Plan of Study

Plan of Study Form (PDF file)

Plan of Study Form (Word file)

Each student must prepare, with your adviser's assistance, a Plan of Study for the degree for which you are studying. The Plan of Study must be submitted during your first academic year of study in a graduate degree program. To be considered valid, the Plan of Study requires the approval of your adviser and the dean of the Graduate School.

Note that on this form you must fill out every class that you plan to take in order to achieve the desired degree. The department and Institute are aware that this is a tentative plan and will surely need updating before graduation. In fact, the Graduate School encourages you to update your Plan of Study each time your curriculum changes. It is required that your Plan of Study accurately reflect your curriculum before graduation.

If you already hold a Master's degree from another university that you want to be counted towards a Ph.D., it must appear on the first line of your Plan of Study, along with 30 credits. The university and the date of the degree should also be shown.  The total number of credits to be shown for a Ph.D. is 90 and 30 for a Master's degree. If the Master's degree was earned at Rensselaer, you should list all the individual courses (the Graduate School prefers this). This process should be discussed with your adviser.

The Department of Mathematical Sciences' policies regarding transfer credits are in accordance with RPI's policies on transfer credits (see the "Graduate Credit by Transfer and Examination" section of the catalog).

If you would like to transfer credits, speak with the Graduate Student Coordinator to discuss the appropriate steps. Transferring credits can allow you to finish the course requirements for a degree sooner. However, transferring credits does not require you to finish a degree in a shorter time period.

After you and your adviser sign your Plan of Study, submit it to the Graduate Student Coordinator, who will then submit it to the Chair of the Graduate Committee for approval/signature. The form will then be sent to the Registrar for processing. As with all forms it is a good idea for you to retain a copy for your own records.

The Plan of Study is available for download in PDF or Word format.  It may be helpful for you to use the Word file because you can save and edit/update it as needed.