HOW CAN I TRANSFER CREDITS?
Admitted students who come to Rutgers from another institution may transfer up to 24 credits of their previous work towards the Ph.D., after they have successfully completed one semester (12 credits) at Rutgers. However, there is no prior guarantee of the number of credits which will be transferred. Credits will normally be transferred only for courses comparable in length, quality and content to those offered in the political science program in New Brunswick. Credits are usually not transferred for undergraduate courses or independent study programs. Applications for transfer credits, available at the Graduate School and the Department, must be submitted along with grade. Students should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies and their adviser before submitting this form.
TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE INTER-UNIVERSITY DOCTORAL CONSORTIUM
If you’re in a Rutgers doctoral program in an arts, sciences, or education field and have completed at one year of full-time study toward your Ph.D., you may be eligible for the Inter-University Doctoral Consortium: an initiative that lets students from participating schools take classes at several host institutions. The list of host institutions & complete procedures can be found on the GSNB website and must be approved and signed by the graduate program director and chair or advisor. Courses at the host institution must be for a letter grade (audits are not permitted) though that grade is not calculated into the Rutgers grade point average.
Important note: You will not be able to graduate if you are in your last semester and taking a Princeton exchange course. Please do not register for a Princeton exchange course if you are filing for your degree.
HOW DO I REGISTER FOR CLASSES?
Continuing students may register via telephone (RTTRS) or computer (WEBREG, available on- line at: https://sims.rutgers.edu/webreg). Once registered, students can use either method to drop and/or add courses. Students registering after the deadline (usually the Friday before classes begin each term) will be charged a $50.00 late registration fee. Instructions for registration via RTTRS or WEBREG are included with all registration materials and on-line. This information is also available on-line: https://scheduling.rutgers.edu/.
HOW MANY CREDITS CONSTITUTES A FULL TIME STUDENT?
The official university definition of full-time enrollment for graduate students is 9 credits per term.
WHAT IS RUTGERS ADD/DROP POLICY?
The add-drop dates have been changing over the past several semesters. Please consult the Graduate School-New Brunswick Academic Calendar for the current term. After the add deadline, courses may only be added to a student's transcript with permission of the graduate program and the Office of the Dean. After the withdrawal deadline, and through the 7th week of the term, students may withdraw without permission, but will have a "W" posted on their transcript and will be charged tuition for any dropped courses. From the 7th-11th weeks of the term all requests for course withdrawals and changes to "audit" status (N credit) during this period must be approved by the Office of the Dean and must be accompanied by a letter from the instructor of the course indicating grade and/or academic status of the student as of that date.
HOW DO I REGISTER MY TA/GA APPOINTMENT?
All students awarded Teaching or Graduate Assistantships must register their assistantship appointments each semester for the appropriate number of credits. The GA registration is 16:xxx:866. The TA registration is 16:xxx:877. Students who are awarded a full assistantship should register for 6 "E"credits while those who receive one-half of a GA or TA should register for 3 "E" credits. Students who hold full-time appointments for the academic year are entitled to tuition remission for up to 6 credits during the summer following their appointment.
HOW DO I REGISTER MY FELLOWSHIP APPOINTMENT?
All students awarded Fellowships must register their appointment by enrolling in 16:790:811 for zero (0) credits. Fellows are not normally eligible for summer tuition remission. But this is the only way to record your fellowship.
CAN I TAKE MORE THAN 16 CREDITS?
Any student wishing to take more than 16 credits in a given semester must get the approval of the graduate director and the Office of the Dean. Teaching assistantship and graduate assistantship credits are included in this count, so a student with a full TA or GA (6 credits) is entitled to 10 credits of course work for a total of 16 credits. Excess credits will not normally be approved when research credits are included.
HOW DO YOU KNOW I WANT A COURSE EXCLUDED FROM GRADUATE CREDIT?
If a course is to be excluded from graduate credit, the prefix "E" should be added. In this case,the student must do all the work (including the final examination) and the student will receive aletter grade (A, B, C, etc.). Neither of these registration choices will award graduate degree credit.
HOW CAN I AUDIT A COURSE?
If a student wishes to take a course on an audit basis, the appropriate letter prefix must be entered when registering. If the decision is to take the class as a formal auditor, the prefix "N"should be entered. This means that the student will do all work short of taking the final exam (all reports and other exams must be taken), and based on the work submitted, the Professor will issue an S or U (Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory) grade. N credit courses are not counted towards the student's graduate degree.
CAN I SIT IN ON A CLASS WITHOUTH REGISTERING?
If a student wishes to sit in on a class as an "informal" auditor, the student should not register for the class, but ask the instructor's permission to "sit in."
MY GRADE IS BLANK/MISSING, WHAT DO I DO?
Grades left blank on a roster will be given the code "NG" for no grade by the Graduate Registrar. If these grades are left blank for two semesters they will be converted to an F by the registrar. Final grades or grades of Incomplete should be submitted on the Incomplete rosters for all students.
I RECEIVED AN "INCOMPLETE" GRADE (IN). HOW DO I CHANGE THAT?
One-Year Completion Deadline
- Standard Deadline: Students have a maximum of one year from the end of the course to resolve an "IN" grade.
- Waiver Requests: To request an extension beyond one year, the student must apply before the expiration date.
- Extensions require recommendations from both the Course Instructor and the Graduate Director, as well as final approval from the Office of the Dean.
- Note: Extension waivers are not routinely granted.
Multiple Incompletes & Registration Hold
- Grace Period: Students who accumulate more than one "IN" grade are granted a one-semester grace period to reduce their total number of incompletes to one (or zero).
- Registration Restriction: If a student fails to reduce their incompletes within that semester, a registration hold will be applied. They cannot register for additional courses until the excess incompletes are resolved.
Resolving Excess Incompletes
To lift a registration hold, excess incompletes must be handled in one of two ways:
- Completion: Finish the required coursework for a letter grade.
- Abandonment ("PIN"): Formally agree to forfeit the privilege of completing the course. With program approval, the grade will convert to a Permanent Incomplete ("PIN"), allowing the student to continue registration.
WHAT IS A "PERMANENT" INCOMPLETE GRADE (PIN)?
Incomplete Limits & Registration Restrictions
- Limits: Students are restricted in the number of active Incomplete ("IN") grades they may carry at one time.
- Holds: Exceeding this limit will block a student from registering for future courses.
Resolving or "Abandoning" an Incomplete
Students with an "IN" grade have two paths for resolution:
- Option A: Complete the Course: Convert the "IN" to a standard letter grade by finishing the required coursework.
- Option B: Abandon the Course ("PIN"): If a student chooses not to complete the course, they may request to convert the "IN" to a Permanent Incomplete ("PIN"), waiving their right to finish the course.
Conversion to a Permanent Incomplete Grade
- Expiration: An "IN" grade that is not resolved within the permitted timeframe may convert to a "PIN" to indicate the option to complete the course has expired.
- Registration Impact: A "PIN" is not counted as an active incomplete and will not block course registration.
- Academic Standing: Repeatedly receiving "PIN" grades may be flagged by faculty as a pattern of unsatisfactory academic progress, potentially resulting in an academic warning or dismissal.
Requests for conversion of Incompletes (IN's) to Permanent Incompletes (PIN's) MUST originate from the student (but may be recommended with reasons stated by the graduate program director) by forwarding a letter or submitting a Change of Grade form to at the Office of the Dean. PIN's are not to be assigned to final grade rosters.
WHAT IS RUTGERS REFUND POLICY FOR A COMPLETE COURSE WITHDRAWAL?
Complete withdrawals from all courses in a given term may entitle students to refunds, depending on the date the forms are received at either the Office of the Graduate Registrar or the Office of the Dean. Before classes begin, a 100% tuition refund will be issued; as of the first day of classes, an 80% refund will be issued, and every two weeks after that date the refund drops another 20%, until the end of the sixth week of classes, at which time no further refunds will be issued. There are no refunds for dropping just one or two courses when there are other courses on the same registration.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR READMISSION?
This form is to be filed any time a graduate student misses one or more semesters of registration and wants to continue matriculating in the same program. A new application will be filed through Rutgers Graduate Admissions if a lapse in registration is more than two years and/or their program no longer has the original application. Advanced Doctoral Candidates: Doctoral students who have successfully passed their qualifying examinations must complete a Restoration of Active Status Form in addition to the standard re-enrollment materials.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR RESTORATION OF ACTIVE STATUS?
Any student who has passed the Ph.D. qualifying examination and has not been registered for one or more semesters must file this form. This form is to be submitted with a minimum of 1 credit of in-state tuition at the current rate per semester missed, up to a maximum of five semesters. Payment is made at the time the Application for Readmission form is filed.