Enrollment Process
Enrollment for graduate courses is managed by the Department of Writing and Rhetoric. To protect space in the courses for our students, the department marks all graduate courses in the online class schedule as closed, even when no one has registered yet.
To register, students must obtain their desired course’s unique registration number by emailing the Graduate Program at rhetgrad@ucf.edu and making a request. Permission numbers are usually valid for 14 days (about 2 weeks), so please register as soon as possible, or work with the advisor when the individual registration window is limited. Classes in our program fill up quickly, so it’s important to take action to secure your spots as soon as possible.
Enrollment in elective classes offered outside of DWR requires permission from the home departments and is at their discretion; courses in other departments often fill before DWR students receive access. Work with the Program Advisor to select these courses and request permission numbers for them. It’s important to request permission as early as possible to maximize your chances of taking the course.
Before Registration Begins:
Each semester, as you prepare for the coming term, you should contact the Program Advisor for advice and insights about your schedule. The Program Advisor works with you to choose classes that fit your plan of study and help you advance toward your goals.
Please schedule this meeting in late October for Spring courses and in late March for Summer and Fall courses by sending an email to rhetgrad@ucf.edu and providing 2-3 preferred appointment days/times. The advisor will meet with you either via Zoom or in person and together you will address the following:
- Your progress in the graduate program
- The Graduate Program of Study on myucf.edu
- Courses for the next term
- Enrollment permission numbers for protected courses
- Preliminary thoughts about your thesis and/or capstone plans if appropriate
Non-Academic Advising for Online Students
Every online student is assigned a success coach within the College of Graduate Studies; your coach will connect you with offices and resources on campus, such as financial aid, the registrar’s office, funding sources, and the Office of Military and Veteran Student Success, among others.
Requesting a Permission Number (For Non-DWR Graduate Students)
When the registration date arrives, each student should email their registration requests to RhetGrad@ucf.edu. Do not email any requests before the date arrives, because we won’t have permission numbers to give you before then. Students will be given a permission number unique to each request that will allow them to register for their classes.
Register on myUCF:
Use the Permission Numbers (PNs) to register for your class sections on myUCF. Permission Numbers expire two weeks after their issue date. If a registration number expires, a student may request another one if space remains in the class. MA students are permitted to request a permission number for any graduate course offered by the Department of Writing and Rhetoric, but the focus should be on your Program of Study.
Why do we register our graduate classes in this way?
The permission numbers allow us to register Department of Writing and Rhetoric degree-seeking graduate students before all others (students in other graduate degree programs, non-degree students, and undergraduates).
Without this system, our degree-seeking students might be prevented from taking the courses they need by students who do not need our courses for their Master’s degrees. As a result, however, our students need to register quickly. Generally speaking, students who make their requests at the time that registration opens do not have difficulty getting into classes, those who miss the opening sometimes do.
If a class a student wants to take is full, the student will be placed on the wait list. The Writing and Rhetoric Graduate Program will contact the student if and when a space opens up. At that point, the student will have a limited amount of time to register: how limited depends upon how quickly classes are scheduled to begin. Students on waitlists will need to monitor their UCF email accounts carefully.
Non-Degree Seeking, Non-Program, and Undergraduate Students
We permit Non-Degree, Non-Program students in our courses if there is space available. Active and current students in our program have priority registration for our courses. Students seeking to enroll who are not admitted, active, and current MA students should use the following process to register:
- Decide which course(s) you want to take at least one month before registration begins.
- Contact the instructor on record and copy the Writing and Rhetoric Graduate Program RhetGrad@ucf.edu via your UCF Email. This email should contain your meeting availability, a brief statement about why you wish to take the course, your academic goals, and how completing this course will benefit your studies.
- You must apply to and be accepted by UCF as a Non-Degree seeking student before you can enroll in the DWR Graduate courses.
Course Permission can be obtained at any time, and we strongly suggest doing so before registration. You will still need to send your course requests once registration opens in order to receive a permission number. Ultimate decisions for admitting Non-Degree and Non-Program Students lie with the instructor of the course, and should an instructor refuse your permission to enter a course, there are no appeals or overrides.
Independent Study / Thesis Hours Registration
With program and instructor permission, you may also take up to six hours of ENC 6918 (Directed Research) as independent study for unrestricted elective credit.
To obtain approval to enroll in an independent study course, you must work closely with a faculty advisor/instructor.
To enroll you will submit a draft proposal of a topic, a list of readings, and a set of assignments to your faculty member for their consideration. After you and your instructor work through the details, the proposal (with faculty approval) must be submitted to the program via email at least one week prior to the last day of classes in the term before you want to enroll in the course. You will enroll through the Restricted Registration process described below.
Please note that faculty members are under no obligation to teach independent study courses, but many will do so if the student demonstrates a high level of motivation, if the topic has connections to the faculty member’s own teaching and research, and their workload allows it. Independent studies may not duplicate courses in the catalog,
Whether or not those courses are being offered during the semester of enrollment. Check in with the Program Advisor as you develop your independent study to ensure its relevance to your plan of study and graduation path.
Restricted Registration
To register for independent study, directed research, or thesis hours, you must complete a Restricted Registration form.
Before you begin the addressing the form, work with your faculty member to determine expectations for the following required elements of the enrollment form.
- Assignments, due dates/deadlines, and grade percentages (weights). The form must include at least one assignment, and all assignments must total 100 percent of the final grade.
- Frequency with which you and your instructor will meet during the semester.
- One or more learning outcomes for the semester (i.e. “Complete literature review,” or “Complete non-thesis draft)
Complete all student sections of the form and sign it (digitally). The form will then be routed to your faculty member and the DWR Graduate Program before going to the College of Arts & Humanities for manual registration.
Please be mindful of the registration deadlines to avoid late enrollment fees. Check with the grad team to find these deadlines if you’re not certain
Registration for Thesis Hours
Before you register for thesis hours, your Thesis Advisory Committee Form must be approved by the College of Graduate Studies.
All thesis committees must be submitted at least one semester before the anticipated start of thesis hours; see the academic calendar for deadlines related to the committee submission and candidacy. To register for thesis hours, you must have a current Thesis Advisory Form on file. Each semester you are taking thesis hours, you must register for thesis hours using a Restricted Registration form. Review the thesis requirements and full-time enrollment requirements in the UCF College of Graduate Studies Catalog for additional information.