The GSC meets as required during the academic year (Fall semester: September – November; Spring semester: February – April). Petitions are reviewed as soon as possible. GSC obligations relating to graduate admission, graduate student review, and Ph.D. qualifying exams may take precedence over the review of individual petitions. The GSC reviews petitions on their merits in relation to department rules and precedent.
A suitable introduction to your letter is as follows:
(Date)
Members of the Graduate Studies Committee:
I entered the (M.S./Ph.D.) program as a (Research/Teaching) Assistant in the (Fall/Spring) semester with Professor ... as my advisor. I would like the GSC to consider my petition requesting....
Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations must be taken within three semesters after entering the Ph.D. program. If there are extenuating circumstances, petitions may be submitted to the GSC to request a one semester extension.
An example of this request is as follows:
I would like to request a one semester extension to take the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination because...
Students are required to show regular progress toward completing the Ph.D. course requirements. The Ph.D. Course Requirement Form is part of the Graduate Progress Review Statement and is to be updated every semester to reflect courses which have been taken for credit. In addition, a form showing all courses taken to satisfy the Ph.D. course requirement must be submitted to the ECE Graduate Office at the time of the Ph.D. prospectus.
Courses taken at CMU that are not included on the approved list of courses or courses taken at other universities must be approved by the GSC.
Petitions should provide detailed information about the course, including:
Please note that students are no longer required to submit Ph.D. breadth declarations to the GSC. The Ph.D. Breadth Requirement Form is part of the Graduate Progress Review Statement and is to be updated and submitted every semester at the time of the Graduate Review to reflect courses which have been taken for credit.
However, students who entered the Ph.D. program prior to Fall 2001 are still required to complete the Breadth Declaration Form.
Only one graduate level course, or the equivalent of 12 units, can be transferred from another university, providing that this course was not used for any previous degree. Three credit courses from other universities equate to a CMU 9 unit course; a four credit course equates to a CMU 12 unit course.
An example of this request is as follows:
I took the following course at ... and would like to request that this course be accepted for the equivalent of 12 units toward satisfying the 48 units of ECE graduate level coursework required for the ECE M.S. degree.
Petitions should provide detailed information about the course, including:
Students who wish to receive acceptance to use courses taken outside the ECE Department towards satisfying ECE M.S. degree course requirements may submit a petition to the GSC requesting approval.
An example of this request is as follows:
I am requesting acceptance of the following course(s) taken in the ... department to be used toward satisfying the 48 units of ECE graduate level coursework required for the ECE M.S. degree. These courses are relevant to my research because....
Petitions should include the course syllabus, the names of the books used and the chapters covered, the projects completed, etc.
CMU students who received their B.S. degree from ECE and wish to use courses that were not used towards satisfying the B.S. degree to satisfy the M.S. degree requirement need to contact the ECE Undergraduate Office and request written verification of the courses to be used. Only one undergraduate course, or the equivalent of 12 units at the 400 level and below, may be used towards satisfying the M.S. degree requirement.