Visiting Inter-Institutional Graduate Students

Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) has a reciprocal arrangement with selected regional universities that provides access for full-time graduate students to enroll in graduate-level course work at BCM. Institutions participating in this inter-institutional agreement are:

• Baylor College of Medicine
• Rice University
• Texas A&M University Institute of Biosciences & Technology
• University of Houston main campus
• University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston/MD Anderson Cancer Center
• University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

The agreement with these institutions provides for special admission/enrollment arrangements, procedures for registration, and posting of final grades.

Eligibility and Regulations

To be eligible to utilize this program, a visiting student must meet the following criteria: 

• Enrolled in a graduate degree program
• Receive approval from their home institution (advisor, department and registrar) to participate
• Enrolled full-time (combination of courses at BCM and courses at the home institution)
• International students must also consult with their home institution’s International Student Services Office regarding eligibility and required paperwork  

Additional regulations related to inter-institutional course registration include:

• Visiting students has not exceeded 12 semester credit hours outside their home institution, as part of the inter-institutional agreement
• Requested course(s) must be at the graduate level
• Requested course(s) must not be offered by the home institution during the same term/semester
• Requested course(s) must be at the necessary for the completion of the graduate degree
• Visiting graduate students may not audit courses at BCM

BCM Academic Credits and Academic Calendar

BCM follows a modified version of the quarter system with five academic terms each year.  BCM academic terms last for eight weeks, plus a week of exams.  Since this is half as long as a traditional semester, a term credit hour at BCM translates to 0.5 semester credit hours at a semester-based institution.  (Example:  A BCM graduate course that earns four term credit hours at BCM will transfer back to the host institution as two semester credit hours.)

Visiting graduate students who wish to take course(s) at BCM are expected to meet published registration deadlines and attend all classes, even if they do not line up with academics start and end dates at their home institution.  Academic terms at BCM are numbered 1-5, with Term 1 starting at the beginning of August; Term 3 begins in January.  

BCM Graduate Courses

The BCM class schedule is found in the Graduate School Bulletin. Here are some important notes for viewing the class schedule:

• 4000-level courses are not available for registration via the Inter-Institutional program
• 5000-level courses are pass/fail courses and do not transfer for credit toward a graduate degree (consult with home institution) making them ineligible for this program
• 6000-level courses are didactic classroom courses which are graded A-F and are eligible for this program, with the exception of courses with an ‘R’ notation:
  • In the Graduate School Bulletin, courses that have an “R” in the Notes column in the class schedule grid are restricted courses and not open to visiting students
• Courses with a “P” in the Notes column in the class schedule gride have a pre-requisite course requirement; students without the prerequisite course will not be eligible to take that course
• Email addresses for BCM faculty are found in the staff directory using the search bar at the top of any bcm.edu webpage.  Most email addresses at BCM use the format of: firstname.lastname@bcm.edu

Registration Procedures

In all cases, the student bears the responsibility for completing all necessary paperwork on time, obtaining all required signatures, and delivering documents between the institutions prior to registration deadlines. The Inter-Institutional Course Registration form is provided to student by the home institution; please visit the home institution website for details.  

Step 1: Information on graduate course offerings in the BCM Graduate School can be found in the Graduate School Bulletin.  

Step 2: Complete the Inter-Institutional Graduate Program Registration Form, which is available from the student’s home institution. Full instructions for completing the form are found on page 1 of the form document.   

Step 3: Once all signatures/approvals have been obtained (other than the Host School Registrar/Designee), submit the completed Inter-Institutional Course Registration form to the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at BCM at gsbs-forms@bcm.edu.  

International students should submit a single PDF file that includes their Inter-Institutional Registration form, passport identification page and all applicable immigration documents such as green card, employment authorization document, current I-94 record plus I-797/I-20, DS-2019 and/or sponsor authorization. Questions about documentation can be directed to internationalservicesteam@bcm.edu. 

Step 4: The submitted form will be processed by the academic and financial teams at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. This process takes several business days. The account creation process for a visiting student may also include submission of additional documentation to Baylor College of Medicine, including immunization records or additional international student documents. The visiting student will be contacted if additional requirements are needed. 

Step 5: The student will receive a student login and temporary password to initialize their BCM student guest account. After logging in the first time and setting a permanent password, the visiting student will complete the required online training modules on confidentiality, security, compliance and safety.  Access to the Blackboard learning system will follow in 1-2 business days following the initial student log-in.  

Transcript Information

The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences will work with the BCM Office of the Registrar to have final transcripts mailed (hard copy) to the home institution to report the final grade earned in the course.  This process will not begin until after all final grades have been posted. Find information about requesting additional BCM transcripts.

Fees

Tuition is paid at your home institution; please contact the Bursar's Office at the home institution for additional information.