Academic Standing

Students may be terminated from a degree program at any time if, in the judgment of the Graduate School or the Medical School, a student fails to make satisfactory progress towards the completion of the degree.

The status of suspension and dismissal are permanently reflected on a student’s academic record. Below are the categories of student standing:

• Good Standing: A student will be considered in good standing if he/she/they is meeting minimal academic standards in terms of course performance and other expectations of their degree program.

• Probation: Students in poor academic standing may be placed on Academic Probation. Once a student is placed on Academic Probation, degree progress must be made within a specific time period as detailed in the student’s remediation plan. If performance continues to be unsatisfactory, students will be dismissed from the program.

• Suspension: Academic suspension may occur when the School withdraws the student for failing to maintain satisfactory academic progress or to meet standard educational requirements of the degree program. Students who are suspended from the School are required to spend a defined period of time away from the School. During this period, the student may be required to successfully complete activities defined by the Schools’ Dean, Promotions Committees (Medical School) or Committee for Academic Review (Graduate School), or Program Director, if they are to be considered for readmission to ISMMS. Students on suspension are not considered enrolled and are not eligible to register for additional courses or engage in further research.

Suspension and Dismissal

The Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences can administratively suspend a student pending committee review or may administratively dismiss a student. Suspensions will generally be imposed for students who exhibit the following: failure to meet academic milestones, positive toxicology result, disruptive behavior, illegal behavior, egregious misconduct, or failure to meet administrative responsibilities (including financial obligations). Dismissal at the discretion of the Dean of the Graduate School may result when a student is convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, exhibits a serious breach of academic or professional conduct (including cheating) or following suspension. Any student who fails to comply with a directive to undergo an administrative evaluation or fails to fulfill the requirements that stems from this evaluation will be dismissed from the Graduate School.

Dual Degree Adjudication

Students in dual-degree programs are enrolled in a single integrated academic program throughout their different phases of training.

When a student is being reviewed due to concerns relating to academics or professionalism during one degree phase of a dual-degree program (e.g., MD-PhD, MD-MSCR, MD-MPH), the Faculty Director of the dual-degree program, the Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs in the Medical School and the Senior Associate Dean for Student and Postdoctoral Affairs in the Graduate School must all be notified. These individuals, or their designees, may be invited to participate in the review process conducted by the Promotions Committee (PC) in the Medical School or the Graduate School’s Committee for Academic Review (CAR), as applicable.

If disciplinary action is taken during one phase of their dual-degree program, the decision of the adjudicating committee (e.g., CAR, PC) will be communicated to the corresponding committee in the other program to determine whether additional action is warranted. Each school may implement additional program-specific actions based on the established findings without repeating the investigation. If either committee recommends dismissal from its respective program, the student will be dismissed from the dual-degree program and will no longer be enrolled as a student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.