SoHE & Graduate School Enrollment Requirements
SoHE Enrollment for Funding Eligibility
The School of Human Ecology is subject to the UW Graduate School policy on full-time status requirements for enrollment and receipt of support awards. However, the individual Human Ecology graduate programs may impose additional credit requirements on individual students to receive support through the School of Human Ecology or to be in compliance with program satisfactory progress criteria. Full-time enrollment may also be required for receiving scholarships or other forms of support that are not described in this section.
It is the responsibility of the individual graduate student to make sure they meet enrollment requirements of the graduate program and for support receipt. If the graduate student elects not to enroll as a full-time student, s/he is responsible for knowing about possible obligations and consequences of that decision. Such obligations may include visa eligibility, financial aid payback, eligibility for fellowships or assistantships, requirements of external funding agencies, and department satisfactory progress requirements.
To be eligible for funding through the School of Human Ecology, the Curriculum Committee considers full-time enrollment to be a minimum of eight graduate-level credits during an academic semester. Dissertators are considered full-time with three graduate-level credits during an academic semester.
Graduate-level credits are credits in courses numbered 300 and above; no audits or pass/fail are allowed to count toward the minimum. Credits that do not conform to this criterion do not count towards meeting the full-time enrollment requirements.
Full-time enrollment is required in any fall or spring semester a graduate student holds an appointment as a Project Assistant, Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant, Fellow, or Trainee through the School of Human Ecology.
Note: While non-dissertator teaching and project assistants who hold a semester appointment of at least 33.33% and are enrolled for six graduate credits, or who hold an appointment of at least 50% and are enrolled for four graduate credits, are considered full-time by the registrar for loan deferment and for certification of student immigration status, these reduced loads do not meet full-time enrollment requirements for other purposes, including eligibility for funding through Human Ecology.
Summer Enrollment: Non-dissertators who hold summer appointments as Research Assistants, Trainees, or Fellows must enroll in the eight-week general session for at least two graduate-level credits. Dissertators who hold these appointments must enroll for three graduate-level credits. Graduate students who hold summer appointments as Teaching or Project Assistants are not required to enroll in the summer if they do not also fall into one of the categories for which summer enrollment is required.
International Students: It is the responsibility of International students to be aware of and comply with any additional enrollment requirements for immigration and visa receipt. Both the F-1 and J-1 student visa regulations require students to be full-time each fall and spring semester. Summer enrollment is not required by the US federal government regulations for F-1/J-1 visa holders. Failure to maintain full-time status can result in the loss of F-1/J-1 student benefits, including on-campus employment and practical/academic training options. Any exceptions to full-time enrollment must be authorized by International Student Services, Pyle Center Suite 130, 702 Langdon Street, 608-262-2044, iss@iss.wisc.edu.
All graduate students are encouraged to refer to the UW Graduate School’s enrollment requirements.