The Pass/Fail Option

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

Students may convert a pass/fail grade back to a letter grade by filing a Pass/Fail Conversion Form . When a student presents this Pass/Fail Conversion Form to the Office of the Registrar, they will be advised of their earned letter grade in the course and are given the option to convert the P to this letter grade. The deadline to convert a P to a letter grade is the end of the 2nd week of the following semester. 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).