A variety of university, college, and departmental administrative matters are described in this section. Students should also be familiar with college policies as described in the Graduate Bulletin.

University and College Matters

Registration for Courses

There are two opportunities to register for courses each semester. Early registration is held during the middle of the preceding semester. Regular registration is held immediately before the beginning of the semester. Typically students register via the internet. Computer registration is available on campus at times and locations listed on the following URL: https://www.gosolar.gsu.edu/webforstudent.htm.

Student appointment times are valid beginning at your assigned time and continuing through the last day for each registration phase. Early registration appointments are assigned with priority to students scheduled to graduate and, then to continuing students according to the total credit hours earned. Regular appointments are randomly assigned regardless of total credit hours earned.

Students needing a particular course should register and pay for it during early registration since it cannot be assumed that spaces will remain in the course through regular registration.

Special Authorization

Many courses, designated by an asterisk in the Schedule of Classes, require special authorization because there are specific prerequisites for the courses. Students must obtain authorization at least one day before their registration appointment time. Authorization for thesis or doctoral exam hours is granted by the Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies in advance of registration for all students with an approved chair. Authorization for dissertation hours is granted in advance for all students with an approved committee. Authorization for independent studies and directed research is obtained by submitting a form signed by the supervisor to the Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies. When a course requires permission of instructor, authorization is obtained from the instructor. Authorization for clinical practica is granted by the Practicum Coordinators of the Clinical or Community Programs.

Forms that should be filed with the Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies, if appropriate:
Register for 9910, Advanced Directed Readings
Register for 9920, Advanced Research in Psychology
Register for 9960C, Practicum in Psychology, Community

For clinical practica, see http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwpgr.

Overloads

Approval is required to register for more than 23 hours of credit for any semester. Students who wish to enroll for 24 or more hours should complete the overload form and submit the form to the Director of Graduate Studies one week before registration and must be prepared to supply a strong and compelling justification. Such requests must also be approved by the Associate Dean for Social and Behavioral Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The form that should be filed with the Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies is: Overload Request form.

Application for Graduation

Students must apply for graduation two semesters in advance of their expected date of graduation. This applies to both the MA degree and PhD degree. Applications are available in the Graduation Office (355 Sparks Hall) or in the Registrar's Office (227 Sparks Hall). If a student is unable to finish by the semester originally specified, it is the student's responsibility to change the date by contacting the Graduation Office. Once a student has applied to graduate, an audit of the student's records will be completed by the Office of Graduate Studies, College of Arts and Sciences (8th floor Haas-Howell Bldg). It is the student's responsibility to discuss any discrepancies with the Assistant Director of Graduate Studies in Psychology.

Residency Requirements

In order to obtain a graduate degree at GSU, students must earn the majority of their graduate program credit hours from GSU.

Inactive Status

Student who have not registered for course work at GSU for one year (i.e., three consecutive semesters, including summer semester) will be placed on Inactive Status by the Registrar's Office of the University. Such students, if they wish to resume their studies, must file a reentry application with the Office of the Registrar. Such reentry applications are automatically approved when students have been on a program-required internship or military duty. Whether other applications for reentry are accepted or denied will be decided on a case by case basis and require the approval of the program chair, the Graduate Program Committee, and the chair of the department.

Time Limits on Coursework Presented for Degrees

All credits presented for the master's degree must have been earned within seven calendar years of the date of the degree. All credits for the doctoral degree must have been earned within ten years of the date of the degree. Courses taken earlier must be retaken or, alternatively, students may file a Petition for Deviation from Graduate Bulletin Regulations with the Office of Graduate Studies. Before filing such a petition, students should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies.

Departmental Matters

Updating the Student's Master Record

The Director of Graduate Studies is responsible for maintaining records relating to students' progress in the program. This database contains dates when students met milestones, names of their advisor, names of chairs and members of their committees, etc. No committee is regarded as officially formed, nor no defense is regarded as officially passed, until appropriate notice has been given to the Assistant Director or Director of Graduate Studies and until the information is recorded in the database.

When students enter the program, they are provided a signature booklet. Each time a progress milestone is met (thesis committee formed, thesis proposal accepted, thesis successfully defended, general exam committee chair named, etc.), students gather the appropriate signatures, note the correct dates, and turn in the relevant page from the signature booklet to the Assistant Director of Graduate Studies, thereby officially recording the relevant event. The signature booklet contains a page for each event that needs to be recorded and notes the signatures required for each.

Authorization to register for thesis research (Psyc 8999), readings for the general examination (Psyc 9980), and dissertation research (Psyc 9999) will be granted only after the signature of the respective committee chair has been filed. In addition, authorization for more than three hours of Psyc 9999 will be granted only after a dissertation committee has been approved by the Graduate Program Committee.

Current Student Addresses

For a variety of reasons, both the university and the department need to have each student’s current mailing address and telephone number on file (e.g., otherwise you may not receive registration information). If your mailing address or telephone number changes, please let the Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies know immediately (an email message is fine). You must also notify the Registrar’s Office via GoSolar of any change in address. Likewise, if your wish to change your name of record, you must inform both the department and the Registrar.

Much of the communication in the department takes place electronically. Thus all graduate students are required to have an e-mail address and to check their messages frequently (the university provides email accounts to any student who does not already have one). The department will only use the e-mail account that is provided by the university to contact students (i.e., studentname@student.gsu.edu). You should also provide an alternative e-mail address (i.e., one hosted by Yahoo, Gmail or HotMail) to the Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies, preferably via email (psykdh@langate.gsu.edu). Otherwise you may miss vital communication.

Faculty Advisor

Faculty advisors provide academic, professional, and practical guidance to students during their graduate studies. Students are expected to meet with their advisors during their first semester to discuss their interests and begin planning their program of study. All students are assigned advisors when they enter the department but they may change their advisors at any time. Clinical students, including those enrolled in the joint Clinical/Community or Clinical/NBN programs, are required to have an advisor who is a member of the clinical faculty. Students enrolled in a joint program or those pursuing minors may have a second advisor in their other or minor program of study.

Forms that should be filed with the Assistant Director of Graduate Studies:
Form to Change Advisor for Students in Single Programs or
Form to Change Advisor for Students in Joint Programs.

Leaves of Absence

Students who wish to take a leave of absence for personal or medical reasons should submit such requests in writing to the chair of their program. The chair will then forward the program's recommendation to the Director of Graduate Studies for consideration by the Graduate Program Committee. Such requests must specify the intended duration of the leave of absence, specified with exact dates that span one ore more semesters. A maximum of one year may be requested at a given time although extensions may be requested by following the same procedure.

Occasionally, students are advised by their program to take a leave of absence. Such a leave must be documented by a letter from the chair of the program to the department's Director of Graduate Studies. The duration of the leave and conditions for readmission should be specified in the letter.

Although departmental progress guidelines are adjusted for departmentally approved leaves of absence, any time limitations for completing degrees as specified by Georgia State University or the College of Arts and Sciences are unaffected. See Time Limits on Coursework Presented for Degrees. In addition, as per the College of Arts and Sciences Continuous Enrollment Policy, students who do not register for a total of 6 hours for three consecutive semesters will be considered inactive by the College and will be required to apply for re-entry once they return from their leave. See Continuous Enrollment policy.[p1]

Changing Programs

Students are accepted for graduate study in one of the five programs in the department (Clinical, Community, Developmental, Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, or Social/Cognitive) or in one of the two joint programs (Clinical and Community or Clinical and NBN). A letter of support from each program will be required in order for the request to be approved.

Minor Programs

Students wishing to acquire additional breadth of content and a second area of competence may, in consultation with their advisor, select a minor from a program other than their major program. A minor requires the completion of 12 semester hours in the minor program. The specific requirements for each minor are described along with the program's curriculum earlier in this handbook. A request for a minor program may be made after acceptance to the major program. A student's minor program will be incorporated in their general examination.

Forms

There are several forms with which students should be familiar. All are available from the Assistant Director of Graduate Studies, most can be downloaded form the departmental web page, and most have been referenced earlier in this handbook in the appropriate context. These include:

1. Nomination of thesis committee. This form must be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies for approval. In Psychology, the chair of the department has designated the Director of Graduate Studies as the person responsible for thesis committee approval. This form will not need to be reviewed by the Graduate Program Committee unless a deviation from department policy is being requested.
2. Nomination of general exam committee. This form must be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies for approval. In Psychology, the chair of the department has designated the Director of Graduate Studies as the person responsible for general exam committee approval. This form will not need to be reviewed by the Graduate Program Committee unless a deviation from department policy is being requested.
3. Audit for doctoral general exam. This form must be submitted to the Assistant Director or Director of Graduate Studies three weeks before the student intends to sit for their exam. On the form, the student shows how his or her coursework meets the program requirements for the doctoral degree.
4. Nomination of dissertation committee. This form must be submitted to the Assistant Director or Director of Graduate Studies for approval by the Graduate Program Committee. In Psychology, the chair of the department has designated the Graduate Program Committee as the body responsible for dissertation committee approval.
5. Authorization for Psyc 9910, Advanced Directed Readings.
6. Authorization for Psyc 9920, Advanced Research in Psychology.
7. Authorization for Psyc 9950A, C, E, or M; Clinical Psychology Practica
8. Authorization for Psyc 9960C, Practicum in Psychology, Community.
9. Overload Authorization.
10. Change your advisor (single program).
11. Change your advisor (joint program)
12. Online Coupon Materials