The Pass/Fail Option
Guidelines
Pass/Fail Conversion
GPA Implications
Summer Courses
Guidelines
Students may register for courses on a pass/fail basis pursuant to the following guidelines. Students:
- May not take more than 1 course as pass/fail per semester for each full year of residence
- May not take more than 4 courses total as pass/fail (even if they are in a 5-year degree program)
- May not take more than a total of 14 semester hours as pass/fail
- May only take 1 course as pass/fail in a semester
- May not take courses specifically required for their major or courses falling within their major department or major area as pass/fail. If students take such courses pass/fail, the registrar will replace the P with the letter grade awarded. This process generally occurs during the final degree audit and certification for graduation.
- Must file the proper Special Registration Form (for either undergraduate
or graduate 
students) for a course to be taken pass/fail no later than the posted deadline, usually the end of the 10th week of the semester.
- PLEASE NOTE: Declaring a course pass/fail can only be done via paper form and not online via ESTHER.
Pass/Fail Conversion
To view the originally submitted grade for a course that was designated as pass/fail:
- Login to ESTHER
.
- From the Esther main menu, click Student Services and Account Information.
- Click Registration.
- Click View Pass/Fail Grades.
Although students are able to view all courses in academic history that they elected to take as pass/fail, only those currently within the allowable deadline are eligible for conversion. Please be aware that the deadline to convert a "P" to the submitted grade is the Friday of the second week of the long term (fall or spring) following the term in which the pass/fail option was invoked. Please refer to the academic calendar for specific deadlines.
If the deadline has not passed and students desire to convert the grade, they must either:
- Go to the Office of the Registrar and complete a Pass/Fail Conversion Form
OR
- From their Rice email address, email registrar@rice.edu with their full name, student ID number and specific instructions to convert the "P" to the originally submitted grade.
Once converted to a letter grade, the course no longer counts towards the allowable total of pass/fail courses (maximum of 4).
GPA Implications
Students should be aware that while a grade of P does not affect their grade point average, a grade of F is counted as a failure and is included in their GPA.
Summer Courses
Students should be aware that courses taken during the Rice summer session(s) as pass/fail count toward their allowable total of pass/fail courses (maximum of 4).
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