University General Education Program

All candidates for graduation at the University of Memphis are required to complete ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020, or their equivalents, with a grade of “C” or better. Before enrolling in ENGL 1010, a student must have either (1) an ACT English score of 18 or above, or (2) an SAT verbal score of 450 or above, or (3) a satisfactory completion of a placement test administered by the University of Memphis Testing Center. Those who do not meet the requirements above, must successfully complete a Developmental Combination ENGL 1010 section with a grade of “C” or better before proceeding to ENGL 1020. ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020 must be taken in sequence; no credit will be allowed for ENGL 1020 until ENGL 1010 has been completed successfully.

*Students who have not completed one year of American History in high school must complete 6 credit hours of American History OR 3 credit hours of American History plus 3 credit hours of Tennessee History in order to satisfy the History General Education requirement. American History courses are marked.

To receive a bachelor’s degree from any of the colleges in the University, students must have an Institutional grade point average of at least 2.00 and an Overall* grade point average of at least 2.00. 

*The University Undergraduate Council (UUC) approved in 2018 for University of Memphis coursework and transfer coursework to count in the overall gpa and overall combined GPA effective Fall 2019. This policy change is a return to University of Memphis practice prior to Summer 2015.

*Overall GPA refers to the combination of the student’s UofM GPA and the GPA from college level transfer courses that were posted prior to Spring 2015 and after Summer 2019.  Transfer work posted during Summer 2015 through Summer 2019 is not counted in the Overall GPA per the Tennessee Board of Regents transfer policy and the academic catalogs for this time period.

1. For New Transfer students admitted Fall 2019, transfer credit will count in the overall and overall combined GPA
2. For Readmitted students for Fall 2019, transfer credit taken since last attending the U of M will count in the overall and overall combined GPA.
3. For Continuing students, transfer credit applied to Fall 2019 will count in the overall and the overall combined GPA.

Historically, overall gpa included University of Memphis work and transfer work posted through Spring 2015. Due to a change in the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) policy effective Summer 2015, transfer credit posted was reflected in earned hours, but no longer applied to the overall or to the overall combined gpa.  

Any or all students may be required to take one or more tests designed to measure general education achievement and achievement in their major as a prerequisite to graduation, for the purpose of evaluation of academic programs. Unless otherwise provided for in any individual program, no minimum score or level of achievement is required for graduation. Participation in testing may be required for all students, for students in selected programs, and for students selected on a sample basis. Details concerning these regulations and the dates of the examinations will appear in the online class listings each semester.

All students are required to apply to graduate during the semester preceding the semester of graduation. The deadlines for the application to graduate are included on the Registrar’s website. It is the responsibility of the student to insure that this deadline is met.