Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

The Department of Student Rights and Community Standards provides information and resources for students and faculty related to upholding academic integrity on the Brandeis campus.

Brandeis University is committed to providing students with disabilities equal access to the University’s programs, services and activities. The Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) outlines the ADA/Section 504 Student Grievance Process as well as accommodation requests. Accessibility Resources can also be found at OEO, providing on-campus and web accessibility information.

Effective July 1, 2018, a collective bargaining agreement between Brandeis University and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) local 509 governing the terms of employment for graduate assistants took effect. A new agreement was ratified in July 2021, details of which will be provided after the agreement has been signed. The Brandeis Human Resources website provides copies of all current collective bargaining agreements for the University.

The Office of Human Resources maintains the policy standards for consensual romantic or sexual relationships between faculty, staff, and students, demonstrating Brandeis University's commitment to maintaining a fair and professional environment for all community members.

Covid-19 Policies are posted on the Department of Student Rights and Community Standards (SRCS) webpage. We were able to separate graduate students from undergrads in the COVID travel restrictions. Now grad students simply need to register with Grad Affairs their dates of travel by filling out the Graduate Student Travel Reporting Form.

Brandeis University's Policy Against Discrimination, Harassment & Sexual Violence outlines prohibited conduct and details community members' rights and reporting options for violations. Community members can also review the formal complaint process.

Rights and responsibilities are maintained by the Department of Rights and Community Standards who monitor the safeguards for each community member's freedom to teach and learn. This includes working through the Student Conduct Process when needed.

The Academic Grievance Procedure outlines the protocol for a student who has a grievance about a faculty or staff member regarding an academic matter.

Information regarding academic residence requirements can be located in the University Bulletin in the Academic Regulations in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences section. You can also use the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences section to learn more about each status type and respective tuition charges.

The Graduate School section of the Provisional Bulletin is updated annually and serves as the record of official academic policies for GSAS programs and students. The Bulletin also houses the Subject Area Listings, which delineates the requirements for each program. 

GSAS students can apply to receive credit toward their degree for graduate courses taken prior to matriculation at Brandeis. More information is provided in the GSAS Provisional University Bulletin under “Academic Regulations.

To see details on requirements and policies of graduate degrees, see our page on completing your program.

GSAS students have the opportunity to enroll in cross-registered courses. The cross-registration consortium includes Babson College, Bentley University, Boston College, Boston University, Tufts University, the Graduate Consortium in Women’s Studies at MIT, and Regis College. More information about cross-registration is provided in the GSAS Provisional University Bulletin under “Academic Regulations.”

Students who are enrolled in master’s programs and who have completed their residency may be eligible for Extended Master’s residency. For more information about current eligibility, restrictions, tuition rates, and partial tuition waivers, please review the Extended Master’s policy.

The Graduate School sets limits for the expected time to degree for each degree level. Students wishing to extend their degree can find information on this procedure and its qualifications.

Policies related to course grades for GSAS programs are listed in the GSAS Provisional University Bulletin under “Academic Regulations.

Every degree program is required to have a Handbook outlining the processes for students in the program. Please make sure you have received a copy of the handbook from your Director of Graduate Study.

Program Handbooks

The general direction of the Graduate School is vested in the Council of the Graduate School, composed of a faculty representative of each graduate program and a minimum of one graduate student representative. The Council is chaired by the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences or their designee. The functions of the Graduate Council, exercised in consonance with university policy, are to determine requirements for admission; provide programs of study and examination; establish and maintain requirements for graduate degrees; make recommendations for degrees; make recommendations for new areas of graduate study; establish such regulations as may be considered necessary or expedient for governing the Graduate School; and exercise a general supervision over its affairs.

At the discretion of the course instructor, students may have the option to receive an incomplete if any work has not been completed by the end of course. More information about requesting and resolving incompletes is provided in the GSAS Provisional University Bulletin under “Academic Regulations.”

Please note that master’s students who are completing incompletes only will need to enroll in CONT 200A and are eligible for a tuition waiver from GSAS. Please contact your department administrator to arrange enrollment and to request the tuition waiver.

Students who have questions about or are interested in a change of status, including a leave of absence, health leave of absence, program change, or withdrawal, should complete the GSAS Change of Status Inquiry Form. All inquiries will be directed to the GSAS Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs who will reach out to you to discuss your request.

Leave of Absence or Health Leave of Absence

Students may petition for a leave of absence under the conditions outlined by the Graduate School.

Program Changes

Students may petition GSAS to change from part time to full time or to change programs. Please note that most changes in program require a new Admission application.

Withdrawal

Students wishing to voluntarily withdraw from Graduate School can review the withdrawal procedures outlining the proper protocol. Information about involuntary removal and the notification and appeal process can also be found here.

All students must register for each fall and spring semester by enrolling in courses. Students will register for the fall and spring semesters from their student page in Workday, the University’s student records system.

Students who are required to be on campus, at a related lab for the full year, or have a required summer internship, in addition to those students who intend to complete their degree program in time for an August degree, must enroll in CONT 250b (Summer Research) for the summer term. Please review the policies and procedures related to Summer Registration for more information.

 

Graduate students who enroll in undergraduate courses in the Humanities and Social Sciences are required to submit additional work, per the policy listed in the GSAS Provisional University Bulletin under “Academic Regulations.”

Students are expected to maintain satisfactory academic progress in order to continue enrollment. Information about what constitutes satisfactory academic progress is provided in the GSAS Provisional University Bulletin under “Academic Regulations.”

The Thesis and Dissertation Guide provides information about the formatting and submission of master’s theses and doctoral dissertations for GSAS programs.

GSAS students may be eligible for partial or full tuition waivers. The Tuition Waivers Policies page provides more information about the different types of waivers, including eligibility and restrictions.

Graduate students who interact with other students (either undergrad or grad), like faculty and staff, are considered “responsible reporters,” which means they have to report any incidences of discrimination that they witness or otherwise learn of while in their roles. In order to understand what this means, and to best respond, they need the following training:

1. They need training from the Office of Equal Opportunity (related to discrimination, harassment & sexual violence)
2. They need bystander training (which is covered in Grad Affairs & PARC’s “Supporting Students Outside of Academics)

Where and how do I complete the required training?

Please complete the program within 10 days of beginning to work as a TA or CA. It includes 3-3.5 required hours of training. An additional hour of preparation is required for all international students in the School of Arts & Sciences and the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. You will log your participation and completion as you participate in the synchronous and asynchronous components.

Click the links below to initiate each portion of the training. You will log your participation and completion as you participate in the synchronous and asynchronous components.

1. Office of Equal Opportunity training, offered synchronously via Zoom. Link available soon.
2. Supporting Students Outside of Academics, hosted by the Prevention, Advocacy, Research Center (PARC) and the Office of Graduate Affairs (OGA), offered synchronously via Zoom. Link available soon.
3. Teaching Support, hosted by the Center for Teaching and Learning, offered both asynchronously and synchronously via Zoom. In this training, you’ll hear from expert teachers and consider teaching practices you may want to use in your courses.
4. International students in the School of Arts & Sciences and the Heller School for Social Policy and Management are also required to complete:
   • Asynchronous training "For International TAs" minutes of asynchronous training [found here]
   • Synchronous training: Link available soon.

All graduate students are also invited to participate in an Optional Synchronous Training, about broader issues of teaching and pedagogy. Link available soon.

GSAS grants partial tuition waivers for GSAS students hired as TAs, CAs or Graders. The conditions for the waiver are as follows:

• The student is beyond full-time residency in their program (i.e., Post-Resident or Continuation residency for PhD students or Extended Master’s residency for master’s students).
• The student has less than 100% coverage of their tuition from another source.
• The teaching assignment is in addition to the student’s program requirements.

In eligible cases, the following waivers are applied:

PhD Students:

• Students serving as TAs or Graders are eligible for a 100% tuition waiver.
• Students serving as half-TAs or half-Graders are eligible for a waiver up to the value of the Continuation fee.

Master’s Students:

• Students serving as a CA or Grader are eligible for a tuition waiver of 25% of the Extended Master’s tuition rate.
• Students serving as a half-CA or half-Grader are eligible for a tuition waiver of 12.5% of the Extended Master’s tuition rate.