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Academic Information

Academic Year
The Academic Year is divided into two semesters of at least 16 weeks each, exclusive of registration and final examination periods. A midyear term of 6 weeks follows the second semester.
The first semester starts in August of each year; the second semester in January, and the midyear term in June.
In general,  MS CaRE graduate courses are numbered from 201 to 299, and the master’s thesis is 300. Course numbers generally indicate the academic level at which a course is offered and the disciplinal cluster (e.g., CRE 26x courses belong to the ecology cluster).  They also help distinguish undergraduate coursework from courses intended for graduate-level study.
The unit of credit is the semester hour. Most MS CaRE courses meet 2 lecture hours and 1.5 laboratory hours a week. A few courses that are purely lectures meet 3 hours a week; these classes carry 48 hours of instruction and 3 units of credit. Each unit of credit is at least 16 semester-hours of instruction in the form of lecture, discussion, seminar, tutorial, or recitation or in any combination of these forms.
On the graduate level, full-time students are allowed the normal load of 9-12 units or a maximum load of 14 units.  During the midyear session, the normal load is six (6) units.  Unless the Dean approves a heavier load in advance, a graduate student who is employed full-time may take no more than 10 units in any semester, whether in formal courses or thesis work.
The UP Language Policy provides for the development and use of the Filipino language while maintaining English as a global lingua franca. Graduate courses of study shall be in English, though there may be graduate courses of study in which the medium of instruction is Filipino.  English shall be maintained as the primary international language in the University to serve as its chief medium of access to the world’s intellectual discourse.
Graduate students are designated as regular and non-regular. Regular graduate students are prospective candidates for the master’s or doctoral degree. They may be either part-time or full-time students. Non-regular students are:
  1. non-degree students, with credits;
  2. non-majors, with credits;
  3. cross-registrants, with credits; or
  4. special students, without credit
At the end of each semester, every graduate student must maintain the required academic standing. Based on their academic performance, students may be placed under Warning, Probation, Dismissal, or Permanently Dismissed status.  Graduate students placed under Dismissal or Permanently Dismissed status are considered to have severed their ties with the University and consequently, cannot enroll in the semester in which such status takes effect.  However, students may apply for readmission, subject to applicable University rules and requirements.
Every substitution of courses must be based on at least one of the following:
  1. When a student’s curriculum has been superseded by a new one and the substitution tends to bring the old curriculum in line with the new;
  2. When a graduate course is accepted as a transfer of credit from another program or university  (see Section 6.9)
  3. When the required MS CaRE course is not offered and the student cross-enrols in another UP graduate program 
  4. When the program adviser recommends or endorses the substitution for valid reasons (e.g., to better equip the student in the conduct of his/her intended thesis research), with the consent of the Department Chair and the Dean of the College.
  Every substitution
  1. Must involve courses within the same department; if not, the two subjects concerned must be allied to each other;
  2. Must be between courses in which the substituted course carries a number of units equal to or greater than the units of the required subject;
  3. Must accompany a completely filled out substitution form and endorsed/approved by the adviser, department chair and the Dean of the college..
  All applications for substitution must be submitted to the Office of the Dean of the college offering the student’s programconcerned before 12% of the regular class meetings have been held.  No substitution shall be allowed for any subject prescribed in the curriculum in which the student has failed or received a grade of “5,” except when, in the opinion of the department offering the prescribed subject, the proposed substitution covers substantially the same subject matter as the required subject.

6.9.1. Transfer of Credits from Another University

Subject to the recommendation of the appropriate bodies and the approval of the Dean, graduate courses taken by a student in another university may be credited towards their Master’s program provided that:
  1. These courses were taken within five (5) years prior to the admission;
  2. These were validated through the appropriate means by the College/Unit concerned (shall not apply if from an institution with which the University of the Philippines has a special academic arrangement and if these courses are included in the student’s approved Program of Study); and
  3. The total number of credits transferred shall not exceed three-eights (⅜) of the total number of units in the student’s Master’s course requirements.

6.9.2. Transfer of Credits from Another Program

Subject to the recommendation of the appropriate bodies and the approval of the Dean, graduate courses taken by a student in another program of the University of the Philippines may be credited towards their Master’s program provided that:
  1. These courses were taken during the last five (5) years prior to the student’s admission or transfer to the Master’s Program;
  2. These units have not been credited to a degree previously obtained by the student; and
  3. These courses are relevant to their new program.

6.9.3. Processing of Transfer of Credits

Transfer of credits shall be done within the first semester of the student’s admission into the program. The course/s credited shall be specified in the student’s record by the Graduate Office/Committee or the College/Unit concerned. A copy of the approval shall be sent to the Office of the University Registrar, through channels.

6.10.1. Grading Scheme

The work of students shall be graded at the end of each semester/midyear term in accordance with the following system: Grading System A grade of “4” means conditional failure. It may be made up for by successful repetition of the course, or by passing a re-examination. Students are given a grade of “3” if they pass the re-examination, “5” if they fail. Only one re-examination which must be taken within the prescribed time is allowed. If a student does not remove the grade of “4” within the prescribed time of one academic year, it is automatically replaced with a grade of “5”. A grade of “4” given for the first semester work of a two-semester course shall be converted to a grade of “3” if the student passes the second semester part of the same course in the same academic year; if he/she fails, the grade of “4” which he/she received for the first semester work shall be converted to a grade of “5”.   The grade of “INC” is given if a student whose class standing throughout the semester is “Passing,” but fails to take the final examination or fails to complete other requirements for the course due to illness or other valid reasons.  In case the class standing is not passing and the student fails to take the final examination for any reason, a grade of “5” is given.  Removal of the “INC” must be done within the prescribed time of one academic year by passing an examination or meeting all the requirements for the course, after which the student shall be given a final grade based on his/her overall performance.  

6.10.2 Clearing of Grades of “Incomplete” or “4”

Examinations for the completion or removal of grades of “Incomplete (INC)” or “4” may be taken without fee: (1) during the regular examination period, if the subject is included in the schedule of examinations, and (2) during the removal examination period, viz., the period covering ten days preceding the registration in each semester during which case, the examination is taken at the time it is scheduled.   Clearing examinations may be taken at other times on the recommendation of the Dean and upon payment of the clearing fee. Students not in residence shall pay the registration fee besides the examination fee in order to be entitled to take the removal/completion examination.   There shall be a regular period for clearing grades of “4” and “INC” before the start of each semester.  Such a grade may no longer be improved after the end of the third regular removal period immediately following the semester/term in which the grade was incurred.  A grade of “4” received after clearing a grade of “INC,” however, must be removed within the remaining portion of the prescribed period for the clearing of the original grade of “INC.”   NOTE:
  1. No removal/completion examination should be given without a duly approved permit to take such examination (NO PERMIT, NO EXAM). The Office of the University Registrar will not accept any removal/completion grade without the accompanying approved permit for examination.
  2. The removal or completion grades and the date of the examination must be hand-written on the report of grades by the instructor.
  3. Removal/completion grades shall be submitted one week after the examination is given.
 

6.10.3. Change of Grades

A student who has received a passing grade in a given course is not allowed a reexamination for the purpose of improving his/her grade.   No faculty member shall change any grade after the report has been filed with the Secretary of the college or with the University Registrar. In exceptional cases, as where an error has been committed, the instructor may request authority from the faculty of his/her college to make the necessary change. If the request is granted, a copy of the resolution of the faculty authorizing the change shall be forwarded to the Office of the University Registrar for recording and filing.   Notwithstanding the foregoing provision and to avoid any injustice, the grade on a final examination paper may be revised by a committee of the Dean of the college if it should clearly appear, on the basis of the quality of the scholastic record of the student, that such grade is the result of an erroneous appreciation of the answers or of an arbitrary or careless decision by the faculty member concerned. Should the change of the grade on said paper affect the final grade of the student, the committee may request authority from the faculty of the college to make the necessary change in the final grade. The request for reconsideration shall be made within 30 days after the receipt of the final grade by the student concerned.   No student of the University shall directly or indirectly ask any person to recommend him/her to his/her professor/s for any grade in his/her class record, examination paper, or final report of grades. Any student violating this rule shall lose credit in the subject/s regarding which such recommendation is made. The fact that a student is thus recommended shall be prima facie evidence that the recommendation is made at the request of the student concerned.
Attendance at general commencement exercises shall be optional. Graduating students who choose not to participate in the general commencement exercises must inform their respective deans or their duly designated representatives (or the OUR) at least ten days before the commencement exercises. Graduating students who absent themselves from the general commencement exercises shall obtain their diplomas, or certificates, and transcripts of records from the Office of the University Registrar provided that they comply with the above provision and upon presentation of the receipt of payment of the graduation fee and student’s clearance.   Academic Costumes Candidates for graduation with degrees or titles shall be required to wear academic costumes during the baccalaureate service and commencement exercises in accordance with the rules and regulations of the University.
Student records are confidential and information is released only at the request of the student or of appropriate institutions. “Partial” transcripts are not issued. Official transcripts of records obtained from other institutions and which have been submitted to the University for admission and/or transfer of credit become a part of the student’s permanent record and are issued as true copies with the UP transcript. Application for transcript of records should be accompanied by a student clearance.  Clearance should be applied for immediately after the last semester//term of enrollment.