Send an email to ece_grad_office@ncsu.edu. Make the subject a meaningful one. Include your name and student id# in the first line of the email. Be specific and brief in your request. These 3 things will help expedite a response to your need.

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Three ways: Send an email to ece_grad_office@ncsu.edu; come by the office in 3006 EB2 and ask the graduate staff to make the appointment; call the graduate office.

Telephone: (919) 515-5091

Office hours are usually 1400-1500 M-H.

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Dr. Trussell, the Director of Graduate Programs (DGP), serves as advisor for most non-thesis MS degrees. However, you are welcome to have any other faculty member as an advisor, if he or she agrees. The DGP still must approve your plan of work.

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A student is assigned an interim advisor to have a point of contact in student’s area of interest to get a directed start. The interim advisor IS NOT the permanent advisor unless by mutual agreement of professor and student. The student may ask any other professor to become their advisor to guide them through their research.

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There are example plans of work in most areas http://www.ece.ncsu.edu/graduate/plansofwork. Check the plans that are closest to your area of interest to see the common recommendations. While every plan can be customized to the student’s specific interest, these plans give the best starting point.

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No. It is not recommended. The student should establish him/herself at NCSU first, before taking individual studies.

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First check the example plans available online, http://www.ece.ncsu.edu/graduate/plansofwork. Next check the degree requirements given in the ECE Graduate Handbook, http://www.ece.ncsu.edu/graduate/handbook.pdf. If you still have questions, you can meet with the DGP or with a faculty member of our choosing to discuss your particular concerns.

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Yes. Master's students can transfer up to 12 hours of credit from a previously attended institution toward the 30 hours required for their degrees here at NC State IF the following conditions are met

1. the courses are relevant to the master's degree;
2. the courses are not more than six years old;
3. the grade in each course is a B or better;
4. the transferred course(s) were not used to satisfy degree requirements at other institution and
5. the courses are deemed comparable to a graduate-level course at NCSU.

Note that the transferred courses count only for credit hours and may not be used to satisfy the breadth or depth requirements of the MS degree as defined by the ECE Graduate Handbook, http://www.ece.ncsu.edu/graduate/handbook.pdf.

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Students should verify the validity of the courses for transfer by contacting the Director of Graduate Programs to initiate the request. The transfer is done officially at the time of approval of the plan of work by the NCSU Graduate School.

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Advising Holds replace PINs in the Student Information System (SIS). Advising holds are automatically released for GRADUATE STUDENTS at the beginning of each semester by the Graduate Office. This message is primarily for undergraduate students who must have an appointment and be advised prior to their being able to register for classes.

Once your advising hold is removed and the date/time of your enrollment appointment arrives, you can log in and register for your classes. NOTE: other holds may prevent registration (financial holds, etc.). These holds have to be resolved by the student with the Cashier’s Office.

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All research courses are restricted; you must complete a form found on the ECE website, have your advisor/instructor approve, and bring to the ECE Graduate Office to get registered for the course. http://www.ece.ncsu.edu/graduate/Graduate_Research.pdf.

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Both individual studies/topics courses are restricted. Go to the ECE website, complete the form http://www.ece.ncsu.edu/graduate/Individual_Studies_-_Special_Topics.pdf, have your professor approve, and bring to the ECE Graduate Office to be enrolled for the course.

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To get registered for the class, you must first email the professor on record and request permission to take the class (include your full name, student id#, reason for request). If the instructor agrees to admit you to the class, have the instructor email the ECE Graduate Office directly indicating the admission. NOTE: ECE GRADUATE OFFICE CAN ONLY REGISTER YOU FOR ECE COURSES. We cannot register you for courses in other departments. Contact the graduate office in the department that offers the course you wish.

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The instructor is the only person who can override the limit on class size. Sometimes this is a hard limit required by the number of seats in the classroom. Other times, the limit may be caused by limited resources, such as lab equipment or instructor time. Contact the instructor with the reasons you want/need to take the course. If the instructor agrees to admit you to the class, have the instructor email the ECE Graduate Office directly indicating the admission. NOTE: ECE GRADUATE OFFICE CAN ONLY REGISTER YOU FOR ECE COURSES. We cannot register you for courses in other departments. Contact the graduate office in the department that offers the course you wish.

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9 hours are required unless you are in your final semester or have finished all courses on your plan of work. In those cases, three hours are sufficient for full-time status. You are never required to take more hours than are required to graduate.

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If you have finished all course work for nonthesis degree, you should not be in school at the MS level. If you have finished all course work for thesis degree, you can register for three hours of 699 to be considered full time in order to defend.

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A PhD candidate who has finished all course work on the plan of work and has passed the preliminary exam can take three hours of 899 to be considered full time. Even though you have finished all course work, if you have not unconditionally passed the prelim, you must register for 9 hours of 895 to be considered full time.

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Yes, a graduate student planning to take the final oral examination in the summer must register for either first OR second summer session, but not both. If registering for only one, student must be registered during session in which student will defend.

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A student should register for 1 hour of ECE696 if MST or 1 hour of ECE896 if PhD. The courses ECE695 and ECE895 may not be taken during the summer.

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The following are the requirements for TA (1) be a second semester student and have a 3.333 GPA (2) must apply on the ECE Gradwatch website (3) must have advisor’s recommendation, (4)if international student and your TOEFL iBT is below the minimum 23 on the speaking part, you must have taken or be scheduled to take SPEAK test. You must apply via GradWatch each semester that you wish to be considered. This allows you to update your skill set of the courses for which you are qualified to TA.

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The purpose of the SPEAK Test is to determine whether international teaching assistants (ITAs) can speak English well enough and clearly enough to be understood by the undergraduate students whom they teach.

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All international graduate students for whom English is a second language and who wish to be considered for a teaching assistantship in ECE. A grade of 23 or better on the TOEFL iBT or 7 on the IELTS will allow us to waive the SPEAK test at NCSU.

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Change of Degree/Status or Curriculum form found on the Graduate School website. International students will also need to submit an OIS form.

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• MSN students must submit an Option B checkout form to Graduate Office by required deadline.
• MST students should schedule final defense. MST students should have electronic thesis review with Thesis editor.
• PhD students should schedule final exams. PhD students should have electronic thesis review with Thesis editor.

ALL GRADUATING STUDENTS should

• Make sure Plan of Work has been approved. (check GradWatch or SIS)
• Have a Patent Agreement on file. (check GradWatch)
• Have given Graduate School all official transcripts as needed.
• “Apply to Graduate” through MyPackPortal.
• Get academic regalia from bookstore for graduation ceremony, if attending.
• Read ECE website regarding ECE Graduation ceremony details.
• Return keys and fobs to department if any assigned before the end of the semester.
• Return books/resource materials to library or to professors.

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Your diploma is returned to Registration and Records and available for pick-up one week after graduation date. Those not collected at Registration and Records are mailed to address you provided when you “Apply to Graduate”. If you do not get yours in the mail within 6-8 weeks after graduation, contact 919-513-0642, Registration and Records coordinator for graduation.

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After a student completes all requirements for the degree, the student may request a letter of completion from his/her College Liaison in the Graduate School. For ECE students, this is Ms. Kim Digh. Kim_digh@ncsu.edu

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Yes. Master's students can transfer up to 12 hours of credit from a previously attended institution toward their degrees here at NC State IF the following conditions are met

1. the courses are relevant to the master's degree;
2. the courses are not more than six years old;
3. the grade in each course is a B or better;
4. the transferred course(s) were not used to satisfy degree requirements at other institution and
5. the courses are deemed comparable to a graduate-level course at NCSU.

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Master's students wishing to get credit for courses taken at another institution should contact the Director of Graduate Programs to initiate the request.

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The following websites are excellent resources for you.

• ECE Graduate Forms website: http://www.ece.ncsu.edu/graduate/forms
• Graduate School website for forms: http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/faculty-and-staff/forms-list.html
• OIS website for forms: http://www.ncsu.edu/ois/forms/
• Registration and Records: http://www.ncsu.edu/registrar/forms/index.html

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All applicants are automatically considered for both teaching and research assistantship during the review process. Reviewers indicate the applicants who are candidates for financial aid. The research areas make their choices and offers are made. Unfortunately, there are far more qualified and deserving students than we have funds to support. If you did not receive a financial aid offer, we suggest you consider enrolling at NCSU and impress the faculty in your area of interest with your excellent performance. We often give teaching and research assistantships to students who have performed well in courses and have found an advisor with whom to work.

There are cases where last minute TA appointments are made based on a short of skilled students for a particular course. Be sure to fill out the TA information form via your GradWatch link. You will be considered when TA assignments are made at the beginning of the semester.

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Students who make all their application material available online will be given priority in the review process. Paper recommendation forms may delay the evaluation of your application for several months and will preclude consideration for financial aid.

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Your application is not reviewed on one lone factor. Your materials are reviewed as a total package: your application, your statement of purpose, your official tests scores, your transcripts, and your letters of recommendation. We cannot tell you/pre-qualify you on an individual item. Sending an email to see if your particular score is sufficient to apply slows down the review process.

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If you check status on the NCSU Application Status Information Web page and status does not indicate that your application is complete BUT you know you have submitted all items THEN check the status of EACH item to see that it has been received. If each item has been received, then know that your app is COMPLETE and please DO NOT contact us. You can check your application status in GradWatch. Sometimes there is a delay between when we mark you complete in GradWatch and it is recorded by the NCSU Graduate School. Marking an application complete is a manual process and very time-consuming in peak times; we don’t always have time to update on daily basis and, yes, we fall behind.

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Students who make all their application material available online will be given priority in the review process. Paper recommendation forms may delay the evaluation of your application for several months and will preclude consideration for financial aid.

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The Graduate School
North Carolina State University
Room 240, Research Building III
1005 Capability Drive
Campus Box 7102
Raleigh, NC 27695

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These are not required documents and, actually, sending such items slows down the review of your application.

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You need to send an email to ece_grad_office@ncsu.edu state your full name, student id#, semester for which you have been accepted, semester to which you wish to defer, and an explicit justification for your request. It will be processed and reviewed by the Director of Graduate programs. You will receive a response by email.

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