Graduating Early

Graduating early is known as acceleration. If you have enough credit to graduate and to complete your major, you may petition the Academic Board, with the agreement of your adviser and major department chair, to accelerate the degree process to allow you to graduate early by one or two semesters. For further eligibility requirements, please read below. 

Eligibility

Normally, to accelerate you must:

  • have a cumulative average of at least a B (3.0)
  • have been in residence at Smith College for four semesters, including two of your final four semesters
  • submit your acceleration form at least two semesters ahead of time if you are planning to study abroad
  • talk with your class dean before filling out the form

Maximum Transfer Credits

To graduate early, you may apply up to 64 transfer credits towards the Smith degree, with no more than 32 credits of the following combination:
  • Interterm (up to 12 credits at Smith or elsewhere)
  • Summer transfer courses (up to 12 credits, including pre-matriculation credits)
Up to 16 credits of the below options, combined:
  • Advanced Placement, A-Level, International Baccalaureate
  • Pre-matriculation courses (college courses taken while in high school)

See Transfer Credit for limits on different kinds of credit.


 

Apply for Acceleration

The application for acceleration form is located on Google Sheets, as a view-only document. In order to fill the form out, please create a duplicate copy of the form and follow the steps outlined on the first tab of the document. The first tab is formatted as a checklist, providing you with the ability to check off each step as you fill out your form. When the form is completed, please download the entire acceleration document as a pdf (or print it) by following step number 4 on the checklist. Please note that if you have two majors, you must submit a form for each major and obtain the necessary signatures for each major. 

You must submit the completed and signed form(s) as a petition to the Academic Board.

Financial Aid

Your financial aid award will not be adjusted if you graduate early. Smith does not offer financial aid to help cover the expense of summer school.