Students who register with the expressed intention of following a program leading to a graduate degree, a certificate, or licensure are classified as matriculated.  Students who desire to enroll in a course or courses without regard to degree, certificate, or licensure requirements are classified as non‑matriculated.

Matriculating students in non-degree programs (i.e. certification or licensure) usually are subject to the same procedures required of degree-seeking students.  Not all courses are open to them.  Students should contact the department in which they plan to take courses and, in the case of new or readmitted students, obtain permission from the Dean of The Graduate School as well.  Students may retain this classification so long as their work meets the standards required by The Graduate School, but a subsequent transfer of credit to a degree program is limited to that earned in two courses.

Transient students may be admitted under the same restrictions as non‑degree seeking students upon submission of satisfactory evidence of good-standing status in an accredited graduate school.