Academic Electives

Students will use the elective courses to develop a robust engagement with a field beyond the cultures of art and design and will use this experience to inform their practice. Elective courses, also referred to as cognates are courses beyond the candidate’s field of specialization. Candidates must complete cognate coursework in approved graduate-level courses with a grade of B or better. Acceptable academic elective (cognate) courses are typically numbered 500 or above, are offered by units other than the Stamps School of Art & Design, are taught by faculty who do not have primary appointments in the Stamps School, and are approved for graduate credit. To see if a course you are interested in will count, send the Graduate Programs Coordinator an email with the course title and catalog number (i.e. AMCULT 891 Amazing Course). Alternatively, if you would like to look this information up yourself, please visit: http://www.rackham.umich.edu/programs-of-study Links to an external site..

Stamps Graduate Students are required to complete at least 12 credits of non-Stamps graduate level cognates; exceptions apply. Students should review curricular requirements as described in program sections.

Why are some courses counted as approved graduate level credit and others not?

When courses are established, the offering program decides how courses will be attributed. These decisions include (but are not limited to) who can take the course for credit and how many credits the course will count as. The course attributes for classes offered outside of Stamps cannot be overridden by your program director or associate dean. Under extreme conditions, Rackham will consider an appeal and possibly work with another unit to change the course offering at its core level. Let the Graduate Coordinator know if you would like to attempt this approval process.

Helpful resources for finding a non-Stamps academic elective: