Carmen C. Sceppa, MD, PhD, FGSA, Dean
Jennifer Kirwin, PharmD, BCPS, FNAP, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
Clinical Professor—Department of Pharmacy and Health Systems Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Office of the Dean
215 Behrakis Health Sciences Center
617.373.3323
Bouve_College_of_Health_Sciences@northeastern.edu
Office of Student Services
120 Behrakis Health Sciences Center
617.373.3320
The Bouvé College of Health Sciences strongly supports the mission of Northeastern University as a practice-oriented, student-centered, experiential research institution. The college is committed to the goals of the university, which include excellence in education, research, scholarship, clinical practice, experiential learning, access to educational opportunities, and a strong professional orientation.
Bouvé offers students an education in health, health profession fields, and public health that features a curriculum of highly relevant, closely integrated, basic and applied courses in the physical, biological, behavioral, social, environmental, and health systems sciences. Students engage in interprofessional patient care, interdisciplinary translational research, and experiential learning opportunities through service-learning, research, and global experiences.
Bouvé leverages interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration to tackle the world’s most pressing health challenges. The college seeks to prepare students to become clinicians, researchers, and leaders in healthcare and in the promotion of health of individuals and populations.
Students are provided a broad range of services and programs to ensure their academic success and professional development. Faculty are deeply committed to student success, as students interact with world-class healthcare and educational institutions nationally and globally, to advance health for all.
- Academic Policies and Procedures
- Program Status and Progression
- Annual Review for PhD Students
- Conditional Acceptance
- Admission as a Special Student
- Program Extension Procedures
- Leave of Absence and University Withdrawal
- Course Substitution
- Transfer Credit
- Academic Standing
- Academic Probation Policy
- Academic Dismissal
- Collegewide Academic Appeals Process
- Graduation Policies
- Current Student Resources
Academic Policies and Procedures
The university has published Regulations and Requirements for all graduate programs here.
All degree requirements must be completed within seven years of matriculation, although individual academic programs may require completion in a shorter time frame. Each student is responsible for reviewing the requirements for their particular program. A student’s failure or inability to register does not extend the amount of time allowed to complete the program. Students should be registered by the first week of each semester (fall, spring, and, where indicated, summer). Course credits earned in programs of graduate study are valid for a maximum of seven years. A student may request an extension of these time frames from the program director and the Bouvé associate dean for academic affairs.
In order to progress in clinical courses that are sequenced, a student must receive a passing grade in all prior courses in the sequence. In the event that a student fails a clinical course that is not part of a sequence, progression is at the discretion of the student’s academic advisor and/or the program director. When a student fails a clinical course that is part of a sequence of courses, the course instructor must notify the Bouvé Office of Student Services. Course material related to the student’s failure (e.g., examination reports, clinical reports) must be made available to the student for review.
Annual Review for PhD Students
The academic progress of each PhD student will be evaluated through an annual review. A copy of each review shall be submitted to the student and the graduate office. If the annual review reports that a student is not making sufficient academic progress, the PhD student will be placed on academic probation. After two consecutive semesters on academic probation, the student may be dismissed from the program. See additional requirements that apply to PhD programs here.
Conditional Acceptance
A student who is accepted conditionally to a graduate program at Bouvé College of Health Sciences must meet the conditions set in the acceptance letter before matriculating into the program. Examples of conditions include receipt of official verification of previous degree completion, completion of missing prerequisite courses, receipt of a missing recommendation, receipt of standardized test scores, and translation of international documents. Students who fail to meet the conditions of their acceptance may be subject to program dismissal.
Admission as a Special Student
Special students are enrolled on a part-time basis (for no more than 6 semester hours per semester) and may accumulate a maximum of 12 semester hours over time. Students interested in taking more than 12 semester hours must make a formal application to a degree program through Northeastern's online application portal. Special students who do not register for four consecutive semesters (excluding summer semesters) will be subject to review and possible withdrawal by the Bouve College of Health Sciences Office of Student Services. Please note, some courses require approval before registration.
Program Extension Procedures
Students may seek an extension to complete their program of study only under documented extenuating circumstances. To request an extension, the student must submit the Graduate Program Status Change form along with an action plan to complete the degree requirements to the program director with a copy to the Bouvé Office of Student Services for approval.
Leave of Absence and University Withdrawal
Refer to Leaves of Absence and University Withdrawal in this catalog for more information and policies on leaves of absence and university withdrawals. Individual programs may have additional procedures related to leaves of absence. Consult the program's overview and requirements page in this catalog in addition to the information above. Faculty members are not responsible for notifying the university of a student's withdrawal. For information concerning refund policies, please refer to the Student Financial Services refund page here.
A student must obtain approval from their program director to substitute a course. The student must provide official transcripts of completed coursework, accompanied by the respective course syllabi, to their program director. Substitutions will only be made for courses of equivalent credit hours. Once informally approved, the program director must submit a Course Substitution form for processing.
For general regulations concerning transfer credit in Northeastern's graduate degree programs, please visit Regulations and Requirements for All Graduate Degree Programs.
Students who wish to take a course for transfer at another institution while enrolled at Bouvé should first receive preapproval from their academic advisor and the Bouvé Office of Student Services. Transfer credits from other institutions (or other programs within the university) will only be accepted at the discretion of the student’s program. The Graduate Petition to Transfer Credit form can be found at the Office of the University Registrar.
A Bouvé student may not complete coursework at another institution during their last term intending to transfer that credit back to Northeastern to complete the program.
Academic Standing
Academic standing in Bouvé is determined by the student's cumulative grade-point average and performance in required academic and clinical courses. All Bouvé students are expected to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.000 each semester to remain in good academic standing and to progress toward graduation. Students who do not maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.000 each semester will be placed on academic probation—see below.
Each program has its own minimum grade requirements. Please review the program’s requirements page in this catalog for details.
Students must submit a petition to their program's academic standing committee, graduate committee, or program director (as applicable) to request:
- A leave of absence.
- A transfer or waiver of credits or preapproval for the course to be taken for transfer (see Graduate Petition to Transfer Credit).
- Directed study (see Individual Instruction Registration).
- A waiver of policy (see department-specific appeal form).
- A change in program, program status (e.g., full-time to part-time or vice versa), adding or removing concentration, program extension, or change of graduation date. Students should discuss with the program director and the program director will submit a Graduate Program Status Change form.
- A different course of action regarding their academic standing, progression, probation, or dismissal (see department-specific appeal form).
The petition must include all relevant information. Students may be required to provide extra documentation, such as official transcripts and/or course descriptions. A copy of this action is filed in the student's permanent record in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences Office of Student Services.
Academic Probation Policy
Academic probation is a period of time when a student must address and remediate academic deficiencies.
A Bouvé graduate student may repeat a course only once to achieve a passing grade and may repeat only two courses during the entire program of study. A student may be on probation for only two semesters, or until the course is offered again, unless the advisor approves an action plan that specifies a longer (but definite) period. A student may only be placed on probation twice during enrollment in Bouvé and must correct all deficiencies, as specified, in each respective action plan during the applicable probationary period. Failure to remediate the deficiency within the agreed time may result in dismissal from the program. During the period of probation, the student must earn a GPA of 3.000 or better each semester, or the student is subject to dismissal from Bouvé. Note that individual graduate programs may have additional requirements that must be included in the probation action plan.
A student will be removed from academic probation after having attained a cumulative GPA of 3.000, earned a passing grade in a repeated course, and/or demonstrated satisfactory performance in a clinical course.
Please refer to the collegewide academic probation procedure linked here .
Academic Dismissal
A student may be dismissed from a graduate program when they have failed to maintain academic requirements or have violated a policy that specifies immediate dismissal. All students shall have an opportunity to correct academic deficiencies during an appropriate probationary period before dismissal is instituted, except when the policy specifies "immediate dismissal."
Students may be subject to dismissal from a program under the following conditions. (Note: Additional requirements that are not included in this list, but are specific to the student’s major, may also apply.)
- The student exhibits unethical behavior or misconduct in their academic program, practicum, internship, or research.
- The faculty instructor and/or the clinical supervisor determines that the student has demonstrated unsafe or inappropriate behavior in a clinical setting.
- The student does not register for at least one class for two consecutive semesters and does not have an approved leave of absence.
- The student has a cumulative GPA below 3.000 at the end of the probationary period specified by the action plan.
- The student does not demonstrate satisfactory performance in achieving the objectives of a clinical course.
- The student fails to meet all the requirements of the program within the specified time limit mandated by the program and has not been approved for a formal extension.
- The student in a PhD program fails to successfully complete the PhD qualifying/comprehensive exams successfully as stipulated by the program.
- The student fails to progress satisfactorily in research or fails to identify a committee for their thesis or dissertation within the time specified by the policies of the specific program.
- The student has failed to file an action plan within one month of notification of probation.
- The student has failed to meet the requirements of the action plan including any requirements specific to the student’s major.
- The student has failed three courses or has failed the same course twice.
- The student has failed to make progress toward degree completion.
Dismissal Procedures
Dismissal of a student from a program is initiated by the program director once the basis for the dismissal is provided to and reviewed by the Bouvé Office of Student Services. The program director will then notify the student of the dismissal. When a student is dismissed from the university, they are not permitted to remain registered for courses in the immediate next academic term. If the university dismissal is successfully appealed, a student may register for classes in the following academic term.
Collegewide Academic Appeals Process
Please refer to the collegewide appeals process linked here.
Programs that include Completion of a Thesis
Students completing a thesis as part of the program’s academic requirements are required to complete the following at least five business days before the final grade submission deadline for the academic term:
- Upon successful defense of the thesis, the student must have the Thesis Approval form signed by the members of the thesis committee and approved by a representative from the Bouvé Office of Student Services.
- Students must submit an electronic copy of the thesis to ProQuest, following the directions outlined on the University Library website.
Completion of PhD Programs
The PhD hooding and degree conferral ceremony is only held during the spring semester. A PhD student may not participate in the ceremony until they have successfully defended their dissertation and completed all academic requirements.
Students completing a dissertation must complete the following at least five business days before the final grade submission deadline for the academic term:
- Upon a successful defense of the dissertation, the student must have the Dissertation Approval form signed by the dissertation committee members.
- The student must submit an electronic copy of the dissertation to ProQuest, following the directions outlined in the University Library website.
- The student must complete the PhD Exit form, at which time the Dissertation Approval form will be approved.