How to Register - Graduate Students

1. Schedule of Classes - find course numbers & CRNs

Log in to myPurdue and click on "View the schedule of classes" to locate course numbers and CRN #s.  You should also verify that you have no holds on your registration account. Hold removal guidance can be found here: https://www.purdue.edu/registrar/currentStudents/students/holds.html.

2. Meet With Your Major Professor

Set up a meeting with your advisor/major professor to determine your course schedule. YOU and your major professor are responsible for following your Plan of Study, area exam conditions (PhD), etc.

3. PIN Number

Your advisor/major professor should provide your PIN. Please note that new students should obtain their PIN through the Brightspace orientation course.

4. Register via the Scheduling Assistant link in myPurdue.

Once you enter your registration request, using the information gathered in step #1, the Scheduling Assistant will then circulate the request to the appropriate contacts for approval - in most cases you do NOT need to contact people separately. Requests for courses outside of Civil Engineering may need you to contact the instructor/departmental designee outside of the system. Here's a link to the Scheduling Assistant FAQ page. Please note that if you are registering for CE research hours, you will need to complete a second step, please see item # 7 on this list for more information.

5. Independent Study Courses 

Meet with your major professor to determine course title (30 characters or less). Then submit the request via the Scheduling Assistant workflow.  You can find a video with instructions here.  Please note that the standard course number is CE 59700 and the course should be taken for a letter grade if you want to use it to meet the requirements for your degree.  Once all the approvals have been submitted, the course will be created and added to your schedule, where you will need to confirm your registration in the course.  If you have questions about the process, please contact classroomsched@purdue.edu.

6. Funded Students

If you are being funded by a research or teaching assistantship, you are required to register for at least 3 credit hours of coursework and/or research each semester (including summer). International students need to register for at least 6 hours. Students with funding that is managed through the Graduate School (PDF, Andrews, Ross, Lynn, etc) must register for at least full-time (8 credit hours).

7. Research Hours 

If you are a PhD or MS thesis option student you are required to enroll in research (CE 69800 or CE 69900) every semester you are conducting research– even if you have met the minimum required credits for research. Your advisor should provide the PIN. You can find your professor's research CRN in the Schedule of Classes in myPurdue. You can then enter the request in Scheduling Assistant, similar to the process for courses (item #4 on this list).  The system will circulate the request to the appropriate contacts for approval - you do NOT need to contact people separately.  Here is a link to the Scheduling Assistant FAQ page. This will approve one hour of research.  Once that is fully approved, you will need to go back into Scheduling Assistant and request a modification up to the desired number of research hours.  Here is a brief video on how you request a modification credits -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYvXSCEVXx8.

Quick Tip: If you are registering for research, but accidentally registered for the incorrect section and want to change it to the correct one, you need to check the "include conflicting suggestions" in your Scheduling Assistant when looking for the alternate sections. Scheduling Assistant sees requesting a different section than the you are already approved for as a "conflict" so you need to check that box to see it.

8. Final Check

Double-check your class list in myPurdue, under "Concise Student Schedule", once it is entered.

General Registration Information

• Most areas have a seminar (CE 69100) that you should register for.
• All incoming Graduate students should register for the CE 69100 Graduate Student Orientation during their first semester.

• If the student is pursuing an MS, they will register for CE 69800 (research credit). The exact number of credits students register for will vary depending upon faculty expectations in research for the upcoming semester. MS thesis students must have a minimum of 9 hours of research.

• If the student is pursuing a PhD, they will register for CE 69900 (research credit). The exact number of credits students register each semester for will vary depending upon faculty expectations in research for the semester. PhD students may count up to 30 credits from an MS toward their required 90 credits. Civil Engineering requires that PhD students have a minimum of 42 hours of research to graduate.
• Be sure to choose the correct section of the research course – you will have to search the list for the section with your advisor as instructor and use that CRN.

For Students who intend to graduate you must register for the appropriate candidate course:

Regular candidacy: CAND 99100

Student must be registered for at least one credit of coursework or research with this type of candidacy.

Exam Only: CAND 99300

Register for this type of candidacy if student expects to complete their final examination and the graduate advisory committee expects to submit a positive report on their final examination early in the semester. Exact dates when this must be complete are provided at https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/about/calendar/index.html

Degree Only: CAND 99200

Register for this type of candidacy if final examination has been completed but thesis has not been submitted (or was not submitted by the previous semester deadline). Exact dates when this must be complete are provided at https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/about/calendar/index.html.

Drop and adds are also initiated by the student via myPurdue.  Drop/Add deadlines can be found at: http://www.purdue.edu/registrar/calendars/index.html

Please note that thesis option students must be registered for research hours in the semester they plan to graduate.