Graduate Academic Standards

The Office of Admissions of Dallas Baptist University exists to recruit, admit, and guide qualified individuals through the Graduate Programs. By providing services and support to prospects, students, corporations, and faculty and staff, we seek to fulfill our mission of integrating Christian faith and learning in order to produce servant leaders.

The University has established certain policies as the context through which the academic endeavor will be completed. These policies seek to aid students in their progress toward an academic experience that is both effective and efficient. Students should seek full understanding of, and are responsible for, adherence to the policies outlined in the catalog. It is the student's responsibility to inform himself/herself of degree requirements.

Degree Requirements

A minimum of 30 credit hours is required for a master's degree and a minimum of 60 hours is required for a doctoral degree. Degree requirements existing at the time of initial admission will remain in effect for a student only if the student is enrolled during at least one of the terms during the academic year and each successive academic year. Students who have not enrolled for courses during at least two calendar years must file a petition for readmission with the Office of Admissions and must fulfill all degree requirements in effect at the time of readmission. Students in the Ed.D. program must file petitions for readmission with the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership program office. Ph.D. in Leadership Studies and Ed.D. cohort students must maintain continuous enrollment in the summer, fall, and spring semesters each year or must file a petition for readmission with the Ph.D. in Leadership Studies or Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, or Ed.D. in Educational Leadership K-12 programs.

Completing Multiple Master's Degrees through DBU

Students desiring to qualify for more than one master’s degree through DBU (either concurrently or consecutively) must complete all requirements for the individual degrees as stated in the catalog, including fulfillment of a separate residency requirement for each degree. Residency requirements must be completed at DBU and may not be shared between individual degrees. Additionally, in all cases, two master’s degrees completed at DBU must total a minimum of 60 hours, with each successive master’s degree requiring an additional 30 hours (e.g., three master’s degrees must total at least 90 hours). The student is required to complete and submit to the Registrar a declaration form with approval from the appropriate Dean(s) and Program Director(s) stating the intention to pursue more than one degree. Note: International students are not allowed to pursue two degrees concurrently.