Number of Credit Hours

If you are a full-time student – and all GRAs and TAs are full time students – you must have a total of 9 credit hours during the long semesters and 3 credit hours during the summer.

If you are an MSE student or a full time PhD student who is NOT in PhD candidacy and you have completed MSE 397 Seminar, then you should use MSE 397R to fill any credit hours that are needed so that you are enrolled for 9 hours total. Thus, if you are not taking any other lecture or seminar courses, you will sign up for three sections of MSE 397R in fall and spring and one section in summer. If you are taking one 3- hour lecture or seminar course, then you generally sign up for two sections of MSE 397R in fall and spring. If you are taking two 3 hours lecture or seminar courses, then you generally will sign up for one section of MSE 397R in fall and spring.

There is one exception to this rule: If you are an MSE (i.e. a Master’s) student, your second to last semester you must take MSE 698A Thesis Reading (this is a 3-credit hours course), and during your last semester you must take MSE 698B Thesis Writing (this is also a 3-credit hour course). These two classes are taken in place of MSE 397R in the semesters in which they are taken. You can only apply for graduation while enrolled in 698B.

 For PhD students who have advanced to candidacy, when you are taking less than 9 credit hours of lecture or seminar courses, you will use MSE 399W (3cr), MSE 699W (6cr), or MSE 999W (9cr) to fill the remaining hours.

 All MS&E students must take Research, Thesis, Report, and Dissertation from the Materials Science & Engineering program regardless of your research supervisor’s home department (i.e. do not sign up for ME 397 Research or CHE 399 Dissertation). Check the course schedule each semester to enroll in the correct unique ID course.