FAQs on our Graduate Programs

1. Are there any rules for the registration?
It is extremely important to be properly registered by the "Snapshot" date. This means that you must be registered for a correct number of credits, which can be 12, 9, or less, depending on the number of graduate credits that you have accumulated so far. Summer registration has its own rules, as explained below. Please read the following FAQ carefully to understand what all this means.

For academic year registration, the rules are as follows:
• G1, G3 students: 12 credits/semester
• G2, G4 students: 9 credits/semester
• G5 students: 9 credits/semester of which at least 3 credits must be CSE 699, Dissertation Research, or CSE 700 (if research is done outside of NY State) or CSE 701 (if research is done outside of the U.S.). The remaining credits can come from other graduate Computer Science courses and seminars.
2. What if I am not registered as a full time student?
• All students: loss of support and tuition waiver, if any. In addition, part time students cannot work or live on campus.
• International students: Will loose legal status. The consequences might be severe and result in a disruption of the continuation of graduate studies.
• A domestic student who does not have financial support must register for at least one credit (or request a leave of absense) for each of the semestors prior to graduation. Failure to do so will entail a hefty fee and the need to file for reinstatement.
• Graduating students must be registered in the semester in which they plan to graduate. For summer semesters it can be 0 credits of CSE 800 (or any other CSE course). For Spring and Fall semesters, a domestic graduating student can register for 1 credit. An international student must be registered full time during Fall and Spring, as explained below.
3. What is the registration Snapshot Date?

Usually in the 15th of classes -- watch the school calendar each semester. The school calendar calls it the "Last day to add classes for graduate students." (exact wording may vary).

4. Whose responsibility it is to be properly registered?
Yours alone.

Neither the Graduate Directors nor the secretaries will listen to -- or attempt to resolve -- the problems that might arise from missing the snapshot deadline. In the past, attempts to fix such problems have been costly to us and mostly futile.

5. What about summer registration?

New students who were admitted for a summer semester must register for at least six credits for the summer session to which they were admitted. They do not need to register for Summer Session II if they have registered for Summer Session I.

<Continuing students who have GAs or RAs during the Summer are strongly encouraged to register for the summer. If there are no appropriate courses available, students may register for 0 credits of CSE 800. The Graduate School advises this for reasons related to tracking federal grants, tax issues, and Homeland Security.

Graduating students must be registered for the semester they plan to graduate. Students graduating during the Summer can register for 0 credits of CSE 800.


6. Can I register for less than 9 credits in a Spring or Fall semester?
This is called underload. An M.S. (not Ph.D.) student can request an underload in the last semester of study if fewer than 9 credits are required for graduation. For instance, if you have earned 24 graduate credits and only 7 are required to graduate, you can request an underload for 7 credits. You must see the Graduate Secretary for this at least two days before the snapshot date.

An M.S. student with an approved underload is still considered a full-time student.

If you are a G1 student (have less than 24 graduate credits) then you must register for 12 credits. However, even in this case underload (i.e., registration for less than 12 credits) might be possible. For instance, suppose you have accummulated 18 credits and two courses have an "I" grade. Assuming that you will complete these two courses in the semester that just begun, you can request an underload for 6 credits.

Note that if you request an underload in a certain semester, you must graduate at the end of that semester. Therefore, underloading carries certain risks, especially for foreign students. For instance, failing a course at this stage will prevent the student from graduating and require reinstatement from the Immigration.

A Ph.D. student in the G5 status must register for 9 credits of which at least 3 must be for CSE 699. There is no provision for underload for Ph.D. students --- unlike in the case of M.S. students.

7. How to find the correct number of credits to register for?

The algorithm to figure out the correct number of credits to register for
IF
number of ACCUMULATED GRADUATE credits = 24
THEN
register for 9 credits (unless underload has been approved)
IF
number of ACCUMULATED GRADUATE credits < 24
THEN
register for 12 credits (unless underload has been approved)

Note:
1. Must be GRADUATE credits, i.e., the CSE5XX or CSE6XX courses. Undergraduate courses don't count. BUT, a UG course taken under CSE587 is OK. NOTE: You must NEVER take an undergraduate course except as CSE587.
   If you officially transferred GRADUATE courses from another institution or took graduate courses in other departments at SBU, those credits count as well.
2. ACCUMULATED credits: Means credits for courses where you received A to C- (for letter graded courses) or an S (for S/U graded courses). Courses with the grades "I", "R", "F", "U", etc., do not give you accumulated credits. If you are unsure how many credits you have, check the SOLAR system. It lists the number of accumulated credits in your transcript at the end of each semester.
3. Credits must be accumulated by the snapshot date
   
   Thus, watch out for your incomplete grades in courses like CSE523/4, CSE599, and others. The "I" grade must be replaced with a passing grade by the snapshot date in order for the credits to be counted as accummulated. That is, a new grade must show up on SOLAR before the snapshot date.
   
   If you are expecting a grade change that might affect (b) above, make sure that the change is recorded by the snapshot date.
4. If unsure, check with the Graduate School -- they are the policy setters.
5. If you officially transfered graduate credits from another school, make sure they are accounted for. Check with the graduate school to make sure.
6. If in doubt, check with the Graduate School. DO NOT ask graduate directors because what counts is your official status as the graduate school sees it. We don't have access to their system and cannot provide authoritative answer.
Thesis Research: CSE 599 and CSE 699
• Ph.D. students can register for CSE 699 only after passing RPE and reaching the G5 status. Students in the G3 or G4 status who wish to register for research or project credits must do so by choosing CSE 593.
• M.S. students can register for CSE 599 only if they choose the Thesis option. This requires permission of the advisor and of the Graduate Program Director. M.S. students who wish to register for research or project credits other than Thesis Research or CSE 523/524 must do so by choosing CSE 593.
• Note: Students who register for CSE 699 or CSE 599 without meeting the above conditions will be deregistered.
8. What about my tuition waiver?

If you are receiving a tuition waiver, you must be aware of the following rules:

• If you are not registered as a full time student then the tuition waiver (and, in fact, any other kind of support) is canceled.
• Tuition waiver is paid only up to the minimum amount of credits that you are required to maintain in order to be in full status. That is, if you are getting full tuition waiver, it goes up to 12 credits for G1/G3 students, up to only 9 credits for G2/G4/G5 students.
• Paying for any extra credits is the responsibility of the student. Note that every semester there is certain deadline after which the University charges tuition even if you drop the extra credits. Please be aware of the appropriate deadlines.
• Registering but not attempting a course (receiving the NR grade) is treated the same way as if the course was never registered for.
9. Any other precautions for International Students?
• Read all your documents (such as I-20) carefully. See your advisor at the International Services to make sure that everything is fine.
• Don't ask the Graduate Directors or the secretaries -- we are neither qualified nor authorized to give you advice regarding your immigration status.
• Beginning with January 1, 2003, International Services don't have the flexibility to fix status violations. Regardless of who made the mistake, the student is at fault as far as the INS is concerned.