SU21 Enrollment Guidelines
Be enrolled for SU21 by April 16, 2021
We are asking that all students funded by a GRA or Fellowship be properly enrolled for his/her funding type by Friday, April 16. If you cannot meet this deadline, inform Mark Cooper(.73) and Mei Wang(.235) and explain your situation.
All students may still enroll and make online changes to their schedules through the first Friday of SU21, 5/14. See also the semester add / drop dates below.
Funded student enrollment levels
Funded students (i.e., GRA or Fellow): A student's status relative to passing the Candidacy Exam and type of funding dictate the minimum number of credits required to activate funding. Please refer to this SU21 Enrollment Guide (pdf) to keep you above the minimums and how to determine funding type.
Minimum credits to activate funding in SU21— n e v e r drop below these credits after the 1st Friday:
- Post-candidacy = 3 credits (see more detail at the bottom of this page)
- Pre-candidacy or MS = 4 credits (GRA or Grad School Fee Match GRA)
- Pre-Candidacy or MS fellowship-funded students = 6 credits
If your credits drop below the minimum needed to activate your funding, the fees will revert to you and you will be responsible for the cost of enrollment (YIKES!).
Do not enroll in more than the required number of credits without your advisor's prior approval. The cost of additional credits may be billed to the student.
Self-funded student enrollment levels
Examples include Distance Learning, GEACE, company-funded, etc.
Self-funded Master's degree and pre-Candidacy Ph.D. students
Master's degree students or Ph.D.-seeking students who have not yet passed the Candidacy Exam may enroll as needed; you are not required enroll.*
Self-funded Ph.D. students who have passed the Candidacy Exam
Self-funded Ph.D. students who have passed the Candidacy Exam are not required to enroll during Summer term (ref. Sec 7.7.3 of the Graduate School Handbook).
Fee payment
- SU21 credits must be paid on or before May 5. Failure to pay by May 5 will cause a $200 late payment fee to be applied to your account. If you find it impossible to pay by 5/5, please email Mark Cooper(.73).
* International self-funded students--different visa types may require minimum or maximum levels of enrollment to maintain the visa status. Please consult OSU's Office of International Affairs (OIA) for guidance.
Need permission to enroll in a course?
If you are unable to enroll in a course due to prerequisite issues, please make use of the process and form provided on this page:
Graduating in SU21?
The university requires that students graduating in a given term be registered for at least 3 graduate credits (ex. grad course, X999, etc.) in that term.
- Funded students (GRA/Fellow)--register for the minimum credits needed to activate your funding, per above.
- Self/company/government-funded students--register for at least 3 graduate credits in SU21 if you plan to complete your degree in SU21.
For more on Graduation see MSE and WE Graduation: MS & PhD
Add / Drop dates and other important SU21 dates
OSU students are responsible to adhere to the university’s schedule for the adding and dropping of courses.
Please see also the University Registrar Important Fees and Dates
The key dates to keep in mind are:
April 16—Be properly enrolled for your funding type per the enrollment guide.
[May 5—Fee payment date for self or company-funded students.]
[May 12--Start of SU21.]
May 14 (1st Friday of SU21)—Last day student may make online enrollment changes in BuckeyeLink. Add and drop credits on-line through the 1st Friday of a term (5/14).
- After the 1st Friday, DO NOT DROP ANY CREDITS ONLINE, SERIOUSLY! Talk to Mark first.
Please use the process described on the Add/Drop Graduate Course page if you need to make adjustments to your schedule.
May 14 (1st Friday of SU21)—100% refund deadline for any full-term credits which are dropped.
May 21 (4:30 p.m., i.e., through the 2nd Friday)—A course may be added through the 2nd Friday by using the process described on the Add/Drop Graduate Course page.
May 21 (4:30 p.m.)—75% refund deadline for any full-term credits which are dropped.
Dropping credits (withdrawing from a course)—be sure when dropping credits to not fall below the minimum needed to activate your funding (see above).
June 4—the 4th Friday of the term…
- drops on or before this date will not be reflected on the transcript.
- If dropping a course between the 1st and 4th Fridays (5/14 through 6/4), please use the process described on the Add/Drop Graduate Course page.
- By asking to drop credits the student is aware of any negative effect the drop will have on funding.
- Credits dropped between 5/22 through 6/4 will receive a 50% refund of fees.
Mark will forward your request to the Grad School to ask that they remove you from the course.
June 4—50% refund date for any full-term credits which are dropped (no refunds provided after this date)
June 5 through July 16—July 16 is the 10th Friday of the term.
- Dropping credits after the 4th Friday and on or before 4:30 p.m. on the 10th Friday (6/5-7/16) will cause a “W” to appear as the grade for the course (does not have a negative effect on your GPA).
- To drop a course during this period, please use the process described on the Add/Drop Graduate Course page.
- By asking to drop credits the student is aware of any negative effect the drop will have on funding.
- Credits dropped between 6/5 through 7/16 will receive no refund of fees.
July 17 - 30—After the 10th Friday (7/16) a student cannot withdraw from a class.
[July 30--Last day of SU21 classes.]
View the Registrar's complete list of relevant SU21 dates (pdf)
Misc.
Help! There’s a hold on my account!
Did you click through the Financial Responsibility Statement to release the hold?
The link for this will be on the right side of your Student Center home page, under either the “Holds” or the “To Do” section. View instructions (pdf)
Watch your campuses!
Probably not a big deal for grad students, but BuckeyeLink/Student Center provides search results for all OSU campuses. Since there are no grad-level MSE or WE courses offered at Lima or Marion, etc. this won’t be a big deal. However, if you take a course in, for example, the Arts & Sciences College, be sure to specify the campus in the “Advanced Search” fields.
Don't get stuck taking Dance 1151 Hip Hop I in Wooster.
Post-Candidacy enrollment
Three credit rule
Note: This requirement only applies to GRA or Fellowship-funded Ph.D. students. Self or company-funded post-Candidacy Ph.D. students are not required to be enrolled during SU term (ref Sec 7.7.3)
After passing Candidacy, the Graduate School requires a student to be enrolled in at least three graduate credits every term through the term of graduation. So, for MSE & WE post-Candidacy (a.k.a. “PCD”) students, the goal is to enroll in three credits; this is the minimum needed to be full-time in post-candidacy and the max that project funding (GRA/Fellowship) must pay.
Typical: 3 cr of 8999
If a post-candidacy student needs to enroll in some other credits—for example a class, IA service, Dissertation Overview, etc.—the student should reduce the 8999 credits in order to stay at three total credits.
Examples:
- 1 cr MSE 8000 + 2 cr 8999
- 1 cr 8999 + 2 cr graded grad course
- 3 cr graded grad course (+ zero cr 8999) *
* Any situation in which a post-candidacy student is enrolling in more than three credits requires prior approval from the student’s advisor (or funding source).
Why—Budgeting for the expenses of post-candidacy students is based on the cost of three credits per term. Enrollment at OSU for each credit from 1 to 8 has an increasing, per credit cost (see Fee Tables). If a post-candidacy student enrolls in more than the mandated three credits the funding source is compelled to pay fees for which it may not have budgeted. Unexpected costs may be passed along to the student, so be sure the funding source is willing to pay for additional credits before enrolling.
MATSCEN 8000, MSE Dissertation Overview
Timing--During the MSE Ph.D. student’s fourth year of study--and at least six months before Dissertation Defense--an MSE Ph.D. student is to provide a Dissertation Overview [more].
Post-Candidacy MSE students giving a Dissertation Overview sometime between 5/13 and 8/24 must register for MSE 8000. This is a one credit S/U “course”, the sole requirement of which is submission of an MSE Dissertation Overview Report form to Dr. Myers during the term of enrollment. Doing so will allow a grade of S to be posted.
Enrollment in the term of a Dissertation Overview:
1 cr MSE 8000 + 2 cr MSE 8999
Tips:
- Do not sign up if you do not intend to hold your Overview, you don’t want a “U” on your transcript next to Dissertation Overview.
- Communicate with Dr. Myers if you’re having a hard time meeting deadlines (don’t surprise him and expect good things to happen).
- DO NOT put this off to the term before or the term of graduation!