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Course Registration

Graduate courses are an essential component of a mathematician’s training. Graduates of the Northwestern mathematics program are expected to be well-rounded, in part by having taken courses in a wide variety of subjects. In addition, several courses are research-oriented and presentation-based, offering training for some of the specific skills needed by research mathematicians. Beyond these general expectations, the departmental and Weinberg College legislation provides for certain minimal requirements related to the course work.

The minimal full-time course load for Mathematics graduate students in the first three years is three (3) courses per quarter. It is possible to register for four (4) courses with no increase in tuition. Graduate students in each of their first three years are required to enroll in at least six (6) regular mathematics courses (i.e., notincluding 499 independent study courses) each year, and at least one (1) such course per quarter. Students who have passed their qualifying examination may count postcandidacy research (TGS 500) toward this requirement. Substitutions or exceptions require the advanced approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.Graduate students must successfully complete at least nine (9) quality letter-graded course units (ABC, not P/NP or S/U) authorized for graduate credit. Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA. The Graduate School does not accept transfer credit in lieu of the nine letter-graded minimum unit requirement.

After fulfilling this residency requirement and passing the Qualifying Examination, a student may register for TGS 500-0 Advanced Doctoral Study or TGS 512-0 Continuous Registration depending on their funding status. If a graduate student has fulfilled all course requirements but not yet passed the qualifying exam, the student may register for Math 590 in lieu of TGS 500.

By the end of each academic year, each student is required to submit an academic progress report through the Graduate Student Tracking System (GSTS) approved by their academic advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies. Each student receiving a university fellowship for the upcoming summer must submit, prior to the end of Spring Quarter, to the Graduate Program Assistant a program of study for the summer months, approved by a supervising faculty member.