/College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Physics and Astronomy

Registering for Classes and Credits

Registration Deadlines and Add/Drop

PhD students must register for exactly nine credits every semester. Many courses offer a flexible credit range to help you reach that number, though even a 0-credit course may require considerable effort to meet the requirement.

MA students should register for nine credits to be considered full-time, unless they’ve applied for an Underload in their final semester. MA students can take up to 12 credits – and more with an appeal – but are responsible for the additional tuition.

You must be registered for at least one credit by the first day of classes. A modest late fee applies if you register within the first 15 days of the term, but at least registration is still possible. A few other add/drop limits to know:

  • You may add classes through day 15 of the term.
  • You may drop classes through day 10 of the term without a tuition charge or a W (withdrawal) on your record.
  • From days 11-15, you may only drop a course if you add an equal number of credits in the same transaction by using the “swap” feature in SOLAR.
  • After day 10 of the term, you can withdraw from a class instead of dropping it, but a W will be recorded and tuition charged according to the Tuition Liability schedule – if you withdraw, make sure your remaining credits still meet your required minimum.

Exact dates are published each year in the academic calendar.

If something goes wrong with your registration after these windows close, you can petition for a retroactive add/drop – it requires approval from both the Graduate Program Director and the Graduate School, and the Registrar’s Office won’t process it until a fee is paid.

For course descriptions and prerequisites, see the Graduate Bulletin; for instructors and meeting times, see the Departmental Course Schedule or SOLAR.

Taking Courses Outside the Department

Courses from other departments (for example, the Math Department) can be worthwhile if closely related to your specialty. You need prior permission from your program before registering for one.

Such a course can also count toward your degree requirements – for PhD students, this includes the Breadth Requirement; MA students can use the same option toward their 30-credit requirement. To qualify, the course must be closely aligned with physics, and needs approval from both the Graduate Program Director and, generally, the external Program Director. Provide a syllabus for the course so both Program Directors can evaluate its relevance.

A tuition waiver in Physics and Astronomy only covers courses that qualify under this process. Some courses don’t, and you’re responsible for the cost:

  • A course taken as part of a secondary program, such as a graduate certificate, must be in addition to your required course load in your primary program and is not covered by the tuition waiver.
  • The same applies to foreign language courses, unless you pay the tuition yourself.
  • English as a Second Language (ESL) courses are the exception – if you’re a G1 or G3 student, they’re covered by your tuition waiver.

Registering for Research

Once you are doing research, register for the course that matches your status and work:

  • G1-G4 students (Master’s and PhD): Normally PHY 580 (Special Research Projects); if the work is more of a reading course in selected topics, register for PHY 585 (Special Study) instead.
  • MA students already working on a thesis: PHY 595 (Master’s Degree Thesis Research).
  • G5 students (PhD students who have advanced to candidacy): PHY 699 if most of your research is on campus, at Brookhaven Lab, or at Cold Spring Harbor; PHY 700 if you’re working elsewhere in the US (e.g. Argonne); PHY 701 if you’re working outside the US (e.g. CERN).

Register for the section taught by your advisor – sections are listed on the Departmental Course Schedule.

You must have your advisor’s consent before registering under their research section.

If your advisor’s name isn’t listed as an option for your research course, talk to the Graduate Program Director – they will either have you register under their own name or appoint a Departmental co-advisor (often the chair of your Oral Exam Committee).

Summer Research: If you’re doing paid research over the summer but aren’t graduating that term, register for PHY 800 (zero credits). If you’re an international student and travel home for the summer, keep in mind you won’t be paid during that time, and you’ll miss the chance to work with your research group.

Registering the Term You Graduate

You must register for the term you graduate in, even if most of the remaining work happens off campus or at a national lab.

  • Fall or Spring: register as normal – PhD students register for nine credits; MA students can consider an Underload in their final semester.
  • Summer: register for the course that matches your status – MA students who are international register for GRD 700 (one credit); MA students who are domestic register for PHY 800 (zero credits); PhD students, domestic or international, register for GRD 800 (one credit).

Holds

A hold on your account can block registration entirely. Before you try to register, check for holds in SOLAR. See the Holds Glossary for the full list of hold codes and how to resolve each one.

Transcript Holds. The most common hold is a missing final transcript showing the degree conferral.

  • Domestic students: have your school send an Official Electronic Transcript to gradrecords@stonybrook.edu. It must show your degree was conferred, with the conferral date.
  • International students: use an official electronic delivery service, such as Parchment, to send your transcript to gradrecords@stonybrook.edu. If the transcript or degree certificate isn’t in English, it must be officially translated.
  • If electronic delivery isn’t available, mail an official sealed transcript showing degree conferral to: Graduate School, Stony Brook University, 2401 Computer Science Building, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4433.

An official transcript is issued directly by your school. It carries an official seal or stamp and an official signature from an appropriate academic administrative officer, and is sealed by the university.