Graduate Students


The VIP program is designed to engage sophomoroes, juniors, seniors, gradute students and faculty. Graduate students participate in one of two ways: enrolling for academic credit, or participating as mentors under the direction of their research advisors.

Enrolling for Academic Credit


The graduate students enroll in an aindependent study course with the instructor. If the instructor is from a different academic unit, the student will need to check with his/her academic advisor to confirm the credits could be applied toward the student's degree. If the registration for the course is by permit only (which is often the case), the student should request a registration permit form the graduate program coordinator for the instructor's home department.

Graduate students interested in enrolling for academic credit should:

  1. Contact the VIP advisor(s) that you would like to work with, and explain that you'd like to enroll for special problems course with him/her and work with the VIP team

  2. If the VIP team advisor says that you can work with his/her team, get the course number from the instructor (for special problems, not for VIP)

  3. Confirm with your academic advisor how the credits for the proposed course would count toward your degree. In most departments, you will need to get paperwork from your academic office and have the instructor sign off on the course

  4. Once the paperwork is submitted to your academic office, they will issue a registration permit. When the permit is issued, you will receive an automated message from the course registration system. The message will include the Course Registration Number (CRN) that you need