inform the accused of the charges. The panel will determine
initially whether to proceed directly to a hearing to further investigate the case, or to dismiss the charges. If the
panel decides to proceed directly to a hearing, the hearing will be held within 10 days of the original
notification. If the panel decides that further investigation is necessary, it shall immediately notify the chair. If it
decides that a hearing is not warranted, all information gathered for this investigation will be destroyed. The
utmost care will be taken to minimize any negative consequence to the accused.
The accused party must be given the opportunity to respond to any and all allegations and supporting evidence
at the hearing. The response will be made to the appointed panel. The panel will make a final judgment,
recommend appropriate disciplinary action, and report to the chair in writing. The report will include all of the
pertinent documentation and will be presented within 30 days after meeting with the accused. Copies of the