The following policies and procedures are for course complete master's students and ABD doctoral students who need to maintain full-time working toward degree status.
Eligibility: Students who are not receiving student support (a tuition scholarship, stipend or other university support) who wish to be certified as full time working toward a degree for loan or visa purposes when taking advanced coursework, including thesis research (599), comprehensive exams (698), or dissertation research (699).
Requirements: To be certified as full time working toward degree, students must complete the Certification of Full Time Working Toward Degree form (funded, non-funded), which requires the student's supervisor and program director certify that the student is making a full-time investment in research (at least 32 hours per week).
Details: Once the form is submitted and the student is registered for at least one credit of 599, 698 or 699 per semester, The Graduate School will allow him/her to enroll in enough credits of GRD 700 to qualify for full-time certification. Since GRD 700 is only a place-holder, not a real course, the student will not be charged for GRD 700 tuition or fees.
See The Graduate School Manual for additional details.
Eligibility: Graduate students who are receiving student support (a tuition scholarship, stipend or other university support) and are in the final stage of degree work (doctoral students officially all-but-dissertation and master students officially "course-complete").
Requirements: To be certified as full time working toward degree for loan and visa purposes, and to fulfill tuition scholarship registration requirements, these students must register for one credit of dissertation/thesis research and complete the Certification of Full Time Working Toward Degree form.
Details: Once the form is submitted and the student is registered for one credit of 599 or 699 per semester, The Graduate School will enroll him/her in eight credits of GRD 701. This will allow the student to maintain full-time registration, a requirement for tuition scholarship recipients. Since GRD 701 is only a place-holder, not a real course, the student will only pay fees for one credit of 599 or 699. Graduate students with tuition scholarships will have one credit of thesis/dissertation credit covered by the scholarship.
See The Graduate School Manual for additional details.
