ACADEMIC POLICIES, PROCEDURES AND DEADLINES FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

SELECTION OF AN ADVISOR

1. Students generally will not be accepted into the graduate program unless they have a faculty advisor prior to arriving on campus. These arrangements are normally developed through communications with an appropriate faculty member during the admission process. It is the advisor's responsibility to supervise your graduate work. Students entering with a research assistantship are automatically advisees of the principal investigator. Scheduling classes, laboratory space, supplies, keys, etc. will be coordinated by your faculty advisor and office space by the Department Chair.

2. All students have the right to request a change of faculty advisor without jeopardy. The transfer must be approved by the Graduate Program Director and Department Chair, and the interests of all parties must be protected.

3. Data generated by a student on a Research Assistantship are the shared property of the student and the faculty advisor. Neither can publish, copyright, or retain sole possession of these data without the agreement of both parties. Students are expected to publish (as first author) all completed research conducted for their current thesis or dissertation, or for a previous faculty advisor.

REGISTRATION

Registration occurs at the https://spire.umass.edu site. Graduate students must enroll every semester-until their degree has been awarded. This is accomplished by either registering for course/thesis/dissertation credits or by paying the Program Fee. Course listings and schedules also may be accessed on SPIRE.

If one fails to register or pay the program fee, the student is withdrawn from the University and must be formally admitted (via a memo from the Graduate Program Director to the Graduate School) and the student must pay a $50 fee.

Student files are maintained in the main office. However, students should maintain their own file copies of important documents and memos.

FULL-TIME STATUS

The Graduate School considers 9 credit hours per semester to be full-time status. Students who are registered for fewer than 9 credit hours [including thesis (699)/dissertation (899) credits] and who are not on program fee should check with the Graduate Program Director. Students are eligible for a graduate assistantship whether on full-time status or on program fee. Note that many student loans require a student to be full-time in order to postpone payment. Students should check with the Graduate School for more information. It is up to the student to determine how being on program fee will affect their health coverage. Audited courses cannot be used toward loan deferments and cannot be used to complete any degree requirement.

SELECTION OF A GRADUATE COMMITTEE

All students, in consultation with their Graduate Advisor, must form a committee. The Entomology Division requires that the Thesis Committee for the Master's degree will consist of three members of the University of Massachusetts graduate faculty; at least two must be from the Department's Entomology Division. In the case of non-thesis Master's students, a formal committee appointed officially through the Graduate Dean is not required, but an informal committee must be established.

For the Ph.D. degree, the Dissertation Committee will consist of at least three members of the University of Massachusetts graduate faculty. These are the Chairperson, at least one other member from the candidate's department/program, and one member from outside the Department.

The Committee should be formed by the end of the first semester, and is required to meet with the student by the end of the second semester of study (earlier is advisable), and at least once a year thereafter. Committee members must attend the thesis/dissertation defense.

Once the appropriate makeup of the committee (as detailed above) has been realized, it is possible to suggest additional committee members who are not University of Massachusetts faculty. Such appointments are made only at the discretion of the Graduate Dean. The student and advisor should provide a memo to the Graduate Program Director justifying the desired appointment and also provide a curriculum vitae for the suggested member. The Graduate Program Director will then forward a memo of justification to the Graduate School, together with the C.V, for consideration by the Graduate Dean.

At the first committee meeting, the student should present the committee with a prospective schedule of courses that the student plans to take while at UMass. The failure of a student to form a committee on schedule can be a source of considerable friction between the student and the graduate faculty. The committee serves with the major advisor to advise the student on appropriate coursework and in the design of the student's thesis research. To be effective in these roles, it is imperative that the committee be formed very soon after the student begins study, ideally at the beginning of the first semester.

Formal appointment of the thesis/dissertation committee: The student must turn in to the Graduate Program Director a memo specifying the composition of the student's committee. The Graduate Program Director then forwards a memo to the Dean of the Graduate School that recommends the appointment of the faculty members specified by the student. The thesis/dissertation committee is officially constituted only when the Graduate Dean sends formal notification to all members, the student, and the Graduate Program Director. It is up to the student to make sure that the committee is recommended by the by Graduate Program Director and is officially appointed by the Graduate Dean. The memos to the Graduate Dean can be structured following Form M.3 (Master's) or Form D.3 (Doctoral) that are appended to the University Graduate Student Handbook.

Timing of formal appointment of the thesis/dissertation committee: The Thesis Committee for a Master's student should be formally appointed by the end of the first year. The Doctoral Dissertation Committee, is formally appointed after the preliminary oral examination is passed.

GRADUATE STUDENT REVIEW

To ensure that graduate students are making satisfactory progress toward their degrees, a yearly student review is conducted during the spring semester (usually toward the end of April). The review is administered by the Assistant Graduate Program Director and includes all graduate faculty members. The Graduate Program Secretary will post a sign-up sheet for 15 minute blocks across from the student mailboxes in Fernald. The review covers:

(a) the student's coursework and research progress
(b) an oral report from the faculty advisor
(c) an interview with each student

Students who are completing their degree requirements during the spring semester are not excused from the review. Exceptions will be considered only by the advisor petitioning on behalf of the thesis/dissertation committee and concurrence of at least 75% of the graduate faculty.

CONTENT AND FORMAT

One week prior to the student's review date, the following information packets should be submitted to each faculty member

1. Completed Forms (provided by Graduate Program Secretary)

Form 1 should be completed to provide the following information:

Chairperson and members of the thesis/dissertation committee
Dates of all Committee Meetings
For PhD: Dates of preliminary examination completed or planned
For PhD: Date of Grant Proposal submission or completion

Form 2 should be completed to provide a list of undergraduate and graduate science courses taken (with grades), courses in progress, and courses the student plans to take. Both the course number and the course title should be provided.

2. A brief summary of the research project, including research objectives, methods, results, and time-frame for completion of research (length limit of 1-2 pages, single-spaced!!). Do not provide tables and figures.

3. An up-to-date résumé/curriculum vitae.

POSSIBLE ACTIONS FOLLOWING GRADUATE REVIEW (based on faculty consensus)

1. A report of satisfactory progress.

2. A recommendation for completion of requirements or coursework.

3. A warning to the student indicating substandard progress. In cases of substandard progress, improvement must be shown by a specified time designated by the Review Committee.

4. A recommendation to the Chair of the Department for provisionary status or dismissal of a student showing consistently poor progress. The report and any written recommendations of the faculty will be placed in the student's file by the Assistant Graduate Program Director.

TIME LIMITATION FOR DEGREES - STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

1. The statute of limitations for a student in a Master's degree program is 3 calendar years.

2. The statute of limitations for a student in a Doctoral degree program is 6 calendar years, or 4 calendar years if the candidate has a Master's degree in the same field.

3. Degree candidates who are part-time graduate students may have one additional year beyond those specified above for completion of all degree requirements.

4. The Graduate School alerts the Graduate Program Director and the graduate student when the statute of limitations is due to expire. At this point, candidates who require more time than permitted by the statute of limitations must discuss the situation with their advisor and agree on a specific period of extension along with a justification and a timetable for completion of all requirements.

A brief written update on the student's progress and a recommendation for the extension of the student's statute of limitations shall be signed by the student's advisor and forwarded to the Graduate Program Director. Upon receipt of this memo, the Graduate Program Director may make the recommendation to the Graduate School to extend the Statute of Limitations.

TIME LIMITATION ON COURSES

1. The deadlines for all course changes (add, drop, withdraw, conversion of a passing course to audit, or exercising the pass/fail-option) are specific and inflexible and are detailed in the University of Massachusetts Graduate School Handbook.

2. Courses that have been given an Incomplete grade will remain INC for one calendar year from the beginning of the semester in which the course was taken. The grade then becomes Incomplete-Fail (IF). This grade is changed when the instructor submits the appropriate grade on a Graduate School Change of Grade Card to the Department Head of the instructor's department for endorsement, who then forwards it to the Graduate Records Office.

DEADLINES FOR COMPLETION OF REQUIREMENTS

All requirements for any advanced degree to be awarded in a given degree-granting period must be completed by these deadlines:

April 30 -- May degree
August 31 -- September degree
January 15 -- February degree