How do the A800 Research Credits work?

• A800 is set up to provide students credit for their research. The Chair of the department is listed as the "instructor" and the Graduate Secretary turns in a "R" grade for these courses, meaning the grade is deferred. After the student defends her dissertation and before she applies for the PhD, these deferred grades must be converted to regular grades (usually "A"). It is the student's advisor who reports the grades, i.e. signs the grade change forms for this conversion. Debra usually fills out the forms and bugs the advisor until this is accomplished.
  
  
• Because the grades for A800 are deferred, these hours do not count towards the 60 hours necessary before taking Quals.
  
  
• We recommend that students take 12 hours of regular coursework per semester prior to taking their Quals. However, for those with AIships, we recommend 9 hours of regular courses per semester. (Note: 12+12+9+9+9+9 equals 60 hours in 6 semesters.)
  
  
• But, an AIship carries with it a 12 hour fee remission per semester plus 6 hours for the summer. If a student has an AI, she can take 9 hours of regular coursework per semester and forego the additional 3 hours of fee remission. Or, she can take 9 hours of regular coursework and 3 hours of A800 per semester and 6 hours of A800 (or language courses, or whatever) during the summer and therefore reap the full benefit of the fee remission. This means that the 9 hours per semester (plus regular, non-language, course hours in the summer) would count towards the 60 hours required to take Quals and the 3 hours per semester plus the 6 (if A800) in the summer would count towards the 90 hours required before she can receive her PhD.
  
  
• For those with AIships or Fellowships with full fee remissions we recommend you use these as follows: 12+12+6 = 30 hours per year. Thirty hours per year times 3 years equals 90 hours. At this point G901 eligibility kicks in, BUT THAT IS ANOTHER STORY.
  
  
• Most students take A800 after their Quals when they are conducting their research, writing their dissertation, and accumulating their hours between 60 and 90.
  
  
• There is no requirement that students with an AI take only 9 hours of regular coursework. They may take 12 hours per semester and therefore accumulate their 60 hours at a faster pace.