Plan of Study

Every graduate student must complete a Plan of Study to record all of their degree requirements.

Resources

• Plan of Study Instructions
• Plan of Study Checklist

Deadlines

• MS Non-Thesis Students
  • Draft due by end of first semester
  • Submit for final approval before second semester
• MS Thesis Students
  • Draft due by end of first semester
  • Submit for final approval by end of second semester
• PhD Students
  • Draft due by end of second semester
  • Submit for final approval before beginning of second year

Advisory Committee Guidelines

• MS students must have 3 members and PhD students must have 4 members
• Must include at least one faculty member from your Associated Academic Department
• Must include at least one faculty member OUTSIDE your Associated Academic Department 

Tips and Notes

• Items to include on your Plan of Study
  • Degree information
  • Coursework required for ESE and your Associated Academic Department
  • Semester and grade for each course
  • Committee members
• What to not include on your Plan of Study
  • Research credits
  • Courses that are not needed for your degree requirements
  • Courses with Pass/Not Pass or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades
• Be sure to record Int Ecog Sci & Eng as your first concentration.
• Check your Plan of Study for accuracy once a semester.
• Submit a Change Request if you need to change coursework or committee members
• If you have a B.S.E. and your associated department is an engineering department then you qualify for the M.S.E. degree. Make sure you select M.S.E. degree from the dropdown menu for degree on your Plan of Study.

Undergraduate and Previous Graduate Coursework

• You can include up to 6 hours of 300 or 400 level courses with a B or better
• Credits earned for graduate studies at other universities may be applied
• Graduate School allows up to 30 MS credits to be used toward a PhD.  These will be recorded by Program Coordinator in a supplemental note (not listed in the coursework section).
• Some departments have further limits on transfer credits and number of 300 or 400 level courses

Sample Plans of Study for ESE Students

• MS-thesis Plan of Study for ESE (PDF)
• MS in Engineering (MSE) Plan of Study (PDF)
• MS Nonthesis Plan of Study (PDF)
• PhD Plan of Study (PDF)

Refer to the ESE Handbook for more information about completing your Plan of Study.  If you have any questions please contact the ESE Graduate Program Specialist at ese@purdue.edu.