Academics
Graduate Programs
Nine Hour Waiver
College of Engineering
Nine (9) Hour Waiver for Ph.D. Students
A minimum of nine (9) credit hours is required for funded graduate students. The College of Engineering, however, recognizes that the completion of a degree program may be delayed to the initial portion of a subsequent semester. The College of Engineering is authorized to reduce the registration requirements to one (1) credit hour for funded Ph.D. students if, and only if, ALL of the following conditions are satisfied:
- The defense must occur prior to mid-semester. Mid-semester is defined as the end of seven (7) academic weeks for the full term and the end of the first five (5) week term for summer.
- The defense date must be officially cleared by the Office of Graduate Studies prior to the request and beginning of the term.
- The student is removed from student funding immediately after the defense (allowing for the brief period in which the thesis clerk approves the thesis/dissertation).
The intent of the waiver is to provide relief to the student who needs an abbreviated portion of the term to finish, and consequently uses fewer university resources such as faculty time, office space, etc. If a student postpones his/her completion, or remains on funding as a student, he/she will be required to register retroactively for the full nine (9) hours. Students will only be granted a waiver one time.
A memo requesting the waiver, stating the defense date and OGS approval, and the date funding as a student ceases, must be submitted by the faculty advisor, routed through the department's graduate advisor and the Department Head, and sent to Dr. Karen Butler-Purry, Assistant Dean, 204 Zachry, for final approval. It will then be returned to department to be forwarded by department to payroll. Such requests should be submitted prior to the beginning of the semester.