PrincetonUniversity A Guide for Graduate Students, 2002-2004
	Academic Policies Residence Requirement Students are expected to live in Princeton or the immediate vicinity during the entire period of regular enrollment and to devote themselves to full-time graduate study to the exclusion of any other occupation or employment, except as approved by their departments. Ph.D. students are required to spend at least one academic year of full-time residence in Princeton or the immediate vicinity before standing for the general examination. The residence requirement may be fulfilled only when a graduate student is regularly enrolled and engaged in full-time study; by definition, the requirement cannot be met by a year of in absentia status, a leave of absence, or time spent as an instructor. Readmission All students must apply and be recommended for readmission every year, up to the approved length of their programs. All students eligible for readmission, including those writing dissertations, must make formal application each year through their departments. Students who have satisfied all academic requirements within their department and have demonstrated their capabilities for continuing graduate work are offered readmission in May; others are notified when a basis for judgment is available, but not later than June 1. In Absentia Status Students may be recommended for readmission with in absentia status if they need to use educational resources that are not available in Princeton. In absentia status is normally granted for only one year to students who have sustained the general examination. Students are encouraged to seek financial aid outside the University for the time spent in absentia. Students enrolled in absentia are not required to pay tuition. There is, however, a fee to continue the Student Health Plan. All appropriate University benefits, with the exception of housing, are continued, including the Student Health Plan. Leave of Absence Policy Continuous enrollment between admission and the completion of degree work is considered the norm. However, circumstances may force students to interrupt their studies temporarily. Up to a year’s leave of absence for personal reasons may therefore be granted by the Graduate School to students in good standing on the recommendation of the departmental director of graduate study. An extension may be requested and granted for only one additional year. Students on a leave of absence are not engaged in full-time degree work. Students seeking a leave of absence must discuss their request with both their director of graduate study and the associate dean for academic affairs in Nassau Hall. Leaves should be timed, whenever possible, to come at the end of the term, preferably at the end of a full academic year. Readmission after leave does not depend on ranking among new applicants, but is subject only to confirmation of continued professional suitability and a written request for readmission. Requests must be received by December 15 for return the following spring term, and by March 15 for return the following fall term. Financial support cannot be guaranteed to students returning from leave. Continuation of University Support Continuation of University financial assistance and enrollment for subsequent years is normally assured, contingent on satisfactory academic achievement and the availability of University resources, for the regular length of the degree program. Patterns of support vary by department and year of study within departments. The two principal sources of graduate financial support at Princeton are University-sponsored fellowships and service awards. University fellowships (including University-funded and corporate- or foundation-sponsored, and various government-supported awards) are common in the humanities, the social sciences, the School of Architecture, and the Woodrow Wilson School. These maintenance allowances are considered taxable income. Service awards in the form of assistantships in instruction are available in most departments. Service awards in the form of assistantships in research are more common in the natural sciences and engineering departments. Assistantships in Instruction A student having an assistantship in instruction may be involved in a combination of classroom teaching, laboratory supervision, and/or grading in undergraduate courses. A full appointment is six hours per week (for the term) of classroom contact and pays $18,180 - $19,750 (2002 - 2003). Appointments are frequently for fewer than six semester hours, and compensation is prorated. This compensation is taxable. An assistantship in instruction always replaces in full or in part a previously awarded University fellowship maintenance allowance. Assistantships in instruction are normally not awarded to first-year students, although some departments make exceptions to this. Graduate students may assist in the teaching of graduate courses, but they may not be the instructor of record in the course or have final responsibility for grading other graduate students. Assistantships in Research Available mainly in the natural sciences and engineering, students having assistantships in research are normally expected to devote approximately 20 hours per week to the activities of the group with which they are working. Students having assistantships in research on full appointment for the 10-month academic year receive a stipend of $17,100 - $18,100 (2002 - 2003). Summer research opportunities are also available, and stipends range up to $3,400 a month (2002 - 2003). This compensation is taxable. The research is usually directly related to the student’s thesis and constitutes an integral part of his or her degree program. An assistantship in research always replaces in full or in part a previously awarded University maintenance allowance. Grading Policy Each department determines whether grades are or are not used in its graduate courses. In departments where courses are graded, the scale used is A, B, C, D, F, or P/D/F. Pluses and minuses may be assigned to the grades A, B, and C only. Audits are recorded at a department’s discretion. Graduate students enrolled in courses at cooperating institutions are graded according to the system in use at that institution. Graduate students taking undergraduate courses must receive the kind of grade required by their department. If a course instructor fails to turn in his or her official course list, whether for a graded or an ungraded option, the registrar is authorized to enter UNR -- unreported -- as a grade for the student in that course. Each instructor may make a grade change by submitting the appropriate application form to the registrar. This includes the replacement of a grade of incomplete (INC). Due Dates The due dates for replacing an incomplete for the fall term is the last day of spring term recess; for the spring term it is the day before graduate registration for the next term. Individual instructors, however, can require earlier completion dates. By faculty legislation, a grade of incomplete that is not replaced within one year from the end of the course stands as the final grade. With the instructor’s approval, students may change from "take" to "audit" or vice versa at any time prior to submission of the grade list. In each case the student must consult with the instructor about the advisability of this change. With the instructor’s approval, and subject to departmental course requirements, a student may drop a course at any time prior to submission of the grade list to the registrar.
	prev | contents | next