Registration

By registering and paying fees, students assume responsibility for understanding and abiding by the regulations and procedures included in this Calendar. Moreover, it is the student’s responsibility to establish and maintain regular communication with their thesis/ dissertation supervisor and graduate program. Students should also refer to the resources available through the graduate studies website at trentu.ca/graduatestudies/current-students-faculty

Students whose applications for admission to graduate study have been approved for full- or part-time study and all continuing graduate students should register by the dates recorded in the Graduate Calendar. Graduate students, full- or part-time, proceeding to a degree must maintain continuous registration in each successive term from the time of initial admission until the end of term during which the requirements for the degree are completed (i.e. successful defence and submission of final thesis/dissertation to the School of Graduate Studies) unless on an approved leave of absence.

Failure to Register

Graduate students are required to maintain continuous registration in their graduate programs. Students who fail to register or re-register by the published deadlines and have not been granted an official leave of absence, will be withdrawn from their program. Attending courses does not constitute official registration; students are required to register using myTrent and to submit the appropriate tuition fees by the required due date.

For subsequent reinstatement, the student must make an application for readmission to the School of Graduate Studies including the application fee, after which the program must make a written recommendation, outlining any academic conditions which it deems necessary.

Full-time, Part-time and Inactive status

A graduate student may have active full-time, active part-time, or leave of absence status while enrolled.

Full-time

A full-time student is one who:

is pursuing studies as a full-time occupation;
is designated by the University as a full-time graduate student
is geographically available and visits the campus regularly unless the program is designed as a remote/virtual learning environment
is not regularly employed and/or working full-time hours within the University for any period for which they are registered as an eligible full-time graduate student,
is expected to be working at least 30-hours/week on their graduate studies and making satisfactory progress to degree completion, and
in the light of the foregoing identifies themself as a full-time graduate student.

Notes

It is understood that a graduate student may be absent from the University while still under supervision (e.g., visiting libraries, attending a graduate course at another institution, doing field work). If such periods of absence exceed four weeks in any term written approval must be obtained by completing the Request for Extended Leave form found at "Graduate Registration Forms" option under Academics > Academic Record in the myTrent portal. Approvals must be obtained from the Graduate Program Director and the Manager of the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies. Irrespective of this provision, a student conducting experimental work in an external laboratory would not normally be considered as a full-time student except by written permission of the Manager of the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies upon recommendation of the supervisor.
If the student is employed on a Graduate Teaching Assistantship, the terms of employment are governed under the Collective Agreement with CUPE Local 3908, Unit 2 and Trent University. This agreement can be found at trentu.ca/humanresources/humanresources-services/labour-relations
Students who at any time cease to meet all of the criteria for full-time status, but are in good standing and wish to continue with their studies, must change to part-time status, where permitted by the program. If this change in status takes place during a term, adjustments to time limits and fees are made effective from the start of the next term. Such a change requires the written consent of the student’s supervisor and Graduate Program Director.

Part-time

Graduate students requesting “part-time” status:

must be those employed on a full- or part-time basis (requiring a letter from their employer(s) to indicate a minimum 20 hour work week);
employment with a student’s supervisor will not normally be considered a basis for conversion from full-time to part-time status. Exceptions to this requirement must be approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies.
must be those unable to attend on a full-time basis because of documented circumstances or responsibilities (e.g., child care, disability).
may not register in more than one half the prescribed full-time program course requirements or equivalent per year.
must note that two years of part-time study shall be deemed equivalent to one year of full-time.

Note

Financial circumstances alone are not grounds for a change from full-time to part-time status.

Undergraduate Courses Taken for Graduate Credit

The number of undergraduate courses or combined courses in which undergraduate students predominate cannot exceed 1/3 of the total course requirement for the degree. Undergraduate courses taken in addition to graduate courses will be charged the regular undergraduate tuition in addition to the graduate fees, unless the course is part of the degree requirements of the graduate program or the fees are waived by the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Adding & Dropping Courses

All students must register for courses by the registration deadline of each academic term. Students should be aware of academic regulations with regard to the number of required courses as well as the deadlines to drop a course without academic or financial penalties.

Regulations Concerning Dates for Adding/Dropping Graduate Courses

This regulation pertains to elective courses; students are not permitted to drop required courses.
The start and end date of graduate courses will be identified in the course syllabus.
For courses that follow the normal academic term dates *(i.e. Fall/Winter, Fall, or Winter) course add / drop dates will match the published dates in Important Dates.
For courses offered over a non-standard timeframe, e.g. compressed or reading courses, the last date by which a student can be enrolled in the course or can drop the course will be identified in the course syllabus.
Normally at least 25% of the grade in a graduate course must be determined and made available to students by the deadline for withdrawal (“drop date”) from a course.
For extenuating circumstances, or for any adds or drops outside of the published dates, a manual Course Add/Drop form, available at Program Offices, should be used including the signatures of the course instructor and student’s supervisor. If the student has not been assigned a supervisor, the program director must sign the form.

Audit Policy

Upon the recommendation of the supervisor or Graduate Program Director, and with the permission of the Manager of the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies, a graduate student may register to audit the equivalent of one full credit course in any graduate or undergraduate program at Trent University without being assessed any additional fees. Courses taken for audit will not count for credit towards the student’s graduate degree program, nor will the student be allowed to write final examinations or receive grades for courses which are audited. Courses which are audited will be recorded on the student’s transcript and the term “AU” will appear in lieu of a grade. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain permission from the course instructor to audit.

Ontario Visiting Graduate Student Plan

Under certain circumstances it is permissible for a student admitted to a degree program and registered at one Ontario university to enroll in approved credit courses at another university. Credit will be granted only if written permission is received from the Dean of Graduate Studies. Students interested in this option must complete the OVGS application form before the start of the term in which the course is being offered. The form can be found on the graduate studies website.

Graduate Academic Information & Regulations

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