DegreeMAP went live for Elliott School graduate students today!
DegreeMAP launched today for Elliott School graduate students! Now you'll be able to access an unofficial degree audit that will help you track your degree progress and assist with course selection during registration periods.
We do not expect your first DegreeMAP audit to be completely accurate, in fact we anticipate the opposite. Elliott School M.A. programs do not have fully prescribed curricula. Our programs are designed to be somewhat flexible and allow you to tailor the courses you take to meet your academic and professional goals. This is part of the reason why DegreeMAP is challenging to build. Please keep in mind that this is a new tool that is still in the roll-out phase. The Elliott School has been working behind the scenes with the Registrar for months to tweak DegreeMAP's coding to make it as accurate as possible. There will be glitches, errors, and coding that still needs to be worked out. We thank you in advance for your understanding and patience.
With that being said, here are some examples of things that may cause you to panic; but, rest assured, with a bit of patience and work these kinks will be fixed over time.
Example One:
A student has completed his language requirement, but the requirement shows as unmet on DegreeMAP.
Solution: DegreeMAP will not automatically show that the language requirement has been met unless 1) you are in a program that allows you to meet the requirement through taking a class at GW, and 2) you take and pass the appropriate pre-approved GW class. If you meet the requirement through taking an exam or through prior coursework, your language requirement will show as unmet until it is manually updated in the system. These manual updates will happen once per semester, you do not need to take action on this item.
Example Two:
A student has taken a special topics course, approved on her plan of study by her program director to count toward her major field requirements. The course appears under "fallthrough courses". As a result her major field shows that she still needs 3 credits.
Solution: In this scenario, the special topics course has already been approved to count toward the students degree, so she doesn't need to have it re-approved by her program director. To move the special topics course to the major field, the student should follow the steps listed below (which were also sent via e-mail on 1/25/13).
What If I Have Questions About My DegreeMAP Audit?
If your first DegreeMAP audit differs slightly from your own records, please do not panic. You will have the opportunity to share your DegreeMAP audit concerns with the Office of Academic Advising. To share your concerns:
- Email your academic advisor with the specific details of your concern including your GWID, course number(s), and name(s) of requirement field(s) of concern.
Appointments will not be scheduled solely for the purpose of discussing DegreeMAP concerns. Please do not use Call-In Advising for this purpose either. - Allow 4-6 weeks for your request to be reviewed.
- When your request has been reviewed, your advisor will send you a confirmation email, along with additional information or instructions if necessary.
- If you do not receive a confirmation email after 6 weeks have passed, you may email your advisor to inquire about the status of your inquiry.
What If I Have Questions About My DegreeMAP Audit?
If your first DegreeMAP audit differs slightly from your own records, please do not panic. You will have the opportunity to share your DegreeMAP audit concerns with the Office of Academic Advising. To share your concerns:
- Email your academic advisor with the specific details of your concern including your GWID, course number(s), and name(s) of requirement field(s) of concern.
- Appointments will not be scheduled solely for the purpose of discussing DegreeMAP concerns. Please do not use Call-In Advising for this purpose either.
- Allow 4-6 weeks for your request to be reviewed.
- When your request has been reviewed, your advisor will send you a confirmation email, along with additional information or instructions if necessary.
- If you do not receive a confirmation email after 6 weeks have passed, you may email your advisor to inquire about the status of your inquiry.
How Do I Access DegreeMAP?
Additional information about DegreeMAP is available here. You may also, use the following links to learn more about DegreeMAP:
DegreeMAP Student Reference Manual
Disclaimer
DegreeMAP is an advising tool and is not a contract. It is the responsibility of each student to be aware of and understand the requirements of the selected degree program. Students should contact their academic advisor for assistance in interpreting or verifying the accuracy of any information contained within this report. This audit report is not an academic transcript and it is not official notification of completion of degree or certificate requirements.
Win the race to Colonial Central
As we approach the end of the third week of classes, we’ve seen a substantial increase in the amount of Registration Transaction Forms (RTF) being turned in for processing, which means we’ve seen an increase in the amount of incomplete forms we receive.
Everyone knows that classes at GW can fill up quickly, and when online registration ends you have to factor in the chance that someone else’s RTF may reach the Registrar before yours. Here are some tips to make sure your RTF wins the race to Colonial Central:
- Include your correct GWID, name, and e-mail address. We need to know who you are, and the Registrar needs to know how to contact you in case there’s a problem with your form.
- CRNs are important. This is the unique identification number assigned to each course. If one number is off or missing, you’ll be registered for the wrong course or no course at all. Take the extra minute to locate the CRN.
- If you are attempting to add a course that is already full or has a 'departmental approval' restriction, obtain the professor or departments signature.
- Sign the form! Unless your advisor has told you otherwise, we can’t send forms that aren't signed by you.
- Bring the form to the front desk of the Office of Academic Advising and Student Services. Unlike the RTF-EZ, you can't take this form directly to the Registrar.
Trending Question: I turned my graduation application in. Did you receive it?
Our office has been getting asked this question a lot, from graduate and undergraduate students alike. If you turned your graduation application in to our office, there's a 99.99999879% chance your advisor received it and is in the process of completing it for you before sending it on to graduation services for final processing. We receive several hundred of these forms each spring, and since our goal is to process them in a timely manner, we've decided not to practice sending out confirmation e-mails.
For this reason, among others, we discourage you from slipping your form under our door after hours. Instead, deliver your form by hand or scan/email it directly to your advisor.
On a related note, your graduation application needs to be turned in to the Office of Academic Advising and Student Services, not the Dean's Office.
Tip: If you receive a stand-alone e-mail in late February (and several leading up to May), this is an indication that your application has been processed.
Mandatory pre-registration for language exams is open.
Ready to take your foreign language proficiency exam? The pre-registration process and deadlines have been announced. The pre-registration process is required because it makes it possible to reserve space and faculty to administer the exams. If you don't pre-register, you won't be able to take the GW administered exam until Fall 2013.
Check your GW e-mail for links to the pre-registration website. If you didn't receive the e-mail, contact your academic advisor. Pre-registration closes February 11th.
Spotlight on: Pia Ulrich
Pia Ulrich studied international and comparative law at the University of Osnabrück, Germany, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in unified and Italian private law. In 2007, Pia started to work at the European Legal Studies Institute, and, being fluent in German, English and French, became part of the Working Team for the Study Group for a European Civil Code. During that time, Pia also worked as honorary arbitrator for the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court in Vienna, Austria, and studied Mandarin Chinese and the Russian language. In August 2011, Pia came to Washington to study at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. Her academic focus is on nuclear nonproliferation. She is currently the Nuclear Nonproliferation Research Assistant at the Partnership for Global Security, and is a candidate for graduation from the M.A. Security Policy Studies program.
Are you doing something exciting that you want to share with your peers? Students featured as the monthly spotlight are nominated by an Elliott School student, staff, or faculty member. To nominate someone you know, send an e-mail to advising@gwu.edu.
If you'd like to share your own story with your peers, please e-mail your story and picture to advising@gwu.edu.
2013 Commencement Activities
Ready to hear your name called and walk across the stage? 2013 Commencement Weekend dates have been announced and here’s the information that applies to you:
2013 Elliott School Celebration
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 11:30am
Charles E. Smith Center
All Fall 2012, Spring 2013, and Summer 2013 degree candidates are invited to participate
And, that’s not all! Only at GW does the culmination of the many hours, days, and years you put toward your graduate degree come to an end on the National Mall. Don’t miss your chance to be surrounded by your peers, family, friends … and the Capitol Building, Smithsonian Museums, and National Monument… at this year’s University-wide Commencement Ceremony on the National Mall on Sunday, May 19, 2013!
Welcome to 19th and E.
Hello and welcome to 19th and E, a social online community that is designed to keep you in the know. When you visit 19th and E you'll find answers to questions currently trending among students, a featured bio of an Elliott School student, upcoming dates & deadlines, opportunities for involvement, and more! On the 15th of every month you'll have the opportunity to win an Elliott School prize by participating in our "Where's George?" contest.
We'd appreciate your feedback as we work to build this community for you. If you have ideas you'd like to share, leave us a comment here.
Your's in staying in the know,
The Graduate Advising team
