Frequently Asked Questions

The Ph.D. Hub offers a number of academic, professional and social networking resources geared specifically to Ph.D. students:

• Professional Development
  • Workshops on leadership, teamwork, mentoring and digital literacy
  • Academic and industry career panels
• Writing Support
  • Writing Course: Writing and Communication for Engineers and Scientists
  • Graduate Writing Workshop: NSF and Doctoral Fellowships
  • Writing Course: Writing Your Way into Your Next Academic Position
• Student Engagement
  • Monthly Stress-buster Events (mixers, rock climbing, arcade games, etc.)
• Work-Life Wellness
  • Workshops to support work-life balance (e.g. Ph.D. student mental health)
• Advising Support (academic and non-academic)
• Social Media
  • Discord, Instagram

For department-specific questions once you have been admitted to Tandon, please contact:

• Biomedical Engineering: Steven Ruiz
• Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Melissa Parsowith
• Civil Engineering: Jaclyn Callery
• Computer Science: Eve Henderson
• Electrical Engineering: Valerie Davis
• Human-Centered Technology, Innovation and Design: Aric C. Meyer
• Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: Sarah Maslov
• Transportation, Planning and Engineering: Jaclyn Callery
• Urban Systems: Jaclyn Callery

Consult with your department academic advisor before registering for courses outside of your approved program.

Please complete this request form and a member of our team will follow up with next steps.

Transfer credits are generally handled by the academic advisor or program director in your department. Please refer to the academic requirements by degree program page for more information on the transfer credit process; if you are still unclear, email [email protected]

Contact [email protected]

The official start date is the first day of classes (for Fall 2024: September 3).

The PhD Student Welcome for Fall 2024 will be held the week of August 26. Matriculated students will receive more information about the PhD Student Welcome, as well as the New Graduate Student Orientation, later in the summer.

We recommend that incoming Fall admits arrive in NYC no later than mid-August.

Tandon Graduate Admissions must receive these documents no later than August 1. You will receive instructional emails throughout the summer.

This Getting Started video from NYU’s Office of Global Services will help you navigate the student visa application process as well as other important action items as you begin your NYU journey.

OGS also has a number of excellent pre-recorded webinars on various topics relevant to international students.

Visit NYU Payroll and scroll down to “Enroll in Direct Deposit” to learn more about how to set up direct deposit.

We recognize that it can be challenging to secure housing in New York City and surrounding areas. We encourage you to explore the below resources as soon as possible.

• There is a waitlist application for on-campus graduate student housing that opens in March, which may be accessed through your NYUHome account (go to the search field and enter Housing).
• NYU also has an off-campus living webpage which contains many helpful suggestions.
• There are Facebook groups (New York University (NYU) Housing Rooms Sublets & Roommates - NY and NYU Housing, Rooms, Apartments, Sublets) dedicated to graduate student housing at NYU.
• Finally, you can join the Tandon PhD student Discord group and post on the #housing channel if you are looking for a roommate or have other questions about housing that your peers might be able to answer.

Please visit the Tandon Students Health Insurance webpage.
To reach a NYU health insurance representative directly: [email protected] OR 212.443.1020

After the PhD Student Welcome, we encourage you to attend the incoming PhD Student Mixer, where you will be able to mingle with your cohort as well as current PhD students and faculty. Other good ways to stay in touch with your fellow PhD students are by attending events and workshops.

Incoming students are expected to attend the New Graduate Student Orientation and the Ph.D. orientation; both take place the last week of August. Exceptions for late arrivals are made by the Office of Graduate Academics and are almost exclusively granted for unavoidable visa delays. It is possible that your admission may be rescinded if you cannot arrive in NYC before classes begin.

If you expect your arrival in NYC to be delayed past the first day of classes, you will need to send an email to [email protected] with an explanation of your situation and planned arrival date.

Financial Aid posts fall and spring awards at the beginning of the fall semester. Summer awards are posted later, typically during the spring semester. When your summer award is added to your Albert Student Center, you should receive an email letting you know that there has been an update to your financial aid.

Prior to passing the qualifying exam, full-time students must register for 9 credits to maintain their status, both academically and for F1 visa purposes*.

*Biomedical Engineering students may have different registration recommendations

Upon passing the qualifying exam, you should begin registering for dissertation credits, at a minimum of 3 credits per semester and a maximum of 6.

Please note that regular coursework (i.e., anything other than dissertation or Maintenance of Studies) does not grant full-time equivalency, so you must register for a minimum of 3 dissertation credits or Maintenance of Studies in addition to any other course you are taking to maintain your status.

• If registering for only regular coursework: 9
• If registering for dissertation credits: 3
• If you’ve completed 75 credits and all degree requirements: Register for Maintenance of Studies (0-credits, but qualifies you for full-time equivalency)

You should start registering for dissertation credits once you have passed your qualifying exam.

Yes. Normally students will be done with all coursework before taking the qualifying exam, and may begin taking dissertation immediately upon passing.

However, sometimes students will still need to take more regular coursework. In this case, there are 2 options, depending on your particular scenario:

1. If you have at least 9 more credits of regular coursework to take, register for these classes and do NOT register for dissertation yet. 9 credits of regular coursework will maintain your full-time (FT) status.
   *Note: If you have 9 credits remaining, please discuss with your advisor, as your scholarship/fellowship may only cover a maximum of 6 credits per term post-qualifying exam.
2. If you have fewer than 9 credits of regular coursework remaining, you will need to register for your regular courses and 3 credits of dissertation. It is the dissertation credits, and not the coursework, that grants you full-time equivalency. In other words, if you only register for 3-6 credits of coursework, even after you have passed the qualifying exam, you will not be considered full-time.
   • If you register for 6 credits of coursework and 3 credits of dissertation (9 total credits), you will be full-time.
   • If you register for 3 credits of coursework and 3 credits of dissertation (6 total credits), you will be coded as full-time equivalent (FTE), since the dissertation credits grant FTE status.

Once you have completed all your required coursework and dissertation credits, you should register for Maintenance of Studies (MOS). MOS also grants FTE status to students.

To do so, send an email to Joseph Anderson and request a permission number for MOS.

Tandon Graduate Registration Policies

*Biomedical Engineering students may have different registration recommendations