All graduate students must be registered for a minimum of 12 credit hours during each fall and spring semester (a minimum of 9 hours with a graduate, teaching, or research assistantship) to be considered full-time by certain outside agencies/organizations such as lending institutions, health insurance carriers, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, etc.
Students registered for fewer than 12 credit hours (or fewer than 9 credit hours if they concurrently hold an assistantship) can be certified as full-time if they are registered for between one and eight credits, have received approval of an Application to Candidacy, AND are working on their theses, dissertations or projects, preparing for a comprehensive exam, or participating in a University-approved foreign exchange program extensively enough according to the following schedule:
| Semester Credits Registered For: | Number of Weekly Hours required (in addition to in-class hours) for Certified Full-Time Status: |
|---|---|
| 12 | 0 |
| 11 | 3 |
| 10 | 6 |
| 9 | 9 |
| 8 | 12 |
| 7 | 15 |
| 6 | 18 |
| 5 | 21 |
| 4 | 24 |
| 3 | 27 |
| 2 | 30 |
| 1 | 33 |
If a student meets the conditions described above, certification must be formally requested through use of a Certification of Full-Time Status form available on the Graduate School website at: http://www.grad.buffalo.edu/