Degree Works

In academic year 2014-2015, the Office of the Registrar rolled out a new electronic degree audit system named Degree Works. Working with Rice's academic departments, Academic Advising, and Office of Information Technology, this degree audit program was rolled out to the campus for undergraduates in Spring 2015 and for select graduate programs in Fall 2016.

What is Degree Works?

Degree Works is a web-based, degree-auditing and tracking tool that enables students and advisors to evaluate academic progress towards graduation in accordance to university and academic program requirements as they are outlined in the General Announcements. This tool will allow students to quickly and easily identify which requirements have been satisfied, and which requirements are outstanding.

In addition, Degree Works can be used to perform a "what if" analysis to determine how current coursework and coursework in a student’s academic history would be used if a different academic program were selected.

How Degree Works Benefits Students

  • Supports real time delivery of progress towards degree completion
  • Easily determines which courses have been taken or transferred, which count as electives and requirements, and what's outstanding to complete a degree
  • Online environment reduces paperwork and manual degree checklists
  • Confirms your academic standing
  • "What If" feature shows students how progress towards degree completion changes if they change academic programs or add a major, minor, or certificate

How Degree Works Benefits Advisors

  • Supports real time delivery of academic advice through intuitive web interfaces
  • Minimizes errors through consistent degree plans
  • Reduces paperwork and manual program check sheets
  • Allows advisors to search for students by school, degree, and/or major to view degree progress
  • Important Note: Degree Works is designed to aid and facilitate academic advising, but is not intended to replace the valuable one-on-one sessions with academic advisors.

Student Step-by-Step Instructions

Student instructions for how to use Degree Works are available here.

Advisor Step-by-Step Instructions

Advisor instructions for how to use Degree Works are available for these items:

Faculty advisors who have been identified as the Official Certifier for a given academic program may additionally benefit from the following instructions:

Official Certifier Information

Information on the faculty who have the ability to apply substitutions, exceptions, and certify that students have met the requirements of their academic program, including major, minor, and/or certificate programs. The full list of Official Certifiers is available here.

Degree Works FAQs

Please note that these documents are evolving as we work with departments. If you have comments, suggestions, or questions on these documents, please email us at registrar@rice.edu.