Additional academic rules
The majority of rules relating to graduate students are to be found in the General Information Catalog, the Graduate School Catalog, and in each semester's Course Schedule. Some rules are in less accessible places or are unique to this department or the College of Engineering and need emphasis.
Course Load
The following policy regarding minimum course loads for graduate students is in effect for the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering.
Full-time graduate students will register for at least 9 semester hours each Fall and Spring semester, and 3 hours in Summer. Full-time registration is required for:
Students with University-administered fellowships
Students holding TA/GRA/AI appointments
International students in the U.S. on a student visa
Students in university Student Housing
A one-time exception to the 9 hour rule is allowed in a student’s last term. Students, who have completed all other requirements for the degree except completion of thesis, report, or dissertation and his/her supervising professor estimates the work yet to be done on it will require less than six weeks for submission of final copy to the Graduate School, can register for only 698B, 398R or D, or 399W. This exception can only be used for one semester; if another semester is required, the student will be required to register for 9 semester hours of credit. This one-time exception does NOT apply to students with a GRA/TA/AI/Grader appointment.
Please see the Graduate School’s Conditions for Academic Employment.
Students must maintain continuous registration to remain in a degree program unless prior approval is granted by the program for a Leave of Absence.
Credit/No Credit
MS candidates must take all courses in the major area on a grade basis.
Up to two minor courses (supporting work), or fifty percent of the minor courses, whichever is less, may be taken on a Cr/NC basis. C E 398D (Departmental Report) is counted toward the CR/NC rule limit.
Incomplete Grades
Graduate students have only one long semester to finish an Incomplete (X) course. At the end of one long semester after an Incomplete is issued, the Incomplete grade will become permanent on the student’s record unless a grade change form has been submitted by the instructor. Permanent incomplete grades will appear on a student’s transcript as an (I). Permanent Incomplete’s cannot be changed. Therefore, students must make every effort to complete the required coursework in the semester following the issuance of an Incomplete. Students with two or more incompletes cannot be appointed.
Research hours
Research courses (CE 397C or D) are not counted toward MS or PhD degree requirements but do count in satisfying the course load requirements. If a seminar course or special studies (CE 397) course is intended to be counted toward the degree, arrangements must be made with the Graduate Advisor prior to registration. Seminar courses carry the grade status Cr/NC basis; anyone registered for a letter grade will automatically be changed to Cr/NC by the department unless other arrangements have been agreed upon.
Transfer of Credit for the MS Degree
Students may petition to have up to six hours of credit may be transferred from another university toward the MS degree if the courses were graduate level, not counted toward any other degree, and if the student earned a grade of A or B. The request must be submitted before 12 hours of graduate coursework are completed at UT Austin. See the Graduate Advisor or Graduate Coordinator for additional information.
Undergraduate Courses Allowed for the MS Degree
While most students will take all classes at the graduate level, in some situations faculty may advise students to take an upper-division undergraduate course. Students writing a thesis may count up to nine hours of upper-division undergraduate courses toward the degree requirements with no more than six hours in either the major or the minor. Students writing a Graduate School Report may count up to 6 hours of upper-division undergraduate coursework, while students in the No Thesis/Departmental Report or No Thesis/No Report options may count only 3 hours of upper-division undergraduate coursework toward the MS degree. Grades in upper division undergraduate courses are included in the graduate GPA. Undergraduate courses taken during the bachelor's degree cannot be used toward a graduate degree.
No undergraduate courses taken before admission to the graduate program can be counted toward the MS.
Continuous Registration - Thesis, Report, or Dissertation
When you have room in your schedule and you begin work on the thesis, report, or dissertation, the student should begin registering for research hours CE 698 (thesis), CE 398D (departmental report), or CE 397D (dissertation research).
An MS student taking the thesis option would register for the two-course sequence, starting with CE 698A the first semester of research, and subsequently CE 698B. CE 698B is required in the semester of graduation. CE 698B may be repeated until the thesis is complete.
Students in the Master's Departmental Report option generally register for CE 398D DEPARTMENTAL REPORT in their final semester, but CE 398D can be taken in an earlier semester if needed.
PhD students will register for 397D (or 697D) Dissertation Research until they are officially admitted to candidacy. Once admitted to candidacy they are required to be registered in CE 399W DISSERTATION (or 699W, or 999W) in the Fall and Spring semesters until graduation. CE X99W Dissertation is required registration in the final semester. At a minimum, students must haven taken at least 6 hours in CE x99W DISSERTATION in order to qualify to graduate.
Students should plan to register for 9 hours in Fall and Spring semesters, and 3 hours in Summer. If you have been advised to register in more than these hours, please consult the Graduate Coordinator.
-Thesis, report and dissertation are taken on a Credit/No Credit basis.
-Registration during the summers is not required if you are away from campus, have no contact with the university during that period, and are not appointed as a GRA/TA.
Leave of Absence: Please contact the Graduate Coordinator or Graduate Advisor.
Change of Major: Please contact the Graduate Coordinator or Graduate Advisor.
In Absentia/Post-Summer Registration
A student registered in the summer, who completes his/her degree requirements after the summer deadline but before the start of the fall semester, may request In Absentia Registration (also called Post-Summer Registration). A complete description of this procedure appears in the current Graduate Catalog. There is a $25 registration fee. Students registered In Absentia officially graduate in December.
Applications for PhD Candidacy or MS Graduation
Graduation/candidacy guidelines for both MS and PhD students are available on the Graduate School website, along with the deadlines for submitting the required forms. Master’s students must submit the graduation application online early in the semester they plan to graduate. An electronic MS Program of Work will automatically be sent to the graduate coordinator and advisor for approval after you have submitted your online graduation application. PhD students are expected to take the qualifying exam prior to registering for their second semester and should apply for Admission to Candidacy once the exam is passed. Application for Doctoral Candidacy is completed on the Graduate School web page.