When you recommended for admission at UIC, an academic advisor will be appointed to you in order to assist you in choosing your first semester classes. As you become better acquainted with the department and its faculty, you may change to a different advisor at any time. The thesis advisor may also serve as the academic advisor, although this is not required. Should you change advisors at anytime during your studies, please notify the Graduate Program Coordinator. Your advisor will provide many types of support, including recommending courses, approving schedules, and providing contacts with other areas of the University. As you choose an academic area of concentration, it may be useful to choose an advisor closely associated with this area. This advisor must be a member of the Graduate College faculty.

If you are a Master's degree student, your committee decides, at your thesis defense, whether you have fulfilled the requirements for the degree. For Ph.D. students, your committee serves this purpose, and in addition, take part in your Preliminary Examination. If you have formed your committee, these members may also serve as valuable resources throughout your research and the writing of your dissertation.

For the requirements for the members of your committee, see the Master's Degree Defense and Doctoral Dissertation Defense.

On the recommendation of the Bioengineering Department, the Graduate College approves the members of your committee. You should meet with your advisor and discuss who should be on your committee. Generally, these will be faculty members with whom you consult during your research. When a list of likely candidates filling the requirements is made, approach each faculty member and ask if he or she would be part of your committee. The Committee Recommendation Form used for requesting committee members is available on-line at
http://www.uic.edu/depts/grad/CommRecForm.pdf. When the form is completed and signed by your committee chairperson, please return it to the Bioengineering Office. After being reviewed by the Director of Graduate Studies, it will be submitted to the Graduate College for final approval.

This is a meeting held exclusively for bioengineering students to find out what courses are being offered for the next semester. The meetings are held each semester, a week before registration begins. This event gives students a chance to ask the instructor questions and receive information about the courses that he or she is interested in taking.

Before the beginning of each semester, registration letters are sent out to all students by the Department of Registration and Records. These letters contain information about deadlines, registration instructions and the time and a date in which you are able to register after. Registration times and dates are assigned according to criteria developed by the Office of Admissions and Records.
For your first semester at UIC, you may need to register during the "late registration period," which extends through the end of the second week of classes in the current semester.

Detailed instructions are given in your registration letter and in the Timetable printed each semester. Students should consult with their advisor in order to choose the appropriate schedule. In order to register you may call the UIC Express phone registration system at (312) 413-8429, and follow the directions given by the voice response computer. If you have any trouble, refer to the Timetable or call the assistance line at (312) 996-8600 during business hours. The other method to register is through the Student Access System
(http://www.uic.edu/depts/ims/webstudent/). Instructions are available on-line and are also printed in the Timetable.

Select your courses by referring to the required course list and consulting with your advisor. It is generally advisable to finish most of your coursework in your first years in the program. Also, since most courses are not offered every semester, and many not every year, careful planning is required to insure progress towards your anticipated degree.

In general, the prerequisites should be taken for every course. However, since many graduate students come from different schools, provisions are made for substituting equivalent courses. Ask your advisor or the course instructor about registered for courses without the UIC prerequisites. If you are not sure whether your background has prepared you sufficiently for a particular course, the best thing to do is to ask the opinion of the instructor. In some cases they may be able to recommend materials to help you overcome deficiencies before the semester begins.

Full-time students usually enroll for 12 to 16 credit hours each semester. In exceptional cases, the advisor and Director of Graduate Studies may permit a student to enroll for up to 20 hours. Registration for more than 20 hours is not recommended. Full-time load is defined by the University as registration of 12 hours or more even if holding an assistantship.

Fellowship Holders must be registered for at least 12 hours of credit per fall and spring semester and 6 hours of credit per summer semester as long as they hold the award.

Tuition and Service Fee Waiver Holders must register for at least 12 hours of credit per fall and spring semester and 6 hours of credit per summer semester as long as they hold the award.

50% Assistantship Holders must register for at least 8 hours of credit each semester, excluding summer. 25% Assistantship Holders must register for at least 12 hours of credit each semester, excluding summer. Some graduation programs may require registration for more than 8 hours per term and/or summer registration. There are no tuition and service fee waiver benefits for students employed with less than 25% or more than 67% appointment. Assistants who qualify for a Spring tuition and service fee waiver automatically receive a summer waiver if registered in at least 3 hours in summer unless holding they hold a summer appointment above 67%.

International Students: For purposes of enrollment certification to the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the United States Department of Justice, the Graduate College considers foreign students to be pursuing a minimum of full-time program of study if they: (1) enroll for 12 or more hours of credit or (2) hold an appointment as a teaching or research assistant for: (a) one-half time and enroll for at least 8 hours of credit or (b) one-third time and enroll for at least 10 hours of credit.

Students on an F-1 visa may be eligible to register for zero hours if all requirements are complete except for project or thesis, and a petition must be submitted to the Graduate College and approved. The petition must be endorsed by the advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies or the Head of the Program as well as the Office of International Services.

This is a special circumstance which allows doctoral students to remain enrolled at UIC without an obligation to pay tuition associated with normal registration. It applies only to students who have fulfilled all of their requirements except defending the dissertation, and is contingent upon continued satisfactory progress. A M.S. student does not have to be registered during the semester of the thesis defense or graduation if all other degree requirements have been completed. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they have completed all requirements prior to attempting to register for zero hours.

Courses may be added to your schedule through the last day of the second week of the Fall or Spring semesters, or the last day of the first week during the Summer session. Courses may be dropped without academic penalty by this same deadline. To initiate an add or drop, visit the departmental office for the course in question and obtain a Registration Revision Form. Adding a course during this time requires the signature of the instructor or other suitable authorization as determined by that department.

If you hold a fellowship, assistantship, tuition and service fee waiver, or student visa, you must maintain the required minimum number of credit hours (12 during the fall and spring) throughout the semester, or you risk losing your assistance and/or visa.

You have the option to take certain courses on a pass/fail basis. These courses may not be in your immediate area of concentration, may not total more than one sixth of the total credit hours you take at UIC and apply towards your degree, and you must have the approval of the course instructor and the Program Director. Please consult the Timetable for the deadlines for requesting to take a course pass/fail each semester.

Graduate students, as well as persons not registered at the University of Illinois at Chicago, may audit courses with the permission of the instructor and Dean of the college offering the course (not the Graduate College). The privilege of attending class as an auditor (visitor) is granted on or after the first day of instruction and only by the instructor of the class with the approval of the dean of the college concerned. Visitor Permit forms may be obtained from the Office of Registration and Records no later than the tenth day of the semester (fifth day of summer session). Visitors are not permitted in laboratory, military science, or physical education classes nor is a visitor allowed to write an examination (including a proficiency examination) for course credit or to participate in class activities. A $15 fee is charged for the privilege of visiting/auditing a class. A full-time registered student or a person who is a permanent support staff employee of the University does not pay the visitor fee.

Consideration is given to the transfer of credit in three categories:

• Previous graduate work for which a degree was not awarded.
• Graduate work completed elsewhere after admission to UIC and for which a degree was not awarded. Students considering taking graduate work elsewhere during a leave of absence should consult their advisor and director of graduate studies about such plans and the courses that may be considered for transfer.
• Graduate work completed in the senior year at UIC that was not applied to the baccalaureate.

To be considered for transfer, graduate work must have been completed in an accredited institution approved by one of the regional accreditation associations or by the agencies recognized by the Council on Post-Secondary Education, and must meet the quality and content of courses offered at UIC.

For probation and graduation purposes, transfer credit is not computed in the cumulative grade point average or Graduate Degree GPA unless such credit was earned in courses taken at UIC.

The specific number of credit hours accepted for transfer is determined on an individual basis. No transfer is automatic.

Maximum Allowed Transfer Credit: No more than 25 percent of the hours required for a master's degree requiring 32-47 hours of credit, or more than 50 percent of the hours required for a master's degree requiring 48 or more hours of credit, can be transferred from another institution or another college at UIC. Doctoral students may transfer in no more than 25 percent of the hours required for the degree. This limit is for courses taken as a student in another college at UIC or another institution, but not coursework taken in a different program within the Graduate College at UIC. Transfer credit is considered only for courses in which the student received a grade of A or B. Credit earned more than six calendar years before admission to the Graduate College is not usually accepted for transfer.

Non-degree Credit: Non-degree students who are admitted as degree candidates may, by petition, transfer up to 12 semester hours of graduate-level courses in which grades of A or B were earned. This does not count towards the limits of transfer credit listed above

Procedures
A Graduate Petition for Transfer Credit Toward an Advanced Degree is required for all transfers of credit except the 32 hours of credit for a prior master's degree (see below). The graduate program evaluates the student's petition and makes a recommendation to the Graduate College. The petition should show the courses recommended for transfer by the graduate program and the number of semester hours of credit received. Students must attach to the petition an original transcript showing grades if courses were not taken at UIC, and a certification from the registrar or college dean of the applicable institution stating that the courses are graduate-level and were not used toward fulfillment of the requirements for a degree if not self-evident from the transcript itself.

Credit for Prior Master's Degree
Doctoral candidates who have previously earned a master's degree or its equivalent approved by one of the regional accreditation associations or by the agencies recognized by the Council on Post Secondary Education may be granted 32 semester hours of credit toward the doctoral degree if approved by the program and the Graduate College at the time of admission. The 32 hours are subtracted from the total hours required from the baccalaureate. The 32 hours are not counted toward the maximum allowed transfer credit limit or computed in the cumulative GPA or Degree GPA. A petition is not required.

Students may petition the Dean of the Graduate College for exceptions to certain College regulations, but may do so only after consulting with their advisor and the director of graduate studies, whose recommendations must appear on the petition. Petition forms may be obtained from the Graduate College and from the graduate program office and must be accompanied by a full explanation of the circumstances and any appropriate forms and supporting documents required for processing a requested change. Petitions should be filed within 30 days from the time an individual knows, or reasonably should have known, that an occurrence has affected his or her status.

The minimum GPI (Graduate Progress Index) required to remain in good standing in the Bioengineering Department is the minimum required by the Graduate College, 4.00/5.00. Keep in mind that it is only graduate level courses which contribute to this GPI (courses at the 400 or 500 level) which have been taken at UIC or have been properly applied towards your program through an approved transfer of credit petition.

You are sent a letter of warning from the Graduate College and are classified as being on academic probation. You then have two semesters to bring your GPI back up to or above the required 4.00/5.00.

Yes, with certain stipulations. The course must not be within your area of concentration, the total courses taken pass/fail must not exceed one sixth of your total coursework for the degree. You must declare your intention to take the course pass/fail at the time of registration (please see the department for the appropriate form), and you must have the approval of your advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.

If you have difficulty completing the requirements for a course, the instructor may give you an "incomplete" (IN) as a grade for the course, which means that he/she recognizes some extenuating circumstances and is giving you a chance to make up missed work. The IN grade must be removed by the end of the next term in which you are registered (including summer), or within one calendar year, which ever occurs first. Course instructors may require earlier deadlines. If the grade is not removed, it will permanently remain an IN.

If you receive an IN, once all of the coursework is completed, please ask the instructor to fill out a Supplemental Grade Report so that the IN will be replaced with the correct grade.

A student is permitted to repeat a course for credit if it is (1) designated in the Timetable with the phrase "Maybe repeated for credit" or (2) a course in which a grade of C or lower was received. In the latter case, the course may be repeated only once and may be counted only once toward the degree requirements; the original grade continues to be included in the computation of the GPI. The approval of both the instructor who will offer the course and the Director of Graduate Studies is required.

Academic probation is the Graduate College's mechanism for warning students that their GPI has fallen below the minimum standard of 4.0. If you are placed on probation, you have two terms of enrollment after the term in which your GPI falls below 4.0 to remove yourself from probation. If you fail to raise your average to 4.0 or to otherwise fulfill the terms of your probation within the deadlines you will be dismissed from the University.

Students may not hold graduate appointments such as GA, TA, or RA or receive tuition and service fee waivers if they are currently on academic probation. Since losing this option for financial support may cause a great deal of hardship or high loan amounts, it is very advisable to maintain your GPI well above 4.0/5.0.

Except for international students whose visas require continuous registration, and doctoral students who have passed their preliminary exams, graduate degree-seeking students may take one semester (fall or spring) plus the summer session off without formal leave approval from the Graduate College. Degree students who desire to take an additional consecutive semester off, for a total maximum of three consecutive terms, must file a Graduate Petition for Leave of Absence by the tenth day of the semester for which leave is requested.

International students who hold an F-1, J-1, A-1, A-2, or H-1 visa must register each fall and spring semester due to visa requirements. Such students must file a Graduate Petition for Leave of Absence for any fall or spring semester they wish to take off, obtaining written authorization on the petition from the Office of International Services. If remaining in the country, such leaves are rarely granted by that office.

Upon receipt of a leave of absence petition from the department/program, the Graduate College will automatically approve the first leave, up to one year maximum. At least one term as a graduate degree student must be completed before being eligible for a leave. After returning to the program from an approved leave, a second leave is not automatic and will only be granted by the Graduate College for medical or other extraordinary reasons.

Leave will not be granted to doctoral candidates who have passed the preliminary exam, except for students whose programs require a formal off-campus activity (e.g., internship), or for documented medical or other extraordinary reasons. If this situation occurs, a Graduate Petition for Leave of Absence must be submitted to the Graduate College, and is not automatic.

Non-degree students are not eligible for a leave of absence.

Time spent on leave approved by the department and the Graduate College does not count towards the time to complete the degree.

Students who have already registered for the term for which leave is requested must complete either a Cancellation of Registration before the first day of the term, or a University Withdrawal by the tenth day of the semester (fifth day in summer). Students are responsible for filing the appropriate forms and resultant charges; the leave of absence petition itself does not alter existing registration.

Students who are on an approved leave of absence will not be covered by the health and personal accident insurance plan until they return to active registration.

Petition forms may be obtained from the Graduate College, 606 University Hall, or from the director of graduate studies in the graduate program.

The University of Illinois sponsors a local chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES). Joining the BMES provides a range of benefits. Full student membership in the national organization includes subscriptions to the BMES Bulletin and to the annals of Biomedical Engineering. As a registered student member in the national organization, a discounted annual fee is applicable after graduation for a professional bioengineer. The local chapter elects new officers each spring for the following academic year. BMES hosts trips to local medical facilities, participates in national Engineer's Week, and holds informal gatherings for student faculty. BMES is a strong force in the Bioengineering Department. It serves as a forum for students to discuss suggestions or problems with the curriculum and as a unified group of students, it has altered the curriculum to broaden the course selections available to students. BMES meetings are a good way to make contact with fellow Bioengineers.

If you are interested in a specific area of the bioengineering field, most of the other engineering societies (IEEE, AIChE, and ASME) have special interests groups at a national level which publish journals relevant to bioengineering. These journals are offered at a discount to members of the appropriate organizations. The Professional Engineering Societies Council (PESC) unites the individual engineering societies. Each society has a PESC Representative, who represents the society in PESC meeting and reports back to the society members activities sponsored by PESC and the College of Engineering. Membership in PESC is open to any engineering student.

In addition to the professional societies represented on campus there are a wide range of organizations which support bioengineering on a national level. These specific organizations support bioengineering on a national level. These specific organizations have the advantage of being specific to the narrowest areas of interest. However, membership is usually rather expensive even with student discounts. If you are thinking of joining one of these organizations you might want to talk to a faculty member who is already a member of the society.

There are five common types of financial support available for bioengineering graduate students:

1. Educational loans, which are applied for through the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) located on the second floor of the Student Services Building (312) 996-3126. These loans are federally guaranteed but based on need. Cost beyond what a student is able to contribute and beyond amounts borrowed under a federally guaranteed loan can often be met with a Supplemental Loan for Students (SLS). For complete details, contact OSFA at the above number (Loans are available for domestic students only).
2. Teaching (TA) positions are semesterly appointments funded by the bioengineering faculty. As a TA you assist a particular instructor in some aspect of a course he/she is teaching that semester. This may include grading homework, holding office hours for tutoring students, leading review sessions, and presenting material in lecture. Theses positions are limited in number and are awarded competitively based on academic record. Because of this, first semester students are not normally awarded a TA position. This position includes a monthly stipend and a tuition and service fee waiver. The student will be required to pay some student fees.
3. Research (RA) positions are probably the most common type of support for bioengineering graduate students. This employment entails assisting an investigator with some aspect of his/her research. The appointments are generally 50%, which carries a commitment of 20 hours/week, a stipend, and a tuition and service fee waiver. The student will be required to pay some student fees. Bioengineering students seek RA positions in many departments throughout the university. The goal of most graduate students is to find support in the lab in which he/she wishes to carry our thesis-directed research, and many times a seemingly temporary position can lead to a greater interest.
4. Graduate (GA) positions are also available to graduate students. A student will have clerical and other office related duties. This position includes a monthly stipend and a tuition and service fee waiver.
5. Tuition and Service Fee Waivers are awarded by the Graduate College. Students recommended for this award are chosen by the Director of Graduate Studies primarily based on the students need and academic performance.

For a 50% appointment (TA, RA, or GA) the student must register for a minimum number of 8 hours during the fall and spring semesters and 3 hours during the summer semester. For 25% appointments, fellowships recipients, and tuition and service fee holders, students must register for a minimum of 12 hours each semester.

Students that hold academic appointments as assistants for the spring semester are entitled to a tuition and service fee waiver for the summer term immediately following, provided that they are registered for at least three hours during the summer term.

If you are on academic probation, you risk losing your graduate appointment. Also, non-degree and limited standing students may not hold assistantships and are not eligible to receive tuition and service fee waivers.

There are a number of fellowships and scholarships awarded to students at UIC each year. They fall under several titles and are competed for campus-wide. Consult a current edition of the Graduate Catalog or the Graduate College website (www.uic.edu/depts/grad) for more information on University Fellowships, Dean's scholar awards, Abraham Lincoln Graduate Fellowships, etc. The applications for these awards are usually available in January.