Planning and Forms for Current Graduate Students

(Please make keyboard entries and print forms; do not hand-write)

Program of Study Form (MS Word format)
This is your conceptual plan for your coursework. You need to plan immediately upon entering the program. Then you will revise your plan when you meet with your supervisory committee and as each semester's schedule of courses offers unforeseen opportunities. Please fill out the form and take to your first supervisory committee meeting. PhD students, please provide the SNRE office with a revised draft before you take the Qualifying Exam.

Revision of Program of Study Form (MS Word format)
SNRE does a preliminary audit of your coursework to identify any deficiencies before you plan to graduate. Please provide the SNRE office with an updated plan two semesters before your graduation date. You may either use this Revision of Program of Study Form, or you may (especially if there are numerous changes) simply revise the Program of Study Form, above. In either case, only the committee chair needs to sign.

Transfer of Graduate Credits Form
The Transfer of Credit form needs to be filed with the Graduate School for their review and approval by the end of your first semester. Please contact the SNRE office to initiate this process. Rules about how many credits can be transferred are stated in the Graduate Catalog.

Timeline & Progress to MS Form (MS Word format)
This form presents your coursework and SNRE's expectations in a useful calendar format. It crosswalks with a Sample Schedule posted here, which provides a few important details about the Program of Study deadline. Please fill out the form based on your Program of Study (takes about 20 minutes) and carry to your first supervisory committee meeting. After supervisory committee members approve and sign, please submit it to the SNRE office. Revise and discuss in subsequent committee meetings as needed.

Timeline & Progress to PhD Form (MS Word format)
This form presents your coursework and SNRE's expectations in a useful calendar format. It crosswalks with a Sample Schedule posted here, which provides a few important details about the Program of Study and Qualifying Exam deadlines. Please fill out the form based on your Program of Study (takes about 30 minutes) and carry to your first supervisory committee meeting. After supervisory committee members approve and sign, please submit it to the SNRE office. Revise and discuss in subsequent committee meetings as needed.

Drop/Add Form
Use this form when you need to adjust your course schedule after online registration is closed.

The Qualifying Exam (PhD students only)

Most UF doctoral programs require that the Qualifying Exam be taken before the end of the student's second year. SNRE has a slightly extended timeline but real consequences if it is not followed. The purpose of the Qualifying Exam is to evaluate your academic preparation prior to the research phase of your program. Basic rules about the exam are in the Graduate Catalog (page 36). The exam is both written and oral and covers the major and minor subjects.

What it means to "cover" our interdisciplinary subject can be ambiguous, and some wonder if this means that all the major fields of faculty on the committee (typically 2 or 3, sometimes more) must be tested to the level of expertise conventional in each of the major programs. Advisors of our students have developed creative approaches that avoid potential "higher-standard" problems while fairly testing the student's preparation in the interdisciplinary major. You should discuss this with your advisor as you plan for your qualifying exam.

• One approach is to organize the exam around the intellectual content of the proposed research. (In cases where the research in not really very interdisciplinary, this approach may be insufficient.)

• Another is to plan the exam by asking the student to identify the conceptual, theoretical core of his/her academic program and devise the test accordingly. The first two approaches also can be combined fruitfully.

• A third is to develop a portfolio of professional works, done as term papers or term projects during each formal course, which you would submit to your supervisory committee as the written portion of your exam. Students and faculty unfamiliar with this approach may refer to an article (Wasley 2008) describing its use. Examples of appropriate portfolio items in Interdisciplinary Ecology include publishable theoretical essays, editorials, state-of-knowledge essays, and review articles, a dissertation prospectus, grant proposals, a narrative literature review, a study area map, and a conceptual model.

You must request the SNRE office to prepare the Admission to Candidacy Form two weeks before the oral portion of your Qualifying Exam. Take the form to the exam meeting. All committee members must sign this form.

Interruption of Study Notice Form (MS Word format)
File with the Graduate School if you intend to sit out two or more semesters without registering. In that case, you will need to apply for readmission to resume the program (see next form).

Application for Readmission Form
If your enrollment has lapsed for two or more consecutive semesters, you must re-apply using this form.

Application for Student Travel Grant to Professional Meeting
When planning to present your research at professional meetings, you can apply for financial assistance. Click for information and application materials.

Degree Application (Apply to Graduate) Form
You are required to apply to graduate during your final semester, to notify the Graduate School and trigger a final academic audit. When you log into the UF Registrar's ISIS website, DO NOT select the college code of "School of Natural Resources and Environment", which is used for undergraduates. Instead, please choose the college code "College of Interdisciplinary Studies." This will cause the correct major code of ECL (Interdisciplinary Ecology) to automatically enter into the system.

Degree-Requirement Verification Request Form
Use this form if you need official verification that you are completing the degree prior to graduation.

Last modified: 28-Aug-09