PART TIME STUDENT GUIDELINES FOR COMPLETION OF DEGREE

ATOC Departmental Definition

A part time student is a student who does not receive financial support in the form of a graduate student appointment (teaching assistant or research assistant) from ATOC, another academic department, or university research institute.

PLEASE NOTE

This definition is separate from university and graduate school definitions of a full or part time student.  This definition applies only to ATOC departmental rules.  The student will still need to adhere to university and graduate school rules regarding continuous enrollment, time limits, and enrollment past the oral comprehensive exam (COMPS II).

COMPS I

According to current ATOC department rules and guidelines, graduate students are required to complete the written comprehensive exam (COMPS I) no later than January of the second year.  Students may opt to take COMPS I during the first year so long as they recognize that this counts towards their two attempts to pass.  Students who enter in the spring semester may take COMPS I after their first year (after two semesters) or the following January (after 4 semesters).

Part time students often do not complete the ATOC core coursework necessary for the COMPS I exam by January of the second year.  Instead, the part time student is expected to complete the COMPS I exam in January following the completion of the ATOC core coursework, no later that the fourth year, and are expected to meet with an ATOC advisor yearly.

COMPS II

The oral comprehensive exam (COMPS II) must be taken by November 15 of the third year.  This assumes that COMPS I was first attempted during January of the second year; exceptions will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.  The student is responsible for scheduling the examination.  If the student is not ready for the examination at this time or if committee member travel schedules preclude scheduling, the student should submit an Official Request for Time Extension.  Part time students are also expected to submit this official request so that the department can insure that good academic progress is being made.