First semester registration

Will will register you for classes for the first semester, after he received the course planning form. Once students are registered, he do let them know via email. It may take him a week or two.

SLIS goodie

If you come to campus, visit Will, he will be happy to give you some free SLIS merchandise such as a pen, pencils, cup, etc..

MS VS. MA degree

UPDATE: THIS POST IS NO MORE RELEVANT SINCE SLIS DECIDES TO SUSPEND THE MA OPTION.

When you apply for SLIS, you are already asked to choose either MS or MA degree. However, you can always switch through a request to the graduate school.

There are a few differences between MS and MA degree.
1) MS degree requires 36 credit hours while MA degree requires 42;
2) Upon graduation, MS students need to build a portfolio while MS students can do either a portfolio or thesis;
3) MS students have to take at least 6 credit hours course in cognitive science.

Details can be find on the Exit Requirements page.

Overall, MS degree is designed for those students who are interested in research and may pursue a doctorate degree afterwards.

You would need to form a thesis committee if you decide to do the MA w/ thesis option (almost right away). This is probably not easy to manage if you are not on campus.

When will school start?

Go to the UK registrar page and find your answers under Academic Calendar 

Will I get a student ID?

You don't have to. If you want to, however, you can stop by student center at UK and get one for $15. The only advantage of having a student ID is to get student discount at your local museum, park, etc. (Or to use the swimming pool on campus.) You don't need a student ID to get library materials or using online learning systems.

Full-time or Half-time?

If you are an American citizen, then you can register as many/few classes as you want. Although I would NOT recommend you to take more than 3 courses (9 credit hours, counted as full-time).

If you are on fellowship/scholarship or have student loan, you will need to check the requirement. It may require full-time enrollment.

Student Course Planning Form

This form(attached in the Welcome email, also available here) needs to be filled and signed by you and your advisor, me, before you can register.

This form helps you to plan your course ahead so that you get to take all the required courses as well as electives that interest you by the time you graduate. (Although all the required courses are offered each semester, the electives may only be offered once a year or every two years.)

You may not know exactly what you want to take when you just started, but please try your best to fill out as much information as possible and we can always discuss course enrollment before each semester. NOTE: please be accurate for the first semester since Will will register for your first semester and he will reply on this form.

Here are some resources that will help you fill out the form:
* a list of SLIS courses and their descriptions/syllabus: http://cis.uky.edu/lis/courses
* a list of courses offered in the coming semester: http://cis.uky.edu/lis/content/class-schedules-0
* the SLIS curriculum track (Sent to you in email and also available here)
* Beware of courses with pre-requisites! If you want to take a course with a pre-req, The following fall electives have pre-requisites: 630, 638, 655 & 668.