AU22 Enrollment Guidelines

How to enroll

View course registration instructions
Instructions on how to use the BuckeyeLink system to register for credits. Students are responsible for knowing and observing registration deadlines.

Funded graduate 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 follow the AU22 Enrollment Guide (pdf) to stay above these minimums.

Minimum credits to activate funding in AU22— n e v e r  drop below these credits after the 1st Friday:

• Post-candidacy PhD = 3 credits (see more detail below)
• Pre-candidacy PhD or MS, funded by a GRA = 8 credits
• Pre-candidacy PhD or MS, funded by a Fellowship = 12 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.

See also the semester add / drop dates below.

Self-funded graduate student enrollment levels

Examples include Distance Learning, GEACE, company-funded, etc.

Self-funded students pursuing a Master's degree or who have not yet passed the Candidacy Exam may enroll as needed; you are not required enroll.*

Self-funded PhD students who have passed the Candidacy Exam ("PCD" status) are required to enroll in a minimum of three graduate credits every AU & SP semester through the term of graduation (self-funded PCD students are not required to enroll in SU term unless graduating).

Ref: Enrollment Guide (pdf)

Fee payment deadlines

• If you are enrolled in AU22 credits on or before Tuesday, August 16, your AU22 fees must be paid by close of business on August 16. Failure to do so will cause a $200 late payment fee to be applied to your account. If you find it impossible to pay by this date, please email Mark Cooper(.73).
• If you enroll on or after August 17, you will have five business days to pay your fees.
• The university offers an installment payment option known as TOPP. The total tuition cost is divided in fourths and paid to the university in four installments during the term. Though no interest is charged, a $30 activation fee is assessed every semester. Learn more about the Tuition Option Payment Plan (TOPP).

* 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.

Post-Candidacy enrollment

Three credit rule

After passing Candidacy, the Graduate School requires a PhD student to be enrolled in at least three graduate credits every AU & SP semester through the term of graduation. Three credits of enrollment are required in SU, as well, if funded as a GRA/fellowship or if graduating. So, for MSE & WE post-Candidacy (a.k.a. “PCD”) students, the goal is to enroll in three credits and no more; this is the minimum needed to be full-time in post-candidacy and the max that project funding (GRA/Fellowship) must pay.

Typical enrollment for most of our PCD students

• 1 cr of WE 7895 + 2 of WE 8999
  or
• 3 cr of MSE 8999

If a post-candidacy student needs to enroll in other credits—for example a class, IA service, Dissertation Overview, etc.—the student should reduce the 8999 credits in order to reach three total credits.

Examples:

• 1 cr MSE 8000 + 2 cr MSE 8999
• 2 cr IA service (6193.01) + 1 cr 8999
• 1 cr WE 7895 + 2 cr graded grad course (0 cr 8999)
• 1 cr MSE 8999 + 2 cr graded grad course
• 1 cr WE 7895 + 3 cr graded grad course *

* 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 paying for three credits per term. Enrollment at OSU for each credit from 1 to 8 has an increasing cost per credit (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.

MSE graduate elective courses in AU22

View course offerings for AU22 and SP23 in MSE

MATSCEN 5000-level Grad-level courses

All 5000-level lecture courses may be taken for graduate credit (though be sure to review the MS or PhD degree requirements to confirm how 5000s can apply). Two new 5000 courses are being offered in AU22, if of interest:

5193.02 Ultrafast Laser Materials Processing, 3 cr

• Instructor: Enam Chowdhury
• Offered in-person, M & W 11:30 a.m. - 12:50 p.m., register under Dr. Chowdhury, class number 8517
• Description: [course summary] From 2018 Nobel Prize announcement in Physics, “The inventions being honored this year have revolutionized laser physics. Extremely small objects and incredibly rapid processes are now being seen in a new light. Advanced precision instruments are opening up unexplored areas of research and a multitude of industrial and medical applications.” Lasers are ever expanding in applications in everyday life devices (screens of your cell-phones and other handheld devices are processed with lasers, for example), and also in materials and manufacturing industry and medical device industry and surgery, colorization of metals, surface engineering, Ultrafast lasers are producing capabilities that continuous wave (CW) or micro to nanosecond lasers are not capable of doing. Students are expected to learn some basics of laser, non-linear optics, ultrafast lasers, ultrafast laser materials processing, and hands on experience on how an ultrafast laser works, laser safety and how to characterize it and use it to modify materials.
• Prerequisite: grad standing

5541 Structure and Properties of Amorphous Materials, 3 cr

• Instructor: Jonathan Brown
• Offered in-person, T & Th, 2:00 - 3:20 p.m.
• Description: Covers structure and properties of oxide, metallic, semiconducting, and polymeric glasses emphasizing viscosity, glass transition, structural relaxation, and microstructure. [view syllabus]
• Prerequisite: grad standing

MATSCEN 6000 & 7000-level Grad-level courses

6730, Thermodynamics of Materials, 3 cr--PhD Core

• Thermodynamics of mixtures and phase equilibria relevant to metallurgy and materials science.
• Prereq: Grad standing or permission of instructor. 

6735, Corrosion Science and Materials Electrochemistry, 2 cr

• Electrochemistry fundamentals, corrosion thermodynamics and kinetics, experimental approaches, corrosion phenomenology, corrosion control strategies, nonmetallic material degradation, electrochemistry of batteries, fuel cells, and electrodeposition. 
• Prereq: Grad standing in MatScEn or permission of instructor. 

6740 Practical Scanning Electron Microscopy, 2 cr 

• NOTE: This course is graded S/U and thus cannot be used to fulfill graded graduate degree requirements.
• M 12:40-2:30 p.m., meets at CEMAS facility, though the course will have some online aspects.
• This is a practical course designed to introduce students to basic operation techniques of the Scanning Electron Microscope. At the end of the course, students will have an understanding of 1) the capabilities of an SEM, 2) the types of samples compatible with SEM analysis, 3) how to prepare samples for SEM investigation, 4) how to obtain quality images from various types of specimens, and 5) how to overcome some of the issues encountered while analyzing specimens. Students who pass this course will be allowed to book time on Quanta SEM at CEMAS after demonstrating practical understanding of sample loading and vacuum pumping systems. Completion of this course does not count as training on more advanced SEMs and techniques, but will allow future SEM training sessions to focus on proper analysis of the students’ samples, as opposed to basic microscope operation.
• Prereq: none. Student advisor approval required to confirm that SEM techniques are an important component of their planned research project (provide to instructors on first day of class). MSE 6741 / 6715 are NOT prereqs.

6741, Practical Transmission Electron Microscopy Lab, 2 cr

• Transmission Electron Microscopy with emphasis on practical methods.
• T 3:00-5:00 p.m., meets at CEMAS facility, though the course will have some online aspects
• Prereq: Grad standing in MatScEn or WeldEng; or permission of instructor.

6747, Structure and Defects in Materials, 3 cr--PhD Core

• Elements of crystallography, structure and defects in solids.
• Prereq: Grad standing in Chem, Engr, or Physics; or permission of instructor.

6756, Computational Materials Modeling, 2 cr 

• Practical computational materials modeling and simulation techniques.
• Prereq: Grad standing in MatScEn or permission of instructor.

WELDENG graduate elective courses in AU22

View course offerings for AU22 and SP23 in WE
All WE grad courses are available in 100% online format for our online Master's students.
 

7001, Physical Principles in Welding Processes I, 3 cr--Primary Core course

• Study of the application of physical principles in engineering of arc welding processes and equipment. 
• Prereq: Grad standing, or permission of instructor. 

7012, Resistance Welding Processes, 3 cr

• Addresses the fundamentals, theory, and application of Resistance Welding processes, with emphasis on processes, equipment, materials, and quality control. 
• Prereq: 7002 or 4002, and Grad standing; or permission of instructor. 

7023, Brazing and Soldering, 3 cr

• Brazing and soldering processes with emphasis on physical and metallurgical principles, materials, design and application considerations. 
• Prereq: 7101 or 4101, and 7102 or 4102, and Grad standing; or permission of instructor. 

7102, Welding Metallurgy II, 3 cr

• Addresses the welding metallurgy and weldability principles associated with stainless steels, and nickel-base, aluminum-base, and titanium-base alloys. [Students may also register for an optional 1 cr graduate lab course associated with this course, WELDENG 7612, taught in-person, Th 9:00-10:30 a.m.]
• Prereq: 7101 or 4101, and Grad standing; or permission of instructor.

7112, Weldability, 3 cr

• Teaches the basic concepts of weldability and focuses on failure mechanisms in welded construction. Failure phenomena that occur during fabrication, repair, and during service are discussed. 
• Prereq: Grad standing, or permission of instructor. 

7201, Engineering Analysis for Design and Simulation, 4 cr--Primary Core

• Fundamentals of engineering analysis of heat flow, thermal and residual stresses, and fracture and fatigue with applications to design and simulation in welding and manufacturing. 
• Prereq: Grad standing, or permission of instructor.

7240, Fitness for Service, 2 cr

• The interrelationship of design, fabrication, nondestructive evaluation, fracture mechanics, and reliability concepts in establishing the overall fitness-for-purpose of welded structures.
• Prereq: Grad standing, or permission of instructor.

7303, Ultrasonic Testing, 3 cr

• Principles of ultrasonic wave generation, interaction of ultrasonic waves with material structures with emphasis on characterization of material properties, and quantitative ultrasonic evaluation of material discontinuities. 
• Prereq: Grad standing, or permission of instructor.

Request to take the Dissertation Overview in AU22

By 8:00 a.m. Friday, 8/26--please complete the Dissertation Overview Request form

The Dissertation Overview (DO) is an exercise to aid the student in developing and focusing the Dissertation. The DO is to be held at least six months before graduation. 

During the Overview the student gives a public presentation of the state of his/her research. The DO is not an examination, but rather a detailed status report describing the state of the student's research and writing. It allows the Dissertation Committee a chance to review progress and provide the student with feedback and direction. It is for this reason that the DO is not to occur in the term of graduation, but rather at least six months before graduation providing the student sufficient time to act on the committee's input.

The MSE and WE Dissertation Overviews

There are subtle differences between the two programs and their Overviews. These are described in detail at the links below.

• View MSE Dissertation Overview information--MSE students are required to enroll in MATSCEN 8000 in the term in which the Overview will be held. Completing the DO Request form will prompt Mark Cooper to enroll the student in MSE 8000. In other words, the MSE student's enrollment for the term would be 3 credits total: 1 cr MSE 8000 + 2 cr MSE 8999.
   
• View the WE Dissertation Overview information--Welding Engineering students are not required to enroll in any special credits during the term the Overview is held. However, WE students are to detail for their DO committee the status of the Presentation/Publication requirement. Enrollment for WE students is typically 1 cr WE 7895 + 2 cr 8999; WE does not have an 8000 "course" in which to enroll.

Congratulations! You have worked hard for your degree! There are a few items to address, both academic and administrative, in order to secure your degree.

Basic steps in term of graduation:

1. Before the term of graduation, request a Graduation Review using the form at the link below.
2. Mark Cooper will review your status and, if ready to graduate, provide further details and deadlines needed to receive your degree.
3. Student submits an Application to Graduate on GradForms.osu.edu before third Friday of term.
4. Student completes the degree requirements (typically the presentation and defense of a research document). There are two sets of deadlines (detailed at the link below):
   1. Commencement--Deadlines that must be met in order to attend Commencement for that term.
   2. End-of-Semester (EoS)--If all requirements are met by the last business day of a term the student may receive the degree at or after Commencement in the following term. No enrollment in that following term is required.

View MSE-WE Graduation information
Includes Graduation Review Request form, general deadlines, degree-specific deadlines, Grad School Graduation Calendar, and more.