Academic Advisor
Upon admission you will be assigned an Academic Advisor. Your Academic Advisor is a regular or affiliate faculty member in ECE, from whom you should seek advice in selecting courses and putting together your Plan of Study. Your Academic Advisor's signature is needed when you file certain official documents (including the Plan of Study). Initial Academic Advisors are assigned based on the technical interests expressed by the student in his/her application. When the student is supported on a Graduate Research Assistantship and the supervisor-to-be (whose grants are to support the assistantship) is not the Academic Advisor, a change of advisor must first be requested (except if he/she is not a regular or affiliate faculty member in ECE).
In the course of your first semester at Maryland you may wish to contact other faculty members who share your technical interests. At any point, you can request a change of Academic Advisor, by filing the appropriate form. This form must be signed by the faculty member you wish to have as your new Academic Advisor. The change of Advisor is subject to the Graduate Director's approval. Your current Academic Advisor may be consulted.
For students doing an MS non-thesis option, the Academic Advisor is the first reader of the Scholarly Paper.
For students doing an M.S. thesis, the Academic Advisor chairs the Thesis Examining Committee. For Ph.D. students, the Academic Advisor chairs the Dissertation Examining Committee.
All Graduate Research Assistantship appointments are subject to approval
by the Academic Advisor.
Full-Time Status
This is given here for information only, with no guarantee
of accuracy. For official information, students should check with
Graduate School and IES, in particular F-1 immigration information
Graduate equivalent units are calculated as follows:
- Undergraduate level courses (000 to 399) - 2 units per semester credit hour
- Mezzanine level courses (400 level) - 4 units per semester credit hour
- Graduate level courses (600 level and above except 799 and 899) - 6 units per semester credit hour
- Masters Thesis Research (799) - 12 units per semester credit hour
- Doctoral Dissertation Research (899) - 18 units per semester credit hour
- ENCO 098/099 - 48 units per semester credit hour
Also, English courses offered by the Maryland English Institute (MEI) carry units as follows:
- UMEI 005: 36 units
- UMEI 006: 4 units
- UMEI 007: 12 units
- UMEI 008: 4 units
To be considered a full-time student in the Fall and Spring semesters, a student must be registered throughout the semester for a combination of courses equivalent to at least a certain minimum number of units. Audited courses do not generate graduate units and thus do not count towards full-time status. The minimum number of units depends on whether or not the student is employed as a graduate assistant (GA, ie. GRA or GTA) and on the number of hours per week of such employment.
It is as follows:
- Full GA (20 hours per week): 24 units
- 1/2 GA (10 hours per week): 36 units
- not a GA: 48 units
Full-time registration throughout the Fall and Spring semesters is required for the following categories of students:
- International students on an F1 or J1 visa. This is an INS regulation: violators face deportation.
- Graduate research and teaching assistants as well as holders of fellowships awarded by the department or the university.
Note: Students in the Ph.D. program who have advanced to candidacy and taken at least 12 credits of ENEE 899 need only enroll for one credit to maintain full-time status. Students must have advanced to candidacy by the following date for the respective semester to be granted the “dissertation waiver”.
- Fall: must have advanced to candidacy by: September 1
- Spring: must have advanced to candidacy by: February 1
Minimum Registration Requirements for all Graduate Students.
All graduate students, masters and doctoral, making any demand upon the academic or support services of the University, whether taking courses, using University libraries, laboratories, computer facilities, office space or housing, consulting with faculty advisors, taking comprehensive or final oral examinations, filing a diploma application, or graduating must register for the number of graduate units that will, in the judgement of the graduate program, accurately reflect the student's involvement in graduate study and use of university resources. In no case will registration be for fewer than one credit.
Minimum Registration Requirements for Doctoral Candidates
Doctoral students who have advanced to candidacy must register each semester, except Summer Sessions and Winterterm, until the degree is awarded. Students applying for August graduation must have registered for at least one credit in one of the two summer sessions.
Registering for ENEE 699/799/899
To register for ENEE 699, 799 and or 899, you must first complete the appropriate paperwork found in the Graduate Studies Office for the particular course. For ENEE 699, you must complete the "Approval Form for Independent Studies, ENEE 699" and for ENEE 799/899, you must complete the "Approval Form for Research Registration, ENEE 799/899." In all cases, the signature of the faculty member who is to supervise the studies or research must be obtained. The faculty member's "section number" must be entered on the form. Section numbers can be obtained from the Graduate Studies Office. Once the completed forms have been submitted to the ECE Graduate Studies Office, permission will be granted for you to register for these courses through Testudo.
Registering for ENEE 400-level courses
To register for ENEE 400-level courses, please send an email (no phone calls and no in-person requests) to the Director of Undergraduate Academic and Administrative Matters, requesting permission to attend a particular ENEE 400-level course. Based on availability of seats (priority is given to undergraduate seniors in ECE), the Director will inform you of the results of your request via email.
Grading Methods
