Graduate FAQs for Current Students

Graduate credits from other institutions are approved as part of your overall degree plan as laid out in your GPAS worksheet. The process is to submit your GPAS worksheet with a list of the courses you would like to transfer from your prior institution, have it signed by your advisor, approved by the director of graduate studies, and then submit your GPAS Planner online.

For PhD students there is no limit on the number of courses you may transfer, but they must be approved. In general, no more than 20 course credits from another institution will be approved for transfer. For MSME students, you may transfer up to 40% of your coursework with approval.

The Graduate School requires students to be registered each fall and spring semester to maintain active status with the Graduate School. If you are inactive with the Graduate School, you will be discontinued and required to fill out a Change of Status form for readmission. There are several options to keep your status active:

Students with RA or TA appointments should identify the proper courses to enroll in using the chart above (under the answer to question 2). For students without such appointments, GRAD 0999 is a zero credit/no fee class that will maintain your active status with the Graduate School. However, it will not maintain your full-time status for anything else, such as a paid appointment (RA or TA), visa status, or deferred student loans.

International students can get a waiver from ISSS to register for GRAD 0999, but must check with ISSS before registering. Students are limited to two registrations of GRAD 0999; anything further requires permission of the DGS. In general, the department only allows students to enroll in GRAD 0999 for two consecutive semesters. Students without any form of appointment longer than this may want to look into a leave of absence.

You may audit classes while in the Graduate program. You will be billed for audited courses, but they will not count toward your required classes. Audited course credits do not count toward the minimum 6 credits to be considered full time. To maintain your visa or assistantship status, you must be registered for 6 credits in addition to any audited courses. For these reasons, auditing courses is not encouraged by the department.
In addition, if you are auditing classes and your total course load exceeds 14 credits (full-time maximum credit load), you will be billed for all credits over 14; these credits are not covered by RA, TA, or fellowship appointments. For example, if you are registered for 12 credits and you audit one 4-credit class, you will be billed for 16 credits. If you hold an assistantship, you will be billed and must pay for any credits above 14. We advise you to consult your academic advisor when registering for classes.

Transferring from the MSME to PhD program involves completing a Change of Status form with the Graduate School. Please note that this form is somewhat misnamed; to switch from the MSME to PhD degree, the change of status form is technically an entirely new online application to the PhD program, and it will be evaluated for admission.

Provided you have a letter from a faculty member stating they are willing to work with you as an advisor and support you as an RA (not a TA), along with an updated SOP, the change of status form will be accepted for admission to the PhD program. Otherwise, the application will be placed in a pool and compared to new PhD applications from outside the University.

You may register for thesis credits the same semester you pass the Preliminary Oral exam. Please see John Gardner in the mechanical engineering office after you have scheduled your preliminary oral exam (e-mail [email protected] or set up an appointment to learn more about thesis credit sign-up at that time).

Yes. It is every PhD student's option to obtain a MSME degree. To do so, please refer to the student handbook for details.

All the credits for an MSME may be counted toward the PhD course requirements except for ME 8777 and ME 8794. All credits are subject to approval on the GPAS worksheet.

Yes. You may go into the GPAS system and request a change, or contact the Graduate Program Manager to make the changes for you.

Please see Questions #2 and #3 above

Yes, provided you maintain the same appointment level. The semester after you have completed your 24 PhD thesis credits, you can register for ME 8444. This course is used to maintain your full-time status once you have completed all other course requirements. You only register for one credit, but are considered to be a full-time student. You will receive an increase in your stipend. Keep in mind that you must register for ME 8444 and nothing else.

If you wish to change advisors and research topic, you should consult with your present advisor, the director of graduate studies, as well as your new advisor to help you make an easy transition. There is no special form other than the degree plan forms for the MS and PhD.

A 50% appointment is considered a “full” appointment, as it provides an annual stipend in excess of $27,000 and full tuition coverage. With a 25% appointment, you receive half this stipend and half of tuition is covered. You additionally qualify for in-state tuition. Both appointment levels provide health insurance.

For Graduate Health insurance, please see the Graduate Assistant Health Plan page.

For students who received a graduate degree from the University of Minnesota, you do not need to complete a new application. You will need to file a Change of Status Form, which is similar to the online application with the Graduate School Admissions Office.

The ME program does not allow Express Readmits. You will need to complete the Change of Status Form for us to review.