SELECTING AN
ADVISOR

Before registering for the first time, each graduate student must have a faculty advisor who assists the student in planning a course sequence meeting degree requirements, and who will discuss career objectives with the student. New students who wish assistance in selecting an advisor should consult A Guide for Prospective Graduate Students in Selecting an Advisor. They should also visit with the professors in their interest area to discuss whether or not the faculty member would be willing to serve as their advisor. For MS students electing the thesis option, and for all PhD students, the advisor serves as the major professor in terms of directing the research and chairing the thesis committee.

REGISTRATION

A "registration hold" is automatically placed on all NEW graduate students. It is removed by the student's advisor after planning the student's course program (see Selecting an Advisor section above). Note: Some ME courses having conference sections (ME project courses and advanced independent study courses) need departmental authorization prior to registration; this can be obtained by coming to the ME Student Services Office, 3182 Mechanical Engineering Building.

DESK
ASSIGNMENT

As a research assistant (RA), requests for a desk are made to your advisor. The advisor will sign the key request form for the room. This form is to be brought to the ME Student Services Office, 3182 Mechanical Engineering Building, for processing. Students who are currently teaching assistants (TAs) must go to the ME Student Services Office, 3182 Mechanical Engineering Building to get your desk assignment.

KEYS AND
BUILDING
PERMITS

Keys for the ME Building can be obtained for the office where your desk is located, for laboratories that you use, and for the building's outside door. Key request forms are available outside of 3182 Mechanical Engineering Building. Deposit card(s) are issued and a nominal, refundable deposit ($5.00/key) is collected by the Bursar's office at 21 North Park Street before keys are issued. If you plan to be in the building between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., you must have an after-hours building permit which can also be obtained from 3182 Mechanical Engineering Building. Students located in the Engineering Research Building (ERB) obtain key and building permit forms from their advisor. Keys and permits are issued in Room 132C ERB. Building permits are required after 6:00 p.m. in the ERB.

PARKING
PERMIT

Graduate students may purchase university parking permits for their automobiles for Area Lot 60 or for Lot 83. There is frequent campus bus service between both lots and the engineering campus. Students with no employment should apply directly to Transportation Services. Teaching Assistants or a Research Assistants can apply for a permit to Lot 17. Email your request to Connie Brachman, brachman@engr.wisc.edu, along with your student ID number.

HEALTH
INSURANCE

Health care is available at the University Health Service (UHS) for all UW-Madison students. (See also the Graduate School Catalog for details on the coverage offered.) Hospitalization and emergency room services are not included in UHS benefits. Health insurance covering hospitalization and emergency services is strongly recommended. Information concerning group health insurance, which is available to those holding graduate RA, Fellowship and TA positions, may be obtained from the ME Department Office, 3182 Mechanical Engineering Building. Unsupported graduate students are not eligible for insurance offered to RAs and TAs. Unsupported students may contact the Wisconsin Student Association for health insurance information.

MAILBOXES

You are assigned a mailbox for department notices and messages, campus mail and U.S. mail. The mailboxes are located in the first floor lobby of the ME Building. Teaching assistants share mailboxes and they are located with the faculty & staff mailboxes. The graduate student mailboxes are located in the ME Lobby and they are listed in alphabetical order.

Because of increasing demands on space and staff time, you are to have all personal mail, periodicals and newspapers delivered elsewhere. The staff will NOT distribute your personal mail. The correct address for your mailbox is your name plus:

Graduate Student
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1513 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706-1572

COMPUTER
USAGE

All registered engineering students may use the Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) computer facilities located in the CAE Center, 1410 Engineering Drive, and across the street from Engineering Hall. CAE users can access various computers at this location and at a number of CAE "target laboratories" across the engineering campus. Terminals, documentation and consulting services are available during the hours posted at room doors. Accounts are automatically established for all engineering students from their current registration information, and they allow for a variety of services at no charge to the student. You can activate your account at this address: http://www.cae.wisc.edu/site/public/?title=accounts by clicking “Activate your account on-line”, or by emailing the CAE Helpdesk at: helpdesk@cae.wisc.edu. The CAE Center is located in Rm. 172, 1410 Engineering Drive, telephone (608) 262-5349.

WORD
PROCESSING

Word processing equipment is available at all CAE sites for personal or academic use by graduate or undergraduate students.

FORMS

Some of the forms that may be needed are found outside the ME Student Services Office, 3182 Mechanical Engineering Building or on the web at
http://registrar.wisc.edu/forms/student/ or
http://info.gradsch.wisc.edu/for/current.html#forms

UNIVERSITY
VEHICLES

In order to drive a UW vehicle, students must complete a student driver authorization form. The guidelines for student drivers and driver authorization form can be obtained from the UW-Madison Risk Management website at http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/risk_mgt/risk_mgt.html. After obtaining the appropriate signatures, the forms are sent to the Risk Management Office. Please allow 10 days for the processing of these forms.

PHOTO-
COPYING

Photocopying on the department copy machines is NOT permitted for personal purposes, including for courses being taken by the student. If photocopying is required for your research project, see your major professor for an access code number. Teaching assistants will be given an access code number for the copier by the department administrator.

TELEPHONES

Student access to university telephone services is limited to internal university and local calls. University-related (research, teaching, extension) long distance calls may be made on the telephone of your major professor with his/her permission. Please ask for directions to use the State Telephones System (STS). In an emergency, the staff of the ME office will take a message and send you an email. In the case of an extreme emergency call 608/262-0665 and the ME Student Services Office will make every effort to find you. If it is absolutely necessary for someone to reach you when the departmental offices are closed, your family should call the University Police, 608/262-2957, giving them the location of your office or laboratory. The University Police will send an officer to try to locate you.

SATISFACTORY PROGRESS

ALL graduate students are expected to make satisfactory progress toward their degree each semester. Satisfactory progress means taking a sufficient number of courses each semester, maintaining the required grade point average (GPA), moving ahead on the degree requirements, and making good progress on your thesis. Your advisor and the graduate committee are responsible for determining satisfactory progress. Unsatisfactory progress may cause you to lose a TA, RA or Fellowship appointment, and possibly your status as a graduate student.

MINIMUM CREDIT REQUIREMENTS

During the fall and spring semesters, a full-time student carries 8-12 credits, a part-time student carries 4-7 credits. Continuing students who are not funded in the summer are not required to register for courses in order to maintain their status as a graduate student. If you are funded in the summer a minimum of 2 credits is required. Dissertators are always required to be registered for 3 credits. (See the PhD Preliminary Examination Guidelines, item H.)