Graduate Student Enrollment Policies

Each quarter students should enroll in a minimum of 12 units of graduate level or upper division undergraduate level courses via webreg. 

Graduate Special Studies courses are those numbered 297, 298, and 299. 

All requests to enroll in Physics Special Studies courses must be submitted through the Enrollment Authorization System (EASy). Students should submit their EASy only after they have met with their proposed faculty supervisor and obtained their approval for the project (click here for contact info. of all PHYS faculty).

Students should follow the instructions below to properly complete their Special Studies request in EASy. 

Quarter: Select the term you want to enroll in the special studies course (you must submit a new request for each course each term). 

Request Type: Select Special Studies (do not select "Preauthorization")

Department/Program: Select Physics even if your faculty supervisor is in another department.

Course: Select the special studies course you want from the list. 

Instructor: If your proposed instructor does not appear, please click here to request that they be added (we’ll contact you once they’re added). 

Section: In most cases, you will not have to enter anything in this field. If you do, then there is likely to only be one option you can select. 

Grading Option: In most cases, you will not have to enter anything in this field. If you do, then there is likely to only be one option you can select.  

Requested Total Number of Units: Select the number of units you would like to earn for the selected class. If this option is not available and your request is approved, you may select the number of units you would like to earn when you enroll via WebReg. Keep in mind:

  • Each unit consists of 3 hours of work per week and 10 hours of research over the course of the quarter. The number of units you request should tpyically be based on the average number of hours you plan to commit to the course weekly throughout the term).

Number of units previously received for this project: You can list any number (this field is aimed at undergrads but cannot be left blank, per campus)

Prerequisite coursework or knowledge for this project: Indicate any past courses, knowledge, skills, and/or abilities their faculty supervisor has said is necessary to prepare for the project. 

Nature and frequency of contact (hours per week): Spell out how they will divvy up the use of the minimum weekly contact hours for the course. Hours may be spent reading, researching, writing, meeting with the professor and/or group members, or there may be other activities. Here are two examples of what a student might write in this section for a 4-unit Special Studies course (notice that each activity type and corresponding hours are always spelled out, as required for PHYS requests):

  • 1hr reading, 2hrs meeting w/ prof/group, 8hrs research, 1hr write-ups
  • 8hrs research, 1hr meeting w/ prof, 1hr reading, 2hrs writing

Means of Evaluation (paper, final, etc.): Report how your faculty supervisor has indicated they will determine whether or not you have passed the class. The instructor may require written coursework (eg. weekly write-ups, paper(s), etc.), one/more presentations, completion of an exam, and/or something else. Be sure to get your faculty member to clearly indicate the criteria that will be used to evaluate you when it’s time to enter grades. 

Proposed plan: Draft a  5-7 sentence description of your research or readings project.

Supporting documentation: You do not need to attach anything to your request.

See the next section for next steps.

Once you’ve submitted your EASy request, you can track its status by viewing the "Status History" at the top of your EASy request.

Note:

You will receive a notification at your UCSD email address once your request has been fully processed. Carefully read through the notification to ensure you take any necessary actions. Do not attempt to take action in WebReg while your EASy request is unprocessed - WebReg will not allow you to take any action.

Rush processing is NOT available. Requests are typically processed reviewers within 5 business days after submission excluding weekends, breaks, and holidays (view the campus calendars). 

Follow-up Actions Based on Request Status

It is crucial that you contact the appropriate party based on the current status of your EASy request. 

View the "Status History" at the top of your EASy request to see who currently has your request. If your request has been in one of the following stages for more than 5 business days (excluding weekends, breaks, and holidays), here’s what to do:

  • Pending Instructor Review: Contact your instructor for an update.

  • Pending Department/Program Approval: Reach out to the department/program for an update.

  • Pending Scheduling of the Section or Pending Registrar's Approval: Contact the Registrar’s Office (registrar@ucsd.edu) for an update.

    • Please note that the Registrar's Office receives and processes requests from the entire campus and also manages many other aspects of enrollment, campuswide. Therefore, it may take more than 5 business days for the Registrar's Office to process a request, especially during peak times (eg. continuing student enrollment, incoming student enrollment, etc.).