Registration & Leave Policies

"Full-Time," "Part-Time" and Residence Credit Requirements

Full-time registration is required for all TA, RA and Graduate Staff appointments. Students must be registered for a minimum of 10 credits to be considered full-time (except in the summer, when 2 credits is considered full-time enrollment). Any students holding teaching or research assistantships who register full-time and subsequently drop a course may be considered to be making unsatisfactory academic progress.

300-level courses outside the field of geography may count toward satisfying credit requirements only if the student petitions the Graduate Program Coordinator. Petitions will only be granted if the student can demonstrate that the courses count as graduate minor or as supporting courses. No 100– or 200– level courses may be counted for graduate credit.

Independent Study Registration and Faculty Codes

In addition to your coursework, graduate students will also enroll for independent study credits. These can include independent studies for directed readings or research (GEOG 600), thesis (GEOG 700) and dissertation research (GEOG 800). In all cases, enrolling in independent studies require a faculty supervisor. When you use the university’s registration system, you will be required to enter faculty codes. Here are the faculty codes you will need for registration:

Faculty Member

5-Digit Code

Faculty Member

5-Digit Code

Alexandre, Kessie

75809

Herbert, Steve

52621

Bennett, Mia

99561

Lawson, Vicky

35196

Brown, Michael

63878

Mayer, Jonathan

37110

Chan, Kam Wing

36994

Nyerges, Timothy

35296

Ellis, Mark

17909

Withers, Suzanne

69064

Elwood, Sarah

65238

Ybarra, Megan

77777

England, Kim

52509

Zhao, Bo

89561

Freshour, Carrie

79561

Courses/Degrees Outside the Department

The primary reason that you are here at UW is to complete the necessary requirements for your graduate degree in the Department of Geography. In certain circumstances, however, graduate students may benefit by pursuing additional coursework or even another degree outside the department during their time as a graduate student in geography. For instance, a Concentration in Social Statistics from the Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences, a certificate from the Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies, or an Environmental Management Certificate from the College of the Environment might serve as a supplement to your work here in the department.

As long as a student is meeting the requirements for her/his graduate degree in geography and has adviser approval, students are encouraged to seek additional academic opportunities elsewhere on campus, though this additional responsibility must not conflict with departmental obligations (courses, TA/RA assignments, etc.).

If you plan to pursue an additional degree-granting program outside of this department, you should inform your adviser and provide a written statement to the Graduate Program Director as soon as possible. This statement should outline how you plan to fulfill the requirements for both programs. In addition to required coursework, students must attend orientation, colloquium and other key events with the rest of the department community. Students should also include this information, and their progress to date, in their annual graduate student review narrative.

Graduate On-Leave Status

Graduate students are required to maintain graduate status during their program of study. Failure to maintain this status requires reinstatement to the University of Washington. Students who desire to take a quarter or quarters off without going through the reinstatement process must apply for on-leave status for each quarter they do not register.

Information from MyGradProgram:

Students in good academic standing may request quarterly leave from graduate studies with approval from their graduate programs. International students require additional leave approval from the International Student Services Office.

IMPORTANT NOTES – Please review carefully:

  • Each leave request requires a non-refundable $25 fee* which must be paid before leave is confirmed by the Graduate School; fees are paid online with MasterCard or Visa.
  • Leave requests are required for Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters; Summer quarters are automatic leaves for students enrolled or on-leave the previous Spring quarters.
  • Students concurrently enrolled in two graduate programs must receive leave approval from both programs (only one request with one fee payment will be required).
  • Students are not eligible for leave if they are registered, graduated, inactive (not enrolled or on leave the previous quarter), or are in a non-matriculated status.
  • Students who are registered may request leave if they drop all courses prior to the first day of the quarter.
  • Students with financial aid, loans, or enrolled in the Graduate Appointee Insurance Program (GAIP) should consult with the Office of Financial Aid or the UW Benefits Office to prevent a loss of aid, loan repayment, or benefit coverage.
    • Please further note: Peace Corps Masters International (PCMI), Bonderman fellows, and some UW Fulbright grantees are allowed to submit and pay fees for a multi-quarter request (up to three quarters). Fees will be charged as follows: One quarter leave = $25; two quarter leave = $50; three quarter leave = $75. There is no charge for summer quarter leave.
    • Military personnel with deployment papers (provided to the Graduate School) may submit a multi-quarter request (up to three quarters) and no fees will be charged.
    • Fees are non-refundable. If students pay the leave request fees and subsequently enroll during the request leave period, fees will not be refunded.

Complete information regarding graduate leave policy, eligibility, and request process is located at:

Procedure for Requesting Leave

Students requesting on-leave status must submit an online Request for On-Leave Status via MyGrad Program.

For a given quarter, students can submit the request as early as two weeks prior to the first day of instruction and must submit payment of the non-refundable fee no later than 11:59:59 p.m. PST on the last day of instruction. Leave is granted on a quarterly basis, though the following students may request up to four consecutive quarters of leave at one time: PCMI students, military personnel with deployment orders, and some UW Fulbright grantees (with the exception of military personnel with deployment orders as these students will be required to pay the fee for each quarter of leave requested).

Domestic Students

  1. Complete and submit the online Request for On-Leave Status via MyGrad Program. Student will receive a confirmation email that the request has been submitted.
  2. Send email notification of request submission to Director of Academic Services/Graduate Program Advisor (GPA) and to faculty advisor. Once the faculty advisor has approved the leave via email, the Director of Academic Services/Graduate Program Advisor (GPA) will confirm the request in MyGrad.
  3. Once the request has been approved in MyGrad, students will receive a confirmation email.
  4. Return to MyGrad Program to pay the non-refundable On-Leave fee via MasterCard or Visa credit card. Students will receive a confirmation email that their quarterly leave has been processed and their registration status for that quarter is “On-Leave.”
  5. Print confirmation of on-leave verification to be presented for access to the UW libraries and IMA.

International Students             

  1. Contact the International Student Services (ISS) office to obtain pre-approval to request on-leave status.
  2. Complete and submit the online Request for On-Leave Status via MyGrad Program. Student will receive a confirmation email that the request has been submitted.
  3. Send email notification of request submission to Director of Academic Services/Graduate Program Advisor (GPA) and to faculty advisor. Once the faculty advisor has approved the leave via email, the Director of Academic Services/Graduate Program Advisor (GPA) will confirm the request in MyGrad.
  4. Request will then be reviewed and approved by the ISS office. Upon approval, students will receive a confirmation email that the ISS office has approved the request.
  5. Return to MyGrad Program to pay the non-refundable On-Leave fee via MasterCard or Visa credit card. Students will receive a confirmation email that their quarterly leave has been processed and their registration status for that quarter is “On-Leave.”
  6. Print confirmation of on-leave verification to be presented for access to the UW libraries and IMA.

Leaves of Absence

In several instances, including personal illness and/or disability; care of a family member, childbirth, or adoption; bereavement due to the death of a family member; family member’s military deployment or service-related injury, Academic Student Employees (ASEs) are covered and protected by the specifications outlined in Article 17—Leaves of Absence in the UAW Union Contract. Health insurance coverage may be available during the period of the Leave of Absence as specified in Section 5 of Article 17.

The Department of Geography operates in accordance with the specifications of this document.

Conducting International Research—Leave Alternative

If you are planning to travel abroad as part of your graduate program (for international research or sponsored study), there is a great alternative to going on leave administered through UW’s Office of Global Affairs. You can register for a minimum of ten FSTDY 300 credits per quarter, which will then transfer back to UW as graduate-level geography credits (usually Geog 700 or 800). You do not have to pay tuition and you still retain the privileges of being an enrolled student. The cost is only about $300/quarter, plus purchasing insurance for $2.00/day. The most important thing to note about this excellent opportunity is that you must plan far in advance and complete a few required training sessions and fill out forms. If you are interested in participating in this program, it is strongly recommended that you set up an appointment with the following people as soon as you know that you will be traveling abroad as part of your graduate studies:

Grievance Procedures

For a full description of Graduate School grievance policies and procedures, consult Graduate School Policy 3.8: Academic Grievance Procedure.

Graduate students who encounter academic problems related to their academic abilities, but not including evaluation thereof, may seek resolution of their complaints through informal conciliation or formal complaint. These policies apply to such issues as faculty, departmental, college or Graduate School policies affecting individual student prerogatives; deviations from stated grading practices (but not individual grade challenges), unfair treatment, and related issues.

Student who believe they have been discriminated against on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or status as a disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran should refer to the University Complaint Investigation and Resolution Office.

Appeals may be made directly to the department chair. Appeals beyond this point should follow the process outlined in Graduate School Memorandum No. 33 Academic Grievance Procedure linked above.

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