Leave Policies

Graduate students suffering from a serious medical condition may apply for short-term medical leave from their academic and assistantship responsibilities. See the Short-Term Leave Accommodation webpage for additional information.

Male or female parents with Graduate Assistant status (GA) of a newly born baby or a newly adopted child may apply for a childbirth/adoption accommodation. See the Childbirth & Adoption Accommodation webpage for additional information.

This policy outlines the guidelines for graduate students (excluding those in Ph.D. programs, who should refer to the Continuous Enrollment of Ph.D. Students Policy) seeking a Leave of Absence (LOA) from their academic program:

Time Limitation and Leave of Absence: Taking a Leave of Absence (LOA) will not alter the established time limit for degree completion. Master's level programs must be completed within a maximum of five (5) years, and Doctoral programs (excluding Ph.D.) within a maximum of eight (8) years. Students should consult the Time Limitation policies for further details.

Duration and Number of Leaves of Absence: Within the overall program time limit, there is no restriction on the number of LOAs a student may take or the length of any individual LOA. However, students are responsible for verifying specific leave policies or limitations that may be imposed by their individual graduate program. Program-specific regulations may supersede this general guideline.

Email Account Access: Students who are not registered for the current academic term and do not have an approved Leave of Absence will have their Baylor email account and all associated messages deactivated at the start of the subsequent unregistered term. Students on an approved LOA will maintain continuous access to their Baylor email account.

Responsiveness During Leave of Absence: Graduate programs will monitor the engagement of students on an LOA. If a student on an approved LOA is reported by their program as unresponsive for three (3) consecutive academic terms, they will be removed from the Leave of Absence status. Consequently, the student will lose access to their Baylor email account.

Exclusion: This Leave of Absence policy does not apply to students enrolled in Ph.D. programs. Please refer to the Continuous Enrollment of Ph.D. Students Policy for regulations governing enrollment and time away for Ph.D. students.

Health Insurance

Baylor University requires Health Insurance for degree-seeking domestic graduate students under the purview of the Graduate School enrolled in 3 or more credit hours, including DPT, online graduate students, and/or those enrolled in at least one hour of a full-time equivalency course.

International graduate students are required to maintain insurance coverage through Baylor’s student health insurance plan. International students will be automatically enrolled in SHIP. If an International graduate student would like to add additional coverage (dental, dependents, etc.), they should contact Lisa Bland. Otherwise, the health insurance enrollment process will be automatic for our international students.

Information about the Baylor University Health Insurance Plan can be found via the Graduate School and the Health Center (under the "Insurance" quick link).

Housing

The Graduate Student Housing Community consists of four Baylor owned apartment complexes: Browning Square, PineTree, The Quadrangle, and Speight-Jenkins Apartments. Our single bedroom units at Browning Square, PineTree, and Speight-Jenkins and two bedroom units at The Quadrangle can accommodate singles, families, children, and pets. The Graduate Student Housing Community provides a quiet, adult residence with a living area suitable to the professional and family lives that are unique to graduate students. The community also serves as a place for scholars and families to gather for social, spiritual, and academic pursuits. To this end, we encourage residents to attend events that provide occasions for the community to come together and share in fellowship, friendship, and ideas.

Graduate Student Association

The Graduate Student Association (GSA) is an organization concerned with the intellectual and social growth of graduate students at Baylor University. The GSA sponsors activities and programs that facilitate an exchange of ideas, promotion of scholarly  development, cultivation of social support systems, and dissemination of other information concerning graduate student life. All students currently enrolled for one or more semester hours of graduate course work toward an advanced degree and with a graduate GPA of 3.0 or greater are automatically members of the GSA. Students desiring further information about the GSA should review the website at www.baylor.edu/gsa or contact the Associate Dean for Student Development (254) 710-4487.