Advising
Graduate Student Information
Academic advising is primarily done by faculty advisors with expertise in the area and with the support of our knowledgeable graduate staff. Our collaborative advising model not only addresses accessibility and availability but also provides a comprehensive and effective advising experience for our graduate students.
This page offers a list of relevant resources for current graduate students. You will find:
• Master's Student Advising
• Ph.D. Student Advising
• Certificate Student Advising
• General Information For All Graduate Students
Additional guidance is located on the Path to the Degree page. Graduate students should feel free to contact the department's graduate program coordinator for assistance with questions not answered here.
Master's Student Advising
A list of faculty advisors by department and program is provided below. Additional information and resources are located under Path to Degree.
Artificial Intelligence
Computer and Information Science
Cybersecurity and Information Assurance
Data Science
Software Engineering
Program Coordinators
Kimberly LaPere - [email protected] | T: 313-436-9145 | Office: 105 CIS
Sherry Boyd - [email protected] | T: 313-593-5582 | Office: 2000 HPEC - Data Science only
Computer Engineering:
Program Director: Dr. Wencong Su
Electrical Engineering:
Program Director: Dr. Wencong Su
Energy Systems & Sustainability Engineering:
Program Director: Dr. T. Kim
Robotics Engineering:
Program Director: Dr. A. Mohammadi
Program Coordinator:
Michael Hicks - [email protected] | T:313-593-5420 | Office: 2050 IAVS
Engineering Management
Human-Centered Design and Engineering
Industrial Systems Engineering
Information Systems Technology
Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Program Coordinator
Joey Woods - [email protected] | T: 313-593-5361 | Office: 2340 HPEC
Automotive and Mobility Systems Engineering
Bioengineering
Materials Science and Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Program Coordinators
Rebekah Awood - [email protected] | T: 313-593-5241 | Office: 2000 HPEC
Sherry Boyd - [email protected] | T:313-593-5582 | Office: 2000 HPEC - Automotive and Mobility Systems only
Ph.D. Student Advising
Ph.D. students receive advising from the assigned Faculty/Research Advisor and Mentor. If you have not identified your Faculty Advisor, please contact your department Ph.D. Program Chair for advising. Students are required to meet with the Faculty Advisor to complete the Plan of Study within the first term and at a minimum, once a year to complete the Annual Progress Review.
For additional online information, guidance, and forms for the Ph.D. review the Path to the Degree page.
Certificate Student Advising
- Courses completed toward one certificate area may not be double-counted toward additional certificates.
- Replacement courses may be elected with the approval of the program advisor.
- Students admitted to a CECS graduate certificate program have 3 years from their first semester of enrollment to complete the required number of credit hours for the certificate.
- Students have 2 years from the date they complete the last required graduate certificate course to apply for the certificate to be granted.
Additionally, make sure to check out all the information on completing your certificate!
General Information For All Graduate Students
Course Registration
Term Registration Maximum Policy
The maximum credits any CECS graduate student may register for is nine (9) credits each term. Registration above the maximum requires a petition.
To assist with academic planning and registration, you may use the following resources:
- To check your progress towards your degree - Degree Works
- To view this semester's courses and register - My UM-Dearborn
Special Requests and Petitions
For more information, or if you are in need of assistance, please contact your department's graduate staff.
Graduate Guidelines for CPT, OPT & Doctoral Summer Internships
Please note that students are required to adhere to any additional department guidelines or policies regarding CPT/OPT and Doctoral Summer Internships.
Students interested in applying for CPT should strictly adhere to the following procedures:
Effective from Winter 2021
Eligibility:
- Students must be enrolled full-time for two consecutive semesters prior to CPT. Summer can be counted if it is enrolled full-time.
- Students must have a GPA of 3.0 or above (good academic standing) to apply.
Procedure and Documents required to apply:
- Deadlines for CPT applications follow the campus registration Add/Drop deadlines. After the deadline, applicants must submit petitions to their department chair for approval and petitions have to be submitted within the first four weeks of the semester.
- Applicants must obtain a job offer letter from the prospective employer. The letter must include:
- Be printed on company letterhead showing company address (site name and detail location address if different than the company’s address most be provided)
- Indicate the job title and describe the work the student will do (job has to be in the student’s field of study)
- Indicate specific start date of employment (and end date, if applicable)
- Indicate the number of hours the student will work per week
- Applicants must provide a written statement that clearly indicates how CPT is a good opportunity for improving their educational experience (that is, how the concepts learned in their coursework will be applied through employment).
- Applicants should bring all CPT related forms and documents to their home departments Graduate Programs Coordinator to request approval and they will obtain signatures from the chair.
- Students must apply for CPT authorization through the International Office website:
Course Enrollment Requirements:
- Full time CPT (working 21 or more hours/week): CPT ENGR 500 (1 credit hour) + minimum of 3 credit hours enrollment in coursework related to major
- Part time CPT (working 20 or fewer hours/week): CPT ENGR 501(1 credit hour) + minimum of 6 credit hours enrollment in course work related to major
Students Completing CPT:
- At the end of each semester when ENGR 500 or ENGR 501 is enrolled, students must provide a written report to the chair of their home department describing how the knowledge gained from their coursework has been implemented during their work experience. This report will be used to assign a pass/fail grade for the CPT course.
- Students must re-apply for CPT every semester (see procedure above).
- The total duration of CPT should be no more than 365 days.
All students interested in applying for OPT:
- Optional Practical Training (OPT) Requirements
All students interested in applying for OPT should strictly adhere to the following procedures:
1. Must be registered full-time and have completed at least one academic year in a degree-seeking program.
2. Can perform OPT as:
- Pre-Completion OPT
- Full-or part-time OPT during summer vacation
- Part-time OPT only while school is in session and students must be registered full-time
- Post-Completion OPT after completion of coursework (excluding thesis or the equivalent)
3. Must apply for OPT before completion of study.
4. Must complete the OPT application documents located on the OIA website:
Requirements for Application Request:
- Internships are not allowed during the Fall and Winter terms during the doctoral studies.
- If the faculty advisor or department does not have (GSI /GSRA) funding to support doctoral students during the summer, the student may apply for an internship during the summer term only.
- The internship application should be endorsed by the Faculty Advisor and the Program Director/Committee.
- Internship work is encouraged to be closely related to the dissertation research or related to the faculty advisor‘s research funding.
- Applicants must be in good academic standing and making good progress towards the degree.
- The student is responsible to pay for the internship course credit and any related fees required.
- International students are required to register for the CPT course, ENGR 500. Credits for ENGR 500 will not count toward any doctoral degree requirements.
Fall 2025:
For students who register for a CPT course in Fall 2025:
Application deadline: September 10th, 2025 (campus Add/Drop Deadline)
Last day to submit a petition: September 24, 2025 (within 4 weeks after instruction/semester begins on August 27th, 2025)
Winter 2025:
For students who register for a CPT course in Winter 2025:
Application Deadline : January 17, 2025 (campus Add/Drop Deadline)
Last day to submit a petition: February 3th, 2025 (within 4 weeks after instruction/semester begins on January 6th)
Summer 2025:
Full Summer Semester :
Application deadline: May 16, 2025 (campus Add/Drop Deadline)
Last day to submit a petition: June 2nd, 2025 (within 4 weeks after instruction/semester begins on May 5, 2025 )
Summer I Semester:
Application deadline: May 9, 2025 (campus Add/Drop Deadline)
Last day to submit a petition: June 2nd, 2025 (within 4 weeks after instruction/semester begins on May 5, 2025)
Summer II Semester:
Application deadline: July 7, 2025 (campus Add/Drop Deadline)
Last day to submit a petition: July 28th, 2025 (within 4 weeks after instruction/semester begins on June 30, 2025)
Academic Planning Resources
Use the academic calendar to see important dates, including the last day to drop and add courses.
CECS Graduate Education Office
4901 Evergreen Road
Dearborn, MI 48128