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For CS PhD & MS students Find the right process, the key link, and what to submit, organized by what you're trying to get done. New this semester? Start with the Current-Student FAQ.
What do you need to do?
All departmental and Graduate School forms go through the submission portal, and the office collects the official signatures for you. No DGS, Chair, or Dean signature needed unless otherwise instructed.
Forms & Submissions Overview Start here
Submit & find forms
Courses & registration
Waivers, transfers & petitions
Letters & requests & Miscellaneous
Your requirements depend on your program and the semester you started. PhD progress runs through clear stages.
Requirements & Milestones
Degree requirements
PhD milestones
MS & BS/MS
Ph.D. admits receive guaranteed funding while in good standing; M.S. funding is competitive. Step I = Master's · Step II = pre-candidacy · Step III = candidate.
Funding & Assistantships
Assistantships & jobs
Stipend, benefits & health
Travel grants & fellowships
Mandatory fees apply regardless of assistantship status. Bills generate on the 25th and are due on the 20th of the following month.
Tuition, Billing & Fees
Tuition & rates
Schedule-adjustment period (Fall/Spring)
Refund
Day 1–5
100%
Day 6–10 (without even exchange)
80%
Day 6–10 (with even exchange)
100%
After the adjustment period
0%
Applying, degree clearance, and filing your thesis are three separate steps. Register for at least 1 credit in your graduating semester.
Graduation
Apply & clear
Commencement
MS Steps to Graduation
PhD Steps to Graduation
F-1 / J-1 status, CPT/OPT, and work eligibility. Maintain full-time enrollment (48 units per Fall/Spring). If you are requesting CPT, OPT, an I-20 extension, or part-time enrollment authorization, please follow the guidelines below: - Always list your primary academic advisor on forms that require academic approval. - Only list the CS Graduate Office as your advisor if your academic advisor is unavailable or you do not currently have one. - These requests involve academic progress and enrollment questions that must be reviewed by your advisor or the Graduate Office. After submitting your request in iTerp or to ISSS, notify your advisor (or the Graduate Office, if applicable) with the following required information. If you are listing the CS Graduate Office, please also submit this form or email us the necessary information to ensure timely processing.
International Students
CPT/OPT Applications, I-20 Extension, and Part-Time Enrollment Requests - Academic Advisor
Wellbeing & health
Academic & access
No. You don't collect those signatures yourself. Submit through the CS Graduate Form Submissions portal and the Graduate Office routes your form and obtains the official signatures for you. Submit a form → The CS Business Office. To process these Graduate School grants, the required forms must be signed by the CS Business Office; forward them to reimbursements [-at-] cs [dot] umd [dot] edu for review and signature. (For the separate CS Department Travel Grant, the Graduate Office reviews and then forwards to the Business Office.) Use the CS Letter Request Form. It covers funding / GAship, CPT, graduation, qualification, and more. CS Letter Request → Use the CS Letter Request Form and select the CPT letter. It documents the on-campus employment reduction needed to stay within the 20 hrs/week limit. CS Letter Request → Because CMSC898 is excluded from the M.S. degree count, so the first “30 credits” line in Grad.cs may not auto-check; that's expected, not an error. You are still allowed to count up to 6 credits of CMSC898 toward the M.S. (non-thesis) track. - Count up to 6 credits of CMSC898 toward the M.S. (non-thesis). - You must still complete the remaining required M.S. credits (see M.S. Degree Requirements). - PhD course waivers do not apply to the M.S. - Verify your completion in Grad.cs. MS-along-the-way steps → Check Grad.cs →
No. A PhD course waiver reviews prior graduate coursework against a program requirement (up to 3), decided by the relevant field committee. Transfer / inclusion of credit applies eligible credits toward an M.S. degree. Both go through the submission portal. More: CS Current-Student FAQ.
Do I need the DGS (or Chair/Dean) to sign my form?
I applied for a Graduate School travel grant. Who signs it?
I need a funding-support / GA verification letter.
I need a CPT letter to keep my on-campus work under the 20-hour cap.
Why doesn't my MS-along-the-way “30 credits” check off in Grad.cs?
Is a PhD course waiver the same as transferring credit?
cmsc-gradoffice [-at-] umd [dot] edu Shared inbox Grad Coordinator: Migo Gui (PhD Graduate Coordinator) Sarah Tucker (MS Graduate Coordinator) CS: payroll [-at-] cs [dot] umd [dot] edu reimbursements [-at-] cs [dot] umd [dot] edu purchasing [-at-] cs [dot] umd [dot] edu helpdesk [-at-] cs [dot] umd [dot] edu Include your program, starting semester, what you're trying to do, the resource you already checked, and the issue. For an existing request, add the submission date and use the same thread.
Topic / Need
First point of contact
Backup / FYI
General questions, course permissions, form submissions
Payroll, CS (GAs, health insurance)
UMIACS: umiacs-payroll [-at-] umiacs [dot] umd [dot] edu">umiacs-payroll [-at-] umiacs [dot] umd [dot] edu
Travel grants & laptop reimbursements (Ph.D.)
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Purchasing
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IT / Helpdesk
Staffworld (IRB 2109)
Immigration (CPT, I-20, visa status)
ISSS advisor
Grad Coordinator if dept action is needed
TA / desk assignments, travel-grant review, academic-success challenges
Assistant Director