University students register online for each semester. Complete information about the registration process is given in the Course Schedule.

Registration for New Graduate Students

Applicants are notified by e-mail of their admission or denial. Admitted applicants should notify their graduate advisors as soon as possible whether they plan to accept admission. Either in an interview or by correspondence, admitted applicants should then learn the specific requirements of their graduate program. Students should consult the Course Schedule to learn whether advising before registration is required in their major area.

Late Registration

Students are expected to register at their earliest opportunity. A student who registers late is charged a fee to defray the cost of the extra services necessary to effect the late registration. Late registration periods are identified in the Course Schedule each semester (spring, fall, and summer). Students may register after the fourth class day in a fall or spring semester or the second class day in a summer term only with the approval of the department chair, graduate advisor, the student’s dean, and the registrar. Registration after these dates is approved only in unusual circumstances.

Registration for Continuing Graduate Students

Continuing graduate students should consult the Course Schedule to learn whether advising before registration is required in their major area.

To continue in the Graduate School beyond the first term, the student must make satisfactory progress in fulfilling any admission conditions that were imposed, meet any requirements made in writing by the Graduate Studies Committee, maintain a graduate grade point average of at least 3.00, and receive the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee. For more information about grade requirements, see Graduate Credit.

Registration Following Graduation

Graduate students who wish to continue enrollment beyond the term in which their degree is awarded must be admitted as nondegree-seeking students or as degree-seeking students in a new degree program. Students must request a change of major or degree-seeking status from the Graduate School.

Course Load (Quantity of Work Rule)

Please see General Information, Academic Policies and Procedures, Quantity of Work Rule for information about course load.

Maximum Course Load

The maximum course load for a graduate student is published in General Information > Academic Policies and Procedures > Quantity of Work Rule.

Full-Time Course Load

There is no minimum course load for graduate students. Please see General Information > Academic Policies and Procedures > Quantity of Work Rule  for the Graduate school's full-time course load requirements.

Agencies that grant loans or provide for educational funding may establish different definitions of full-time status. Students should be familiar with the regulations of any agency to which they have an obligation.

Under various circumstances, graduate students must register for and must remain registered for a full-time load. In other circumstances, graduate students must register and must remain registered for a minimum number of hours; those requirements are given below.

Holders of Graduate School–administered fellowships and scholarships: Nine hours each fall or spring semester and three hours in the summer semester (in any combination of summer terms).

Graduate student academic employees: Please see General Information > Academic Policies and Procedures > Quantity of Work Rule  for the Graduate school's full-time course load requirements for graduate student academic employees.

Students receiving certain student loans should consult the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid for course-load regulations.

Students living in University housing should consult University Housing and Dining for course-load regulations.

International students: Nine hours each fall or spring semester. International students must consult with International Student Scholar Services and must have the written permission of their dean to take fewer than nine hours. No minimum load is required in the summer. Some approved courses in English as a second language do not carry University credit, but each course is considered the equivalent of a three-hour course for purposes of the course load requirement. Students may enroll in these courses with the approval of their graduate advisor.

Affiliated studies: Students enroll in affiliated studies (AS) when they participate in a study abroad program offered by an institution with which the University has an affiliation agreement. Students enrolled in affiliated studies are considered full-time students, but are not eligible to serve as graduate student academic employees. More information about affiliated programs is given in General Information.

International study and research: Students may enroll in international study and research (ISR) when they conduct research or study independently abroad. A student enrolled in international study and research is considered a full-time student, but are not eligible to serve as graduate student academic employees. When a doctoral candidate receives approval to enroll in ISR, that enrollment is an acceptable substitute for registration in dissertation hours, except in the final semester, when enrollment in the dissertation writing course (-99W) is required. More information about international study and research is available from Texas Global.

In Absentia Registration

See General Information, Registration, Tuition, and Fees, In Absentia Registration for information about registering In Absentia.