Current Graduate Students

• Registering for Classes
• Full-Time Versus Part-Time Status
• Continuous Registration Requirements
• Qualifying Exam Registration
• Paying Your Bill
• What to Do About Missed Deadlines
• Meeting Graduation Requirements

Registering for Classes:

University of Maryland students register for classes through Testudo, the online registration system. Through Testudo you can view a complete Schedule of Classes, add courses, drop courses, choose grade methods, and monitor waitlist status.
http://www.testudo.umd.edu/

Prior to registering for each semester, please consult with your advisor and review courses in TESTUDO

Advising blocks must be removed each semester in order to register for class.

Full-Time Versus Part-Time Status

The Graduate School uses a unit system in making calculations to determine full-time or part-time student status. Please note that graduate units are different from credit hours. The number of graduate units per credit hour is calculated in the following manner:

• Courses in the series: 400-499 carry 4 units per credit hour.
• Courses in the series: 500-599 carry 5 units per credit hour.
• Courses in the series: 600-897 carry 6 units per credit hour.
• Master's Research course: 799 carries 12 units per credit hour.
• Pre-candidacy Doctoral Research courses: 898 carries 18 units per credit hour.
• Doctoral Dissertation Research: 899 carries 18 units per credit hour. All doctoral candidates must pay candidacy tuition for which they will be registered for six (6) credit hours of 899; this defines all currently registered doctoral candidates as full-time. All doctoral candidates must pay the flat candidacy tuition for which they will be registered for six (6) credit hours of 899; this defines all currently registered doctoral candidates as full-time.

To be certified as full time, a graduate student must be officially registered for a combination of courses equivalent to 48 units per semester.

• Graduate assistants holding regular appointments have full-time status if they are registered for at least 24 units in addition to the assistantship.
• Holders of half-time assistantships are considered full-time if registered for 36 units.

Audited courses do not generate graduate units and cannot be used in calculating full-time or part-time status.

Refer to the University of Maryland Graduate Catalog for more information on registration and credit information.

The Continuous Registration Policy and Why it is Important.

Graduate students must register for at least one credit in each consecutive Fall and Spring semester of their residency at the University. After the tenth day of classes of the second missed semester, the student's admission to the University will be terminated.

When to Register for Your Qualifying Exam.

Students who matriculate into the Ph.D. program with an M.S. degree must take the qualifying examination no later than their third semester. Students who matriculate into the Ph.D. program with a B.S. degree must take the qualifying examination no later than during the second semester after they have accumulated 18 or more credits, or during their fourth semester of study, whichever occurs first. Those students who pass the qualifying examination become eligible to take the doctoral oral examination. The doctoral oral exam is normally taken within one year after the qualifying examination. Only under extenuating circumstances, the student’s advisor may petition the graduate committee for an extension of the deadline.

Pay Your Bill.

You can pay any charges to your University student account through the Office of the Bursar. You can also make inquiries into your account from this site.

Options for a Missed Deadline for Submitting Paperwork to the Graduate School.

If you have missed a required Graduate School deadline for a given semester (for Approved Program Forms, Application for Graduation, Nomination of Thesis or Dissertation Committee), you need to file a Petition for Waiver of Regulation. This Petition needs to be signed by your program's Director of Graduate Studies and then forwarded to the Graduate School for approval. Note: Petitions will only be granted when considering reasonable extenuating circumstances; simply having forgotten the deadline does not qualify.

Check if You've Passed all the Necessary Graduate School Requirements for Graduation.

Graduation is now handled by the Office of the Registrar. Please contact this office for questions about graduation requirements.