1

iii

Table of Contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... v
Chapter 1. Registration and Enrollment ......................................................................................................................... 3
How to Apply for Admission .................................................................................................................................. 3
Submitting Your Degree Plan .................................................................................................................................. 3
Chapter 2. Academic Calendar ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 3. Financing Your Degree ................................................................................................................................ 11
Teaching and Research Assistantships ................................................................................................................. 11
Chapter 4. Degree Conferral ........................................................................................................................................... 15
Request for Time Extension for Your Degree ................................................................................................... 15
Applying for Graduation ........................................................................................................................................ 15
Rounding Out Your Thesis.................................................................................................................................... 16
Index ................................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Introduction
Welcome to the University of North Texas. We are pleased that you have
chosen UNTs College of Engineering for your graduate study. UNTs Department
of Engineering is proud to offer 8 accredited degree programs in the fields of
Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Construction Engineering Technology,
Electrical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Technology, Information Technology,
Mechanical and Energy Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering Technology. Each
of these programs are staffed with experts and researchers who have operated on the
cutting edge of their respective fields, and their experiences have translated directly
into the quality of education our graduate students receive. You have made an
excellent decision in choosing to further your career as an engineer at Discovery Park.
The purpose of this guide is to acquaint you with the most important
procedures and policies that you must know as a new graduate student. If youre not
sure about a policy, please consult with the Engineering Advising Office located in
Discovery Park, room C104. You may stop by, or give us a call at (940)565-4300. Our
office hours are from 9am Noon, and 1:30pm 5:00pm, Monday through Friday.

Remember, important notes will be indicated by a diving eagle (

troubleshooting tips by a graduation cap ( )
.

) and

Chapter 1. Registration and Enrollment

Chapter 1. Registration and Enrollment

How to Apply for Admission
1. Contact the academic department you wish to apply to for the application deadlines and the
standardized test requirements that are specific to the program they offer.
2. Use the Apply Texas Common Application to apply online to both the Toulouse Graduate School
and the engineering graduate program of your choosing by the application deadline
a. May 13th is the deadline to apply for classes that start on May 18th.
b. May 15th is the deadline to apply for classes that start on June 8th.
c. July 15th is the deadline to apply for classes that start on August 24th.
3. Obtain official copies of
official transcripts from
UNT Registrar's Office
all the colleges and
1155 Union Circle #311400
universities you have
Denton, Texas 76203-1400
attended in the past and
mail them to the registrar
at UNT (address listed to
the right).
4. Request that your official score reports from any relevant standardized tests you may have taken be
sent to UNT.
5. Find out what additional documents you may need to submit that are required by the program you
are interested in.

The UNT school code for the GRE is 6481; for the GMAT, 6DP-8M-55; for the MAT,
2255.
You will need a 2.8 GPA or higher on your undergraduate degree, a 3.0 GPA on the last 60 hours of
your undergraduate degree, or a 3.4 GPA on an already completed masters degree in order to be
enrolled unconditionally into the graduate program.
Even if your GPA or test scores dont meet the requirements above, you may be admitted if you
qualify according to various other conditions that you can speak with an admissions specialist about.

Submitting Your Degree Plan

1. Obtain an appointment with the professor
you chose to be your major professor
who is charged with guiding you through
your experience as a graduate student.
2. Plan your degree program with the
assistance of this professor in the course
of at least 2 to 3 of these appointments
with your major professor.

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3. Be sure to include the following if you plan to research, compose, and defend a thesis during your
time in the graduate program.
24 hours of graduate-level courses
6 credit hours of masters thesis
4. Include the following in your degree plan, on the other hand, if you do not plan to include a thesis in
your degree program.
33 to 27 credit hours of graduate level courses
Up to 6 credit hours of research with the permission of your major advisor
5. Meet on at least a biweekly basis with your major professor even after cementing the details of your
degree plan, as this will help you monitor your progress in your research and, if applicable, the
crafting of your thesis.
Students who have opted to go the thesis route must join a research group within the first semester
of their time in the graduate program.

Chapter 2. Academic Calendar

Chapter 2. Academic Calendar

August 24, 2015

First Class Day (Monday)

September 7, 2015

Labor Day (no classes; university closed)

November 26-29, 2015

Thanksgiving Break (no classes; university closed)

November 28 - December 4, 2015

Pre-finals Week

December 3, 2015

Last Class Day

December 4, 2015

Reading Day (no classes)

December 5-11, 2015

Finals

December 11, 2015

Doctoral and Master's Commencement

December 11-12, 2015

Undergraduate Commencement

December 24, 2015-January 1, 2016

Winter Break (no classes; university closed)

January 18, 2016

MLK Day (no classes; university closed)

January 19, 2016

First Class Day

March 14-20, 2016

Spring Break (no classes)

April 30-May 6, 2016

Pre-finals Week

May 5, 2016

Last Class Day

May 6, 2016

Reading Day (no classes)

May 7-13, 2016

Finals

May 13, 2016

Doctoral and Master's Commencement

May 13-14, 2016

Undergraduate Commencement

Chapter 3. Financing Your Degree

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Chapter 3. Financing Your Degree

Teaching and Research Assistantships
1. Meet with your academic advisor to discuss the possibility of an assistantship
a. There are 3 types of assistantships available to graduate students: Teaching Fellowships (TF),
Teaching Assistantships (TA), Research Assistantships (RA), and Graduate Services
Assistantships (GSA).
2. Decide which of the assistantships will be of the most benefit to you.
If youve decided to pursue a teaching assistantship, contact your departments graduate
advisor
If youve decided to pursue a research assistantship, contact a member of the faculty in your
department (or even outside your department if the opportunity arises) whose research
aligns with your interests.
If youve decided to pursue a graduate services assistantship, make an appointment with Jodi
Foster in Discovery Parks Career Center to discuss the application process.
3. Obtain the applications for each of these positions and apply accordingly, with care to gather the
documents necessary for each application process.

The Career Center in Discovery Park is located in room C111, and it will be your best bet to find
employment opportunities both on- and off-campus.

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Chapter 4. Degree Conferral

15

Chapter 4. Degree Conferral

Request for Time Extension for Your Degree
Complete a copy of the Request for Time Extension form for masters students.
Obtain signatures on the application for extension from:
your Major Professor
your Program Coordinator or Director
your Department Chair
your College or School Dean
Include letters from:
Student (indicating justification and requested terms/conditions of extension request.)
Major Professor (clearly stating what additional coursework is needed; if none is needed, explain how
the student is current in coursework; spell out the terms/conditions of the extension request.)
Program Coordinator (endorsing a & b above; may provide additional information)
Department Chair (endorsing a, b, & c above; may provide additional information)
4. Include current degree plan with grades.
5. Include resume showing student ID#, place of employment, position and title, work/professional
experience, etc.

1.
2.

3.

Applying for Graduation

1. Apply to graduate initially by filling out the online graduation application, which can be found at
http://tsgs.unt.edu/academics/graduation/application.
2. File the appropriate hard copies of the following documents with the Toulouse Graduate School.
Graduate Application
Approved Degree Plan
UNT Graduating Student Survey
3. For those of you who chose the nonthesis graduate program option, there
is no application fee to be paid.
However, students who selected a
thesis in their degree plan must pay a
$20 archiving and $25 microfilming
fee.
4. Verify that the registrars office has your up-to-date address and other contact information, so as to
avoid missing the Commencement Ceremony information that will be mailed to you.
5. Contact the Barnes & Noble Bookstore on campus to order your Commencement Ceremony cap,
gown, tassel, and hood.
REMEMBER: Graduation requires earning a B average in all the courses you take.

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Rounding Out Your Thesis

1. Once you have researched and composed your thesis in its entirety, you are ready to begin the
process for defending it.
2. Schedule your oral defense date through the department whose graduate program you are a part of.
3. Once youve successfully presented your ODF to your committee members, they and your
department chair will sign their approval of it.
The signed ODF must be submitted to the Toulouse Graduate School within 48 hours of its
oral defense.
4. The Graduation Coordinator will then send a second form, the Final Document Approval form, to
your major professor that will need to be signed by them and submitted before or with your
5. Submit a filing envelope with a CD the following items.
A flash drive containing a PDF version of your Electronic Thesis and Dissertation, a PDF Version
of your Abstract, and a Word-processing version of your abstract.
Hard copy of both the dissertation/thesis and abstract
Electronic document filing form
ProQuest Agreement form
Copies of any copyright permission letters you have received

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Index
application deadlines........................................................................................................................................................... 7
application fee.................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Apply Texas ......................................................................................................................................................................... 7
assistantship ....................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Calendar ............................................................................................................................................................................ 3, 9
Career Center ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Commencement Ceremony ............................................................................................................................................ 13
deadline ................................................................................................................................................................................. 7
degree program................................................................................................................................................................ 7, 8
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation ................................................................................................................................ 14
GPA ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Graduate Services Assistantships ................................................................................................................................... 11
graduation application ...................................................................................................................................................... 13
major professor ........................................................................................................................................................ 7, 8, 14
oral defense date................................................................................................................................................................ 14
registrar ........................................................................................................................................................................... 7, 13
Research Assistantships ............................................................................................................................................... 3, 11
research group ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8
score reports ........................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Teaching Assistantships ................................................................................................................................................... 11
Teaching Fellowships ....................................................................................................................................................... 11
thesis..................................................................................................................................................................... 7, 8, 13, 14
Time Extension ............................................................................................................................................................. 3, 13
transcripts ............................................................................................................................................................................. 7