General Plan of Study

In making your plan of study, you should pay particular attention to the timing of course offerings, and your background and interests. It is not unusual that you may want to, or need to, change your plan as your experience in the Department grows. Nevertheless, such tentative plans will serve to insure progress towards your degree.

Here are some things to keep in mind in drawing your plan.

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Students holding Graduate Assistantships, Research Assistantships, or Graduate Teaching Assistantships must register for 9 hours of course work.

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It is expected that the requirements for a Master's degree be completed by the end of the fourth semester.

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A student must pass the Preliminary Exam by the beginning of the fourth semester in order to continue his/her studies beyond the Master's degree (see chapter on Preliminary Examinations).

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The Department has a limit on its support of graduate students. The number of semesters a student can be supported by any University of Delaware Assistantship (G/A or T/A) or Fellowship is 10; 8 semesters for a student entering with a Master's degree.

The minimum cumulative GPA for the Master's degree is 3.0 (B). Students who do not perform to this standard are subject to review and/or dismissed as determined by the Graduate Student Probation Policy.

Permission to continue study toward a Ph.D. degree is given on the basis of a complete review of your academic performance. The Graduate Committee admits students to the Ph.D. program on the basis of (1) Prelim Exam score, (2) course grades, (3) instructor assessments.

By the time you are admitted to the Ph.D. program, it is desirable to have identified a general area in which you wish to work. This information will help the Director of Graduate Studies. University regulations permit the transfer of 9 hours of credit after the first 9 hours of courses have been completed at Delaware. In addition the Department will waive course requirements and certify that hour requirements have been met after a review of your record.

Waiver of course requirements are made if either (i) you pass a Prelim Exam based on material covered by the course (ii) you earn at least a grade of ``B'' in a higher level course in the subject or (iii) you discuss your course work with a designated staff member who will certify that you have mastered the course material. The Committee on Graduate Studies will give final approval to course waivers.

Waiver of hour requirements will be made on the basis of transcripts and information supplied by you. You should make an appointment with a member of the Graduate Committee as early as possible to insure that all the information the Committee will need is available. It is important that your course waivers be approved as early as possible so that you know what requirements you will have to satisfy for your degree.