A. Procedures

Choose courses after consulting the list of offerings for the current semester located online at the English department's web page. Students are encouraged to discuss course choices with the major professor; if a student has yet to choose a major professor, the ACGS, the Graduate Program Coordinator, and/or the director of the particular program will be happy to help.

Go to my.fsu.edu and log on using your FSUID and password. Your myfsu portal home page will then appear. For information on how to use this portal, link to Using Student Central or contact the Help Desk.

B. Course Load

Teaching assistants must register for minimum of 9 hours each semester to be granted full-time status; tuition waivers are provided for a maximum of 9 hours (except in special circumstance). TAs with a summer assignment must register for a minimum of 5 hours and a maximum of 6 (those with student loans are often required by the lender to take 6).

C. Directed Individual Study (DIS)

Students interested in studying a topic not generally offered as part of the English department curriculum may register for a Directed Individual Study (ENG 5906). Students need to identify a faculty member willing to direct the study; the student and the professor will agree on the amount of credit (1 to 3 hours) sought and define the tasks to be performed to earn credit. Students must fill out a DIS approval form located on the Graduate Curriculum Canvas site, give the course a title and a definition, and, once the faculty director has signed the form, submit it (and the plan) via DocuSign to the ACGS for approval. After the DIS has been approved, see the Graduate Program Coordinator for a reference and section number assigned to it. Do not assume that an approved DIS in the modern American short story automatically satisfies program requirements for a course in American literature; to apply any DIS to specific program requirements, students will need a preapproval by the ACGS. This is rare, since ungraded or S/U classes are generally not counted toward degree requirements. There are exceptions, however. To receive such an exception, students may be asked to write a brief letter outlining the work covered in the DIS and justify it as satisfaction of a program requirement. Students are limited to six credit hours (typically two courses) in DIS per degree: if earning both the MA (or MFA) and PhD degrees at Florida State, students can use a total of twelve credit hours (typically four courses) in DIS. DIS courses are graded on an S/U basis.

D. Tutorials (ENG 5988)

A tutorial is, essentially, a DIS with more than one student in it (thus, the policies listed in C., above, also apply here). Often, these are offered as Reading Groups (typically 1 credit-hour). Course credit for working on The Southeast Review (1-2 hours) is also considered a tutorial. Tutorials are graded on an S/U basis and only in rare cases fulfill degree requirements.

E. Speakers in English Studies (ENG 5935)

Students may earn one credit by registering for ENG 5935r (Speakers in English Studies). This course will be graded S/U. To earn this credit, students will be expected to attend eight events with speakers sponsored by the department or approved by the ACGS. The Department events include the Colloquium and other speakers hosted by the Literature, Media, and Culture Program, the Jerome Stern Reading Series and other speakers hosted by the Creative Writing Program, by the Rhetoric and Composition, and presentations by candidates interviewing for teaching positions with the Department.

F. Individualized Sections

Students registering for the following hours will have to have a section created individually for them: thesis or dissertation hours (for writing the MA thesis in Rhetoric and Composition or the PhD dissertation); the Capstone Essay (ENG 5835); Directed Readings (ENG 6907, for students preparing for the PhD Preliminary exam); the preliminary exam itself; or the thesis or dissertation defense. (Please note the differences between this Directing Readings course [ENG 6907] and the Directed Individual Studies course [ENG 5906] discussed above.) Please see the Graduate Program Coordinator for a section and reference number for any of these courses. This registration number changes each semester. Before students are permitted to register for thesis hours, dissertation hours, or directed reading hours, they must have a signed and approved supervisory committee form filed with the Graduate Program Coordinator.

G. Out-of-State Tuition Waivers and Florida Residency

TAs who are US citizens must establish Florida residency by the beginning of their second year. No portion of out-of-state tuition will be waived after the first year. Those who begin during the summer will not be required to establish residency until the first day of the following Fall term, although because of the fee reduction, it’s smart to establish residency as soon as possible.

Before the first day of Fall classes, new students will want to be sure to have such materials as a signed lease, a Florida ID, a Florida vehicle registration (if applicable), a Florida voter registration card, and a notarized Declaration of Domicile, filed with the Florida county in which they claim permanent domicile (here’s the one for Leon County). Note: The Graduate Program Coordinator will email all incoming students during the summer and walk them through this process.

For more information on residency status go to admissions.fsu.edu/residency.

H. In-State Tuition Waivers

In-state teaching assistants have the matriculation portion of their tuition waived, but they must still pay fees (see above). Waivers may be used only for graduate-level classes pertinent to the student’s degree program; they cannot be used for recreational courses such as music lessons or aerobics. General information regarding graduate registration and university regulations is available online at gradschool.fsu.edu.

I. Leave of Absence Policy

The university’s Leave of Absence policy recognizes that under exceptional circumstances a student may need to interrupt the pursuit of a graduate degree. Circumstances justifying a leave include but are not limited to personal or family medical conditions, call to active military duty, parental leave, death in immediate family, or completion of an off-campus internship. To apply, a student must complete the Request for Leave of Absence Form (available on the Graduate School website) and submit it together with appropriate documentation to the major professor/advisor/program director. If the major professor/advisor/program director approves, the application will be forwarded to the department head and subsequently to the college dean for consideration. A leave of absence is a complete separation from the university. At the end of the leave the student need not reapply and the time to degree clock resumes. Students on leave will not have access to university resources and faculty should not engage in academic interactions with such students.

J. Changing Majors within the Degree

Current students who wish to change from one major within the degree to another must submit an internal application form with a statement of purpose and rationale to the Associate Chair of Graduate Studies, along with a new writing sample. The English Dept. Admissions Committee will consider the application in that year’s round of admissions deliberations for outside applicants (i.e., after the January 15 deadline). The student must also have written support of one or more faculty members in the new degree area and should ask other professors to write letters to support the change. The student may also petition to have his/her case considered earlier, in which case, the ACGS may ask three members of the Admissions Committee to vote on the application and make a decision within a month from the time the application is received.