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Section 7: Course Registration

7.1 COURSE LOADS

A student may not enroll for more than 18 credit hours per semester or eight credit hours in summer session or four credit hours in May session, without advisor, NGP Committee, and Graduate School approval.

  • Graduate Associates – pre-candidacy Graduate Associates must register for a minimum of eight (8) credit hours per semester, except in summer session, when the minimum is four (4) credit hours.  These registration requirements can include research hours.
  • Fellows and Trainees – pre-candidacy Graduate Fellows or Graduate Trainees, regardless of the source of funds, must register for a minimum of twelve (12) credits per semester each semester the appointment is held except in summer session when the minimum is six.  These registration requirements can include research hours.
  • Post-candidacy doctoral students – Full-time status for ALL post-candidacy doctoral students is three (3) credit hours per semester or summer session.  Students must obtain the permission of their advisor and the NGP Director(s) if they want to register for more than three (3) credit hours. 
  • Continuous Enrollment – All students who successfully complete the doctoral candidacy examination are required to be enrolled in every semester (summer session is excluded) until graduation.  These students must register for three credits per semester.  This policy is effective for all students who were admitted to the Graduate School Autumn Quarter 2008 and after.  While the Graduate School and the NGP will monitor the enrollment of all post-candidacy students, it ultimately will be the responsibility of each student to ensure that they are meeting the enrollment provisions of this policy.

Graduate courses outside the NGP may count toward the minimum credit hour requirement, but undergraduate and audited courses do not count. 
Research credit reflects time spent by a graduate student pursuing thesis or dissertation research and time invested by faculty members in supervising such research.  Therefore, students spending time on their dissertation research must register for the 8999 course of the advisor’s home department (see Section 6.4).

7.2 PROCEDURES FOR SEMESTER REGISTRATION

Graduate students are expected to register online each semester and summer session through the Student Center on Buckeye Link.  Students are required to register for courses one week prior to the start of the semester or summer session.  Students should discuss their scheduling plans with their advisors, especially if they plan to enroll in courses not in their Program of Study.  Students needing assistance with registration and/or scheduling should contact the Program Administrator.