ECE Graduate Handbook

Regulations

Student petitions for exceptions to the policies and requirements listed in the ECE Graduate Handbook will be considered by the Graduate Studies and Research Committee (GSRC). Petitions should be submitted directly to the Graduate Studies Office (GSO).  Student petitioners may seek advice from GSRC faculty/student members on generic issues related to their petitions but are advised not to discuss specific details.  Student petitioners should note that GSRC faculty/student members cannot act as advocates on their behalf.  The petitioners should not give out any written documents to support their case to the faculty/student representatives but should supply all the relevant documents directly to the GSO.  The student’s own explanation as listed on the petition form shall be read in full to the GSRC.  (Limit: one page explanation by student). In the case that a GSRC faculty/student member is unable to form an unbiased opinion, the member should abstain from voting.

Students should submit the departmental PETITON FOR WAIVER OF REGULATION for exceptions to departmental policy. Students should submit the Graduate School’s PETITION FOR WAIVER OF REGULATION for exceptions to Graduate School policy.

Upon admission, students will be initially assigned an academic advisor based on the technical interests indicated in the application.  The academic advisor will serve in this capacity for the first year and is a regular or affiliate faculty member in ECE from whom students should seek general advice, such as in selecting courses for the Plan of Study.  For students who are offered a Graduate Research Assistantship, the research advisor should serve as the academic advisor, unless he/she is not a regular or affiliate faculty member in ECE.  All students are expected to meet with their academic advisors at least once per semester.

During the first semester in the program, students may wish to contact other faculty members who share their technical interests.  Students may consult with one of the department’s Area Advisors for guidance in locating a research advisor.  The Graduate Studies Office can help put students in touch with an Area Advisor. 

Regardless of funding, by the second year, all students are expected to establish a relationship with an advisor who will both provide academic advising and direct their research.  This advisor is referred to as the student’s research advisor.  Students are expected to submit the CHANGE OF ACADEMIC ADVISOR form whenever a new advising relationship is established.  This form must be signed by the faculty member who will serve as the new advisor.  The change of advisor is subject to the Associate Chair’s approval, and the former advisor will also be contacted.

For M.S. Non-Thesis students, the research advisor serves as the first reader of the Scholarly Paper.  For M.S. with Thesis students, the research advisor chairs the Thesis Examining Committee.  For Ph.D. students, the research advisor chairs the Research Proposal Exam and the Dissertation Examining Committee.

Full-Time Status

From the Graduate Catalog:

The Graduate School uses a unit system in making calculations to determine full-time or part-time student status. Please note that graduate units are different from credit hours. The number of graduate units per credit hour is calculated in the following manner:

• Courses in the series: 000-399 carry 2 units per credit hour.
• Courses in the series: 400-499 carry 4 units per credit hour.
• Courses in the series: 500-599 carry 5 units per credit hour.
• Courses in the series: 600-897 carry 6 units per credit hour.
• Master's Research course: 799 carries 12 units per credit hour.
• Pre-candidacy Doctoral Research courses: 898 carries 18 units per credit hour.
• Doctoral Dissertation Research: 899 carries 18 units per credit hour. All doctoral candidates must pay candidacy tuition for which they will be registered for six (6) credit hours of 899; this defines all currently registered doctoral candidates as full-time.

To be certified as full time, a graduate student must be officially registered for a combination of courses equivalent to 48 units per semester. Graduate assistants holding regular appointments have full-time status if they are registered for at least 24 units in addition to the assistantship; holders of half-time assistantships are considered full-time if registered for 36 units. Audited courses do not generate graduate units and cannot be used in calculating full-time or part-time status.

Full-time registration throughout the fall and spring semesters is required for international students on F-1 or J-1 visa.

Continuous Registration Requirements for all Graduate Students

From the Graduate Catalog:

All graduate students must register for courses and pay associated tuition and fees each semester, not including summer and winter sessions, until the degree is awarded.

A student who fails to register and who has not requested and received a waiver of registration or "Leave of Absence for Childbearing, Adoption, Illness or Dependent Care" will be notified by the Graduate School after the first day of classes that the student must register for the current semester. The Graduate School will also inform the Graduate Director of the graduate program that the student is in jeopardy of termination. If the student does not register, he or she will be dismissed from the Graduate School at the end of the semester for failure to comply with the continuous registration requirement.

A student who is dismissed for non-registration may appeal dismissal during a 30-day period following the end of the semester of non-registration. If the student does not appeal, or if the appeal is denied, and the student wishes to continue in the Graduate School, the student must apply for readmission. In this case, readmission does not alter the initial requirements for time to complete the degree or advance to candidacy.

Certificate, Master's, and pre-candidacy Doctoral students who will be away from the University for a semester or a year may request a waiver of continuous registration and its associated tuition for the semester or year. Waivers of registration will be granted only if the student is making satisfactory progress toward the degree and can complete the degree requirements within the required time limits. Interruption of registration cannot be used to justify a time extension...

Doctoral Candidates are not eligible for Waivers of Continuous Registration. Each doctoral Candidate must maintain continuous registration in 899 (Doctoral Dissertation Research) until the degree is awarded. Waivers of Registration may be granted only under the University's policy for Leave of Absence for Graduate Students for Childbearing, Adoption, Illness or Dependent Care (see below).

Please see the Graduate Catalog or visit the ECE Graduate Studies Office for more detailed information about submitting the PETITION FOR WAIVER OF CONTINUOUS REGISTRATION.

Leave of Absence

From the Graduate Catalog:

In recognition of the effects that childbirth, adoption, illness, and caring for incapacitated dependents (such as children, ill or injured partners, or aging parents) may have on the time and energy that graduate students have to devote to their educational programs, the University allows students in such circumstances to apply for a leave of absence of up to two semesters during which time they do not intend to make academic progress toward the completion of their degree. The time taken on an approved leave of absence is not included in the time limitations for degree completion and advancement to candidacy.

If a leave of absence is granted by the Graduate School, all ECE department deadlines are shifted accordingly. Students should submit the REQUEST FOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE form with supporting documents to the ECE Graduate Studies Office prior to the beginning of the academic term for which leave is being requested.

From the Graduate Catalog:

The University is an intellectual community. Its fundamental purpose is the creation and dissemination of knowledge. Like all other communities, the University can function properly only if its members adhere to clearly established goals and values. Essential to the fundamental purpose of the University is the commitment to the principles of truth and academic honesty. The Code of Academic Integrity is designed to ensure that the principle of academic honesty is upheld. While all members of the University community share this responsibility, The Code of Academic Integrity is designed so that special responsibility for upholding the principle of academic honesty lies with students.

From the Graduate Catalog:

Students who are found to have falsified, fabricated, or plagiarized in any context, such as course work, laboratory research, archival research, or thesis / dissertation writing, will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. The Office of Student Conduct has some discretion in determining penalties for violations of the University's standards of academic integrity, but the normal sanction for a graduate student found responsible for a violation of academic integrity will be dismissal (suspension or expulsion) from the University.

To review the official UM policy on academic integrity, see the University of Maryland Code of Academic Integrity.

From the Graduate Catalog:

A student whose cumulative grade point average falls below 3.0 will be placed on academic probation by the Graduate School. When a student is placed on probation, the Graduate School will notify both the student and the Graduate Director of the student's program. Permission of the academic advisor and the Graduate Director will be required for a student on probation to register for courses. Probation will be lifted when the student achieves a cumulative GPA of 3.0.

A student on probation who has completed fewer than 15 credits must raise the GPA to 3.0 or above by the end of the semester in which the student completes 15 credit hours or be dismissed from the Graduate School. A student who has completed 16 or more hours of course work and whose cumulative GPA falls below 3.0 will be placed on probation and will have one semester in which to raise his or her GPA to a 3.0 or be dismissed from the Graduate School.

From the Graduate Catalog:

Students must complete the entire program for the doctoral degree, including the dissertation and final examination, during a four-year period after admission to candidacy, but no later than nine years after admission to the doctoral program. Students must be advanced to candidacy within five years of admission to the doctoral program. Under certain circumstances, time extensions may be granted by the Graduate School as outlined below. Admission to the degree program terminates if the requirements are not completed in the time specified. Time taken for an approved Leave of Absence for Childbearing, Adoption, Illness or Dependent Care is not counted in these time limitations.

From the Graduate Catalog:

Extensions of time for doctoral students must be requested from the Graduate School by the doctoral program. The first request for an extension of the deadline for admission to candidacy or completion of the doctoral dissertation requires a letter of support from the Graduate Director. The letter must include a timetable listing specific goals to be accomplished at various points during the extension period. Normally, the extension will be for a maximum of one year.

The request for a second extension requires a letter of support from the Graduate Director that includes a statement that the graduate program has approved the request. Departmental approval may be either a vote of the department as a whole or of a committee designated to deal with such matters, such as the Graduate Committee. The letter must include a timetable that lists specific goals to be accomplished at various points during the extension period. Typically this extension will be for a maximum of one year

Requests for a third extension will be honored only in rare instances when serious and unforeseen circumstances that are not covered under the Leave of Absence for Childbearing, Adoption, Illness or Dependent Care policy have interfered with the student's normal progress toward the degree. The request for a third extension requires a letter of support from the Graduate Director that includes a statement that the program has approved the request. The letter must include a timetable listing specific goals to be accomplished at various times during the extension period. Typically, this extension will be for a maximum of one year. The third extension is the final extension. Additional extensions will not be approved by the Graduate School.

Students should submit the REQUEST FOR TIME EXTENSION FOR COMPLETION OF GRADUATE DEGREE form with supporting documentation to the ECE Graduate Studies Office at least a month before their termination date.

Incomplete Grades

From the Graduate Catalog:

An incomplete is a mark that an instructor may award to a student whose work in a course has been qualitatively satisfactory, but who is unable to complete some portion of the work required because of illness or other circumstance beyond the student's control.  In awarding the mark of "I" for graduate courses other than 799 and 899, instructors must fill out an "Incomplete Contract for Graduate Students." The contract will specify the work remaining to be completed. It must be signed by the instructor and the student and maintained by the department offering the course. The student is responsible for providing a copy of the contract to the director of graduate studies in his or her program.

The mark of incomplete in 500-, 600-, 700-, and 800-level courses will not automatically roll-over to letter grades. Normally, students are expected to complete courses in which they have received an "I" by a date no more than twelve months from the beginning of the semester in which the course was taken. The mark of incomplete in 400-level courses will be governed by the rules for awarding incompletes to undergraduate students, including the provision of automatically converting an "I" to a letter grade.

Advisors should stay current with their students in urging completion of incomplete grades, and programs should review the status of incompletes in their annual reviews of students' progress toward their degrees. Students will remain in good standing despite marks of incomplete if the courses are not required for their degrees. For courses required for graduation, students will be considered to be making satisfactory progress only if they fulfill the conditions of any outstanding incomplete contracts in a timely manner. An "I" can remain in place on a student's transcript for a maximum of one year.

Departments and programs may specify the maximum number of incomplete credits students may carry, exclusive of credits in 799 and 899.

Students are strongly encouraged to obtain the INCOMPLETE CONTRACT FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS form and to initiate the paperwork process with the instructor.  Students should ensure that the Terms of the Incomplete Contract (work to be completed and completion date) are clear and specific.  Students are responsible for providing a copy of the contract to the Graduate Studies Office. 

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