GRS Registration

GRS students must register for a minimum of one course (2 credits) or Continuing Study status each semester until they have completed all degree requirements unless granted an official leave-of-absence. International students and PhD students receiving a full fellowship must be registered full-time. For further information regarding GRS policies for registration, please visit the GRS Bulletin.

The table below lists the various registration options for GRS students and the corresponding certification codes. The registration statuses with a “cert code” of 1, 3, or 4 are considered full-time statuses. All full-time students and those registered for 9 or more credits must have health insurance.

Cert Code	Registration Status	Enrolled credits	Tuition  and Fees
1	Full Time (via credits)	12-18 credits	Full-time Tuition
2	Part Time (via credits)	Less than 12 credits	Tuition paid per credit
3	Certified Full Time with credits	Less than 12 credits	Tuition paid per credit
3	Certified Full Time with audit	Less than 12 credits	Tuition paid per credit
4	Continuing Study Full Time	No credits	Continuing Study Fee
4	Continuing Study Full Time with audit (PhD candidates only)	No credits	Continuing Study Fee
5	Continuing Study Part Time	No credits	Continuing Study Fee
5	Continuing Study Part Time with audit (PhD candidates only)	No credits	Continuing Study Fee
4	Traveling Scholar (requires GRS approval)	No credits	No charge
4	Summer Research Status (summer only)	No credits	No charge

In order to be able to register, each student must be compliant with the University requirements (i.e., student account settled, emergency contact updated each semester, immunizations complete, Mass Vehicle Law acknowledged) If registration paperwork is received for a student who is not in compliance, GRS Records will follow up with the student via email requesting the student address his or her compliance issues. If non-compliance persists, GRS Records will reach out to the department for further help in contacting the student and resolving their compliance status. For more information regarding compliance, please visit the Registrar’s website.

Students intending to take classes or enroll in directed study/research can register themselves using WebReg. during the open enrollment period, the dates of which can be found on the University Registrar’s website. Departments need to provide each of their students their Academic Advising Code (AAC), which the students need in order to register online. These codes are available to all departments for download via the Faculty/Staff Link by following the steps:

• Go to the Faculty/Staff link
• Select ‘Student List by College’ under Administrative Tools
• Add required information:
  • Selection name
  • Semester: enter the upcoming semester
  • College: GRS
  • ‘All Programs By Hegis’ (select your programs)
• Select ‘Show Additional Options’
• Under Student Population, remove the check for ‘Registered’ / and select the ‘Eligible to Register’ option
• Select ‘Get Population”
• Select ‘Download’ at the top
• Select ‘Academic Advising Codes’

The advising codes should be column H of the excel spreadsheet. The column is titled “AAC Code”

AAC codes can also be distributed to departments in exceptional cases if requested from the GRS Records department.

Students who have completed course requirements or who will not be taking classes but are otherwise engaged in work towards their degree must be registered for Continuing Study Status. This is a no credit status indicated on the student’s transcript which carries the same benefits of other full-time or part-time registration statuses. In order to register, students should complete the Continuing Study and Certified Full-Time form. This form should be submitted to the GRS Records office.

Please see the GRS Bulletin for policies on auditing courses.

To officially audit a course, students should complete an Add/Drop form. A properly completed form will include the college of the course, course title and section number, credit hours, signature of the course instructor, and effective date of action. It is important to have all audited classes processed by the GRS Records office.

Audited classes will count towards the number of enrolled credits when considering a student’s enrollment status. PhD students who have advanced to PhD candidacy (i.e. passed their qualifying exam) are entitled to officially audit one course each semester without further tuition charge. These students should be registered for Continuing Study status if auditing a class. In both instances, these credits will not count towards graduation.

All PhD students receiving a full fellowship (e.g., Teaching Fellowship, Graduate Research Fellowship, Dean’s Fellowship) and all international students regardless of degree program (with limited exceptions–please see the International Students Section) must be registered as full-time students. Students who are registered for less than 12 credits but who are engaged in full-time progress towards their degree can be registered for Certified Full-Time status. In order to register, a student must complete the Continuing Study and Certified Full-Time Status form and have the appropriate signatures. This form should be submitted to the GRS Records office for processing.

Students receiving a fellowship to conduct field or archival research and who will be absent from campus for the entire semester may request Traveling Scholar status. The annotation Traveling Scholar will appear on their transcript for that semester. Requests for traveling scholar status must come from the DGS or Chair/Director of a program to the GRS office where it will be reviewed by the Associate Dean. If approved, GRS Records will process the registration.

Registration Eligibility

To be eligible to register, each student must be compliant with the University. Please see the University Registrar’s website for compliance requirements. Students can check their compliance status under the Personal Tab on the StudentLink.

Course Registration

Certain courses taken during the Summer Term at Boston University may be credited toward the master’s and PhD degrees if prior approval is obtained from the candidate’s department/program. Students can take up to two courses for a total of 8-10 credits during each six-week summer session.

Students registering for standard summer term courses should follow the instructions detailed on the Summer Term website.

PhD & MFA students enrolled in coursework during the summer and who want to be exempt from FICA taxes have two enrollment options: 1) students must enroll for a minimum of 6 credits over both Summer 1 and Summer 2 terms, details found here; 2) students can request certified full-time registration via an email to grsrec@bu.edu describing the independent work pertinent to the completion of their degree requirements being completed during the summer months.

PhD & MFA Summer Registration

PhD and MFA students not registering for summer courses can apply for PhD & MFA Summer Registration during the summer term; PhD students completing degree requirements in the summer will automatically be enrolled in Continuing Study Status by GRS Records staff.

PhD & MFA Summer Registration:

GRS PhD & MFA students who are engaged during the summer in full-time research as an essential component of their graduate degree programs are eligible for PhD & MFA Summer Registration. Full-time research can be met one of two ways: 1) any PhD & MFA student who receives a minimum stipend of $4,000 during the summer term of May – August; 2) a student briefly describes the independent work pertinent to the completion of their degree requirements being completed during the summer months on the PhD & MFA Summer Registration form. This registration is a no-cost mechanism whereby graduate students who are engaged in academic research during the summer can be appropriately registered as students for purposes of loan eligibility, loan deferment, and tax considerations.

All students seeking Summer Registration should submit a PhD & MFA Summer Registration form. This registration will not generate a tuition charge. Forms should be submitted by the deadline stated on the registration website.

Continuing Study Status:

PhD & MFA students who do not enroll for courses but complete degree requirements such as language, comprehensive, qualifying, or dissertation examinations over the summer will be automatically registered for Continuing Study Status by GRS Records Office staff when exam reports are received in the GRS office. PhD & MFA Students no longer need to submit Continuing Study Forms to the GRS office for the summer. Records Office staff will work with GRS Financial Aid to cover the cost of the Continuing Study Status fee. GRS departments and programs will no longer need to submit financial aid form to have the cost of Continuing Study Fees covered by GRS funds.

In order to be hired for summer employment, PhD and MFA students can proactively register for summer research status (see above) even if they know they will complete a degree requirement. GRS will automatically change the registration to Continuing Study Status once an exam report is received in our office.

MA & MS Summer Registration

Students not registering for summer courses but who complete a degree requirement such as a language or comprehensive examination or submit their thesis must register as continuing students for one Summer Term and pay the Continuing Student Fee.

Students can register for Continuing Study Status by filling out the Summer Continuing Study and Certified Full-Time Status form and submitting it to the GRS Office. There are two types of Continuing Study Status in GRS, which are detailed below.

• Continuing Study, Full-Time Status: Students who have completed all course or credit requirements but are otherwise engaged in full-time progress towards the degree. Full-time employees of the University and those with other full-time outside employment are not eligible for this status.
• Continuing Study, Part-Time Status: Students who have completed all course or credit requirements but are otherwise engaged in part-time progress towards the degree.

MA and MS students may not apply for what was formerly referred to as Summer Research Status. If there is a situation that warrants an MA or MS student to register for such a status, the Director of Graduate Studies should write an email to grsrec@bu.edu explaining the need for the registration. The request will then be reviewed by the Dean.

Payment/Settlement of Student Accounts

Details regarding the summer session bill should be available on the StudentLink as soon as the student is registered. Students will receive a confirmation email regarding their e-bill upon registration. Students who have been awarded a fellowship or scholarship will see their scholarship award appear on their student accounts, which can be viewed via the StudentLink. If the scholarship is not accurately reflected, please contact the GRS Financial Aid Office.

Students must be registered for each regular semester and Summer Terms during which a degree requirement is completed or University facilities are used until they complete their degree unless an official leave of absence is granted. Upon written request to the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, a student will be allowed up to two semesters of leave of absence. Leaves of absence beyond two semesters may be granted in cases of substantiated illness, one-semester maternity or paternity leave, or military service. In exceptional cases, the student should petition the Associate Dean with approval of the chair or program director. Please see the GRS Bulletin for policies on leaves of absence.

To take a leave of absence, students must complete a Leave of Absence/Withdrawal form and submit it to the GRS office. This form does not require department/program signatures. It does require signature by an ISSO representative for international students. Before the leave of absence is processed, a GRS Records staff member will meet in person or email with the student to go over the details surrounding a leave of absence and any ramifications a leave may have on their progress in their degree program or student loans.

A student seeking to re-enroll after a medical leave must demonstrate to the University that the student’s health permits the successful completion of studies. Documentation needed to support this finding will be determined by Student Health Services or its designee, but will generally include information from the student’s clinician as well as an assessment by Student Health Services or its designee. The decision whether to permit a student to re-enroll is within the sole discretion of the University. For information regarding the Student Health Services review process, please see the SHS website.

To withdraw from a degree program, students must complete a Leave of Absence/Withdrawal form and submit it to the GRS office. This form does not require department/program signatures. It does require signature by an ISSO representative for international students. Before the withdrawal is processed, a GRS Records staff member will meet in person or email with the student to discuss the decision to withdraw from the program. Mere absence from class does not qualify as a formal withdrawal from the university, nor does it reduce financial obligations or guarantee that final grades will not be recorded.

International students must maintain full-time status at the university, per Federal immigration requirements, unless the student is in their final semester of registration. The GRS Records office requires an Add/Drop form signed by an ISSO advisor, or written permission from ISSO if a student wishes to drop to part-time (less than 12 credits). Certified Full-Time and Continuing Study Full-Time are both recognized by ISSO as full-time statuses for this purpose.

The department is responsible for confirming whether a student is in their final semester of study. It is important that the expected graduation date in UIS reflect this and GRS Records will work with departments and students to adjust this date as necessary. Please email grsrec@bu.edu to discuss or adjust expected graduation dates and statuses. International students should always be encouraged to speak with ISSO directly regarding any possible implications of status changes.

GRS PhD degrees must be completed within seven years after the first registration for that degree. GRS Master’s degrees must be completed within three years after the first registration for that degree. Any period of authorized leave of absence is counted as a part of this total time allowed for completion of degree requirements. If there are extenuating circumstances that have prohibited a student from meeting these timelines, a student can file a Petition for an Extension of Time. The petition must be approved and signed by the department then turned into the GRS Records office where it will be reviewed by the Associate Dean. An email is sent to both the student and program following this review.