No student will be allowed to register unless a completed Application to the Graduate School of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) is on file in the Registrar’s Office.  An Application for Admission to the UT Graduate School must be completed online and accompanied by a $60.00 non-refundable application fee made payable to The University of Tennessee Space Institute. All applicants are required to provide one official transcript of all undergraduate and graduate records, GRE test scores and three letters of recommendation when applying. International applicants will also need to include TOEFL scores. GRE scores are a requirement of all departments at UTSI except the Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering/Engineering Management concentration. Please select UT Space Institute if you plan to attend the Tullahoma campus location. All applications need to be submitted online to the office of Graduate Admissions Knoxville, TN. 

Graduate Research Assistantship applications need to be submitted to Charlene Hane, Student Affairs, University of Tennessee Space Institute, MS-7, Tullahoma, TN 37388-9700.  Assistantship applications must include GRE test scores and three letters of recommendation.  All International applicants will need to provide TOEFL test scores in addition to GRE’s.  Official transcripts and test scores should be sent to College Code 1843, Graduate Admissions Office, 201 Student Services Building, Knoxville, TN  37996-0221.  Once admitted, a full admission will not be granted until all official test scores and degree confirmation are received in the Graduate Admissions Office in Knoxville.  Please contact Charlene Hane at (931) 393-7228 or 888-822-8874 ext. 37228 if you have questions.

If, after registering for classes and either returning your fee payment or your Confirmation of Attendance form to the Bursar’s Office, you decide not to enroll for this term, you must immediately notify Charlene Hane, Student Affairs, at UTSI.  If you withdraw officially on or before a Change of Registration deadline, but after the no “W” deadline for a particular session, the grade of “W” will be issued. 

Students may obtain their grades through the web at MyUTK or contact Charlene Hane, Student Affairs, Office D-100, (931) 393-7228.

To change registration in any way after the deadline, a graduate student must present a request, signed by the instructor(s) and adviser as evidence of their knowledge of the request to Charlene Hane, Student Affairs at UTSI.  Graduate students must verify that ALL changes have been approved by their academic adviser.  If the Office of Graduate Student Services approves the change of registration, the change will be noted on the student’s permanent record.  THE DROP DEADLINE FOR GRADES AND THE DROP DEADLINE FOR FEE REFUNDS ARE NOT THE SAME.

Nine credit hours are considered full-time for graduate students.  Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs) with one-half assistantship are required to register for at least 6 credit hours during the fall/spring semesters and 3 credit hours during the summer semester.  GRAs must also enroll in one of the MABE 595 seminars during the first fall semester in attendance.

The residency requirement for doctoral students is 9 credit hours for two consecutive semesters or 6 credit hours for three consecutive semesters.

All Incomplete Grades (I) must be removed prior to graduation. The instructor, in consultation with the student, decides the terms for the removal of the I, including the time limit for removal. If the I is not removed within one calendar year, the grade will be changed to an F. The course will not be counted in the cumulative grade point average until a final grade is assigned. No student may graduate with an I on the record. Contact Charlene Hane, Student Affairs, to remove an Incomplete Grade.

A graduate student may repeat up to two courses in which they earned a grade of D or F.

• The decision to repeat a course is made between the student and the advisor / major professor.
• Each course may only be repeated once.
• The original and repeat grades will be included in the calculation of the cumulative grade point average (GPA).
• Credit hours will only be counted once towards meeting degree/program requirements.

Programs may prohibit students from repeating courses.

Approval Process: To re-enroll in a class in order to improve an earned grade, the graduate student must complete a petition for consideration by the Dean of the Graduate School.

Students in the Colleges of Law and Veterinary Medicine follow standards established by those colleges that adhere to professional standards associated with their programmatic accreditation. Other programs may be more restrictive than these rules established by the Graduate School.

MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE:

Each M.S. student, including IE Capstone Project students, is responsible for submitting a completed and signed Admission to Candidacy Application at least one semester prior to receiving the degree.

Candidacy committee changes or course changes must be submitted to the committee chairman using a Revision form.  If changing from a thesis option to a non-thesis option or vice versa, a new Admission to Candidacy Application must be submitted.  All forms must be processed through Student Affairs.

DOCTORAL DEGREE:

A Doctoral Committee should be formed during the student’s first year of doctoral study.   Any changes to the doctoral committee (deletions or additions) must be submitted to the Committee Chairman using a Revision form for approval.  Each doctoral student is responsible for submitting a completed Admission to Candidacy form signed by the doctoral committee at least one semester prior to receiving the degree.  All forms must be processed through Student Affairs.

All degree-seeking graduate students are expected to make a full commitment to their graduate and professional study in order to ensure that they can complete all degree requirements without unnecessary delay. Graduate students are therefore required to maintain an active status through continuous enrollment from the time of first enrollment until graduation.

Continuous enrollment is maintained by registering for a minimum of one graduate credit hour per semester (excluding the summer, unless stipulated otherwise by the program or department). However, students who have started taking dissertation hours (course 600) must maintain a minimum of three credit hours per semester during all semesters, including the summer, as stipulated in the policy on “Registration for Course 600 (Doctoral Research and Dissertation)” in order to comply with the Continuous Enrollment requirement (see under Doctoral Programs for details).

The minimum enrollment for international students may be different, and international students always need to check with the Center for International Education (CIE) in order to determine what minimum enrollment they need to maintain in order to satisfy all enrollment requirements attached to their specific visa.

Graduate students who do not maintain continuous enrollment as stipulated in the “Continuous Enrollment” policy will lose their active student status. A student who has lost his or her active status without having been granted a Leave of Absence for the period of non-enrollment ahead of time will not be allowed to continue in his her graduate program until readmitted. (see policy on “Readmission” in the Graduate Catalog for more details).

Non-enrollment other than during an approved Leave of Absence (LOA) does not alter or affect any of the milestone deadlines, such as admission to candidacy, time to degree, etc.

Upon approval for readmission to complete the interrupted degree program, students will be retroactively enrolled in every semester of missed enrollment for one graduate credit hour of Course 502 or for three graduate credit hours of Course 600 (whichever is appropriate). Students will be responsible for paying the past tuition charges and fees as well as the current university per semester late registration penalty. All past due charges will need to be paid before the Graduate School will approve the student for any future enrollment.

A candidate presenting a thesis or dissertation must pass a final oral examination on all work offered for the degree.  The examination is scheduled through Student Affairs.  Failure to notify Student Affairs of the examination date will put the student at risk for graduating that semester. Final examinations not properly scheduled MUST be repeated.  The final draft of the thesis must be distributed to the committee members at least two weeks prior to the date of the final examination.  In case of a grade of “Fail”, the candidate may not apply for re-examination until the following semester.  The result of the second examination is final.

All foreign national students registered with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are required to have comprehensive medical insurance. The premium must be paid before registration. Contact the Student Affairs Office (room D-100 ext. 37228) for further information or visit the Student Health website.

A number of seminars of interest to all UTSI students and general public will be offered throughout the semester.

For final exam dates and schedule, please refer to the registrar’s website.

Please click http://onestop.utk.edu/tuition-fees/ link to the most current information. You may also contact Tim Johnson in the Budget and Finance Office at tjohnson@utsi.edu or phone number 931-393-7419.

The UTSI Budget and Finance Accounts Receivable Office will no longer accept payment for tuition and fees by credit card.  All students will need to login to MyUTK One Stop to make secure payments online. 

Please see One Stop – Paying Tuition and Fees webpage for more details http://onestop.utk.edu/pay/ . 

Credit or Debit Cards

There is a 2.75% service fee for these payments.  UT has a contract with an outside vendor to provide this service.  The vendor retains the fee in full.

The following Honor Statement is signed by all students applying to The Graduate School:

“An essential feature of The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is a commitment to maintaining an atmosphere of intellectual integrity and academic honesty.  As a student of the University, I pledge that I will neither knowingly give nor receive any inappropriate assistance in academic work, thus affirming my own personal commitment to honor and integrity.”

For official information on all UTK Graduate School policies, refer to the current UTK Graduate Catalog available at http://catalog.utk.edu.  The student handbook “Hilltopics” is available online at https://hilltopics.utk.edu/

The University of Tennessee Space Institute reserves the right to cancel any class with an insufficient number of students, or for other reasons.

In support of the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-690) and the Drug-Free Schools and communities Act of 1989, the University of Tennessee is notifying all students, faculty, and staff of the following university policy approved by the UT Board of Trustees on 21 June 1990.

It is the policy of the University of Tennessee to maintain a safe and healthful environment for its students and employees. Therefore, university policy prohibits the unlawful use, manufacture, possession, distribution, or dispensing of drugs (“controlled substances” as defined in the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 812) and alcohol on university property or during university activities.

Violation of this policy is grounds for disciplinary action–up to and including immediate discharge for an employee and permanent dismissal of a student. Federal and state laws provide additional penalties for such unlawful activities, including fines and imprisonment (21 U.S.C. 841 et seq.; T.C.A. 39-6-401 et seq.). Local ordinances also provide various penalties for drug- and alcohol-related offenses. The university is bound to take all appropriate actions against violators, which may include referral for legal prosecution or requiring the individual to participate satisfactorily in an approved drug use or alcohol abuse assistance or rehabilitation program.