Frequently Asked Questions for NEW and current students
You're expected to have questions – and we like questions here so ask away. To make it easier for you, we have created this FAQ section for our current undergraduate and graduate students. Feel free to browse through them, and if you don't find the answer to your question, contact us. If you are a prospective undergraduate student, please refer to the FAQ section for prospective undergraduates. If you are a prospective graduate student, please refer to the FAQ section for prospective graduates.
Undergraduate
- Can I take a graduate course while I am an undergraduate student?
- How do current or former BU students apply for graduate school?
- How do I find information on student housing?
- How do I pay 1st semester fees?
- What are the add/drop deadlines?
- When do I use the yellow "Independent Study Registration" form?
- Where can I find information about Curricular Practical Training for F-1 Students(CPT)?
- What should an Accelerated student do to apply for Graduate School?
- I am a BU student. Do I need to submit GRE & TOEFL scores?
- I received a notice that a fee has been added to my account. What is the fee for?
Graduate
- How do I identify my faculty advisor?
- How do I apply for an assistantship, scholarship or internship?
- Where can I look for funding as as MS or PhD student?
- How do I find the courses that are offered for a specific semester?
- How do I apply for Curricular Practical Training?
- Where is the Graduate Coordinator?
- I am an international student. Where can I find information about Full-Time Certification?
- Where can I find information about Curricular Practical Training for F-1 Students(CPT)?
- What types of job opportunities will be available for electrical and computer engineers after graduation?
- What are the add/drop deadlines?
- When do I use the yellow "Independent Study Registration" form?
- Is there a time limit for me to get my Master's and PhD degrees?
- I am a SUNY IT student who would like to apply as a matriculated graduate student. Are GRE and TOEFL scores waived?
- How do I recover my forgotten BU password?
- Can I switch from doing a thesis to doing a project?
- I am trying to register for classes. How do I get rid of an "RG" hold?
- What is the mailing address for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department?
Dissertation and Thesis
- I am a PhD student. Where are the requirements thesis or dissertation?
- When I identify my Outside Examiner, what should I do?
- Is there writing assistance at Binghamton University?
Preparing to Graduate
- I am a graduate student and this is my last semester. What are the deadlines for submitting the forms for graduation?
- I understand that a B is considered a passing grade for a class but in order to graduate am I required to have 3.0 (B) in every class or just the accumulated GPA to be 3.0 or above?
- What forms do MS or MEng students need to fill out for graduation?
- I am a PhD student. What forms should I fill out to graduate?
Non-Matriculated
- Where can I find information about non-matriculated study?
- What is the total number of credits that can be used toward the matriculated status?
- Are there distance learning classes I can take as a non-matriculated student?
- I am applying for a certificate. Do I need to be in matriculated status?
- I am considering transferring to Binghamton to finish my degree but would like some more information. Since I have never taken any graduate placement exams, I was hoping to enroll non-degreed and then matriculate into a program later. If this is possible, how would I go about it?
- Can I transfer my credits from another university if I am starting at BU as a non-matriculated student but planning to matriculate?
Undergraduate
How do current or former BU students apply for graduate school?
Former BU students should fill out the online application and pay the application fee. Please click here for guidelines that current, former and accelerated BU students should follow when they apply to the Graduate School.
How do I find information on student housing?
For all residential information, please visit http://reslife.binghamton.edu.
How do I pay 1st semester fees?
For all fees and payment questions, visit the student accounts page at http://reslife.binghamton.edu.
Can I take a graduate course while I am an undergraduate student?
Undergraduate students who are within eight credits of graduation may register up to two graduate-level courses and receive graduate credit, provided the graduate courses are not used to meet the undergraduate degree requirements. When graduate courses are not taken with the intent of fulfilling undergraduate requirements, such graduate hours do not count toward full-time status for financial aid purposes.
To receive graduate credit for such courses, the undergraduate student must complete the Petition to Receive Graduate Credits as an Undergraduate form (available from the Registrar or the Graduate School). This form is then filed with the Registrar and the Student Accounts Office before registration.
While graduate courses taken by undergraduates (and not used to meet undergraduate degree requirements) will appear on the undergraduate transcript, these courses are not counted toward the undergraduate degree or used in the calculation of the final GPA. The credits may be counted toward the graduate degree.
An exception to these policies is made for undergraduate students admitted to combined bachelors/masters degree programs.
Graduate
How do I identify my faculty advisor?
MS students should take steps to identify an advisor to guide their thesis project as soon as possible. Similarly, PhD students should also take steps to identify an advisor to guide their research projects as soon as possible.Until you have found an advisor, the ECE Graduate Director will act as your interim advisor.
Where is the Graduate Coordinator?
The Coordinator of Graduate Programs can be found in the Engineering Building (H11).
I am an international student. Where can I find information about Full Time Certification?
Please click here for information regarding full-time status.
When a student is course complete as a Master’s student and therefore only needs to register for 1 credit (of thesis or project), he/she needs to complete a Full-time Certification form for students not receiving funding.
The full-time certification forms can be downloaded from our forms web page. Choose either the MS or the PhD form. Have your advisor sign your form after you fill it out. Take it to the ECE secretary. You must be registered for qualifying classes before you can be certified.
As an international student you are required to be full-time. As a PHD student, 9 credits is considered full-time. If you have completed all coursework, you may register for one credit per the policy above, and be certified full-time for the balance.
Note: If you are beginning your first year of PHD study it is unlikely you have met all course requirements and can be certified full-time per the policies found at the 1st link. If you aren’t registered for a qualifying course as noted in the procedures you cannot be certified full-time
What about the job opportunities for electrical and computer engineers after graduation?
Job opportunities depend heavily on many external factors (e.g., the economy, the particular area of specialization, the student's job search skills, etc.) so it is hard to give precise information on this. Graduates from our master's and PhD programs have been successful getting job offers from both large and small employers throughout the U.S. The ECE Department keeps a running list of job opportunities on under the "Resources" tab on the web site. For additional information, consider conducting an Internet search or contacting the ECE Program's Director of Graduate Studies, Professor Mark Fowler.
I am a BU student, do I need to submit GRE & TOEFL scores?
GRE and TOEFL scores are waived for current and former BU students. After you apply and pay your application fee, contact the department so a notation can be added to your application decision screen showing scores are to be waived.
What are the add/drop deadlines?
Please check the academic calendar at www.binghamton.edu/about/university-calendar.html
Click "University Calendar" on the on the left of the above web page to view your choice of calendars.
When do I use the yellow "Independent Study Registration" form?
Use this form to register for independent study courses, including:
- Undergraduate Research (499)
- Internship (594)
- Project (595, 598)
- Thesis (599)
- Pre-dissertation and dissertation (698, 699)
- Other independent study (497, 597, 697)
- Continuous registration (700)
- Assistantship credit (701), for TA, GA, and RPA only
Independent Study can be registered any time, beginning with the pre-registration period, and running through the sixth week of classes. Note that the registration deadlines (e.g. the "Add / Drop" deadline for course registration) do not apply to independent study, which can be freely added, dropped or changed, up until (approximately) the sixth week of classes.
To register for Independent Study, you must submit a completed Independent Study Registration Form (a "yellow form"), signed by you faculty adviser. This form is submitted to your department office, where it will be processed.
How do i recover my forgotten BU password?
Go to password.binghamton.edu and click manage account profile. Enter your user name and click forgot BU password to reach security questions that must be answered in order to receive your password.
Non-Matriculated
What is the total number of credits that can be used toward the matriculated status?
If a non-matriculated student seeks admission to a degree or certificate program with the intention of applying some of the student's non-matriculated course credits to the degree or certificate, then it is the student's responsibility to apply to the degree or certificate program in a timely way. At most, 12 non-matriculated credits will be applied to the degree program and 8 credits to the certificate program.
I am applying for a certificate. Do I need to be in matriculated status?
"Stand-alone" certificates are available to applicants who already hold the appropriate bachelor's or master's degree, as well to currently enrolled, matriculated graduate students at Binghamton University (see desired program for details).
I am considering transferring to Binghamton to finish out my degree but would like some more information. Since I have never taken any graduate placement exams, I was hoping to enroll non-degreed and then matriculate into a program later. If this is possible, how would I go about it?
Yes it is possible to take courses as a non-matric but you should plan to matriculate as soon as possible. You must apply for non-matric at the graduate application site.
Can I transfer my credits from another university if I am starting at BU as a non-matriculated student but planning to matriculate?
You can transfer up to 2 courses from elsewhere. You would do the paperwork after you matriculated.
