Faculty of the UC San Diego Department of Mathematics require that each master’s student request and obtain advance faculty advisor approval for all coursework that the student desires to take and be counted toward the requirements of the major/degree in a particular quarter. (The curricula for our master’s majors can be found in the UC San Diego General Catalog.)

This is the normal sequence of events:

(1) The schedule of classes for the next academic quarter is released online on Friday of Week 5 of the current quarter. (Tip: You can get an advance peek at the courses that the Department intends to offer during the academic year by looking at its Planned Course Offerings Page. The page is updated with the next academic year’s intended offerings in late winter or early spring quarters. Future changes to the page can occur.)

(2) Based on information in the Department of Mathematics’ Graduate Program listing

With the exception of your first quarter in the Department, you will be unable to enroll in classes until your faculty advisor approves your course plan and that approval with plan is communicated to the departmental advisor for master’s students, and the advisor then lifts automatic registration hold on your account. Even for your first quarter, you need to ask your faculty advisor to communicate to the staff advisor for master’s students the approved courses that you want to take in that first quarter.

As worded in the General Catalog, “All student course programs must be approved by a faculty adviser prior to registering for classes each quarter, as well as any changes throughout the quarter. Full-time students are required to register for a minimum of twelve (12) units every quarter, eight (8) of which must be graduate-level mathematics courses taken for a letter grade only. The remaining four (4) units can be approved upper-division or graduate-level courses in mathematics-related subjects (Math 500 may not be used to satisfy any part of this requirement). For all programs, a minimum of twenty-four units of Department of Mathematics course work must be completed with a letter grade.”

The objectives behind your choices of courses should be to study that which will help you pass your two comprehensive/qualifying examinations and help you progress toward your academic and career goals. Read the curriculum for your major in the General Catalog to learn about your course and examination requirements.

Here is how the process typically works:

(1) In advance of the quarter, you decide which courses (in and/or outside of the Department of Mathematics) you would like to take in a particular quarter. Feel free to discuss this with your faculty advisor in person or via email. Fill out the Course Approval form. Form will be sent to your faculty advisor for approval.

(2) Once the staff advisor for master’s students receives direct faculty approval, the approved course numbers will be documented in your electronic file in the Department’s database, the registration hold on your account will be lifted, and you will be so notified.

(3) You register for the approved classes by going to the Enrolling in Classes page, clicking “WebReg”, and logging in at the next screen.

At any time after you obtain faculty advisor approval, you must promptly notify your faculty advisor and the staff advisor for master’s students if you make changes to your course plan.

When you are preparing to graduate, the staff advisor will review the database record of courses you were approved to take against the courses that you actually took. If you took a course without faculty advisor permission, and want that course to be applied to the requirements of your major/degree, your graduation may be delayed and a retroactive request for approval may be denied.