Registration Guide

You should register for classes as soon as you are able, since many classes fill up quickly. Not all schools at Purdue offer a wait list option for registration, and even if they do, it is not open all semester long. For the majority of courses, if the course is full, you can only register if a seat opens up.

When does registration open?

You can find when registration opens each semester, on the Registrar’s website: https://www.purdue.edu/registrar/currentStudents/students/registrationFaq.html.  Once registration opens, check your time ticket window in myPurdue for when you can register.

Video: How to find your time ticket

It is highly recommended that if you can't register early, that you register before the first week of classes end at the very latest, as you won’t need additional approvals.  If you did register early in the open registration period, always check your schedule again toward the start of the semester to make sure nothing changed.

Tuition is billed a couple weeks before classes start and is due in full by the first day of classes, unless you’ve made arrangements for a payment plan with the Bursar’s office.

Once registered, you will not have access to the course material, until the first day of classes.  All courses are hosted on the Brightspace platform. Please note: Once a semester is over, you will not continue to have access to the course materials in Brightspace.

Deadlines

Because dates can change, here are the websites that have the most recent information on the following deadlines:

Add/Drop, Refund, & Deadline Calendar:  https://www.purdue.edu/registrar/calendars
(If you are registered in a short course, please make sure you check the short course calendar for those add/drop/refund deadlines.)

Grad School Calendar of Events, Dates & Deadlines (for graduation candidacy, defense/deposit deadlines, etc.): https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/about/calendar

Academic Calendar: https://www.purdue.edu/registrar/calendars/

Registration Process

1. Remove any Holds

Make sure you have no holds on your account that will prevent registration.  You can check this in myPurdue.  You need to address the hold with the department that put the hold on your account, as that is the only department that can remove the hold. Please see https://www.purdue.edu/registrar/currentStudents/students/holds.html that discusses holds and how to remove them. You can also watch this   If you have a hold on your account at any time that affects registration, that means you can’t do anything registration-related, including add, drop, change grade mode, etc. until that hold is released.
 
Video: How to view your holds

2. PIN Number

Log in to the Engineering PIN System to retrieve your PIN number. (PINs will be released the day before registration opens, and the database is updated every Friday after that, if your PIN wasn’t released initially.)  You must have a Plan of Study (POS) approved, or in the process of approval, to access your PIN (if this is not your first semester). Do not try to access your PIN from within myPurdue, as you will receive an error message to meet with your advisor. Your initial POS should be submitted between the 3rd and 6th week of your first semester in the graduate program.

3. Find course numbers & CRNs

Log in to myPurdue and click on "View the schedule of classes" to locate course numbers and CRN #s. Check if you need signature and/or approval for course overrides for courses outside of ME.  The scheduling assistant is set up so that residential students should only see residential sections to register in, even if the course type is listed as ‘distance learning’.  (Note: Residential international students can only register in 3 credits of a distance learning course toward their full-time registration requirement, each semester.)  If “Lecture” is listed as course type, that indicates that it is an on-campus lecture course.

Video: How to Find University Catalog Course Descriptions

ME Courses by Research Interest

ME Approved Applied Math Courses 

4. Meet With Your Major Professor (Master’s Thesis & PhD/DPhD students only)

If you are a Master’s thesis or PhD student, set up a meeting with your major professor to determine your course schedule and then enter your registration through myPurdue, using the scheduling assistant. YOU and your major professor are responsible for following your Plan of Study, area exam conditions (PhD), etc. Research-based students are required to register for research credits, every semester that you are registered.

5. For Master’s Non-thesis students:

  • Professional Master’s Students (PMP) should review https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/Graduate/Prospective/ProfessionalMasters for a list of courses you can choose from the various categories to meet your degree requirements, and compare with what is offered in the semester.  
  • All other Master’s non-thesis students should review courses offered for the semester, in your area of interest, against degree requirements and choose to register in courses that will help you achieve your degree and professional goals. These courses must be degree-allowable (for example, all ME grad-level lecture-based courses are degree allowable, as are the approved non-ME courses listed here).  You want to choose courses that are technical and quantitative in content.  If you know of a course that is not on the approved non-ME courses list, and have questions as to whether that course would be acceptable toward your degree requirements, please email megradoffice@purdue.edu. 

6. Use Scheduling Assistant to Register

Enter your course registration through myPurdue, using the scheduling assistant. If you have any holds on your account that prevent registration, you’ll need to remove those before you’ll be able to register (see step 1 above).

How-To Videos:
How to Register
How to Add a Course to an Existing Schedule
How to Register using a specific CRN
How to Waitlist a Course (please note: this not available for all courses)
How to Check your Schedule After Registering
How to Add a Note When Input is Requested

7. Change in Grade Mode

Some courses allow you to audit a course or change to pass/no pass.  Please see https://www.purdue.edu/registrar/currentStudents/students/GradeModeChanges.html as to how to change the grade mode of a course.  Please keep in mind that auditing a course, will need instructor permission, and will cost the same as taking the course for a grade.  A course taken as ‘audit’ cannot be used to meet degree requirements, and it does not count toward registered credits for international student registration guidelines.  

If you elect to change the grade mode to pass/no pass, you’ll need to receive a ‘C-‘ or higher to receive a ‘P’, but the course cannot be used to meet degree requirements (only letter-graded courses can appear on your plan of study).  Also, when changing grade-mode, per Grad School policy, you can only retake a course in the same grade mode as originally taken (ex:  If you take a course as pass/no pass, you can only retake it as pass/no pass; you cannot retake it for a letter grade.)  We recommend you consider dropping a course if needed, instead of taking a course as pass/no pass, as you could then retake the course in a future semester for a grade.

8.  Dropping a Course

Familiarize yourself with the registrar’s Add/Drop calendar each semester.  The 16-week calendar can be found here: https://www.purdue.edu/registrar/calendars.  (If you are enrolled in a course with a shorter-term, please see the short course calendars on the registrar’s website for those deadlines.)  You can add/drop courses within myPurdue yourself up to the first week of classes, but after that, you’ll need additional approvals.  (It is highly recommended that you complete your course registration before the semester begins, and make decisions to add/drop within the first week of classes.)  Also, pay attention to reimbursement deadlines. 

You cannot drop the only course registered, through the scheduling assistant.  You will need to request a withdraw from the university; see https://www.purdue.edu/advocacy/students/withdrawal.html for instructions.

How-To Videos:
How to Drop a Class
How to Drop the Only Course Registered (Withdraw)

9. Independent Study Courses ("Variable Title")

10. Repeatable vs. Non-repeatable courses

Courses are classified as repeatable or non-repeatable. If a course is identified as ‘repeatable’, it means that all attempts in taking the course are counted in your GPA, up until the credit limit per whatever the catalog rules are for that course. This is especially true for any ‘variable title’ course.  Variable title courses are usually numbered as ‘59000’, ‘59500’, ‘59700’, ‘69000’, ‘69500’, ‘69700’, etc. (it depends on the school the course is being offered from, as to what numbering system they use). But usually the main title will refer to something along the lines of ‘special topics…’ or ‘advanced … projects’ and then when you dive deeper into that course number, you’ll see multiple courses offered of various types and titles.

If a course is identified as non-repeatable, it means you can retake the course and the latest attempt will replace your previous attempt in the course. The old attempt is marked excluded (E) and the new attempt is marked as included (I) on your transcript, and the latest attempt is what is now figured into your GPA calculation.  Please note: non-repeatable courses have a cap at 3 attempts.

11. Funded Students (RA/TA/Purdue Fellowships)

If you are being funded by a quarter-time or higher research, teaching, or graduate professional assistantship or a Purdue fellowship, you are required to register full-time in coursework and/or research in spring/fall semesters (6 credit hours in the summer). This even applies in your last semester (unless registering for CAND 992 or CAND 993). Registration should be completed before the end of the first week of classes, or your funding could be in jeopardy.

If your assistantship status is changing, notify the Engineering Employment Center, engremployment@purdue.edu, as soon as you know. (Please make sure to include your PUID in the email.)

12. Research Registration

13. Candidacy Registration

Are you planning on graduating this semester? Congratulations! Please see our Graduation page on how to register as a candidate for graduation. Also, make sure to attend the virtual Candidate meeting; details/link can be found on the ME Grad Blog announcement page.

14. Final Check

Double-check your class list in myPurdue, under "Concise Student Schedule", once your course registration and/or research registration has posted (coursework, research, candidacy).  It’s best to make sure there are no errors at the beginning of a semester, as things are still able to be adjusted.  As of Spring 2022, the registrar’s office is no longer considering appeals based on a student not realizing they weren’t registered correctly for the semester.

Course Selection Advice for New Graduate Students

Selecting your graduate courses involves your personal career goals, the requirements of your major professor (if in a research-based program), and the ME and Graduate School requirements. Research-based students will select their courses in close collaboration with their major professor based on research needs. Non-thesis MS students, however, will select their courses primarily on their own career goals. This document is intended primarily to assist new MS students who are not research-based, but provides information useful for all ME graduate students.

Summary of ME Course Requirements

  • MS non-thesis: 30 credit hours (usually 10 courses) that include 6 hours of math; 3 credits are required to be from the Math (MA) department (course starts with ‘MA’ and not be an independent study course), the other 3 credits can be from the approved applied math course listing.

  • Professional Master’s Program: please see the PMP page

  • MS thesis: 21 credit hours (usually 7 courses) that include 6 hours of applied math (3 credits are required to be from the Math (MA) department (course starts with ‘MA’ and not be an independent study course), the other 3 credits can be from the approved applied math course listing); plus at least 9 hours of ME 69800 MS thesis research. No independent study courses are allowed to be counted toward degree requirements. Funded students must register for ME 69800 MS research each semester they’re registered (the amount of credits will be based on what you and your research advisor discuss in regards to the expectations of what you will be doing that semester).

  • PhD: 21 new credit hours that include 9 hours of applied math (6 credits are required to be from the Math (MA) department (course starts with ‘MA’ and not be an independent study course), the other 3 credits can be from the approved applied math course listing.) Math credits (not courses) from your Master’s degree may be applied to the PhD math requirements. Students must register for ME 69900 PhD research each semester they’re registered (the amount of credits will be based on what you and your research advisor discuss in regards to the expectations of what you will be doing that semester).  A 600-level lecture course taken while in the Purdue West Lafayette PhD program, is required to be included on your POS as well.  (Note: The PhD program is completed with meeting at least 90 credits overall, including Master’s credits, new PhD coursework credits, and ME699 research credits.)

  • Direct PhD: 36 credit hours that include 9 hours of applied math (6 credits are required to be from the Math (MA) department (course starts with ‘MA’ and not be an independent study course), the other 3 credits can be from the approved applied math course listing.) Math credits (not courses) from your Master’s degree may be applied to the PhD math requirements. Students must register for ME 69900 PhD research each semester they’re registered (the amount of credits will be based on what you and your research advisor discuss in regards to the expectations of what you will be doing that semester). A 600-level lecture course taken while in the Purdue West Lafayette PhD program,  is required to be included on your POS as well. (Note: The D-PhD program is completed with meeting at least 90 credits overall, including D-PhD coursework credits, and ME699 research credits.)

Note: graduate level courses at Purdue are numbered 50000 and 60000. Courses numbered 40000 or below are undergraduate level and will not be allowed on the Purdue ME plans of study.

The Plan of Study

You can begin developing your Plan of Study during the 3rd week of classes, and it should be submitted before the end of the 6th week of classes, so it has time to make it through approvals before the end of the semester. The Plan of Study is a formal document required by the Purdue Graduate School that identifies your advisory committee, degree objective and your courses. It will be entered electronically in the Plan of Study generator within myPurdue. Your initial plan can be changed, as long as the changes keep you in degree compliance.

ME requires that all courses on your Plan of Study must be “technical and quantitative in content.” They can be from schools outside of ME, e.g., from other Schools of Engineering (except Engineering Education), the College of Science, and Math Department. Technology courses and courses considered "professional development" are not allowed on a ME plan of study. When in doubt, check with your major professor and then with the ME Graduate Office by emailing megradoffice@purdue.edu.

Advice on Selecting Courses

Using the myPurdue Course Catalog, prepare a list of all courses of interest to you. Select the appropriate semesters to ‘look forward’ to the next semester, and ‘look backward’ to previous semesters to get a more complete picture of all courses offered for the whole year. Read the course descriptions carefully and take note of which semester(s) the course is offered. Organize this list into a semester-by-semester table, carefully noting the semesters (Spring, Summer, Fall) when courses are offered.

Very few graduate courses are offered during the summer. This is particularly true of ME, where typically none are offered in the summer. However, a number of Math (MA) courses are offered in the summer. Factor this into your planning. Remember that summer courses are condensed, as they’re usually offered for 8 weeks instead of 16.

You do not have to take the math courses first. The ME requirement for 2 or 3 math courses does not mean they must be taken in any particular semester. It may be advantageous to wait to take a math course, perhaps to give you options for summer courses.

If you want to do a thesis and are interested in a professor’s research (do your homework), and have not already formed a relationship with that professor, schedule a course(s) taught by this professor as early as possible. Typically, graduate courses taught by professors are related to their research. This will give you a chance to work with the professor, for the professor to get to know you, and to prepare you for research with that professor if the opportunity arises. This also will be an opportunity to discuss your graduate program with the professor and seek advice on future courses.

ME Graduate Office
516 Northwestern Ave. (4th floor of Wang Hall)
West Lafayette, IN 47906
MEgradoffice@purdue.edu
(765) 494-5730
Virtual office hours available every Tues/Wed/Thurs