Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar

Ilker Baybars, Dean of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
John G. Robertson, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs
http://www.qatar.cmu.edu/

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar is Carnegie Mellon's first undergraduate branch campus. The campus opened in 2004 as part of a collaborative effort with the Qatar Foundation to bring outstanding American education programs to the Middle East. The University shares their commitment to maintain the same quality of instruction and standard of student performance demanded on the main campus.

The campus offers four academic programs: Biological Sciences, Business Administration, Computer Science, and Information Systems. To learn more about them, see their respective main campus college sections in the Undergraduate Catalog. The purpose of this section is to describe the policies of the Qatar campus that are independent from those of the Pittsburgh campus and outline procedures that are common to students in all programs in Qatar.

Degree Offerings

Carnegie Mellon in Qatar offers four undergraduate degrees:

Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences *
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
Bachelor of Science in Computational Biology *
Bachelor of Science in Information Systems

* Starting in Fall 2011

Policy Statement

Carnegie Mellon in Qatar complies with common University policies unless otherwise noted. The curriculum requirements for the Biological Sciences, Business Administration, Computer Science, and Information Systems majors are identical to those of the Mellon College of Science, Tepper School of Business, the School of Computer Science and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Academic Standards and Actions

The same academic standards and actions apply to all programs in Qatar as at the main campus.

Academic Actions

Students carrying either a full-time course load (defined as 36 or more units) or a part-time course load (defined as fewer than 36 units) are subject to academic actions.

Dean's List

Students earn Dean's List recognition in a given semester by achieving one of two minimum standards. They must either earn a semester QPA of 3.75 or higher (while taking at least 36 factorable units and receiving no incompletes) or earn a semester QPA of 3.50 or higher (while taking at least 45 factorable units and receiving no incompletes).

Other Actions

Students are subject to academic actions if they fail to make minimal progress toward their degree. Minimal progress is achieving a semester QPA of at least 2.00. Students who begin a semester enrolled in 36 or more factorable units and later drop below 36 units are subject to academic actions regardless of their semester QPA.

The criteria for first-year students are different — they are not subject to academic actions unless their semester QPA is below 1.75.

Probation

Probation occurs when a student's semester record ails to meet the minimal standards listed above. Students remove themselves from probation if they complete at least 36 factorable units and raise their cumulative QP above 2.00 (minus the first year if that is higher). The school may continue a student's probation if the student's cumulative record does not meet minimum standards but his or her semester record suggests that the student may do so by the end of the next semester.

Suspension

If a student fails to meet the minimal standards stated above at the end of the probation semester, the school will suspend them. Suspension is for a minimum of one year and the student is required to follow University procedures for departing from campus. At the end of the year, the student may petition to return to Carnegie Mellon by completing the following steps: Ask the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs in writing for permission to resume their studies. Submit a completed Return from Leave of Absence Form to the registrar. Provide transcripts for any courses taken at other colleges or universities during the suspension even though academic credits earned during a suspension do not transfer back to Carnegie Mellon.

To get approval to resume their studies the student must demonstrate that they are better prepared to perform above the minimum standards for graduation than before they were suspended. Students return from suspension on probation.

Drop

A student that fails to meet minimum standards at any point after returning from a suspension is subject to a drop action. A drop action is a permanent severance; the student is required to follow University procedures for departing from campus and may not enroll again in the future. The typical progression of academic actions is Probation, Suspension, then Drop but the intent of the academic actions are to take measures that are in the student's best interest and therefore the school may bypass one or more of these steps in an unusual case.

Other Regulations Affecting Student Status

Prerequisites and Waitlists

All students registered for a class will have matched the course reservations and completed any course prerequisites for that class. A student that is unable to register and has questions about reservations or prerequisites should see Sheila Rian in office C1174.

Any student on the waitlist for a class that has questions about their ability to eventually enter the class should see Sheila Rian in office C1174. She will determine why they are not on the roster and if she can add them to the class. Students come off wait lists based on the order they went on and any course priority. The course instructor does not determine who comes off the waitlist.

Priority order for coming off of the waitlist is as follows:

Students for whom the course is required in their major who would be taking it on time or late.
Students approved for an additional major that requires the course
Students approved for a minor that requires the course
Place order on waitlist

Adding a Class

Students may add classes to their schedule under the following rules:

Students may only add a full semester course through the first 10 class days of the semester.
They may only add half semester mini courses through the first 5 class days of the course.

Withdrawing from Courses

The Qatar campus follows the Carnegie Mellon policies on withdrawing from courses:

Students who wish to withdraw from a course without receiving a “W” grade must do so before the published Qatar Campus deadline. After that date, students may withdraw from a course up to the last day of classes and receive a “W” as a grade for it. After the last day of classes student may not withdraw from a class.
A student carrying a full-time course load (defined as at least 36 factorable units) may not drop below 36 units after the 10th regularly scheduled day of classes.

Course Repeats

When a course is repeated, all grades will be recorded on the official academic transcript and will be calculated in the student’s QPA. This is the case regardless if the first grade for the course is a passing or failing grade, including Pass/Fail.

Undergraduate students who wish to repeat a course already passed must obtain approval from the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs. When a student takes a course s/he has already passed, only one set of units will count towards graduation requirements.

Double-Counting Courses

“Double-counting” refers to instances when a course taken to fulfill one requirement counts simultaneously toward a requirement in another major or minor program. An additional major must be based on at least nine independent courses, excluding prerequisites, and a minor based on at least five independent courses (“independent courses” are courses not counted toward core requirements for a major or other minor).

Course Overloads

A Qatar Campus student must have attained a QPA of at least 3.00 in the previous semester to carry an overload (defined as more than 51 units) of up to 62 units. If a student carrying an overload is in severe academic difficulty during the semester, the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs may withdraw the student from the overload course.

Independent Studies

Students may not register an independent study for courses that are normally available at Carnegie Mellon. Exceptions may be approved by the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs if courses are unavailable or legitimate schedule conflicts seriously hinder completion of degree requirements within four years of matriculation.

Non-Carnegie Mellon Courses

Carnegie Mellon University offers students the opportunity to take courses for credit through a cross-registration program and through the receipt of transfer credit from other accredited institutions. The Carnegie Mellon transcript will include information on such courses as follows:

Carnegie Mellon courses and courses taken through the university’s cross-registration program will have grades recorded on the transcript and be factored into the QPA. All other courses will be recorded on this transcript indicating where the course was taken, but without a grade. Such courses will not be taken into account for academic actions, honors or QPA calculations. (Note: Suspended students may take courses elsewhere; however, they may not receive transfer credit.)

Definitions

A Carnegie Mellon course is one conducted under Carnegie Mellon regulations regarding course content and grading and taught by faculty under the supervision of a Carnegie Mellon academic unit. Courses taught by Carnegie Mellon faculty on the Carnegie Mellon campus qualify. Courses that are part of the regular offerings of other universities do not qualify, unless faculty at the other universities receive appointments at Carnegie Mellon and handle Carnegie Mellon students under Carnegie Mellon academic regulations.
Courses offered for cross-registration are those taken through an agreement with Texas A&M University at Qatar; Georgetown School of Foreign Service in Qatar; Northwestern University in Qatar; Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar; and Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar that full-time students at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar can take up to one class a semester at their schools. Cross-registration requires the completion of a cross-registration form with the appropriate signatures from the home and host institutions. Completion of the form does not guarantee a space in the requested course. The agreement only applies during the regular academic year, normal course transfer rules apply in the summer.

Students may receive credit for courses taken outside of Carnegie Mellon if they successfully petition the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs in advance for permission. Students must take these courses for a letter grade and instruction must be in English for non-language courses. Credit (but not the grade) will transfer for courses with a grade equivalent to at least a “C” at some institution and at least a “B” at others as determined by the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs. It is difficult to get transfer credit approval for Business Administration, Computer Science, Economics, Information Systems, and Mathematics/Statistics core classes. The class's course description must be a close match to the Carnegie Mellon course and from an acceptable four-year institution. Students may take breadth and elective courses at a broader range of schools including two and three year institutions as long as the course is equivalent to a similar offering at Carnegie Mellon. Students may not receive credit for any courses taken on-line.

Students may not receive credit for more than five non-CMU courses during their undergraduate career as a Carnegie Mellon student. Classes taken prior to enrolling in Carnegie Mellon, during study abroad semesters, and as cross registration with other education City schools do not count toward the credit transfer limit. All students must meet the University's residency requirement of completing at least 180 units of Carnegie Mellon coursework.

Transferring

Between majors in Qatar

Students may transfer between majors on the Qatar campus on a space available and academic performance basis. Students interested in transferring should consult with the Assistant dean for Academic Affairs. First year students may not apply for transfer until they receive their spring mid-semester grades.

In Same Major between Qatar and Pittsburgh campuses

Qatar Campus and Pittsburgh campus students wishing to transfer between campuses but within their majors should consult with their home Academic Dean. Students are not eligible to apply for transfer between campuses until they meet the following conditions. CS students must have completed 15-211 , BA students 21-256 , and IS students 15-121 . Success of the application depends on the student's academic performance and the space available in the major on the campus they wish to join. Transfers between campuses are subject to the approval of the Academic Dean for the program on the campus that the student is seeking to join.

Transferring to Pittsburgh in majors not offered in Qatar

Students seeking to transfer to the main campus into a different major do so through those departments.

Transfers to Qatar from other Universities

Transfer students from other universities must apply through the Carnegie Mellon in Qatar Admission office. If the admission office finds the applicant admissible, they forward the application to the Assistant dean for Academic Affairs who then determines if there is space available in the program and if the student's past academic performance warrants admission.

Campus Exchange

Qatar campus and Pittsburgh campus students may study on the opposite campus for one semester on a space available basis and with the approval of both the home and host departments. Given the capacity limitation on both campuses, exchange between campuses is limited to an excess of two per cohort in any major beyond a balanced exchange. As an example, if two sophomore BA students travel from Doha to Pittsburgh in a fall semester then four sophomore BA students may travel from Pittsburgh to study in Doha that semester. Students from any major are welcome to study for a semester in Qatar but if space limitations apply, students from majors offered in Qatar have priority.

The number of students studying in Pittsburgh and Doha do not have to balance in the summer but space limitations and dual approvals still apply.

University Honors

Students maintaining a 3.5 QPA after seven semesters of full time enrollment or raising their QPA to 3.5 upon completing their graduation requirements graduate with university Honors.

Search