Registration & Courses
Enrollment
Please do not procrastinate! Everyone needs to register for the upcoming semester to guarantee funding is available for everyone.
Visit the Student Services site to view enrollment deadlines. You will also want to note the Non-Refundable Late Enrollment (Registration) Fee.
You must be registered full-time to keep your current TA or RA and be GSSP eligible. The Graduate School’s definition of full-time is:
- Full-Time: To be full-time, students must be enrolled in at least 9 hours per semester. If they have accumulated or will accumulate sufficient hours to meet the degree requirements (a minimum of 30 and 72 for master’s and doctoral degrees, respectively), they will be considered full-time until they complete their thesis or dissertation provided they enroll for at least 3 credit hours.
The maximum number of credit hours that you are allowed to take is 15.
PhD students register for CH 801. Chemistry graduate students register for one credit of seminar.
If you completed the requirement for graded courses, then you should register for 9 credits of research (CH 895 for doctoral students or CH 695 for Master’s students) offered by your faculty advisor. If you still need to take graded courses and you will not audit them, make sure your total credits add up to at least 9, 12 is best, but no more than 15 credits to continue your GSSP benefits. Graduate research allows you to assign up to a maximum of 9 credit hours when you register for it, so adjust accordingly. Please pay attention to the credit load when registering for research. Make sure you register for the correct course, otherwise it will not count on your POW.
If you do not need a course and you want to take it for personal enrichment or because your advisor recommends you to sit in, please register for it as an audit. There is a required Graduate School form to complete. Please submit it to the Chem Grad Office for processing. The Graduate School will enroll you in the course. The audited course does not count towards full-time registration and GSSP requirements. In other words, if you register for a total of 9 credits and the course you plan to audit is for 3 credits, only 6 of those credits count toward your full-time registration. Since GSSP requires full-time registration, you are in jeopardy of losing your GSSP funding and benefits. If you decide to change to an audit late into the semester you will need a written statement authorizing you to do so by the Director. One audited course is free and even though the credit hours do not count toward your full-time registration they do count towards your maximum course load of 15 credit hours.
Register Correctly!
If you’re a Master’s student, you register for CH 695. If you’re a Doctoral student you register for CH 895. They are NOT interchangeable, so please register correctly. The Graduate Office will not review your schedules or contact you if you incorrectly register; correct registration is your responsibility. If you register incorrectly and do not notice it until after Census Day, you will have to complete a Schedule Revision Form. This is a lengthy form that includes a series of signatures and written statements in order to modify your schedule. Incorrect registration may result in cessation of GSSP benefits, holds placed on your record, dropped schedules, and tuition bills sent directly to you. International students who register incorrectly may have additional OIS forms to complete and must be vigilant to avoid any visa status issues.
As you approach your minimum required number of credit hours for your degree…
If you will reach the minimum required number of credit hours (30 for MS or 72 for PhD) within the semester you are registering for, you may register for the number of credit hours that will bring you to the minimum requirement. After you have reached the minimum required number of credits you will continue to register for at least 3 credits in order to remain a full-time student. PhD students with a previous Master’s who will be in semester 7+, and PhD students who will be in semester 9+ only register for 3 credits of CH 899 or CH 895. Master’s students who will be in semester 4+, only register for 3 credits of CH 699 or CH 695. See the table below for how many credit hours you need to enroll in in order to incur the lowest tuition and fees. Do not register for anything else.
Full-time Registration and Required Number of Credit Hours
| Degree Program | Existing number of credit hours | Number of credit hours to enroll in to be considered a full-time student |
|---|---|---|
| PhD | Less than 64 credits | 9 credits |
| PhD | 64 | 8 |
| PhD | 65 | 7 |
| PhD | 66 | 6 |
| PhD | 67 | 5 |
| PhD | 68 | 4 |
| PhD | More than 68 | 3 |
| MS | Less than 22 credits | 9 |
| MS | 22 | 8 |
| MS | 23 | 7 |
| MS | 24 | 6 |
| MS | 25 | 5 |
| MS | 26 | 4 |
| MS | More than 26 credits | 3 |
Check the “Ketchup & Mustard Chart” to determine where you stand in your GSSP eligibility and review: Graduate School policy- Full time Determination for fall and spring
Financial Aid defines enrollment status a little differently, so if you receive any form of financial aid that requires you to register for at least half-time, you should register for 5+ credits, which is viewed as half-time by Financial Aid but as full-time by the Graduate School for GSSP purposes. If you are receiving financial aid (loans, etc. besides GSSP), or are deferring loans, please let the Grad Office know.
There are no funding exceptions available for students beyond GSSP support limits. Though by registering for 3 credits and being on an active RA or TA contract, you will still qualify for the GSSP health insurance, you may have to fund your own tuition and fees. If your advisor appoints you as an RA, make sure you know the details of your support (i.e. know if you must pay for your own tuition) and inform the Graduate Office of your advisor’s plans. Registering for fewer than 3 credits disqualifies you from the continued GSSP health insurance benefit. If you must support yourself, note that you may register for fewer than 3 credits to incur the lowest tuition cost, but will have to then provide your own health insurance. Please refer to the Cashier’s site for information on payment plans and current tuition and fee rates.