ASE Graduate Program:
Current Students
Now that you have begun your graduate studies, it is time to look ahead and see what you must do to complete your study and research programs and to graduate. You might go back and quickly review the Prospective Student information and the New Student information to recall what is there.
Table of Contents
Gruaduate Program Organization
Graduate School. You are enrolled in the Graduate School not the Cockrell School of Engineering. The Graduate School sets the policies for graduate study throughout the University, keeps student records, and certifies you for graduation.
ASE Graduate Studies Committee. The ASE Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) is comprised of the faculty members in the Department who are associated with the ASE Graduate Program. The GSC sets the policies for graduate study in ASE. These policies can be more strict than those of the Graduate School but not less. The GSC Chair oversees the work of the GSC. In the ASE/EM Department, the GSC Chair and the Graduate Advisor are the same person.
Graduate Advisor. The Graduate Advisor plays two roles. First, he is the representative of the Graduate School to the ASE Graduate Program. As such all transmissions (petitions, applications, nominations, ...) from the ASE Graduate Program to the Graduate School require his approval. Second, he is responsible for carrying out the day-to-day activities of the ASE Graduate Program. The Graduate Advisor is
Prof. Glenn Lightsey, WRW 412C, 512-471-5322, lightsey@mail.utexas.edu
Graduate Coordinator. The Graduate Coordinator works with the Graduate Advisor in carrying out the day-to-day activities of the ASE Graduate Program. She is the record keeper for the program and the initial point of contact for ASE graduate students. The Graduate Coordinator is
Tina Woods, WRW 215D, 512-471-7595, twoods@mail.utexas.edu
Graduate Catalog. Graduate School rules are covered in this catalog. Each student should buy one (it costs $3 at the Registrar's Office) or look at it on the Web at
www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/catalogs
General Information. This catalog applies to the entire university (residency, tuition, fees, libraries, etc.). It can be purchased at the Registrar's Office for $1, or it can viewed at
www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/catalogs
Course Schedule. The Course Schedule is available each semester prior to pre-registration. In addition to a listing of courses, you can find deadlines, registration/add-drop procedures, location of departments and much more. It is available on-line at
www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/schedules
Mail. There are two kinds of regular mail at UT: US mail and Campus mail. Graduate student mail boxes are in WRW 222. Almost all University information and announcements are sent by Campus mail, so you should check your mail regularly. Please do not have personal mail sent to you through the Department. It will be returned to the sender.
E-Mail. By now you should have gotten your free e-mail account and given the address to the Graduate Coordinator. Most of the departmental announcements and information will be sent to you by e-mail.
Bulletin Board. There is a bulletin board for graduate students outside WRW 215. We will post information regarding jobs, fellowships, other graduate programs, and other matters of importance to you. You should make it a habit to check the bulletin boards periodically.
Graduate Coordinator If you have been having difficulty finding the answer to a question in the published material, the Graduate Coordinator may be able to help you.
Graduate Advisor. The last stop within the Department is the Graduate Advisor. If the Graduate Advisor cannot help you, you are headed for the Graduate School.
Graduate School (Office of Graduate Studies) You are enrolled in the Graduate School, not the Cockrell School of Engineering. The Graduate School offices are located in MAI 101.
Full-time Student. To be a full-time graduate student, you must register for nine hours each semester and three hours during the summer. You are expected to be a full-time graduate student unless you have a job outside the department.
Financial Aid. RA's are hired by individual faculty members and paid from grants and contracts obtained by the faculty member. TA's are hired by the Department but usually on the recommendations of faculty members. A small number of fellowships is available. These fellowships are called University Continuing Fellowships, and you can apply for one at the beginning of the spring semester.
Grading System. UT is on the 4.0 system with plus and minus grades. Hence, A = 4.00, A- = 3.67, B+ = 3.33, B = 3.00, and so on. The GPA is computed by multiplying the course grade by the number of credit hours, adding the results for each course, and dividing by the total number of credit hours.
Academic Standards. To be in good academic standing, you must maintain a "B" average. If you go below a 3.0, you will be placed on academic probation. Failure to get off academic probation by the end of your next registration will result in your being dismissed from the University.
Incompletes. The grade of incomplete (X) should only be given to you in the case where a small amount of work is needed to complete the course. You must make up an incomplete (X) in the following session or it will become a permanent incomplete (I). Once this happens you lose forever the opportunity to convert it to a grade.
Credit/No Credit Grades. Students who enter the program without a previous ASE degree and must take some courses to remove a deficiency can take these courses on the credit/no credit (CR/NC) basis. These courses do not count toward your degree. MS students cannot count courses taken on the CR/NC basis toward the degree. PhD students cannot take courses on the CR/NC basis until they pass the written qualifying exam.
Conditions for Financial Aid. Support as an RA, TA, or AI is contingent upon satisfactory grades and satisfactory research work. To be reappointed to one of these positions,
- your GPA must be 3.0 or higher,
- you must not have more than one temporary incomplete (X) and one permanent incomplete (I), and
- you must be a full-time student, that is, registered for nine hours (three hours in the summer) during the appointment.
Vacation and Sick Leave. Even if you have a half-time appointment as an RA, you are considered a student. Hence, you do not have vacation and sick leave, but you do get the same holidays as the faculty and staff. If you need to be away an extended time, you must discuss the absence with your advisor before you leave and apply for a leave of absence. If you get sick, let your Supervisor know.
Teaching Assistant Positions. TA's are either graders, recitation leaders, or lab instructors. You must reapply each semester for a TA position.
Assistant Instructor Positions. Occasionally, the Department hires a graduate student to teach a regular course. To qualify for an AI position, you must have an MS or the equivalent; you must have been a TA, and you must have credit for 398T. International students must be certified for English proficiency.
Time Limit for Support. There is a limit on the number of semesters that you can have a half-time RA, TA, or AI appointment. Partial appointments are added to get the number of half-time appointments. If you start the PhD program with an MS, the limit is 14 semesters. If you begin the PhD program with a BS, and get an MS along the way, the limit can be extended to 16 semesters. Any exceptions to these limits will require substantiation of progress toward the degree.
Parking. Graduate students with half-time appointments (20 hours/week) can purchase a "G" parking permit which allows parking on campus in designated areas. See the Graduate Coordinator for a letter of authorization. You can park free on campus weekdays after 5:45 pm and weekends.
Registration/Fee Bill. Check your registration for accuracy of unique numbers as soon as you see it. If you have mistakenly registered for ASE 379 instead of ASE 397, we cannot change that registration beyond a certain time limit. If you have a zero-fee bill, you must confirm (TEX or WEB) that you are attending.
Transfer Credit. You can transfer from another institution a maximum of 6 semester hours of graduate credit relevant to your program of work. These courses must have a grade of A or B and must not have been used for another degree. You must file a petition to the Graduate School through the Graduate Advisor. This petition requires a transcript and verification that it is a graduate course.
Leave of Absence. Graduate students are expected to be enrolled every fall and spring. Should you leave for a semester and not apply for a Leave of Absence, you will have to reapply for admission and pay the fee. If you apply for a Leave of Absence before leaving and return at the proper time, readmission is automatic and no fees are ascessed.
If you are a PhD student in candidacy and you leave without a Leave of Absence, you will have to apply for readmission. Furthermore, you will be expected to pay the tuition for each semester you were gone.
Residence. You must complete all but 6 hours of the coursework required for the MS degree at UT-Austin.
Options. There are three options, each requiring 30 semester credit hours.
- The thesis option requires 24 hours of coursework plus 6 hours of thesis.
- The report option requires 27 semester hours of coursework plus 3 hours of report.
- The coursework option requires 30 hours of coursework.
Students receiving financial aid (RA, TA, Fellowship) through the sponsorship of the department are expected to take the thesis option. The report option and the coursework option can be completed in one year.
Math I and II. ASE 380P.1 and 380P.2 are not recommended for beginning MS students. These courses are for PhD students who are preparing for the Written Qualifying Exam.
Major. The major consists of at least 18 hours in the area of study (does not include thesis or report).
Supporting Work. Supporting work consists of at least 6 hours outside area of study, preferably outside the department.
Undergraduate Courses. As many as 6 hours of upper-division undergraduate courses are allowed for the thesis and report options, and only 3 hours are allowed for the coursework option.
Credit/No Credit Grades. Courses taken on the credit/no credit basis may not count towards the degree.
Business-related Courses. Only one three-hour business-related course may count towards the degree. It must be graduate level and contain analytical content.
Time Limit. Coursework for the MS degree is good for a maximum of 6 years.
Thesis Research. To get credit for thesis research, you must first take ASE 698A (3 hours) and then ASE 698B (3 hours). You must take both courses, and you cannot take both courses in the same semester. Also, you must be registered for ASE 698B in the semester that you intend to graduate.
Research. To spend more than three hours doing research under ASE 698A or B, you can take ASE 397K or 697K in addition to 698A or B. These courses fulfill the requirements for full-time students for financial aid but do not count toward the degree.
Seminar. All graduate students are expected to attend the seminar (ASE397) in their area each semester and to register for it whenever it is possible. Seminars are a standard way of transmitting information, and a healthy seminar program requires regular attendance. Seminar counts toward the full-time student requirement for financial aid but does not count toward the degree.
The thesis and graduation are related topics because you must file for graduation at the beginning of the semester in which you think you will graduate, whether or not you have started writing the thesis.
Thesis Committee. Your thesis committee is your Supervisor plus a Reader. The Supervisor must be a member of the ASE Graduate Studies Committee. The Reader can be another faculty member (ASE or not) or a qualified researcher. If the Reader is a UT faculty member, you need not do anything further. If the Reader is a UT researcher, you must submit a copy of the researcher's resume so the Graduate School can decide if the researcher is qualified to be on your committee. If the faculty member or researcher is away from UT, you need both a resume and a letter signed by the Reader indicating the willingness to serve without cost to UT.
Thesis Format. The thesis format can be obtained from the Graduate School at www.utexas.edu/ogs/pdn under Graduation Packets/Masters.
Thesis Approval. When the thesis is completed, it must be approved by your Thesis Committee. Be sure you give the thesis to your committee at least one month prior to the date you want to have it approved. Also, your committee might want you to make some changes before they will approve the thesis. This might take some time.
Thesis Submittal. While the thesis can be submitted on paper or electronically (as a pdf file), most are submitted on paper. For paper, be sure to have the final version of your thesis checked by the Graduate School for format before you have it bound.
MS Graduation. At the beginning of the graduation semester, get a copy of Masters Deadlines from the Graduate School. It gives all the details about graduation in that semester including all the forms which must be submitted and when. Forms which require the Graduate Advisor's signature must be completely filled out prior to requesting the signature.
Course Requirement. You must be registered for ASE 698B or 398R during the semester you plan to graduate.
Filing for Graduation. During the first two weeks of the semester in which you plan to graduate (one week in the summer), fill out and print the ASE MS Program of Work (available on-line). List only the courses which count toward your MS degree. Have this form signed by the Graduate Advisor, and return it to the Graduate Coordinator. This document will become part of your official University record. After you submit the Program of Work, go to the following Graduate School website and click on the link for Graduation Guidelines and Deadlines for Master's Candidates and follow instructions. www.utexas.edu/ogs/pdn/index.html
Certification. At the end of the graduation semester (before or on the last class day), fill out and print the Master's Degree Certification, get it signed by the Graduate Advisor, and submit it to the Graduate School. The Graduate School also wants you to submit the Master's Data Sheet, the Copyright Disclaimer, and Master's Thesis and Photocopy Permission form.
Deadline. The deadline for submitting the thesis or the report to the Graduate School is the last day of the semester.
Missed Deadline. If you miss the graduation deadline at the end of the semester, you must register for ASE 698B the next session in order to graduate. An exception to this rule occurs at the end of the summer session. If you miss the summer deadline but you turn in the thesis before the beginning of the fall semester, you can register in absentia for the fall semester. In absentia registration costs $25.
Residence. You must complete at least 18 of the 24 hours of the coursework required for the PhD degree at UT-Austin.
Foreign Language Requirement. There is no foreign language requirement for the PhD degree.
Number of Hours. 24 hours of graduate courses beyond the MS degree plus 6 hours of dissertation courses (ASE 399R and ASE 399W).
Time Limit. The coursework must be taken within 6 years of being admitted to Candidacy.
Letter Grades. Courses must be taken for letter grades until you have passed the written qualifying exam.
PhD without MS. Graduate students are allowed to pursue the PhD degree without getting an MS degree along the way, and occasionally a student tries to do so. The coursework requirement for this degree is 48 hours: the 24-hour requirement of the MS degree plus the 24-hour requirement of the PhD degree. You must complete at least 42 hours of the coursework required for this degree at UT Austin.
Dissertation Research. Once you have been admitted to candidacy, you get credit for dissertation research by registering for ASE X99R first and then ASE X99W each succeeding semester. Before you are admitted to candidacy, credit for dissertation research is obtained by registering for ASE X97K. The X97K courses do not count toward your degree, but they can qualify you as a full-time student for financial aid.
Seminar. All graduate students are expected to attend the seminar (ASE397) in their area each semester and to register for it whenever it is possible. Seminars are a standard way of transmitting information, and a healthy seminar program requires regular attendance. Seminar counts toward the full-time student requirement for financial aid but does not count toward the degree.
When? The Written Qualifying Exam is given once a year in June. If you begin the PhD program in the fall, you should take the exam during your first year.
What? It is a sequence of three, three-hour exams on fundamentals. Students are required to take a mathematics exam plus two of the following: fluid mechanics, aerothermodynamics, control theory, dynamics, orbital mechanics, and solid mechanics.
Registering. The exam will be announced around March 1. You will be asked to go to the office of the Graduate Coordinator and register for the exam. You should first consult with your Supervisor to be sure you register for the right exams.
Guidelines and Sample Exams. Written qualifying guidelines and sample exams are available on the department web site.
Results. The results will be announced at the beginning of July.
Retaking the Exam. If you do not pass the exam, the Graduate Studies Committee may or may not allow you to take the exam a second time. If you are allowed to retake the exam, you must retake all three exams.
When? After you pass the Written Qualifying Exam, you should plan to take the Oral Qualifying Exam near the beginning of the fall semester.
What? The Oral Qualifying Exam is a three-hour exam on fundamentals in the general area of your research. The purpose of the exam is to certify your preparation for doing research.
Exam Committee. The exam is conducted by a committee of four faculty from your area of study, and the chairman of the committee is your Supervisor. It is intended that these four faculty will also be on your Dissertation Committee.
Arranging the Exam. To arrange the oral exam, download an Oral Exam Request form. With your Supervisor, select the faculty you would like to conduct the exam, and before contacting these faculty get the committee approved by the Graduate Advisor. Next, ask the faculty if they are willing to be on the exam committee, and arrange a time for the exam. Reserve a conference room for the exam on line. Give the completed form to the Graduate Coordinator, and an official notice of the exam will be sent to each member of the exam committee.
Results. Immediately after the exam, the committee will decide whether or not you pass the exam and if there are any conditions imposed on the pass. You will be told the results of the exam as soon as the committee completes its deliberations.
Retaking the Exam. If you do not pass the exam, the committee will decide whether or not you may retake the exam. You will have to wait at least six months before you can retake the exam.
Once the written and oral exams have been passed, a Dissertation Committee is formed, and application for Candidacy is made.
Dissertation Committee. In consultation with your Supervisor, select someone to add to the Oral Exam Committee to form the Dissertation Committee, and get the approval of the Graduate Advisor before officially inviting this person to be on the committee. This person must be from outside the department, and it can be a faculty member or a qualified researcher. If the person is a UT faculty member, you do not need to provide any credentials. If the person is a UT researcher, you must provide a copy of the researcher's resume so the Graduate School can decide if the researcher is qualified to be on your committee. If the faculty member or researcher is not from UT, you need both a resume and a letter signed by the person indicating the willingness to serve without cost to UT.
Application. First, fill out and print a copy of the ASE PhD Program of Work. List the courses you are counting toward the PhD degree. Have this form signed by the Graduate Advisor, and return it to the Graduate Coordinator. The remainder of the application consists of the on-line Application for Doctoral Candidacy.
Candidacy. If everything is in order, you should be notified by the Graduate School within a few weeks that you have been admitted to Candidacy. From this point on you can register for ASE X99R to start getting credit for your dissertation research.
Course. To get credit for the dissertation research, you enroll first in ASE X99R and then in ASE X99W until you graduate. If you have not been admitted to Candidacy, you can register for ASE X97K.
Progress. Keep your committee informed about your research progress, perhaps through an annual seminar.
Format. Guidelines for the format of the dissertation can be obtained from the Graduate School under Graduation Packets/Doctoral.
Dissertation Submittal. All dissertations are required to be submitted electronically (a pdf file on a disk). The electronic signature sheet should have the names listed but not be signed. A paper signature sheet with signatures is also required. A bound paper copy is also required for use by the University Library.
The dissertation defense (final oral) and graduation are related topics so you should read both at this time. At the beginning of the semester in which you plan to take the final oral, you should get a copy of Doctoral Deadlines from the Graduate School. It tells how to arrange the final oral and what forms must be submitted for graduation. Forms which require the Graduate Advisor's signature must be completed before requesting the signature.
The Pink Form. When you approach the finish line, you must think about defending your dissertation (taking the Final Oral Exam) and applying for graduation. You must apply for graduation at the beginning of the semester in which you think you will graduate. The Request for Final Oral Examination can be filled out on-line, but it must be printed on pink paper which can be obtained from the Copy Room (WRW 222).
Arranging the Defense. Give the dissertation to the committee at least one month prior to the defense. Then, at least two weeks prior to the defense, arrange the date and time of the defense with the members of your Dissertation Committee. Also, reserve a conference room (usually WRW 410) for the defense at www.ae.utexas.edu/dept/reserve.html.
Scheduling the Defense. Schedule the defense through the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to the exam. To schedule the defense, get the signatures of your committee members on the Request for Final Oral Examination (pink form), get it approved by the Graduate Advisor, and return it to the Graduate School two weeks before the date of the exam.
The Gold Form. After you have taken the final oral exam, the Dissertation Committee will record its decision on the gold form which was sent to your Supervisor. The gold form must be signed by the Graduate Advisor before it can be taken to the Graduate School.
Dissertation Signature Sheets. After the defense is a good time to get your dissertation signature sheet signed by the committee.
At the beginning of the semester in which you expect to graduate, you should get a copy of Doctoral Deadlines from the Graduate School for that semester. This form gives the deadlines associated with graduation and the forms which must be submitted. All forms must be completed before requesting the signature of the Graduate Advisor or the Chairman of the ASE Graduate Studies Committee (same person in our program).
Course Requirement. You must register for ASE X99W during the semester just prior to graduation.
Filing for Graduation. At the beginning (approximately the first two weeks) of the semester in which you think you will graduate, get a Doctoral Graduation Packet from the Graduate School (MAI 101). www.utexas.edu/ogs/pdn has forms that can be filled out on-line. However, they are not identical, so get the paper version and use the web forms when you can. It contains an application for graduation, and the Request for Final Oral (printed on pink paper).
Certification. When the Graduate Advisor signs the gold form after the dissertation defense, he certifies you for the degree.
Deadline. The deadline for submitting the gold form, the dissertation, and the signature sheet to the Graduate School is the last day of the semester.
Missed Deadline. If you miss the deadline, you must enroll for another semester, and you must reapply for graduation. If you turn in the gold form and dissertation before the beginning of the next semester, you need only sign up for ASE 399W and reapply for graduation. An exception is at the end of the summer. If you turn in everything before the beginning of the fall semester, you can register in absentia.
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