PhD Advising

Generally speaking, graduate level courses that have not been used toward a bachelor’s degree, and in which grades of B or better are earned from an accredited institution of higher education, are eligible for transfer into the MS or PhD programs. A maximum of 9 credits can be transferred to the MS program, and a maximum of 21 credits can be transferred to the PhD program.

Transfer credit requests follow a two-part process:

  1. Request a transfer of credit through the Graduate School’s DocuSign process. Instructions, policies, and the Courses are typically approved as “general elective” credit.
    1. Note: a transfer of credit request must be submitted for any courses taken prior to entering the AES graduate program, including those taken as an undergraduate at CU Boulder.
  2. Once transfer credit is approved, apply the transferred courses towards specific AES degree requirements by submitting an academic petition. The petition should always be discussed with your faculty advisor, focus area lead, and potentially your Graduate Program Advisor (GPA) before submitting the petition.

Please see the Graduate Student Handbook for additional information about transferring credit to the PhD program.

PhD students at CU Boulder are supported through research and teaching assistantships and are also encouraged to apply for their own sources of funding. Funding is renewed each semester based on academic performance, progress in research, and availability of funds in your research area. Visit the Opportunities & Aid page for a list of fellowships and scholarships commonly applied for by AES students.

Questions regarding student accounts, billing, and fees should be directed to the Bursar’s office (bursar@cuboulder.edu).

Questions regarding research assistantships (RA) appointments should be directed to the student’s research center (AMReC, BioServe, CCAR, and RECUV).

Full-time Enrollment

There are two sets of rules defining “full-time.”

  1. The Graduate School imposes the first set of rules. In order to be considered a full-time student under the Graduate School criteria, you must be enrolled in:
    1. 1 hour dissertation OR
    2. 5 hours of graduate level coursework OR
    3. 8 hours of graduate and undergraduate coursework combined OR
    4. 12 hours of undergraduate coursework OR
    5. 5 dissertation hours (post-comp PhDs)
  2. The second set of rules is imposed by the federal government for federal financial aid purposes. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid with questions. If you need to be considered for federal financial aid, follow these enrollment definitions:
    1. Full-time: A graduate student who is enrolled in at least 6 semester hours* in a fall, spring or summer term.
    2. Half-time: A graduate student who is enrolled in at least 3-5 semester hours* in a fall, spring or summer term.

*excludes candidate for degree courses; they cannot be included in the semester hour calculation for financial aid eligibility and/or loan deferment.

Registering for Dissertation Credits

PhD Dissertation Credits are listed under the course ASEN 8990, but the section number will depend on who your faculty advisor is. You can request to be enrolled in dissertation credits any time after your enrollment period begins (which you can view in Buff Portal).

To register for dissertation credits, send an email to your Graduate Program Advisor (cc-ing your faculty advisor) with the following information and the GPA will manually enroll you in ASEN 8990. Just copy and paste these bullet points into an email:

  • Student Name
  • Student ID
  • Term
  • # of Credits
  • Faculty Advisor Name

How many dissertation hours should you take?

  • You can’t enroll for more than 10 dissertation credits in one semester.
  • Are you pre-comprehensive exams?
    • You are considered full-time if you register for at least:
      • 1 hour dissertation OR
      • 5 hours of graduate level coursework
  • There is no cost difference between 1 and 3 dissertation credits
  • Are you post-comprehensive exams?
    • Starting in the semester AFTER you pass comps, you must register for a minimum of 5 dissertation hours in the fall and spring semesters of each year, up through the semester in which you successfully defend your dissertation. This counts as full-time status.
  • Are you defending your dissertation this term, and graduating this term?
    • You need to be enrolled in at least 5 dissertation credits
  • Are you defending your dissertation this term, but not graduating until next term? (for example, defending during the fall, but applying for spring graduation)
    • You still need to be enrolled in at least 5 dissertation credits for this term, or the term in which you’re defending your dissertation. Next term you do not have to be enrolled but you will have to follow that term’s graduation deadlines.

Auditing a Course & Taking a Course Pass/Fail

Degree seeking students cannot technically audit courses. Degree-seeking students can register for courses for "no credit" but must pay full tuition and won’t earn a grade or credit hours.

Note: a student's TA/RA/GA appointment will not cover courses registered for no credit.

Visit the Registrar’s website for a list of grading modes, audit policies, and instructions on editing your class options.

Dropping a Course After the Add/Drop Deadline

In order to petition to drop a class after the final drop deadline has passed, you are required to demonstrate and provide documentation showing that there were extenuating circumstances beyond your control that occurred after the final drop deadline which prevented you from attending/participating in the course for which you were registered. Contact your graduate advisor for more information.

Under normal circumstances, students who drop a course after the add/drop deadline will receive a W grade and will be responsible for tuition and fees associated with the course.

Incomplete Grades

To receive a grade of "I" Incomplete you must receive the consent of the instructor and be able to demonstrate that for documented reasons beyond your control, you have been unable to complete course requirements in the semester enrolled. See the Graduate Handbook for more information.

Repeating a Course

Visit the Registrar's Grade Replacement page for details regarding retaking a course for grade replacement.

Students typically take the preliminary exam at the start of their third semester (in the fall term). Students will be notified in the summer of the examiners and prelim schedule with enough time to prepare.

Students should discuss prelim courses with their faculty advisor to plan class registration ahead of the preliminary exam. Visit the Graduate Student Handbook for a list of approved prelim courses and additional information about the exam.

Upon completion of the exam (regardless of the outcome), students submit the Preliminary Examination Report. If there is a delayed decision, conditions will be noted on the form and the student should work with the examiners and the GPA to satisfy the conditions.

More information about the scope and format of the Comprehensive Exam can be found in the Graduate Student Handbook and the Graduate School Rules (under “Examinations”).

Requirements for taking the comprehensive exam:

  • Complete all required coursework for the PhD degree with the exception of remaining dissertation credits (courses need to be completed by the end of the semester in which the exam is being taken).
  • Complete the Preliminary Exam.
  • Be at full time status the semester taking the comprehensive exam (see full-time definitions above).
  • You must earn at least four semesters of residence in AES (i.e., enrolled as a graduate student in the AES department), have a GPA of 3.25 for all graduate ASEN or CU coursework, and pass the Comprehensive Examination before admission to candidacy is approved by the Graduate School.
  • The Comprehensive Exam must be taken at least one semester before the Final Exam.
  • The Doctoral Practicum Proposal should be submitted prior to comps.

Steps to take for your comprehensive exam:

  1. Work with your faculty advisor and committee members to schedule your exam. Reference the Aerospace Room Reservations page to make your room reservation.
  2. Check your committee composition at least ONE MONTH prior to exam date.
    1. Minimum of at least 5 individuals, which must include 3 Tenured, Tenure-Track, Research, Adjunct or Adjoint AES professors (not including instructors, or those with special appointments) and 1 external (non-AES) member.
  3. External members need a Graduate Faculty Appointment (GFA). You may email your Graduate Program Advisor (GPA) to check if external members already have a GFA.
    1. GFAs must be submitted at least ONE MONTH prior to the exam date. The graduate school has to approve the GFA before they will approve your exam form.
    2. To request a GFA for an external member, email the member’s CV to your GPA.
  4. Submit the Doctoral Comprehensive Exam Form at least two weeks prior to your exam.
    1. The form will go to the Graduate School for approval of your committee, then back to your GPA for department approval.
  5. Upon completion of your exam, email the GPA to have your form routed through your committee members for approval. You’ll receive a copy when it’s complete. You MUST email the GPA to route the form; your Candidacy Application will not be approved until the Comprehensive Exam Form is completed.
  6. Submit the Candidacy Application (located in the first link on the . For details on how to complete the application visit the instructions page) within two weeks of completing the comprehensive exam.

If you are an enrolled PhD student and interested in obtaining your MS “along the way” to your PhD, you must meet the MS requirements outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook (overall program requirements and the Focus Area-specific requirements). You can also view MS degree information on the MS & ProMS Advising Page. PhD students obtaining an MS will still work with the PhD advisor with any questions or concerns.

Note: Credits that have been used toward a first MS (whether at a previous institution or at CU Boulder) cannot be used towards a second MS degree; they can only be transferred to a PhD.

Each semester, the GPA will reach out to see which PhD students are interested in completing an MS, and who will be completing the requirements by the end of that term. The GPA will have the MS degree added to your profile, and once it is added, you can apply to ‘graduate’ that term with the MS. You must also follow any MS graduation deadlines for that term.

If you are interested in completing an MS as a PhD student, please reach out to the GPA to conduct a degree audit, plan any necessary courses, or for any other questions regarding this process.

The Doctoral Practicum (DP) is a required element of the PhD program in Smead Aerospace that complements the primary research and academic experiences which are core to the awarding of a doctorate.

The Doctoral Practicum Proposal should be completed and submitted prior to the student taking the comprehensive exam, and the Doctoral Practicum Completion Form must be submitted prior to the final dissertation defense. The completion form requires a 1-page letter attached as proof of completion.

Please see the Graduate Student Handbook for more information on the Doctoral Practicum requirement, including examples of activities and form instructions.

Information about the format of the Doctoral Final Exam can be found in the Graduate Student Handbook and the Graduate School Rules (under “Examinations”). Please also familiarize yourself with the Doctoral Graduation Information and Checklist for graduation tasks.

Requirements for the doctoral final exam:

  • Register for at least 5, and no more than 10, dissertation research credits for the semester in which you defend your dissertation.
  • Complete at least 30 dissertation credits by the end of the semester of the defense.
  • Have previously completed the Preliminary Exam, Comprehensive Exam, have an approved Candidacy Application, and completed your Doctoral Practicum.

Steps to prepare for your dissertation defense and final submission:

  1. Work with your faculty advisor and committee members to schedule your exam. Reference the Aerospace Room Reservations page to make your room reservation.
    1. Refer to the Doctoral Graduation Deadlines for the last day on which you can defend your dissertation to graduate in the same term.
  2. Check your committee composition at least one month prior to the exam date.
  3. External members need a Graduate Faculty Appointment (GFA). You may email your Graduate Program Advisor (GPA) to check if external members already have a GFA. If they served on your comps committee, they’re likely still approved, but we can check.
    1. GFAs must be submitted at least one month prior to the exam date. The graduate school has to approve the GFA before they will approve your exam form.
    2. To request a GFA for an external member, email the member’s CV to your GPA.
  4. Submit the Doctoral Final Exam Format least two weeks prior to your exam.
    1. The form will go to the Graduate School for approval of your committee, then back to your GPA for department approval. You may submit this form as soon as you know your committee composition; earlier is better but two weeks prior is the minimum.
  5. Upon completion of your final exam, email the GPA to have your form routed through your committee members for approval. You’ll receive a copy when it’s complete. You MUST email the GPA to route the form; you will not be approved for graduation by the Graduate School until the form is complete.
  6. Follow the steps outlined by the Graduate School for thesis formatting and submission and adhere to the submission deadlines.
    1. When your edits are completed, submit the Thesis Approval Form, with a copy of your final dissertation. This will be routed through DocuSign to your committee chair and one other member so they can approve the final copy of your dissertation. The approved TAF must be downloaded as a PDF and submitted as an attachment when you submit your dissertation to ProQuest, so it’s best to allow a few days for routing this form before the final dissertation deadline. The graduate school may also send you revisions to formatting after you submit to ProQuest, another reason to submit the dissertation 1-2 days before the deadline if possible.
  7. You can email a copy of your dissertation to gradinfo@colorado.edu to check formatting before the final submission to ProQuest.
  8. You’ll receive a final notification from ProQuest when your dissertation has been accepted by the Graduate School.

Note: PhD students must be registered as full time, regular degree-seeking students at CU Boulder, for a minimum of 5 dissertation hours during the semester in which they pass the final exam. Students who are unable to meet the defense deadline may defend at any point up to the day before the next semester courses begin and the defense will be considered as passed during that semester. For example, if a student is unable to meet the spring defense date but passes his/her defense before the start of summer classes, it is considered a spring defense. The student will not graduate in spring and should follow the summer deadlines.

Additional steps for graduation after the final defense

  1. Review the Doctoral Graduation Information and Checklist for graduation tasks.
  2. Apply to graduate through Buff Portal by the posted deadline.
  3. Your Dissertation Final Grade Report will be completed by the GPA and your faculty advisor; you do not need to complete anything for this.
  4. Complete the by the posted deadline (usually the same day as thesis submission is due).