Astani CEE Doctoral Student Advisement
This page contains advisement information and policy reminders for current Astani CEE Doctoral students. If you have additional questions, please reach out to your advisor on the AdviseUSC platform. For directions, please see Advisement
The Astani CEE Student Affair’s mission is to support the holistic development of students and foster academic success.
Enrollment and Policies
Full-Time Enrollment Status
- A PhD student is considered to be enrolled full-time when registered for six (6) or more units.
- CEE PhD students typically enroll in 6-8 units/semester
International students
- You may be required to take ALI courses based on your ITA exam results. These courses count toward your fulltime enrollment minimum but do not count toward the minimum number of units needed to graduate with your doctoral degree.
DOCTORAL DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
- The minimum number of units for a doctoral degree is 60
- 2/3 Rule: At least two-thirds of the units applied toward the degree (including transfer work and not including 794 (Dissertation Classes)) must be at the 500 level or higher.
- 100, 200, and 300-level courses are considered undergraduate courses and do not count toward a graduate degree.
- 400-level courses are undergraduate courses but count toward a doctoral degree provided it conforms with the two-thirds rule
Registration, D-Clearance, and Pre-Req Waivers
Course Selection
In the CEE Department PhDs work directly with the faculty advisor to identify courses they ought to enroll in. Consult your faculty advisor to discuss your fall enrollment. All courses must be approved by your faculty advisor each term. You will work with your faculty advisor to discuss your course enrollment every semester. The student/faculty advisor relationship is vital to ensuring that you are taking appropriate courses each term and making progress toward your PhD goals and milestones.
Web Registration
Most students register for their courses through an online tool called Web Registration. For more support on registration, please visit the Registrar's website.
Fall 2023 Semester: The deadline to register for classes and settle your bill without accruing a late fee is August 18, 2023. But it is possible to change your schedule after August 18th. We will talk about this more at orientation.
For more information about deadlines, review the Registration Calendar.
Do you need D-Clearance?
- If a course section number ends in "R" (ex: 00000R) → No. For all courses that end in “R” you may register directly without departmental approval.
- If a course section number ends in “D” (ex: 00000D) → Yes. All courses that end in D require need D-Clearance. See section below for D-Clearance Request Instructions.
How to Request D-Clearance
Pre-requisite Waivers
Some courses have pre-requisite requirements. These are courses/prior knowledge that is required to be successful in the course.
Graduate transfer credit
If you have coursework you wish to be evaluated for transfer credit review the see the Degree Progress website for more instructions. It's recommended you complete this process during the first year at USC.
Prior Degree Verification: Deadline for all degree verifications is by the end of your first semester. ADVISEMENT
The Astani Student Affairs Team supports the holistic development of students and fosters academic success.
Meet Your Advisor!
Christine Hsieh, Associate Director, CEE Graduate Student Services
Connect with Your Advisor via Advise USC
If you need to speak with your advisor, please reach out to them via the Advise USC platform. In instances when the platform is facing technical difficulties, please reach out to CEE Student Affairs (cee.advise@usc.edu).
Below are resources to assist you with accessing Advise USC.
How to Connect with your Advisor
Advise USC Platform
Use your USC Shibboleth login at usc.edu/advise to access the Advise USC Platform.
Create a case
Purpose: Do you have a question for your advisor? Or something you initially wanted to send an email about? (Examples include: Change of Major, Class Registration, thesis inquiry, etc.) Create a case so that your inquiry can be prioritized!
After logging in, select “Advisor Connect” from the menu bar and under “My Cases” select “Create a New Case”
If you have an update to your situation and/or question, please find the case under “My Cases” and create an update on the right-hand side of the case page.
Qualifying Exam
Are you ready for the Qualifying Exam?
Action Items
- Submit the appointment of committee form at least 30 days before the exam date.
- Set date of the exam
- message Christine with the date/time
- you may submit the committee form prior to the exam date being settled.
- Reserve room or set up zoom for
- If quals are passed before the add/drop deadline for the spring semester - enroll in CE 794a in the spring
- Enroll in 794b in the next semester
- Once 794b is in progress you are eligible to defend.
- Set up an appointment with Christine to discuss defending and completing your dissertation Learn more here.
Exam Details
The Qualifying Exam, is a private meeting of the student with a committee, proceeds as follows:
- Committee confers
- Student gives 30–40 min. presentation (including both prior research and the proposal for the remainder of program)
- Questions from the committee members
- Committee confers
Prior to the exam: A written qualifying exam report, detailing the research completed and the proposal for the remainder of the Ph.D., should be submitted to the committee members two weeks* before the Qualifying Exam.
- Check in with your committee to verify that this time-frame works
Committee
A total of five members make up a qualifying exam committee, including the advisor and at least four tenure/tenure-track faculty members. The Department Chair and Dean approve the committee or request changes to the committee composition. Students should form their committee the semester before their defense.
The committee consists of five members, composed of the following:
Additional Resources
University Policies
International Student Resources
University Resources
