Students are unable to register for EE 8888 thesis credits until they have passed the Prelim Oral Exam milestone.
If students have completed their degree requirement coursework but have not yet completed the Prelim Oral Exam, a common solution is to register for EE 8666 pre-thesis credits. While these are essentially empty credits, this registration allows students to maintain active student status, hold assistantships, and meets registration requirements for international students.
If a student registers for EE 8666 and passes the Prelim Oral Exam in the same semester, they can swap EE 8666 credits for EE 8888 credits within that the semester. After the Prelim Oral Exam is passed, we can swap those credits out for EE 8888 credits. This coursework swap is done through the Graduate Registration Exception Request form. The form has to be submitted before the last day of instruction, before final exams begin. Typically students register for 6 EE 8666 pre-thesis credits and then are able to convert them to 12 EE 8888 thesis credits. If you have cancelled any credits after the 100% deadline for the semester you are swapping, you will need to make sure you do not go over 14 credits with the swap. The cancelled credits do count toward the 14 credit limit you are covered by your appointment.
Note: Students need to pass the Prelim Oral Exam and submit your graduate registration exception request before the last day of instruction. GSSP won't approve your request if you submit it after the Study days / Final Exams have begun.