Leave of Absence

Graduate students at The University of Texas at Austin may apply for a leave of absence of no more than two long semesters (consecutive or not) as a master’s student, and again for two long semesters (consecutive or not) as a doctoral student prior to advancement to doctoral candidacy. Leaves of Absence after advancement to doctoral candidacy are approved only for rare and unusual circumstances such as a major illness. In ECE, the student’s supervising professor, or Track Advisor if the student does not have a supervising professor, must approve the leave of absence before the ECE Graduate Advisor will review and possibly approve the leave of absence request. Contact an ECE Graduate Coordinator to request the Leave of Absence form and for more information.

Please note that a graduate student has no student status while on leave, may not use any University facilities, and is not entitled to receive advice from any member of the faculty. A leave of absence does not alter the time limits for degrees or coursework. Students must apply for readmission in order to enroll again in the semester following the Leave of Absence. There cannot be a long semester gap of non-enrollment between a semester of leave and the semester of return or the benefits of the leave of absence no longer apply. The benefits of a leave of absence include readmission without the need for an admit or deny decision, and a waiver of the reapplication fee. 

More information can be found here: https://gradschool.utexas.edu/academics/policies/leaves-of-absence