MS students should submit their graduate degree plan in the spring semester of first year. PhD should submit their graduate degree plan in the spring semester of second year. Graduate degree plan is a list of courses that you will take to meet the requirements of your degree. Once the degree plan is approved, you will need to complete all courses in the list to graduate. If you decide to remove any course or substitute a course in the approved degree program you will have to file an exception form. Graduate School accepts degree plan only though the Graduate Planning and Audit System (GPAS).
GPAS allows students to plan future coursework and view student degree progress. You only need to add coursework that you plan on taking because the audit (advisement report) will already track completed coursework and requirements. If you want to add or remove a graduate minor, you will need to submit a separate form.
Use course requirements for your degree and track as a guideline for selecting and adding courses to your GPAS degree plan. You do not need to add the courses you have already registered for or completed because it will show up twice in the audit. Duplicate courses in your planner may lead to a delay in graduation. Note that thesis credits CONS 8777 or CONS 8888 do not need to be added to your GPAS. Read Step-by-step instructions to complete GPAS degree program. Once you submit your GPAS degree plan it will be automatically routed to your advisor for the program approval then to the DGS for the college approval.
CS students are allowed to take graduate level courses (5xxx or 8xxx) from other departments at the University which are relevant to their research topic or career goals, to meet electives requirements of their degree/track. Such courses might not show up in the elective requirements section of the GPAS. If this happens, students should contact their program coordinator to move courses to the correct sections.