Current Students
Students should contact the program to which they were admitted for information concerning additional funding opportunities such as Graduate Assistantships and Fellowships. Only currently enrolled UAB students are eligible for the funding opportunities below.
Graduate School Individual Fellowship Incentive Program
Many UAB graduate students would be competitive for individual fellowships, but many who are eligible to apply for a fellowship do not apply. The Graduate School has established an incentive plan designed to encourage submission of applications from students enrolled in disciplines in which individual fellowships are available.
Graduate Dean's Scholarship
The Graduate Dean’s Scholarship, given by the National Alumni Society, is a campus-wide scholarship and is open to graduate students currently enrolled in a degree-granting program who have demonstrated solid academic promise and leadership qualities, and have at least an overall 3.0 GPA.
Samuel B. Barker Award
Each Spring, students who will graduate in the Spring, Summer, or Fall of the calendar year, may be nominated for the Samuel B. Barker Award by their department's graduate program director.
UAB Graduate Family Assistance Scholarship
Scholarship funds will be provided to graduate students who have family-related financial commitments that would, if not resolved, prevent them from enrolling in a degree-granting graduate program.
Ireland Research Travel Awards
The research travel scholarship, which awards a maximum of $1,000, is designed to enable a student to capture an educational opportunity that doesn’t exist at UAB.
External Scholarship Opportunities for Graduate Students
External scholarships aren't just for undergraduates. This link can help you explore external scholarship opportunities available to graduate students.
Compass Bank Mortgage Financial Services Endowed Award in Graduate Education
The Compass Bank National Alumni Society Endowed Scholarship was established through generous gifts from the UAB National Alumni Society to be used for the purpose of creating an endowed graduate student award fund at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Spendable earnings from the Compass Bank Mortgage Financial Services Endowed Award in Graduate Education fund will be used to provide financial assistance to exceptional students who are enrolled in a UAB graduate program.
Graduate students who wish to make changes to their registration outside of the assigned add/drop or withdrawal periods must submit an academic appeal to the Graduate School. There are several different types of appeals and it is important to know which is appropriate for you to request because the outcome varies for each appeal type. The appeal form and documentation is required for all academic appeals. Submitting an appeal request does not guarantee approval and the Graduate School may require additional documentation in order to process your appeal.
Academic Withdrawal
Request to withdraw from coursework based on an extenuating circumstance (employment, miscommunication with advisor/instructor regarding withdrawal, etc.) past the last day to withdraw.
Documentation Required:
- Written explanation of circumstances which prevented attendance or timely withdrawal on the appeal request form
- Documentation confirming the extenuating circumstances (e.g. letter from employer or advisor)
Appeal Outcome:
- You will receive a W on your transcript for the course(s). W’s have no impact on your GPA.
- You will still be responsible for tuition and fees associated with the course(s).
- If you have federal financial aid, it may be impacted.
Administrative Withdrawal
Request to withdraw from coursework due to an administrative error by the University (misadvising, computer error, etc.).
Documentation Required:
- Written explanation of the circumstances on the appeal form
- Documentation from your advisor/program director describing the nature of the error
Appeal Outcome:
- You will receive a W on your transcript for the course(s). W’s have no impact on your GPA.
- Tuition and fees associated with the course(s) will be removed from your account.
- If you have federal financial aid, it may be impacted.
Administrative Drop
Request to remove a course from your transcript based on never attending.
Documentation Required:
- Email confirmation or letter from the instructor that you never attended the course. Attendance for online courses includes any participation in the course via Canvas.
Appeal Outcome:
- The course(s) will be permanently removed from your transcript.
- Tuition and fees associated with the course(s) will be removed from your account.
- If you have federal financial aid, it may be impacted.
Correcting Registration
Request to remove an incorrect course from your record and add the appropriate course.
Documentation Required:
- Permission from the instructor of the course you are adding.
Appeal Outcome:
- The incorrect course(s) will be removed from your transcript and you will be added to the correct course(s).
- Your student account will be adjusted if there is a difference in credit hours between the courses.
Late Course Add
Request to add a course.
Documentation Required:
- Permission from the instructor of the course you are adding.
Appeal Outcome:
- You will be registered for the course(s) for the specified term.
- You will owe associated tuition and fees for the course(s), which will be due immediately.
Military Withdrawal
Request to withdraw from coursework due to military orders.
Documentation Required:
- A copy of your orders requiring you to miss classes because of military service
Appeal Outcome:
- You will receive a W on your transcript for the course(s). W’s have no impact on your GPA.
- Tuition and fees associated with the course(s) will be removed from your account.
- If you have federal financial aid, it may be impacted.
| Form Name | Description |
| Academic Appeal Form | Use this form to request exception to the policies for registration, withdrawal, or payment deadlines or fees. |
| Accelerated Bachelors/Masters Degree Program Form | Undergraduates applying to an ABM program need to submit this form to identify which courses will count as shared credit. |
| Application for Graduate Degree / Certificate | The application must be submitted by the deadline date listed on our website; however, check with your department as some programs have earlier deadline dates (e.g. School of Education and Human Sciences). Upon submission of the application for degree/certificate, a fee will be assessed to your student account. This fee covers the verification of your curriculum requirements and your diploma (if earning a graduate degree) and will only be assessed the first time you apply to graduate. The fee for graduate degrees is $50 and the fee for graduate certificates is $20. Master's students in the School of Nursing should click here to locate the appropriate application for degree which should be submitted directly to sonregistrar@uab.edu. |
| Application for Readmission to the Graduate Degree Program | You can submit this application if you were admitted to a UAB graduate degree program within the last five years, have not registered for one or more years, and now wish to apply for readmission to the same program. *This form is not applicable to MSN and DNP students in the School of Nursing. Please direct questions to the School of Nursing at (205) 975-7529. |
| Best Practices for the Mentor/Mentee Relationship | This document provides guiding principles to support the development of a positive relationship between a mentor and mentee. |
| Candidacy Application | These forms and all required attachments must be completed and submitted to the Graduate School before you can register for research hours. |
| Change Non-Degree Seeking Credit to Degree-Seeking Credit | Students who wish to convert non-degree credit (completed at UAB) to degree-seeking credit must complete this form and obtain the required signatures. |
| Change of Diploma Mailing Address | Your diploma will be mailed to the address listed on your Application for Degree which was submitted as your intent to graduate. If there has been a change to your diploma mailing address, you must complete this form and return it to the Graduate School no later than your graduation date. |
| Change/Update Graduate Program | Students who have been admitted to a degree-seeking program and want to switch to another degree-seeking program of equal or lesser level must complete this form and obtain the required signatures. Students who wish to change to a program at a higher level than their current program must submit an application for admission through the normal admissions process. |
| Change of Graduate Program - School of Education and Human Sciences | School of Education and Human Sciences Students who have been admitted to a degree-seeking program and want to switch to another degree-seeking program must complete this form and obtain the required signatures. |
| Change of Graduate Study Committee | Changes to Graduate Study Committees can be made by submitting this form to the Graduate School for approval. |
| Committee Form | This form is used to nominate the chairperson and members of a student's Graduate Study Committee. It is the student's responsibility to make sure all of their members are on the Graduate Faculty List. If there is a change in committee assignment at any time during your course of study, you will need to submit the Change of Committee form so that your records can be updated accordingly. |
| Degree Completion Plan with Validation Of Expired Coursework | Graduate students are generally expected to complete all degree requirements within 5 years of matriculation for a masters program and within 7 years of matriculation for a doctoral program. One extension of these time limits can be requested when mitigating circumstances preclude completion of requirements within the time limit. If any expired courses are required for the degree (based on the curriculum requirements for the admission term catalog year), the department must also validate the applicable coursework. |
| Grade Replacement Request | Students who repeat a course taken at UAB and wish to request a grade replacement in which the grade for the first course be excluded from their GPA calculation must submit this form. This form is not applicable for students in the School of Nursing other than those enrolled in the PhD program. |
| Graduate Faculty Appointment Form | Graduate program directors use these forms in nominations for Graduate Faculty status. |
| Graduate GPA Adjustment Request | Occasionally, graduate students may have a cumulative Graduate GPA below 3.0 as a consequence of previous performance in coursework that is no longer valid, and/or taken as part of a program unrelated to that in which they are currently enrolled. When this occurs, Graduate GPA Adjustment may be appropriate. For more information, visit catalog.uab.edu/graduate/academicprogress/ |
| Graduate Student Request for Additional Assignment | Form used to request additional work assignment. The additional assignment is not to exceed 10 hours per week for Graduate Student Trainees or 20 hours per week for Graduate Assistants and Graduate Student Assistants. |
| Leave of Absence | Students who wish to request a leave of academic absence must complete this form and obtain the required program director signature. |
| Permission to Audit Graduate Level Coursework | Use this form to audit a graduate course. |
| ProQuest Submission Site | All master’s and doctoral Plan I students must submit a PDF of the final, committee-approved thesis/dissertation to the UAB/ProQuest ETD Administrator Site for final review by the Graduate School. Check each page your PDF carefully before submitting to this site. If no corrections in formatting are required by ProQuest or the Graduate School, this will be the final published version of your dissertation. |
| Replacement or Additional Graduate Diploma | This form, along with a standard $30 processing fee, is required for any student who has earned (or will soon earn) a graduate degreeГ‘excluding Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Doctor of Nurse Practitioner (DNP)Г‘and would like a replacement or additional diploma showing the official conferral date. |
| Request to Defer Admission | Students wishing to defer their admission should submit the Request to Defer Admission by the following deadlines: December 1 (if deferring to the spring semester), May 1 (if deferring to the summer semester), and August 1 (if deferring to the fall semester). The program directorГ•s signature must be included before the Graduate School can make any changes. |
| Survey of Earned Doctorates | All students completing a doctoral degree are required to submit the Survey of Earned Doctorates. The Survey, which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, gathers data from all research doctorate graduates on their educational history, sources of support, and post-graduation plans. The completed survey responses become part of the Doctorate Records File, a virtually complete data bank on doctorate recipients from 1920 to the present and the major source of doctoral data at the national level. The profiles of doctorate recipients that emerge from these data serve policymakers at the federal, state, local, and university levels. |
| Thesis/Dissertation Approval Form Request | No later than 2 weeks before your thesis or dissertation defense, submit this form requesting your approval forms. Approval forms cannot be completed before the Graduate School has received your application for degree for the semester in which you plan to graduate. The committee members on your approval forms must exactly match those on your official records. If any member of your committee has changed, that change must be submitted on an official Change of Graduate Study Committee Form (available on this web site) before you request your approval forms. |
| Transfer of Graduate Credit | Students who wish to transfer graduate credit from a regionally-accredited institution toward a graduate degree at UAB must complete this form and submit the required supporting documentation. This form is not applicable for students in the School of Nursing other than those enrolled in the PhD program. |
| Undergraduate Student Enrollment in Graduate Level Coursework | Undergraduate students must use this form before they can register for 500-, 600-, or 700-level courses |
| University of Alabama System Cooperative Exchange Form | This form should be used in cases where UAB students wish to enroll in courses at UA or UAH while remaining enrolled at UAB. Students will pay tuition and fees to UAB through this cooperative exchange. Completed forms should be submitted to the Registrars Office (registrar@uab.edu) |
Graduate faculty status is required for faculty members who teach graduate courses, serve on graduate program admission committees, curriculum committees, and/or graduate students’ thesis or dissertation committees. See Definitions of Graduate Faculty Categories.
To request an appointment to the graduate faculty (Level I, Level II, or Ad Hoc), the following three items, submitted as a single PDF email attachment, are required:
- A letter of nomination from the chair of the department in which the faculty member holds his / her primary appointment. For ad hoc appointments of faculty to serve on students’ thesis or dissertation committees the nomination letter can be from the student’s program director or department chair.
The nomination letter should be addressed to Dr. Schneider (Senior Associate Dean) and should focus on what the nominee’s role in the graduate program will be once graduate faculty status is awarded (e.g. teaching. serving on admission or curriculum committees, and/or on student thesis or dissertation committees). The letter need not reiterate information that is provided in the nominee’s CV. - A completed
Recommendation for Appointment to Graduate Faculty form - The applicant’s current CV
In the order indicated above, please insert the three requested items (with all applicable signatures) into a single PDF document. Attach the PDF to an email and send to the Graduate School (gradschool@uab.edu). Please place each request in a separate PDF. (Multiple requests can be attached to a single email.) If you include the words “Grad Fac Request” in the subject line of your email, it will help us expedite the processing of your requests.
The contact person listed on the Recommendation form will be notified via email of approval (or contact with questions, if any) within approximately two weeks of submission. If you have not received a response within 10 business days, please contact the Graduate School at (gradschool@uab.edu) or (205) 934-8227.
The Graduate School has the below candidacy deadline dates for all Plan I students. Doctoral students are required to have a minimum of two (2) semesters in candidacy while master’s students are required to have a minimum of one (1) semester in candidacy. A student’s committee should be formed prior to candidacy, and all committee members must have Graduate Faculty status.
This paperwork must be processed by the appropriate deadline in order to be applicable for that semester. For example, if your admission to candidacy is processed by the Fall 2020 deadline of August 21, 2020, that semester counts as your first semester in candidacy.
FIRST SEMESTER IN CANDIDACY |
DEADLINE DATE |
|---|---|
| Summer 2025 (14-week term) | May 2, 2025 |
| Summer 2025 (10-week term) | May 30, 2025 |
| Fall 2025 | August 22, 2025 |
|
Spring 2026 |
January 9, 2026 |
|
Summer 2026 (14-week term) |
May 1, 2026 |
|
Summer 2026 (10-week term) |
May 29, 2026 |
|
Fall 2026 |
August 21, 2026 |
If you are unsure whether your 699 or 799 research hours begin in the 14-week or 10-week Summer session, please check with your department or view the class schedule to determine the start date.
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