admission procedures

Be sure to allow enough time to complete the admission process. You must be admitted to East Carolina University before you can be enrolled. Once you are admitted and enrolled, tuition and fees must be paid by specified deadline dates or you will be dropped from classes. You can access University calendars by clicking here.

Tuition & Fees . . .

For information about tuition and fees, campus students should click here but note that you will need to scroll to the bottom of the page to find the link to the information that you are seeking. To pay for campus classes by phone, call 1-252-328-6886

Note that the Division of Continuing Studies houses online programs and courses (Distance Education). Online students should go to the "current students" link at http://author.ecu.edu/cs-acad/options/currentstudents.cfm On that page, you can find links to information about tuition and paying tuition. Note that you can pay by phone at 1-800-398-9275

If you are in the military or a spouse of military personnel and if you are considering enrolling as a distance education student, you can find information about tuition at http://author.ecu.edu/cs-acad/options/militaryrates.cfm

Admission . . .

For information about being admitted to the Certificate in Professional Communication or the MA in English, Technical & Professional Communication concentration, keep reading. For information about being admitted to the PhD in Technical & Professional Discourse, click here .

Overview ...

Generally, if you want to be admitted as a "non-degree" student, you can begin the process one to two weeks before the start of classes, although you are cutting it close. If you want to enroll as a "non-degree Certificate" student, you need to allow as much as a month to six weeks because your completed application package must first be assembled by the Graduate School, sent to the Director of Graduate Studies in English for admission approval, and then returned to the Graduate School.

"Non-degree" status requires application form, fee, and transcripts. For the Certificate in Professional Communication, "non-degree Certificate" requires application form and fee plus all transcripts. "Degree-seeking MA" status requires application form and fee, transcripts, statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, and GRE scores.

As a "non-degree" and "non-degree Certificate" student, you cannot receive financial aid, but with MA status, you can. See below for information about finanacial aid.

Applying to be admitted ...

Use the Graduate School site to apply for admission as non-degree, non-degree Certificate, or degree-seeking MA student. The layout of the page can be a bit confusing, so read carefully. Note that non-degree Certificate and degree-seeking MA students complete the same application form. If you use the online application process, be sure to follow up because occasionally the applications seem to go to a black hole. Just because you hear nothing doesn't mean that everything is progressing satisfactorily.

If you plan to complete the Certificate and continue to earn an MA, consider enrolling as a degree-seeking MA student from the beginning.

Applying to be readmitted ...

Should you not take classes during a fall or spring semester, you will need to be readmitted.

Read the information at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/gradschool/Readmission-Application.cfm From #2 on the page that you access using that url, you'll be able to download the readmission application packet. Do read the directions on that page very carefully. [FYI: That page is accessed from the bottom of the page about applying for admission as given above at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/gradschool/applicationinfo.cfm#apply]

Complete the readmission forms (application for readmission and statement of legal residence). You can mail the completed readmission materials directly to the Graduate School as directed. Or, if ok'd by Ketura Parker (Graduate Administrative Assistant), you can fax them to her at 252-328-4889. You should also email her (parkerke@ecu.edu) when you fax the completed readmit forms.

The Graduate School does not require a fee for readmission applications. Yeah! Do NOT fill in your social security number (we already have it). Once received, she'll obtain the needed signatures and submit.

Encountering difficulties ...

Should you encounter difficulties, contact the appropriate person at the East Carolina University Graduate School according to the first initial of your last name.

Financial Aid . . .

As a "non-degree" and "non-degree Certificate" student, you cannot receive financial aid, but with MA status, you can. HOWEVER, you need to check about requirements for receiving such aid, such as required number of credit hours that you must be enrolled in, as well as the amount of aid you'll receive.

See http://www.ecu.edu/financial/

Withdrawing from Classes . . .

"Distance Education" Students . . .

If you are enrolled in a class as a "distance education" student (a 601 or 602 section number, as opposed to a 001 or 002 section number), contacting the lead faculty and/or your instructor is NOT enough. Of course, as a professional courtesy, you should notify your instructor.

You can find information about the dropping/ withdrawal process at http://author.ecu.edu/cs-acad/options/drops.cfm

Bottom line: send an email using your ECU email account to DEdrops@ecu.edu or fax 252-328-4232 providing the following information:

Complete name
Last 4 digits of social security number
Reason for dropping
Complete name of class, ie, Engl 7710.601
Mailing address

If the class (or classes) that you are dropping is (are) the only one (or ones) that you are enrolled in, then you need to indicate that fact because, in that situation, you are both dropping a class (or classes) and withdrawing from the University for that semester or summer session. Note: you are not withdrawing from the program that you are enrolled in. At the appropriate time, you can register for the next semester or summer session. [If you do not enroll for a subsequent fall or spring semester, then you would need to be readmitted. See above for procedures for being readmitted. Summers are not included, only fall and spring semesters.]

To learn whether you are eligible for tuition refund, see http://author.ecu.edu/cs-acad/options/refund.cfm

BE SURE to check your ECU email (after requesting the withdrawal) because if continuing studies needs to contact you about your withdrawal and/or refund, they use your ECU email address.

"Campus" Students . . .

If you are enrolled in a class as a "campus" student (a 001 or 002 section number, as opposed to a 601 or 602 section number), see http://www.ecu.edu/business_manual/Cashiers_Procedure2.htm (sorry -- I didn't write this page. The information that you need is on the page, but you need to read through carefully.)

If the class that you are dropping is the only one that you are enrolled in, then you need to indicate that fact because, in that situation, you are both dropping a class and withdrawing from the University for that semester or summer session. Note: you are not withdrawing from the program that you are enrolled in. At the appropriate time, you can register for the next semester or session.

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