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Our goal is to ensure that you have an enriching and rewarding graduate experience at UT-Austin. Your Academic Adviser, the Department’s Graduate Adviser, Graduate Coordinator, faculty, and staff are committed to this goal and available to support you as necessary. As a graduate student, however, it is your responsibility to become thoroughly familiar with relevant policies and procedures governing graduate study at The University of Texas at Austin. You are expected to take responsibility for your education and personal development, to know and abide by the academic and disciplinary policies of the department, college, and University, and to be familiar with and meet the requirements of your degree program. You are also expected to make orderly and timely progress and seek advice about degree requirements when necessary.
The University publishes two documents with which you should become very familiar. The Graduate Catalog is published every two years and contains information about the Master’s degree plan, rules that affect graduate students, graduate courses, and a list of Graduate Studies Committee members. The General Information Catalog is published every year and contains general information about The University and rules that affect all students. Both catalogs can be found online at http://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/catalogs/. It is your responsibility to be aware of the catalog that governs your graduate study at UT-Austin. A few important policies outlined in these catalogs with which you should become familiar are:
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Every graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin is governed by the policies and procedures of the Graduate School. The Graduate School's websitecontains contains updated information regarding professional development, student services, and deadlines, forms, and publications necessary for successful graduate study and graduation. The Graduate School's website also contains information regarding the following topics as well as many, many others:
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Effective with the In the Fall 2005 semester, the plus/minus system for graduate courses became available for faculty to use. This legislation does not require the use of the plus/minus grades, but expanded the existing system. The following grade equivalents have been established:
A | 4.00 | B- | 2.67 | D+ | 1.33 |
A- | 3.67 | C+ | 2.33 | D | 1.00 |
B+ | 3.33 | C | 2.00 | D- | 0.67 |
B | 3.00 | C- | 1.67 | F | 0.00 |
It is important for you to make note of the following two Graduate School policies related to grades. Although these policies remain unchanged, the use of plus and minus grades may determine when your academic status is affected by them.
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If you plan to complete a dissertation, thesis, or report involving research with human subjects, apply for IRB approval as early as possible, as you may NOT begin data collection until your IRB application has been approved.
99-Hour Rule
The "99-hour rule" refers to the implementation of Senate Bill 961, passed by the Seventy-fifth Legislature. It is the rule that students at UT Austin with over 99 doctoral hours may be subject to the payment of nonresident tuition. This rule affects graduate students who entered in the Fall 1999 or later. Texas residents, and nonresidents who normally would be entitled to pay resident tuition by virtue of work appointments or fellowships, might wonder whether they will be affected by the 99-hour rule (i.e., whether they will reach the point at which the payment of nonresident tuition becomes mandatory). For most students, the answer is "no.” A student will be able to study at UT Austin full-time for seven complete academic years, including summers, before being affected by the 99-hour rule. For students staying beyond seven years, in a number of cases, there is still the possibility of a programmatic or individual exemption from the rule.
The University's 99-hour Rule is stated at https://gradschool.utexas.edu/academics/policies/99-hour-rule and includes a point of contact for more questions.
Leave of Absence
Graduate students may apply for a leave of absence for no more than two semesters. The Graduate Adviser must approve this request in advance. See the Office of Graduate Studies’ website under quick links online “forms and deadlines” (https://gradschool.utexas.edu/academics/policies/leaves-of-absence) and the “Authorization for Leave of Absence” form. Granting leaves of absence for students is left to the discretion of the Graduate Adviser and Graduate Studies Committee. The only rule is that the decision be made "in the best interests of the academic progress of the student" and the Authorization for Leave of Absence form must be returned to the Office of Graduate Studies before the semester for which a leave is granted.
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A student on leave may not use any university facilities nor is the student entitled to receive advice from any member of the faculty. A leave of absence does not alter the time limits for degrees or coursework.
Conditional Admission
Some students may be admitted to the Doctoral degree with conditions. According to the graduate catalog, the Graduate Studies Committee:
May require the student to maintain a certain grade point average or to take a certain number of semester hours of coursework. A conditionally admitted student may also be required to remedy deficiencies in undergraduate preparation by taking upper-division or graduate courses. The graduate adviser notifies the student of these conditions at the time of admission. A student who does not fulfill the conditions within the specified time may be barred from subsequent registration in the Graduate School. If the student changes his or her major before the conditions have been fulfilled, the conditions remain in effect unless the graduate adviser for the new concentration, on behalf of the Graduate Studies Committee, petitions the graduate dean and receives approval for them to be changed.
If any conditions were placed on your admission, please make sure that your Academic Adviser and the graduate coordinator are informed when you have fulfilled these requirements, so that the appropriate procedures may be initiated to remove your conditional status.