GSAS Handbook

April 15th Deadline

The date by which applicants are supposed to accept enrollment in graduate school. This is a nationwide standard agreed upon by a resolution of the Council of Graduate Schools (http://www.cgsnet.org/; the actual resolution regarding this deadline (.pdf) is located at the website). Quoting from CGS:

The Resolution is concerned with the conditions surrounding the acceptance of offers of certain kinds of graduate student financial assistance, namely, scholarships, fellowships, traineeships, and assistantships. The general spirit of the Resolution is that students should have an opportunity to consider more than one offer and should have until April 15 to do so, that institutions and students should be able to view acceptances in force after April 15 as binding, that everyone should know what the rules are, and that an offer by the institution and its acceptance by the student constitute an agreement which both expect to honor. The Resolution acknowledges that students, after having accepted an offer, may change their minds and withdraw that acceptance. The intent of the Resolution is to provide a uniform and widely acceptable framework for so doing, one that provides protection for both student and institution.

 

“Auditing” a course not taken for credit.

Quoting from the Graduate Record:

Students may audit courses with the permission of the instructor. Courses successfully taken on an audit basis have the symbol AU (audit) recorded in the grade column of the academic record. As no credits or grade points are earned in audited courses, these courses are not applicable toward a degree. Instructors have the option of deciding whether students may or may not take their courses on an audit basis. A grade of W is recorded for any student who discontinues the audit after the drop deadline or who fails to meet the instructor’s standards.

 

Brenda 'n Lloyd

The GSAS financial team, an excellent resource if you really want to know the status of your department’s money, have questions, or need to know if what you are doing is legal. For questions about fellowships, contact Brenda, for other questions, Lloyd is the best starting point. Lloyd's email is lb3ne, Brenda’s is bd8q.

 

Degree Application

A form that must be filled out in order to receive either a Masters or PhD. Available on line at http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/gradschool/ or in 437 Cabell Hall. See “Degree Deadlines”

 

Degree Deadlines

All forms are submitted to the GSAS Office, 437 Cabell Hall:

See http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/gradschool/admissions/deadlines.html

January 2009 Degree Candidates:

• October 1, 2008 Last day for submitting graduate degree applications to 438 Cabell Hall
• November 3, 2008 Last day for submitting an unsigned copy of thesis or dissertation title page
• December 1, 2008 Deadline for submitting Theses/dissertations

May 2008 Degree Candidates

• February 1, 2008 Last day for submitting graduate degree applications
• April 1, 2008 Last day for submitting an unsigned copy of thesis or dissertation title page
• May 1, 2008 Deadline for submitting Theses/Dissertations

August 2008 Degree Candidates

• July 1, 2007 Last day for submitting graduate degree applications
• July 1, 2007 Last day for submitting an unsigned copy of thesis or dissertation title page
• August 1, 2007 Deadline for submitting theses/dissertations

 

Director of Graduate Studies

Each department (and many programs) has a person designated to oversee graduate issues. They are excellent sources of information and are known to offer wisdom, solace and direction. See them often! A list can be found at http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/gradschool/contacts/dgs.html

 

Dissertation Committee

The group of faculty who determines that a candidate’s dissertation is acceptable for a PhD degree. To quote the Graduate Record:

The examining committee, under the chairmanship of the advisor professor, will consist of not fewer than four members from the graduate faculty, one of whom must be from another department and serves as a representative of the graduate faculty. Through its chair, the examining committee may invite other members of the departmental faculty to take part in the examination; indeed, it is recommended that the doctoral examination be given before the entire professional staff of the department concerned. The result of the examination, with the names of the examiners and their departmental affiliation, must be reported by the chair of the examining committee to the Graduate School no later than two weeks before final exercises.

(Note: the above describes the minimum number of people for a committee: three from the candidate’s department or program and one who acts as the “Dean’s representative” from another department. The job of the “Dean’s representative is to simply confirm that the student was treated fairly and that the rules of GSAS were observed. Committees can be any size as long as these minimum requirements are met. Questions often arise as to the appropriateness of committee membership by faculty from other institutions. Once the minimum GSAS requirements have been met, additional committee members from other institutions may be added. They may not serve as the Dean's representative, nor will the Dean's office provide financial support for their participation.)

 

Dissertation Year Away

Small amount of money available to pay the non-topical research fees for students doing research off Grounds, usually in foreign countries. Application forms and instructions will be available for downloading on the GSAS home page: http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/gradschool/ .

 

Dissertation Year Fellowships

A competitive fellowship for excellent students in their last year of graduate school. Approximately 20 awards are given each year. In 2006 the stipend was set at $18,000/year plus tuition, fees and insurance. Each department is allowed to submit a fixed number of applications specified on their Graduate Funding Memo, which should be consulted for instructions. Students often suffer because these instructions are not followed when applications are submitted.

 

Doris (Lamb)

Doris has more experience with the rules for enrolled students than anyone in the world. She is a great resource if you want to know anything about credit hours, student status, degree requirements, etc. Email her at or call at 924-6741

 

Fees

A term usually used in conjunction with “tuition”, “fees” are monies paid by students at registration to pay for, among other things, the services students use around grounds, such as the bus system, Student Health, use of the Aquatic and Fitness Center and other recreational sites, etc. Some money goes to student groups which then redistribute it, including the Student Council and the Graduate Student Council.

 

Fellowship Money

Money given to a student for things like rent, food, etc. Students are responsible for paying state and federal taxes. Synonymous with “Stipend”. Some competitive fellowships come from sources outside the University and thus might have various restrictions.

 

Fellowship Information

Where should one start to find sources for graduate support? One great resource is the Arts and Sciences Research Office (422B Cabell, 47139). Neal Grandy (nrg2p) or Lynn Hedlund (lhh5a) would be happy to demonstrate a number of search engines. Another useful resource is a database maintained by Cornell University : http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Student/GRFN/ .

 

GRA

Graduate Research Assistant. From the 2007-08 University of Virginia Wage Authorization Policy (see http://www.virginia.edu/provost/resources.html) “GRAs are graduate students conducting academically significant research, with a minimum of supervision, under the guidance of a principal investigator or regular faculty member. GRAs are normally enrolled in a full-time degree program.” Minimum and maximum pay allowed is described in that document for Masters and PhD level students. Note: GRAs may work a maximum of 20 hours/week.

 

Grade Changes

A number of myths pervade the grounds about how grades of INC and NG are handled, and how grade changes may be effected. University and GSAS regulations are similar, but to understand the entirety of these questions, you must look in several places in the Graduate Record.

Incomplete:Grades of INC have long been thought to be of little consequence to graduate students; many students and faculty believe that INC hangs on forever and has no real effect on a student’s record. That is not the case. University regulations stipulate that grades of INC must be converted to the appropriate letter grade within one semester of the date on which the INC was registered. After that one semester, the grade automatically reverts to an F, which will appear on the transcript. A grade of F, like any other grade below B-, is considered to be an unsatisfactory grade. Receipt of such a grade is grounds for dismissal from the graduate program. Once a grad of F is recorded, the grade may only be changed with the approval of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, and the acceptable reasons for the Dean to authorize such a grade change are limited to cases “when an instructor certifies that, because of an error in calculation or transcript, an incorrect grade has been submitted.” Once the F is in place, it is hard to remove! 

NG: Currently, grades listed as NG are also a problem. In the University Regulations, it is written that “No student with an outstanding NG is eligible to receive a degree or certificate.” Currently NG grades revert to F after a semester as well.

Changing Grades / Correcting the Transcript: Responsibility for checking the transcript frequently and determining its correctness then making an effort to correct errors lies completely with the student. A student has one semester from the time an erroneous grade is recorded to get the error corrected. Errors not corrected within that time frame become permanent and cannot be changed. There is a belief among many students and faculty that corrections can be made at any time, and some students claim to have been told by department chairs that the record can be cleaned up at the time of graduation. That is incorrect. As stated above, a student has one semester from the time a grade is recorded to have it corrected if it is in error (see above for the definition of what constitutes an error).

Check your transcript early in each semester to be sure the grades recorded are those that were earned in the previous term. If there appears to be an error, contact the instructor of the course immediately so that the change can be made within the time limit. Do not allow Incompletes to revert to F; failing to do so could cost you your degree.

 

Grader

Expected Weekly Work Hours : No more than 10: more typically 5-6.

Graduate students who are helping with classes but not involved in positions as responsible as those paid under the higher pay rate schedules for graduate assistants. They are paid as hourly employees and should therefore keep written timesheets.

Typical Duties (graders should do a subset of the following tasks ):

• Attend lectures as needed.
• Take notes in lectures if requested by instructor.
• Write exam questions
• Collect, xerox, and put articles on reserve or take them to copying center.
• Grade exams, essays and other assignments
• Help the professor with audiovisual aids in the classroom.

 

Graduate Admissions Database

A database that contains all of the basic information about each year’s applicants.

 

Graduate Faculty

A person who is eligible to serve as a graduate student’s advisor or as a member of their examining committee. In general, these persons are tenured or tenure-track members of the departments and programs that are a part of GSAS. Members of the Graduate Faculty are listed in the Graduate Record.

 

Graduate Funding Database

A database that tracks student financial data. See Lloyd Banks or Brenda for details and usage.

 

Graduate Funding Memo

After the annual Graduate Program Review, departments are notified of their resources for the next year in these memos. Hopefully they can be generated by early January.

 

Graduate Record

The official rules and program descriptions of GSAS!

Graduate Program Review

A yearly assessment of the status of graduate programs. During October and November, Chairs and DGS’s are scheduled to discuss program problems, directions and aspirations. Each department fills in a spreadsheet provided by the GSAS prior to the meeting explaining how funds have been used and projecting expenditures for the next year.

 

Graduate Student Council

A self-elected body of graduate students who play many roles. They fund many graduate student events, including scholarly meetings held at UVa (see “Fees”), hold an annual Research Fair for which cash prizes are given for the best papers, and organize social activities. See http://www.student.virginia.edu/~gsasc/ for details.

 

GTA

See “TA”

 

Grievance Procedure

Students who have a grievance relating to a faculty member, department chair, or dean are invited to discuss their academic grievance in the following manner:

1. Concerns related to a faculty member that cannot be resolved between the two parties should be discussed with the Director of Graduate Studies and/or department or program chair on a person-to-person basis;
2. If the concern is related to the department chair, the grievance should be filed with the Associate Dean of the Graduate School (Aaron Mills) in 437 Cabell Hall.
3. If the concern is related to the Dean, the grievance should be filed with the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (Milton Adams).
4. If the level of concern relates to the Vice President and Provost, appropriate written documentation should be presented to the President of the University.

 

Health Insurance

All Students must have health insurance to enroll. Students may either provide their own or purchase a policy through Aetna Student Health, 1-800-466-3027.

Students with GRA/TA-ships or fellowships may be eligible for support for health insurance through Aetna . Detailed info, including rates for additional family members, can be found at http://www.virginia.edu/studenthealth/insurance.html. Eligibility: Students simply receiving wages (perhaps as a grader or work-study) do not qualify. Students who earn wages as an instructor (on a faculty line and not a GTA) also do not qualify and cannot be offered the insurance voucher. Departments may offer the student a fellowship of equivalent value, but only students meeting the fellowship or GTA/GRA wages requirement may be given a voucher. Also, students who earn less than $5000 as a GTA/GRA and less than $5000 in fellowship, but whose total package exceeds $5000 do not qualify. It must be at least $5000 from a single source. The only exception is that one can combine GTA and GRA wages to reach the $5000 figure. The rule of thumb is that the primary source of the student support should pay the health insurance subsidy. Lloyd Banks is the school-level graduate student health insurance liaison and should be contacted regarding eligibility issues.

 

Huskey Travel Funds

A limited fund to allow students to present papers at meetings. In order to stretch the money to help out as many as possible, rules were established several years ago such that students may receive either $250 for travel between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River, or $500 for travel to any other point. Students may receive only one award/year. The conditions under which the program was established stipulate that only students in the "classical" Arts&Sciences departments are eligible to apply for these funds. Students in programs funded through SOM are ineligible. All requests must be submitted and approved prior to traveling. All requests must come through the Directors of Graduate Studies to Aaron Mills. Send your DGS the request and include the following information: a) name and email address, b) Name, date and location of conference where they will be presenting, c) a rough budget indicating how much the trip will cost.  Awardees are notified through email.

 

IELTS

This exam (“International English Language Testing System” http://www.ielts.org/ ) is an English proficiency test given to non Native speakers. See “TOEFL” below

 

Image Now

A database of file images. The University has chosen this software to archive most documents.

Graduate applications are viewable with this if the software is installed on your machine. Wonderful, friendly system.

 

Incomplete (INC) and No Grade (NG)

see "Grade Changes"

 

International Students Office (ISO)

The office that handles visas, foreign student situations, and oversees our response to SEVIS. Call 982-3010.

 

Jefferson Fellowship

A scholarship package given to recruit graduate students administered through the Jefferson Scholars Foundation in Alumni Hall. They are funded by donated endowments. Since many donors want to earmark their gifts to particular departments (indeed, sometimes even particular topics within a discipline), many of the Jeffersons are restricted. The program is relatively young but has been very successful in recruiting students to Grounds. Departments who have slots pick a few candidates who are flown into Charlottesville in February for an elaborate recruiting weekend. Beginning in the fall of 2007, the fellowship will carry a living stipend totaling $30,000 plus tuition, fees and health insurance, renewable for up to five years. Students are supported by the Foundation for the first year, and by combined departmental/Foundation money for the next three, and then by the Foundation for the last. Additionally, the Fellows may apply for research funds up to $7,500 throughout the course of their fellowships to support dissertation work. See http://www.jeffersonscholars.org/graduate/ for details.

 

Non-Resident Fee

See http://www.virginia.edu/studentaccounts/tuition_and_fee.html. A fee paid by students to allow their enrollment in GSAS to stay active. Payment of these fees does not allow access to University facilities, does not accrue credits, and will not allow the deferral of student loans. Often used by advanced students who are working on finishing up their dissertations off-Grounds.

 

Non-topical Research

Each department has been assigned course numbers for four non-topical research seminars: 897 NON-TOPICAL RESEARCH (Preparation for Master’s Research, no thesis director), 898 NON-TOPICAL RESEARCH (For Master’s thesis, taken under the supervision of a thesis director), 997 NON-TOPICAL RESEARCH (Preparation for Doctoral Research, no dissertation director) 999 NON-TOPICAL RESEARCH (For Doctoral dissertation, taken under the supervision of a dissertation director).

Students working on a master’s degree will enroll in either 897 (if they have not selected thesis advisor) or 898 (if they have selected thesis advisor) and students working on a Ph.D. degree will enroll in either 997 (if they have not selected dissertation advisor) or 999 (if they have selected dissertation advisor).

The registration system requires that there be a faculty member associated with each course and an instructor number entered on ISIS . For courses 897 and 997, a faculty member has to be assigned for each student. For 898 and 999, the student’s research advisor would be the appropriate faculty member. Entering students must enroll for a 12 semester-hour course load and with no more than three hours of non-topical research.

All advanced students enrolling in less than 12 credit hours are advised that they must add the appropriate non-topical research hours to keep their enrollment at a full-time level (12 semester hours).

 

Non-topical Research Fees

See http://www.virginia.edu/studentaccounts/tuition_and_fee.html

Once students have finished their class work, they can sign up for research only fees, a substantial savings. This registration status allows students to have full access to all University facilities, is associated with gaining hours toward degrees (but not towards the core 54 hours of classes), and allows students to defer payments of loan. See also “Non-resident fees”

 

“Outside member” of a dissertation committee

See “Dissertation Committee”, above. The “outside” member of a dissertation committee is the “Dean’s Representative”. The person must not be from a candidate’s home department, and should be a member of the Graduate Faculty. The role of the outside member is to ensure that all of the GSAS rules are met and that the student is given a fair and impartial exam. Individuals from other institutions may serve on the committee in addition to the three departmental members, but they may not serve as the Dean's Representative.

 

President's Fellowship

A GSAS scholarship package given to recruit new students. Approximately 40 new President's Fellowships are given each year. Historically, all departments competed for the awards by submitting lists of their best recruits to the Dean’s Office. At some point a decision was made that a few large departments which had repeatedly proven that they could count on a large numbers of excellent applicants could have some of the fellowships reserved for them. The remainder of the departments still compete for slots. Starting in the Fall of 2007 the fellowship will provide $18,000/year support plus tuition, fees and health insurance for 4 years. For fellows entering in Fall 2009, the Graduate School will contribute $18,000 in stipend support, health insurance, and up to $15,000 towards tuition and fees during the first year. Departments provide fellowship support in the first year to meet the balance of tuition and fees for out-of-state students and to provide support to maintain the $18,000 minimum stipend plus tuition and fees in each of the succeeding three years of the fellowship. For 2008-09 GSAS will pay $9200 toward the stipend of second-year and third-year fellows. Departmental support in continuation years may be in the form of fellowship funds or in the form of salary or wages (teaching assistantship, research assistantship, etc.). Departments may supplement the stipend to a level higher than $18,000. President's Fellows may not serve as TAs during their first year.

 

SEVIS

Student and Exchange Visitor Information System. One response to 9/11 was a tightening of the regulations for foreign students….this is one result. SEVIS is currently being implemented as a way to monitor and track all foreign students in the country. Failure to comply with SEVIS requirements can result in immediate loss of visa status, with consequent inability to work and in some cases, deportation. For details contact the International Studies Office: http://www.virginia.edu/iso/ .

 

Stipend

Money given to a student for things like rent, food, etc. Students are responsible for paying state and federal taxes. Synonymous with “Fellowships”.

 

Summer Language Institute (SFLI)

The SFLI offers intense training in foreign languages (See http://www.virginia.edu/summer/SLI/index.html . GSAS has made money available to a few departments to allow students to gain foreign language skills during summer session. These department submit applications thought the instructions specified with their Graduate Funding Memo. The premise for these fellowships is that

a) Participation in an intensive foreign language institute puts the student in a favorable position to compete for outside fellowships in foreign study and

b) The language skills are a necessary and important research tool for the student, above and beyond satisfying the basic PhD language requirement. No payment is made for students to accomplish language requirements.

 

TA (Graduate Teaching Assistant, GTA)

(See http://www.virginia.edu/provost/resources.html, click on 2007-2008 Wage Authorization Policy)

Expected Weekly Work Hours : Full Time: 20 Half Time: 10

GTAs are graduate students who have instructional assignments in classrooms or laboratories. In general, GTAs take responsibility: for all lecture and classroom activities connected with a single section of a multi-section course that is under the general supervision of a faculty member; or the assignment to lead discussion sections of courses that are taught by a member of the regular faculty; or lead the laboratory sections under the general supervision of a regular faculty member who has responsibility for the course. A lecture or two may be given if the major intent is to provide teaching experience for the student (in most cases, the instructor will be in attendance in order to provide feedback). GTAs should normally be enrolled in a full-time degree program.

Typical Duties (TA’s should do a subset of the following tasks ):

• Deliver classroom instruction for 1-2 sections of a multisection course (one section is a half time load = 3 contact hours/week, two sections a full time load = 6 contact hours/week).
• Conduct independently-run discussion sections. Three 1 hr discussion sections/week = a half time assignment = 3 contact hours/week. Four one-hour discussion sections/week = a 2/3 time assignment = 4 contact hours/week.
• Conduct independently-run lab sections. One 3-4 hour lab section = a half time assignment. Two 3-4 hour lab sections = a full time assignment.
• Hold regular office hours
• Grade papers for their sections
• Attend regular meetings for section or lab planning.
• Head Teaching Assistants: coordinate lab enrollments and weekly outlines: teach one lab section.

Notes:

1. since this is money paid to students to engage in teaching, it is “wage” money—pay for services. As such the taxes are withheld by the University.
2. Each department has a GTA full time rate (found on their yearly Graduate Funding Memo). The average TA wage in departments should be this rate. Departments may not increase numbers of sections by reducing their GTA stipends. Nor may they increase the rate students are paid by allocating fewer TAships. Fellowship funds (since they are not pay-for service monies) may not be used as payment for GTA or other service assignments. They CAN be as supplements to GTA appointments at normal rates.

 

TOEFL

This exam (“Test of English as a Foreign Language” see http://www.ets.org/toefl/ ) is an English proficiency test given to non-native speakers. The Graduate Record says:

“… applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate their English proficiency on the application for admission by submitting an acceptable score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam. A score may not be more than two years old. Most admitted students attain at least 600 on the paper version of the TOEFL (or 250 on the computer version) or 7.0 on the IELTS. A TOEFL or IELTS exam score is required of all applicants if the language first learned and spoken in the home is not English. This is true regardless of the number of years of instruction in English or if English is the "official" language of the applicant's home country.

In addition to the TOEFL or IELTS exam, successful applicants whose first or native language is not English must take the University of Virginia English Proficiency Exam soon after arriving at the University. The test is administered to new students just before classes begin, and results are used to determine whether supplemental classes in one or more language skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening) is advisable. This test is required of all non-native speakers of English, regardless of their TOEFL or IELTS score or previous experience using English. The University offers an intensive English for Academic Purposes program in the summer for incoming international students, scholars, and research associates. For information contact the Center for American English Language and Culture, (434) 924 6552 or .

 

TTSP

Teaching and Technology Support Partners. A program overseen by ITC to fund graduate students to help incorporate technology into classrooms. This is a competitive program. See http://nmc.itc.virginia.edu/TTI/. These students are paid as though they were GRAs.

 

Tuition Adjustment

Payment of out-of-state tuition and fees (see http://www.virginia.edu/studentaccounts/tuition_and_fee.html). Any student earning $5000 or more as a TA or GRA. is eligible for a tuition adjustment. However, earning $5000 does not guarantee an adjustment. Adjustments are awarded at the discretion of the department, based on funding availability. Students who earn wages as an instructor (on a faculty line and not a GTA) do not qualify for an adjustment. (Adjustments were formerly known as Tuition Differential Fellowships).

 

Tuition Remission

Payment of in-state tuition and fees. (see http://www.virginia.edu/studentaccounts/tuition_and_fee.html). Any student employed at 50% effort or more as a TA or GRA is automatically entitled to tuition remission. TA/GRAs are only eligible for remission in the semester they work. The Provost Office pays remission for TAs (regardless of funding source). Remission for GRAs must be charged to Departmental grant accounts. Students who earn wages as an instructor (on a faculty line and not a GTA/GRA) do not qualify for tuition remission.

 

“Work over 20 hours rule”

The Internal Revenue Service has ruled that if a student works more than 20 hours a week then, by default, she or he cannot be a classified as a "full time student"... and thus must be taxed at a different rate.  The rules are closely defined in the Provost's Wage Authorization Policy, http://www.virginia.edu/provost/resources.html .

• Students who are US citizens may not work over 20 hours without GSAS approval.  Small variances and one time exceptions can be granted. Such requests are made by departments emailing Aaron Mills with a note from the student’s faculty advisor and DGS who indicate that the overage does not compromise the student’s ability to make timely progress towards a degree. 
• International students simply cannot work over 20 hours due to visa regulations
• Approvals can only be granted on a semester by semester basis.