Thesis Research Registration

If you are a PhD or MS thesis-option student, you are required to enroll in thesis research every semester. You register for research by using the scheduling assistant within myPurdue.

You can find your professor's CRN here:  

This is a THREE-STEP PROCESS. Please make sure that you complete ALL THREE steps.

STEP 1:  
Go to this page and complete the form.  This will be routed for approval by your major professor.

STEP 2:
You have to register for research using the scheduling assistant; please make sure to know which professor you will be working with and the number of credits you plan to register for in STEP 3. (This can be as simple as "Prof Name/CRN/# Research Credits"). The professor will need to approve your request before an advisor can approve. Determine which CRN to use based on whether it is MS or PhD research hours you are registering for with your major professor. You will receive notification when this step has been approved.

STEP 3: 
Once you receive approval you’ll then need to go back into the system and modify the number of credits you need to register for to the correct number. (Make sure that between your research credits and coursework credits, you do not exceed the maximum credits for the semester. If funded, you must be registered full time, which is 8 credits in spring or fall semesters.) Once everything posts, check your schedule to confirm that you are registered for the CORRECT number of research credits with the CORRECT professor. It is your responsibility to make sure your registration posts as expected. If you do not check that your registration is posted correctly and fix any errors at the beginning of the semester, you cannot appeal to the registrar’s office later if there is a problem. 

We highly recommend that you register for research as early as possible. If you register before the end of the first week of classes and research posts to your schedule, you can manually adjust the credits to the correct number. If you wait until approvals are needed in the scheduling assistant, you’ll first have to submit research registration in the scheduling assistant, and then submit a change to the number of credits requested in the scheduling assistant. Both of these requests will require routing and various approvals, so this can take longer to post and potentially lead to late fees if not COMPLETELY processed before the deadline for that semester. 

If you do not complete STEP 3, your research registration will be dropped by the registrar’s office, and you will have to re-submit the request. If this is caught after the deadline, late fees will apply. ALWAYS check your schedule to make sure registration has posted as expected!

Here are GUIDES to assist you: 

You are charged for research credits just like lecture credits. You can use the tuition calculator to determine cost.

OFF-CAMPUS RESEARCH: 
For all (domestic & international) master’s or PhD students who are conducting research off-campus for greater than 22 days, the electronic G.S. Form 19 is required to be completed and submitted to the grad school. You can find this form in the same area within myPurdue where you select to create your plan of study.  Students will need to file this electronic form at least one month prior to each session they plan to be conducting off-campus research. For PhDs it should be used when the student has not completed prelims or coursework (for PhD students conducting research off campus that have already completed prelims and coursework, and are not funded, they need to file a Research in Absentia form: G.S. Form 12). (If you are also in a RA position, you will need to complete a Change of Duty Station request through the engineering employment center (engremployment@purdue.edu) when requesting approval for research off campus.)