Course enrollment & fees

New Grad Students: Domestic | International | Health | Housing | Enroll & Fees | Orientation

How to enroll

Instructions for the use of BuckeyeLink to register for courses

Financial Responsibility Hold

Important--All students, every term, start with a hold on their account, the "Financial Responsibility Statement". To remove this hold, students must agree to the stipulations in the statement. A link to complete this requirement is in your BuckeyeLink To-Do List.

 

 

International students must complete the Office of International Affairs (OIA) check-in process before enrollment is permitted. See OIA Graduate Pre-Arrival instructions.

Blocked from enrolling--missing prerequisites?

You may be blocked from enrolling in a course due to a lack of prerequisite coursework. Please email the course instructor, describe any relevant background that prepares you for the course, and request permission to enroll in the course. Please use the following online form to request to be enrolled in a course.

Add/Drop graduate course


Enrollment levels--how many credits?

For GRA/University Fellowship-funded students

  • In Autumn / Spring:
    (graded grad credits) + MATSCEN or WELDENG 7895 (1 cr) + MATSCEN or WELDENG 6999 (x cr under student's advisor) = 18 credits 
  • In Summer:
    (Summer is unique, Mark will provide instructions)

Self or company-funded and external fellowship-funded students

For our new students whose funding comes from a non-OSU source (employer, self, Fulbright, etc.), you may activate your OSU account and enroll in any credits necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with their advisor for input on course selection.

  • Payment of fees Self/company-funded students should be aware that all fees are to be paid no later than one week (seven days) before the start of a term. [view "Registration, Fees, and Important Dates"]

Degree requirements

Be sure to review the degree requirements to assure that a given course will help meet the requirement. These pages provide requirements to earn an MS and/or Ph.D. degree in MSE and in WE.

MATSCEN degree requirements
WELDENG degree requirements

Which courses should I take?

Before registering for academic classes, you must first discuss with your advisor which courses you should take (thus you cannot register for graded classes until you have an advisor). It is very unlikely that you would be closed out of a course; graduate level courses rarely fill to capacity. A typical course load for a GRA/Fellow-funded student includes:

  • Two or three graduate level academic classes
  • One hour of MSE or WE 7895, a seminar/colloquium class 
  • Research credit hours under your advisor (called "6999")

What courses are available?

MATSCEN Courses
WELDENG Courses

The MSE and WE curricula offer a wide range of courses. Additionally, you can enrich your knowledge through exposure to other disciplines at OSU.

What counts? In-program graduate courses at the 5000 level and greater count toward fulfillment of that program's graduate degree requirements. However, each degree limits the level (5000, 6000, etc.) that may apply toward the requirements.

Courses outside the program may also be applied to your degree. Assuming that these are relevant to your field of study--as decided by your program's Graduate Study Committee--graduate courses at the 5000 level and above outside the program may be used to satisfy degree requirements. 

MATSCEN and WELDENG 7895 & 6999

Registration in two courses is required of all on-campus MSE and WE graduate students; for MSE students, MSE 7895 & MSE 6999 and for Welding Engineering students, WE 7895 & WE 6999. Further details will be provided after you arrive in the department. [Online students are not required to enroll in these courses unless instructed to do so by an advisor.]

MSE 7895

MSE 7895 Seminar and Colloquium Series is a discussion of current thesis problems, outstanding current literature, and related topics. MSE students and invited speakers provide our graduate students with current information on research in the field of materials science.

MSE graduate students are required to earn a grade of "S" for three semesters of enrollment in MSE 7895.

WE 7895

WE 7895 Seminar and Colloquium Series is a discussion of current thesis problems, outstanding current literature, and related topics. Invited speakers provide our graduate students with current information on research in the field of Welding Engineering.

Registration for this course is required of all on-campus WE graduate students every AU and SP term of enrollment at Ohio State, unless prior release is granted by the WE Graduate Studies Committee. Enrollment in WE 7895 is not required during the student's final term in the degree program.

MSE or WE 6999

The student is to register under the 6999 research credits for his/her advisor.

Enrollment in MSE 6999 Research in Materials Science and Engineering or WE 6999 Research in Welding Engineering is required of all on-campus MSE and WE graduate students earning an MS with Thesis or a Ph.D. (MS without Thesis students are not required to register for 6999). The number of credits for which a student registers does not reflect the number of hours the student will spend in research.

MSE and WE Instructional Assistance (IA)

(IA assignments are not typically made until the student's second year in the program.)

The MSE and WE grad curricula require service time as an Instructional Assistant. Instructional Assistance (IA) credits are earned while assisting a faculty member in the instruction of various courses in the MSE or WE curriculum. This assistance is expected to take, on average, 6 hours of the student’s time per week during the term of service. Students earn two graduate credits per term of service. Two terms of service are required of our Master's and PhD students.

Note: students do not register for IA credit every term; typically students are given an IA assignment after being in the department for one to two terms. Also, students are to attend a 3-day workshop hosted by the Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning. This training workshop will help the student feel more comfortable in the IA role.

More about IA service


Fee payment

Payment deadlines

All fees are to be paid on or before seven days prior to the start of a term.
If initial enrollment for a term occurs after this seven-day deadline, the fees must be paid within five business days of enrollment. Self-funded students are responsible to pay all fees, both academic and student fees.

Fee payment for GRA/GTA/Fellowship-funded students

Once fully registered, a total fee amount for the term will be generated. If you hold a GRA, GTA, or University Fellow position, all tuition and academic/lab fees will be paid by the GRA/GTA/Fellowship

Student fees--student's responsibility

Along with the academic fees for a term there are student-related fees (see below). These non-academic fees are not paid by the GRA/GTA/Fellowship.

These fees will be totaled, divided in fourths, and automatically deducted from each of your monthly paychecks during the term (saves you from having to make a big payment at the start of each term!). The approximate cost of these fees per four month term is $500. In other words, approximately $125 will be automatically deducted from your paycheck to cover these fees.

These fees include:

Health Insurance 

View more about health insurance requirements at OSU

By default, all students will be enrolled in OSU Student Health Insurance (SHI).

When a student enrolls for credits s/he is automatically registered for OSU Student Health Insurance. A student may waive SHI if proof of comparable coverage can be shown (such as coverage under employer or parent insurance).To do so, please see the OSU Student Health Insurance site.

GRA/GTA and Fellowship positions pay 85% of the student's OSU Student Health Insurance premiums. Premiums are paid during Autumn and Spring semesters, but cover the student for a full year (i.e., Summer term as well). GRA/GTA/Fellowship students are responsible for 15% of the Autumn and Spring premiums, approximately $200/term. This fee is divided in fourths and deducted from the monthly stipend payment.

Additional information

International students

International students must first check-in with the OSU Office of International Affairs (OIA). Enrollment is blocked until the student has completed the check-in process with OIA.

See OIA Graduate Pre-Arrival instructions for more about check-in.


Transfer credit procedures

MSE-WE Transfer Credit Procedures
Two sets of requirements may be addressed by petitioning the transfer of previously earned graduate credit:

  • The Graduate School's minimum credit hour requirement
  • The MSE or WE graduate program degree requirements

Minimum required grade to transfer a course is B.

Please contact Mark Cooper for further information on timing and procedures.