99 Hour Rule

In accordance with Texas Education Code, Section 54.066, the university will incur a penalty once a doctoral student accumulates 100 or more doctoral semester credit hours.  In response, the Texas State University System has a new tuition structure (excessive hours fee) in which a doctoral student will be charged tuition at a rate equivalent to nonresident tuition for all doctoral semester credit hours exceeding 99.  Courses taken by a doctoral student at the master’s or undergraduate level will not count towards the 99 hours.  If the student is admitted to a doctoral program from the bachelor’s degree, the count begins after 30 hours of graduate coursework.  This tuition structure applies to Texas residents as well as out-of-state residents and international students who were eligible to be charged tuition at the resident rate as a result of scholarship and fellowship awards or employment as Graduate Assistants.  Students should contact the Ph.D. Program Director regarding this appeal process.