If you are receiving a tuition waiver (typically it is applicable for most Ph.D. students and sometimes supported M.S. students) , you must be aware of the following rules:

1. If you are not registered as a full time student then the tuition waiver (and, in fact, any other kind of support) is canceled.
2. Tuition waiver is paid only up to the minimum amount of credits that you are required to maintain in order to be in full status. That is, if you are getting full tuition waiver, it goes up to 12 credits for G1/G3 students, up to only 9 credits for G2/G4/G5 students.
3. Paying for any extra credits is the responsibility of the student. Note that every semester there is certain deadline after which the University charges tuition even if you drop the extra credits. Please be aware of the appropriate deadlines.
4. Registering but not attempting a course (receiving the NR grade) is treated the same way as if the course was never registered for.

This is called underload. An M.S. (not Ph.D.) student can request an underload in the last semester of study if fewer than 9 credits are required for graduation. For instance, if you have earned 24 graduate credits and only 7 are required to graduate, you can request an underload to register for only 7 credits. An M.S. student with an approved underload is still considered a full-time student.

When applying for an underload with the office of Visa & Immigration Services (http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/visa/current_students/parttime_enrollment.html), be sure to use the following contact email for Computer Science: gradadvising@cs.stonybrook.edu

Note that if you request an underload in a certain semester, you must graduate at the end of that semester. Therefore, underloading carries certain risks, especially for foreign students. For instance, failing a course at this stage will prevent the student from graduating and may require reinstatement from the Immigration according to prevalent visa rules. 

A Ph.D. student in the G5 status must register for 9 credits of CSE 699. There is no provision for underload for Ph.D. students --- unlike in the case of M.S. students. 

New students who were admitted for a summer semester must register for at least six credits for the summer session to which they were admitted. They do not need to register for Summer Session II if they have registered for Summer Session I. 

Continuing students who have GAs or RAs during the Summer are strongly encouraged to register for the summer. If there are no appropriate courses available, students may register for 0 credits of CSE 800. The Graduate School advises this for reasons related to tracking federal grants, tax issues, and Homeland Security. 

Graduating students must be registered for the semester they plan to graduate. Students graduating during the Summer can register for 0 credits of CSE 800.

For all other students, there is no need for summer registrations. 

Yours alone.

Neither the Graduate Directors nor the secretaries will listen to -- or attempt to resolve -- the problems that might arise from missing the snapshot deadline. In the past, attempts to fix such problems have been costly to us and mostly futile.

Usually in the 15th of classes -- watch the school calendar each semester. The school calendar calls it the "Last day to add classes for graduate students." (exact wording may vary).

1. All students: loss of support and tuition waiver, if any. In addition, part time students cannot work or live on campus.
2. International students: Will loose legal status. The consequences might be severe and result in a disruption of the continuation of graduate studies.
3. A domestic student who does not have financial support must register for at least one credit (or request a leave of absense) for each of the semestors prior to graduation. Failure to do so will entail a hefty fee and the need to file for reinstatement.
4. Graduating students must be registered in the semester in which they plan to graduate. For summer semesters it can be 0 credits of CSE 800 (or any other CSE course). For Spring and Fall semesters, a domestic graduating student can register for 1 credit. An international student must be registered full time during Fall and Spring, as explained below.

It is extremely important to be properly registered by the "Snapshot" date. This means that you must be registered for a correct number of credits, which can be 12, 9, or less, depending on the number of graduate credits that you have accumulated so far. Summer registration has its own rules. 

For academic year registration for full-time students, the rules are as follows:

1. G1, G3 students: 12 credits/semester

2. G2, G4 students: 9 credits/semester
3. G5 students: A G5 student would normally register for 9 credits of CSE 699, CSE 700 or CSE 701, as appropriate. It is possible to replace part of these 9 credits by a regular course. However, this requires prior approval of the Graduate Director.