FAQs for Current Students
When is the deadline for me to register for next semester?
You must be registered prior to the beginning of any semester. If tuition or fees are not paid before the first day of the semester, your registration will be cancelled. You will then have to re-register, pay tuition or fees, plus pay a $200 late fee. (Remember that you could be encumbered from registering because of an unpaid parking ticket, lack of immunizations, not complying with a condition of admission, overdue library book, unpaid rent in Purdue housing, etc.)
How do I indicate that I plan to graduate at the end of next semester?
Mark on your registration form that you are a candidate. Alternatively, the Graduate Secretary will also ask students to declare candidacy within a month of the start of each semester.
How do I register while on Research in Absentia?
The beauty of Research in Absentia is that you will be automatically billed and registered for each Fall and Spring semester until you drop this registration. There’s no reason for you to register for summer unless for some reason, you have to have your defense and deposit in the summer.
HOWEVER, if you have students loans which require that you maintain a full-time registration, then each and every fall and spring semester, you need to change this registration from three hours to nine hours. Even if you put on the initial form that you would be registering for 9 hours each semester, it automatically converts back to three hours each semester. The Graduate Secretary can send in the change each semester for you but it is up to the student to notify the Graduate Secretary to do this. Registration is the responsibility of the student, not the Graduate Secretary. Do not expect her to contact you to see how you want to register!
When is my Plan of Study due to the Graduate Committee?
Plans of Study are due by the 12th week of your second semester. Forms are available on department's website. After the Graduate committee approves your plan, you submit it electronically to the Graduate School via your SSINFO account. Instructions are available on the department's and the Graduate School's websites.
How do I change my Plan of Study?
- Course deleted / added, and the reason for the change.
- Committee member deleted / added, and the reason for the change.
Changes are submitted electronically. The only time changes have to go back to the Graduate Committee would be if the student were to change almost everything. Check with the Graduate Secretary or the Director of Graduate Studies if you have a question.
How do I register for a COM 590 Independent Study?
Forms are available on department's website. Follow the instructions. Be sure your request gets to the Graduate Committee, either via the Director of Graduate Studies or the Graduate Secretary, in the semester prior to the semester that you want to do the independent study.
How do I set up my Preliminary Examination?
Your advisor and you will contact members of your examination committee to determine content and time allowed for each question. The questions are sent to the Graduate Secretary and you and the Graduate Secretary will work out the schedule of when you will take each question. With the same schedule you can also reserve a laptop through the main office. You also need to get a blank disk from the main office to use. When you finish each question, you will save it on the disk and give the disk to the Graduate Secretary. She will return it to you in time for your next question. You have thirty days to write from the day you start writing. You then have another thirty days to do the oral portion.
How do I set up my Comprehensive Examination?
One week is designated each semester by the Graduate Committee for comprehensive exams. Usually it is the second week after October Break in the fall semester, and the week of the second Monday following Spring Break in the spring semester. You and your advisor will contact members of your exam committee to determine content and time allowed for each question. The questions are sent to the Graduate Secretary and you and the Graduate Secretary will work out the schedule of when you will take each question. With the same schedule you can also reserve a laptop through the main office. You also need to get a blank disk from the main office to use. When you finish each question, you will save it on the disk and give the disk to the Graduate Secretary. She will return it to you in time for your next question.
When is the deadline for me to do the final oral defense and the deadline to deposit my dissertation/thesis?
Deadlines for each semeste's final exam, i.e., oral defense of dissertation and the deposit of same, oral defense of thesis and the deposit of same, or final exam of a non-thesis Master's student (comprehensive exam) may be found at the Graduate School's website:
www.gradschool.purdue.edu/calendar
We have to give the Graduate School at least two weeks' notice to obtain the paperwork required at the final exam.
How do I set up appointment for format check of my dissertation or thesis?
Make an appointment by calling the Thesis Format Office at 6-3157. They will ask the approximate number of pages in your dissertation or thesis so they'll know how long the appointment should be. The Thesis Format Office is located within the Graduate School - 170 Young Grad House. While you are there, make the appointment to deposit it with them. Look under "Publications, Forms & Reports" on the Graduate School website for A Manual for the Preparation of Graduate Theses.