BS/MS First Semester Grad Registration

Welcome to the ME graduate program!  Yes, you were admitted in your 7th semester, but you’re not an official Master’s student, until your first semester after graduating with your bachelor’s.

Here’s some things we want to share with you on registration for your first semester of the Master’s program:

  1. Please be patient! The registrar’s office has to do some behind the scenes coding so that you can register as a grad student when your first semester in the Master’s program registration opens.  (If you graduated with your undergrad in the spring,  your first semester in the Master’s would be the fall semester of that same year.  If you graduated in the fall with your undergrad, your first semester in the Master’s would be spring. There’s nothing that will hurry this along. Just keep checking to see when your time ticket window opens in myPurdue. They start addressing the changes needed when registration opens, but we don’t have an estimate of how long it’ll take before you’re coded correctly to register.  

  2. You will not register with the typical undergrad registration process. You will register in the scheduling assistant. Please make sure you review the registration webpage. This webpage will show you how to tell when various registration semesters will open, how to retrieve your graduate registration pin, how to use the scheduling assistant, and more.

  3. Even though you can register during the graduate registration period, you are still an undergrad, and pre-reqs will still be enforced by the system. When you request permission for an override, make sure to add a comment that you’re BS/MS with your first Master’s semester starting in ‘X’. That’s not a guarantee you’ll be issued an override, but it can help. We will not tell you what specific courses to take.  In the grad world, you get the flexibility of registering in courses that appeal to you and your interests.  Only courses that are technical and quantitative in content and meet ME’s requirements as such, can be used toward degree requirements (PMP students can take 9 credits of professional development credits toward degree requirements). You can take extra courses, but only courses that can be used toward degree completion will be approved on your plan of study (POS). All courses taken will show up on your transcript. If you are a research-based student, please discuss with your research chair what you should register for, and remember you need to register for Master’s research each semester, registered (see research registration instructions on the registration webpage, as it is a 2-step process).

  4. You can find degree requirements on our plan of study webpage. This will tell you what type of credits and how many you’ll need to complete your specific degree requirements. You can register in courses that do not meet degree requirements, but you should always register each semester in some credits that do count toward degree requirements to show steady progress toward degree completion. As of summer 2026, 8 credits is considered full-time registration for fall, spring, and summer semesters. You need to register full-time in each semester registered as ME does not offer part-time residential degrees. If it is your last semester and you’re registered to graduate (see registration instructions for candidate registration on our webpage) and registered in your final credits needed to complete degree requirements, as long as you’re not Purdue-funded, you could register for less than full-time. Purdue-funded students must be registered full-time each semester. (If you’re an international student, a reduced course load (RCL)  in your final semester has to be approved by ISS, and at least one of your final courses must cover the full semester timeframe.)

  5. Your initial POS will be due before the end of the 6th week of your first semester. We will hold a virtual POS informational meeting early in the semester. Details/link will be on the ME grad blog, home page for this meeting, and you should review the POS webpage on our website.

  6. Once you’re registered for your first Master’s semester, and before your first semester starts, contact the registrar’s office and confirm you received your undergrad degree and request they update your Master’s registration to reflect that it’s at the Master’s level. Initially, your transcript will show the registration at the undergrad level since you’ve not yet graduated with your undergrad degree, when you register.

  7. We will hold a virtual informational meeting before each semester starts, ‘How to Navigate Grad School in ME’. Details/link posted on the ME grad blog, home page. Make sure you attend one of these. This is separate from orientation.

If at any time, you have questions or concerns, please let us know at megradoffice@purdue.edu, or pop in on any of the virtual office hours (details/links on ME grad blog home page).

Welcome to the ME graduate program!