1. Plan of Study School of Engineering gradplan.engr.ku.edu
All graduate students are required to have a Plan of Study on file by their second semester of study.

2. School of Engineering
gradplan.engr.ku.edu

3. Plan of Study Steps Important Enrollment Information
Create New Plan
Update Personal Information
Select Degree
Doctoral Students: Update PhD Dates
Select Committee Members
Update Courses
Submit Plan
Important Enrollment Information
Engineering Advising Hold

4. Before Starting
1. Students should meet with their advisor or their department director to develop a plan by their 2nd semester of graduate study.
2. Review all requirements listed in the Graduate Catalog, program handbook or departmental website to define what requirements are set or required and what is negotiable or individual based on research or project.
3. Students should develop a formal committee by the end of their 2nd semester of graduate study.
Note: Courses, Advisors and committee members can be changed if students find faculty members or courses more connected to their research or professional interests – keep in mind that new committee members may recommend additional coursework other than what was originally approved by the committee.

5. Plan of Study Steps
Go to the Plan of Study Website at (Cookies must be enabled).
1. Choose > Create a New Plan
2. Update Personal Information:
Important: Keep this information correct and up to date.

6. Degree Selection
3. Select Degree – Select Major (Students who are completing a project should select a non-thesis option)
Select Admit Term
Select KU Employment Information
Enter in a Topic of Interest (thesis, project, or dissertation title)
Enter in an Estimated Graduation Date
Enter in any relevant Notes that committee members should be aware of
Enter in information about the last degree received prior to entering the current graduate program in the Previous Degree section
Important: Keep this information correct and up to date.

7. Additional Steps for Doctoral Students
PhD and DE students will need to complete additional information when they start and update their plan.
Click on “Dates” at the top of the Plan or “Update PhD Dates” toward the middle of the page, input the following dates, and check the “Complete?” box once they are completed:
Qualifying Exam: Most students complete this within the first year of doctoral study. If, for some reason, a program does not require a qualifying examination, enter in a date that falls in the first year of study and explain this in the notes section.
Residency: This is fulfilled after two semesters of full-time study (these do not have to be consecutive). Students are generally enrolled in at least 9 hours or 6 hours and hold a GRA or GTA position. Choose a date within the second semester of full-time study for your plan. This is not related to in-state residency.
Skills: This includes research skills and the responsible scholarship requirement. In the past, this was referred to as the Foreign Language or Research Skills (FLORS) requirement. A student’s committee determines how these skills are met. These skills are often met through coursework or examination, and students choose a date within the semester they completed the requirement.
Examination: This refers to a student’s comprehensive examination*, which is normally completed after all coursework requirements are met. Be sure at least five months pass between your planned comps exam date and final defense or estimated graduation date.
Responsible Scholarship: Beginning in fall 2011, doctoral students must meet a responsible scholarship requirement. Students should contact their program about this requirement and choose a date within the semester they complete the requirement. For students admitted prior to fall 2011, choose a date within your first year of graduate study and mark complete.
*After completion of the comprehensive exam, all doctoral candidates are required to complete either 18 post comprehensive hours or meet the requirements for graduation. Until one of these is met, doctoral candidates must be continuously enrolled in 6 hrs each spring and fall and 3 hrs each summer. Once 18 post-comp hours are met, doctoral candidates are only required to enroll in 1 credit hour, unless specified otherwise by a GRA/GTA/student hourly position, international student requirements, or financial aid requirements.

8. Additional Steps for Doctoral Students, Cont’d.
Important: Keep this information correct and up to date.

9. Committee Selection 4. Select Committee Members
Master’s Coursework or Project Students: All students must have at least three committee members, which includes the student’s advisor (Chair) plus two additional members. Although some programs only require students to have their department advisor/committee chair approve their plan, all students must have at least three committee members for their final examination. The majority (2 out of 3) must be tenured / tenured track faculty from their department.
Master’s Thesis Students: Students must have at least three committee members. This can include a student’s department director/advisor. The members will be made up of an advisor or chair and at least two other committee members. The majority (2 out of 3) must be tenured / tenured track faculty from their department.
Doctoral Students: Students are required to have at least five committee members, which includes the student’s main department advisor or chair and at least one outside member who will act as the Graduate Studies Representative (can be in another engineering department or outside of engineering) and must be a regular member of the KU graduate faculty (not a special member).
If the student’s main advisor is not a member of the graduate faculty at KU, he or she cannot be the sole chair of a committee. In this case, the faculty member would need to be a co-chair and a faculty member with regular graduate faculty status would also need to be a co-chair.

10. Committee Selection, Cont’d
Search by last name and choose “Add to committee.”
Be sure this information is accurate.
Click on “Propose a committee member.”
*It is suggested to enter only the first few letters of a person’s last name, in order to avoid possible misspellings & duplication of members in the system.

11. Changing Committee Members
To change a committee member, click “Remove,” and then add a new member by clicking “Add Member.”

12. Adding Coursework 5. Select Update Courses
Students should only enter the courses required to complete their degree, which includes transfer credits and study abroad courses that committee members have agreed to count toward the degree.
General Course Information:
Course: 500-level or above courses count towards graduate GPA
Title: Type of Course (Examples: Core, Elective, Research, Depth) and course title.
Hours: Typically, these are in a sequence of ; note that research, thesis, or dissertation hours may be combined to save space. For example, 18 hours of dissertation could be listed on one line with the end semester and year completed.
Term: Semester - Year. Input the term a course is expected to be taken if it has not yet been completed. Update this information, if needed.
Instructor: Name of the instructor of record for course; this information may be updated.
Grade: Update each semester

13. Adding Coursework, Cont’d.
Be sure to type information correctly to make it easier to sort and review the plan.
If additional lines are needed, click “Save,” go back to the plan page and click “Update Courses.” Additional lines will automatically be added.

14. Submission Process Multiple plans will appear here. Notification Path
The option to submit a plan will not be available until all three steps listed above are completed.
Multiple plans will appear here.
Notification Path
Chair
Committee
Director
This warning means that not enough hours were entered to complete a degree. To fix this, add courses to reach the minimum number of hours required for that degree.

15. Plan Approved
Once a plan is approved, students will receive an with the following message:
Your plan of study has been approved
It can be viewed at: a link to the student’s plan is provided here.
Submit Option: Select “Final” to send the plan to all committee members. Select “Chair” to send to your advisor only.

16. Changes Requested
Change requests will appear here.
Students receive an with the following message:
A change request has been added to your plan of study. You will need to make any requested modifications and resubmit the plan.
It can be viewed at:
link to student’s plan provided here.

17. Graduation Check
Students should work with their committee to schedule a date for their final examination during their final semester of study. Once this date is determined, students should work with their departmental assistant to schedule the final examination and request a degree check from the Graduate Division (Research and Graduate Programs Office). Students should also “Apply to Graduate” in Enroll & Pay. Both of these items should be completed at least two weeks before the final examination.
Once the Graduate Division (RGP) receives notification of an upcoming examination, the Division will complete a graduation check. This process involves reviewing the approved Plan of Study, along with the student’s transcript to verify that all required courses (approved by the committee) have been completed with at least a 3.0 cumulative graduate GPA.
No courses graded C minus or below should be included on a Plan of Study and will not count toward a degree (note that these classes will, however, count towards the overall graduate GPA).

18. Frequently Asked Questions
When should I create a plan?
By the second semester of graduate study.
When should I have a committee in place?
By the beginning of your second semester as a graduate student.
Should I include classes with grades of C or D?
A grade of C minus or below may not be counted towards your degree (C and above are counted), but may be a requirement in your degree program or pre-requisite coursework. Ask your advisor if these courses should be included.
Can I change a committee member or my advisor, and how do I make these changes?
Yes. To change members, see slide 17. To change advisors, speak to the department graduate advisor first, and be sure to meet with your new advisor to be sure he or she can accept the responsibility. Students regularly change committee members or advisors as their research interests and goals change or if advisors retire or leave KU.
Can I have more than the required number of committee members?
Yes, but they will need to have committee eligibility to serve on a student’s committee. Check first with the departmental assistant to see if the committee member is eligible to serve on your committee.

19. Frequently Asked Questions , Cont’d.
What happens if I am in my last semester and I do not have a Plan of Study?
You will not graduate if you do not have a completed and approved Plan of Study on file by the graduation deadline.
Why do I have to complete a plan if I discussed course requirements with my advisor?
It is important to have a contract of required courses on record, especially since this is what the Graduate Division uses to review course requirements for graduation checks. This is also to protect students from being required to add unexpected courses at the end of their graduate career.
Why hasn’t my committee signed off, and what do I need to do?
The members may need to be reminded to review the plan. Note that committee members only receive a notification to review a plan once the chair has approved it.
How long does it take for a plan to be approved?
It should take 2-3 weeks or less for all committee members to review and sign off or make recommendations.
Who do I contact with questions?
Research & Graduate Programs’ (RGP) staff, the advisor, or departmental advisor or assistant.

20. Questions about these instructions should be directed to: Anna Paradis Lynn Villafuerte (785) (785)
Departmental / Program Contacts:
Aerospace Engineering – Amy Borton, , 2120 Learned Hall
Bioengineering – Denise Bridwell, , 3135 Learned Hall
Chemical & Petroleum Engineering – Martha Kehr, , 4132 Learned Hall
Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering – Susan Scott, , 2142 Learned Hall
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science – Joy Grisafe-Gross, , 2001 Eaton Hall
Engineering Management – Parveen Mozaffar, , 350 Best Bldg., Edwards
Project Management – Jennifer Keleher-Price, , 350 Best Bldg., Edwards Campus
Mechanical Engineering – Kate Maisch, , 3138 Learned Hall