Minimum Registration.
Except for Degree 798 (``Degree
Candidates Only'') registration in the final semester when all
requirements have been completed earlier, the minimum number of hours
for which a student may register is three.
Courses of Study. Graduate students may
register for courses of study only with the approval of their
departmental advisor or chair. Similarly, students are allowed to
drop or add courses only if departmental approval has been given.
Part-time Study. Part-time students are
occasionally admitted by special permission, usually for non-thesis
programs only. Departmental recommendation is required. Students
enrolling for nine semester hours or more will be considered
full-time, and full-time tuition will apply.
Course Hour Requirements. The MS degree
requires at least 30 semester hours of study (24 hours of course
credit and 6 hours of research credit), 27 of which must be done at
Rice. The PhD degree requires at least 90 semester hours of credit
(48 semester hours of research credit and 42 hours of course credit,
24 for MS and 18 more for PhD) and is awarded after successful
completion of a program of advanced study and an original
investigation reported in an approved thesis. PhD Students must
take at least six courses beyond those required for the
MS degree.
Grade Standards. Students must achieve at
least a B (3.00) average on the courses counted toward a graduate
degree. In addition, no course in which the student earned a grade
lower than a C may count toward a graduate degree.
Probationary Status. A graduate student is
considered to be on probationary status whenever the cumulative GPA,
or the GPA for one semester, falls below 2.33. A second semester of
probationary status will lead to dismissal by the Office of Graduate
Studies unless a plea for exception is presented by the student's
department and approved by the Graduate Council. A student may be
dismissed by departmental action after only one semester of
performance at the probationary level.
Dismissal. A graduate student may be
dismissed from a program either for reasons of unsatisfactory progress
or for reasons of behavior judged by the University to be disruptive
or otherwise contrary to the best interest of either the University or
the student.
Appeal. Graduate students may petition the
Rice Graduate Council concerning the application of any academic
regulation. Petitions should be addressed to the Chair of the
Council, but should be made only when a dispute cannot be resolved at
the departmental level.
Continuous Enrollment, Readmission. Graduate
students are expected to maintain continuous involvement and
enrollment, unless official leave of absence has been granted.
Failure to register for any period without a leave of absence granted
by the Graduate Office constitute a de facto withdrawal. If
the student later wishes to resume study, reapplication is required.
Readmission is given only on the recommendation of the department and
the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies. A readmission fee of
$100 is charged.
Approval of Candidacy. A student seeking
the MS or PhD degree must submit a petition through the departmental
chair to the Dean of Graduate Studies. The necessary form can be
obtained in the department office. The final oral examination in
defense of the thesis can be given only after the candidacy has been
approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies. Applications for
approval of candidacy for the doctoral degree must be filed in the
Office of Graduate Studies prior to November 1 and for the MS degree
prior to February 1 of the academic year in which graduation is
expected. The candidacy is valid for two years for the MS degree
and four years for the PhD. A student whose candidacy has expired must
receive specific approval from the department and from the Dean of
Graduate Studies in order to remain in the Graduate Program. Such
approval will be given only in exceptional circumstances. A student
must have been approved for candidacy for the PhD before the beginning
of the ninth semester of residency at Rice to be eligible for
continued financial support.
Research and Thesis. The most important
requirement of the doctoral program is the successful completion of
significant research effort and the presentation of the results in a
well-written thesis. It is the student's responsibility to identify a
research area and to find a research advisor. This research is an
investigation under the direct supervision of a faculty member. At
the time a faculty member agrees to act as a thesis advisor for a
student, the advisor chooses two other faculty members to form the
student's research committee. These two other members should be in an
area closely related to the thesis topic, and the student should keep
them well-informed and up-to-date regarding their research progress.
At the discretion of the research advisor, all members of the thesis
committee should be presented with early drafts of the thesis when
writing is begun.
Oral Examinations, Thesis Committees. Thesis
committees for the MS and PhD oral examinations are approved by the
Dean of Graduate Studies at the time candidacy is approved. A thesis
committee is composed of at least three members, of which two,
including the committee chair, must be members of the student's
department. In the case of a doctoral committee, one member must be
from another department within the University. At least three
members, including the chair, must be tenured or tenure-track members
of the Rice faculty or must be members previously certified by the
Provost. The committee chair need not be the thesis director, but
must be tenured or a tenure-track member of the major department.
Candidates are responsible for informing the members of their
committees of the nature of their research and its progress.
The members of the thesis committee should review and approve the
thesis in preliminary form before March 15 in order for the candidate
to be eligible to receive the degree in the May commencement. In
order to meet this date, the student must submit a complete draft
of the thesis to the thesis committee no later than February 28.
The oral examination may be scheduled at any time after the approval
of candidacy, prior to be the beginning of examination week in either
semester. The deadline for scheduling an oral examination of a thesis
to be submitted for a degree to be confereed at the May Commencement
is the last day of classes of the Spring Semester. For the PhD, the
examination must be announced in the University Calendar at least one
week in advance. In appropriate circumstances, an oral examination
for the PhD may be scheduled during the summer, and the posting of
notice of the time and place on the bulletin board of Fondren Library
the preceding week is acceptable as the public announcement. For the
MS, public notice of the oral examination should be posted on the
departmental bulletin board one week in advance.
The length of the examination and the character of the subject matter
on which the candidate will be examined are left to the judgment of
the thesis committee. Should the candidate fail, the chair may
schedule a second examination. In the event of a second failure, the
student is required to withdraw from the University.
Following the successful passing of the oral examination in defense of
the thesis, two copies of the thesis must be submitted to the Office
of Graduate Studies no later than one year from the date of the
examination.
Students who pass the oral examination in defense of the thesis on or
before the first day of classes of the fall semester do not have to
register for that semester even though work on the final copy may be
continuing. They must register for Degree 798 in the spring to
receive the degree.
Thesis Regulations and Procedures.
Directions for standard thesis form, which must be followed in detail,
are provided by the Office of Graduate Studies upon approval of
candidacy. Students submitting a dissertation for the PhD must
complete a Survey of Earned Doctorates form. All students submitting
theses, whether for the MS or PhD, must complete a University
Microfilm contract. Fees for the microfilming and binding of theses
are to be paid to the Cashier prior to submission of two copies for
approval. The deadline for submission of the thesis to the Office of
Graduate Studies is noon of the next-to-the-last Friday preceding
commencement.
Transferring Graduate Credit to Rice. A
student may transfer no more than three hours of course credit
from a graduate program at another university for the MS degree
requirements. Transfer of credit is subject to approval by the
Graduate Committee. It is expected that a transfer student will take
appropriate additional courses at Rice as approved by the student's
advisor.
Course Credits from Another Graduate Program
at Rice. Students may use course credits earned in another
graduate program at Rice only if the Graduate Committee determines
that those courses would have been approved had the student been
enrolled as a graduate student in the department, in accordance with
general guidelines regarding course requirements for the degree.
TA/Student Conduct. New graduate
students are often unsure about how to conduct themselves in their
role as a teaching assistant. The following suggestions are intended
to provide advice in this area.
Effective teaching depends upon a healthy relationship between
instructor and students, but most TA's are only three or four years
older than most of their students. Unless they are misanthropic, most
TA's will probably be liked, and some may be confided in or invited
out for pizza and beer -- and, of course, still expected to exercise
thoroughly objective criteria in grading students mid-terms.
Treat students with respect. Most students are serious about course
work and will assume responsibility for coming to class or lab,
turning in assignments, reading assigned material, and taking exams.
Offer students a challenge, but be receptive to real problems and
offer them trust rather than automatic skepticism when difficulties
arise. It is possible to be flexible without being mallable.
Explain course requirements and grading procedures at the beginning of
the semester and again before mid-terms. Students will be more
satisfied with the system and less inclined to argue if requirements
and standards are explained before instead of after the mid-term or
the final exam.
The Honor System. All graduate students at Rice
are bound by the
Rice Honor Code. New students should familiarize themselves with
the Honor Code before starting classes. The Honor Code is a unique
feature at Rice, and one that is valued highly. Honor Code violations
are very serious, and can lead to dismissal from the University.
Financial Support. The majority of new
graduate students admitted to the department will receive financial
aid in the form of a stipend and tuition for the first nine months of
graduate studies. All students must have other means of financial
support by the beginning of the following summer. For most students,
this support will come from the thesis advisor's research grant(s).
It is the student's responsibility to find a thesis advisor and
arrange for financial support during the second semester.
August 20, 2003
Comments and questions to: 
www-ece@ece.rice.edu