Student Manual

All Graduate students must abide by the policies of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in addition to CCT academic policies.  If you don't see an item mentioned below in the CCT Student Manual, it is available on the Graduate School's Student Bulletin.

CCT Student Manual

Registration

• New Student Checklist
• Registering as a New Student
• Academic Advising and Changing Advisors
• How to Register Using Student Access
• Making Changes to Course Schedules
• Pre-Registration - Current Students
• Part-Time vs. Full-Time
• How Long Do I Have to Complete the Program?
• Incomplete Grades
• International Students
• Summer Courses
• Study Abroad 
• Taking Language Classes for No Charge, and Other Language Class Questions
• Other Registration Categories (Thesis Research, Continuous Registration) and How to Stay Enrolled Full-time While Writing Your Thesis

Selecting Courses

• CCT Curriculum
• Certificate Options
• Core/Required Courses and Research Courses
• Courses Available to CCT Students
• Which Georgetown Courses Count for Graduate Credit? 
• MSFS and MBA Courses
• Other Georgetown Courses (not MSFS or MBA)
• Consortium Courses
• Transfer Courses
• Independent Study/Tutorial
• Internships for Credit

Scholarships and Tuition

• Tuition and Fees
• CCT Scholarships
• Georgetown University Student Financial Aid Counselors

Selecting a Degree Sequence

• Selecting a Degree Sequence

Thesis

• Prospectus for the Thesis
• Overview of Thesis Project
• Selecting a Thesis Topic, Thesis Advisor, and Reader
• Thesis Writer's Timeline (Forms and Deadlines)
• Electronic Thesis Submission

Coursework

• Coursework Option Overview

Graduation

• Graduation

New Student Checklist

Welcome to CCT!  Please refer to the checklist below, that corresponds to the term you started CCT, for an overview of the things you need to do to prepare for the start of classes.  The checklists will be updated each year.

Fall 2009 New Student Checklist

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Registering as a New Student

All new students are expected to attend the CCT orientation session prior to the start of classes. At orientation students will learn how to register online using Student Access+ and will be introduced to student organizations, collaborating departments, faculty, staff, and other students -- as well as learn about opportunities and services available to students in CCT.

Steps to Selecting Courses for the First Time:

1. Review CCT course list prior to CCT orientation; identify courses of interest
2. Meet with your assigned CCT faculty advisor at CCT orientation to discuss classes.
3. Using advisor's course guidance, register for classes online via Student Access+.  Registration is held Monday and Tuesday before classes begin. Students register for one semester of classes at a time.
4. Review  tuition bill in Student Access+ and pay by tuition deadline.
5. Make any registration changes during add/drop, which starts the day classes start, and ends a week later.  Specific dates are noted each year in the academic calendar.

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Academic Advising and Changing Advisors

When students register for their first semester, they will be assigned a faculty academic advisor. The faculty academic advisor helps the student to assemble a curriculum fitting their intellectual and career objectives.

Students can change advisors if they have the approval of their new advisor. To change advisors, students must complete the Academic Advisor Change Form, obtain the necessary signature, and submit it to the Academic Program Manager. Only CCT core faculty may serve as Academic Advisors.

How to Register for Classes Using Student Access+

Detailed Registration procedures are outlined by the Registrar.  The following are highlighted points:

• Visit Student Access+.
• Login with your NetID and password.
• Select pre-registration, registration completion or registration/add drop, depending on the registration process taking place when you register.
• Enter the first course preference as #1, the second preference as #2, etc. Students will be registered for courses in that order.
• Students may register for alternate courses. If a preferred course is full, the computer will automatically register students for the alternate course if seats are available.
• Course restrictions are identified on the course schedule.
  If a course is full, students will not be registered for it and will be placed on a waitlist.  If the course has restrictions, students must obtain the professor's approval on a course permission form and take that form to the Registrar's office to Register.

Making Changes to Course Schedules - Add/Drop

Add/drop procedures are detailed on the Registrar's website.  The following is a summary of add/drop:

Add/Drop begins the same day classes begin and lasts for a week. Refer to the academic calendar for the exact dates each semester. During this time students can make changes to their course schedules. Students should make every effort to finalize their registration before add/drop begins, as courses taught by adjunct faculty will be canceled by the end of the registration period if they do not reach minimum enrollment levels.

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Pre-Registration - Current Students

After the first semester of the program, students will pre-register for the next semester's courses. Pre-registration for spring courses is held in early November. Pre-registration for summer and fall courses is held in early April. Specific dates are announced each year.

How to pre-register:  

• Review course list.
• Meet with CCT advisor to discuss courses and for approval.
• Submit course requests online via Student Access+.
• Unlike regular registration, courses won't be approved until your advisor goes online to approve them (this happens after you meet with your advisor).
• View the pre-registration results online in Student Access+ after pre-registration period ends.
• Make any necessary changes to schedules after pre-registration ends, during the specified add/drop period. 
   

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Part-Time vs. Full-Time

Graduate studies demand a strong commitment of time and attention. Thus, the CCT Program strongly encourages all students to enroll on a full-time basis. CCT students declare their enrollment intention on their application for admission. A student's enrollment status will not be changed after that except in exceptional circumstances. Students wishing to change their enrollment status must submit a written request to the Academic Program Manager well before the start of the semester and must receive permission from CCT to change status.

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How Long Do I Have to Complete the Program?

Regardless of enrollment status (full-time or part-time), non-international students are allowed three academic years to complete the M.A. Program. International students on student visas are given two years to complete the CCT Program.  Please refer to the Graduate student handbook for additional information on time limits for completing a degree.

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Incomplete Grades

Students must resolve any incomplete (I) course grades within a semester after the incomplete grade was given, or by an earlier date set by the faculty member. Students will not be allowed to proceed into the Thesis Colloquium class with more than one incomplete grade pending.

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International Students

International students on student visas must enroll full-time each semester while they are at Georgetown. International students are given two years to complete their CCT studies. Students must plan accordingly, so they are not enrolled less than full-time in any given semester. Exceptions can be made in certain cases in the last semester.  Refer to the Office of International Programs for more details.

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Summer Courses

Summer registration rules:
Graduate School policy states that students may not enroll in more than two courses (or a maximum of six credits) per summer term. Courses must be graduate level, and the same academic rules apply for summer registration as during the regular academic year.

Students may take courses over the summer in a variety of places:

• CCT summer courses
  
• CCT Geneva Study Abroad Program
  
• Courses offered in other Georgetown programs and departments. Georgetown offers a few study abroad programs that count for CCT credit, pending approval of your advisor. See below for more details.
  
• Consortium courses Please note that study abroad programs though other area universities do not qualify as consortium courses and must be taken as transfer courses.
  
• Transfer Courses and Study Abroad courses at other schools. These must be approved in advance.
  

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Study Abroad

Effective Summer 2007, CCT is offering a study abroad program in Geneva, Switzerland designed specifically for CCT students.  The program, entitled "Globalization, Governance and Technology," offers students a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes of international organizations to see global governance and negotiations at work.  You'll not only see what you learned in the classroom put to work, but you'll have opportuities to network with professionals in the field.  CCT Professor J.P. Singh is the Geneva Program Director, and students will be taking a course with him as well as with faculty at HEI in Geneva - one of the premier schools for international affairs.  The program duration is four weeks, and students receive six credits upon successful completion of the program.  The program's price is comparable to tuition for summer courses on the Georgetown campus and also includes housing.  For more details, please refer to the Geneva program's website.

CCT encourages students interested in study abroad and in international affairs to first consider the Geneva program.  If the Geneva program does not meet their interests, students can consider other Georgetown study abroad programs that can count for graduate level and are approved by the student's CCT advisor.  The programs the Georgetown offers that have been approved in the past are:

The European Union Antwerp Program
Buenos Aires Program
London and Stratford-upon-Avon, England (Shakespeare in Performance)
Trinity College, Oxford England (International Business Management)
Florence, Italy (Reading and Writing Italy)
Geneva, Switzerland (Globalization, Governance and Technology)

If study abroad needs can't be met by Georgetown programs, students may want to look at other schools.  Syracuse University and NYU have been popular with students for transfer courses. The Office of International Programs can help students search for programs offered by other schools. Remember that all courses must be approved by a CCT academic advisor, must not be language courses, and must be 350 level or above at Georgetown or graduate level according to the transfer school visited to count for CCT credit.

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Taking Language Classes for No Charge and Other Language Class Questions

CCT students who need a language to facilitate research for coursework or theses or who need it to complete a CCT-approved certificate program's language requirements may audit a Georgetown language class for free if the following is done:

• submit statement to CCT Program Manager describing why you need it for your CCT thesis or other research OR why you need it for your CCT-approved certificate program's requirements.  If a certificate, you must also submit a statement from the certificte's program manager or director.
• Student registers for the course as a regular class during regular registration.  During add/drop if the Graduate School approves the audit for no charge, they'll let you know.   Your registration will then be changed.  If not approved, you can drop the language course by the add/drop deadline and look for other non-credit language class options.

If you wish to take a language course through CCT, you need to do the following:

• Send the Academic Program Manager an e-mail describing why the language is needed for class or thesis research or for a certificate requirement.
  
• If approved by CCT, we;ll submit your request to the Graduate School. 
  
• Register online for the class during the regular registration period.
  
• During the Add/Drop period, take the Add/Drop form placed in your CCT mailbox to the Graduate School (ICC 302) for review.
  
• If approved by the Graduate School, take the signed add/drop form to the Registrar's Office (Ground Floor, White Gravenor) before the end of Add/Drop to change the course to an audited course for no charge.
• If the course is not approved, you can drop it by the add/drop deadline.

Students who want to take a language course for other reasons have many alternatives.

Georgetown's School for Continuing Studies offers non-credit language courses each semester. Courses last a semester and cost about $300. Continuing Education also offers non-credit art classes and other classes for fun and personal enrichment.

Other options for language classes include the Guy Mason Recreation Center and other DC recreation centers, organizations like Alliance Francais, the Goethe Institute; and various embassies and diplomatic missions in Washington.?p>

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Other Registration Categories, How to Stay Enrolled Full Time while Writing Your Thesis, and What if I don't Finish the Thesis When I Plan to?

While writing your thesis and taking Thesis Colloquium, enroll in CCTP 999-03 for free.  It keep you eligible for student health insurance and maintains your full-time enrollment status.

If you have already finished Thesis Colloquium, but did not finish your thesis that semester, you must enroll in Thesis Research (courses are below)for subsequent semesters until you finish the thesis and graduate.  There is no charge for summer thesis research, and you must complete all your degree requirements by the start of fall classes to avoid a fee.  Fall and spring term registration is $2,500 per term. (cost is as of 2005)

Fall/Spring semester: CCTP-999-01
(more fall and spring sections are available depending on your status)

Summer term: CCTP 999-61

Your thesis advisor, reader, and the Graduate School must approve you continuing your thesis work past the Thesis Colloquium semester. You can't assume that it is ok for you to extend into the summer if you don't finish in the spring.  If approved, you'll need to change your application for graduate degree form to reflect the new graduation month.

If you're pursuing the coursework option, have finished taking all your courses, but have work pending for one or more courses before you can graduate, then you must register for continuous registration.

More details on thesis research and continuous registration are in the Graduate School's Bulletin.

Keep in mind that all graduate students must complete the M.A. degree in three years.  Extensions are available in exceptional circumstances.

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Selecting Courses 

CCT Students must review the CCT Curriculum requirements and options detailed on the CCT Web site.

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Certificate Options

CCT students can pursue certificate options in International Business Diplomacy, Language Technology, Arab Studies, and Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies. The courses required for certificates, with the exception of language courses and undergraduate courses, also fulfill CCT elective class requirements.

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Core/Required Courses and Research Courses

CCT core (required) courses vary depending on when students matriculate(d). CCTP 505 is a core class.  CCTP 510 was a core class for students who enrolled prior to Summer 2005. 

Research core course offerings change each semester.  The following list outlines which courses have previously counted for core theory and core method courses:

Core Method Courses

Core Theory Courses

Research Methods Courses(applicable only to those students who enrolled in CCT prior to Summer 2004)

CCTP-685 Survey Research Methods
CCTP-689 Theories of Culture and Interdisciplinarity
CCTP-696 Introduction to Social Networks: Theory and Practice
CCTP-698 Researching the Visual
CCTP-738 Intro to Contemporary Visual Art: Theory, Practice & Institutions
CCTP-746 Human-Centered Design: Conducting User Research
CCTP-748 Media Theory and Visual Culture/Media Theories
CCTP-770 Statistical Methodology
CCTP-771 Statistical Methodology
CCTP-783 Qual Data Anly:Grounded Theory
CCTP-787 Archival and Field Research Methods/Designing Interdisciplinary Research
CCTP-804 Advanced Statistical Methodology
CCTP-995 Research Methods

The following courses counted as Research Methods courses ONLY during the Fall 2000 and Spring 2001 semesters:
CCTP-719 Internet Opportunity Analysis
CCTP-805 Community Development & Network Technology

The following courses counted as Research Methods courses ONLY during the Spring 2002 semester:
LING-681 Research Design and Methods
NSST-710 Research Seminar in U.S. National Security Policy
NSST-712 Research Seminar in International Security

 The following course counted as a Research Methods course ONLY during the Fall 2002 semester:
LING-454 Linguistics and Reading

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Courses Available to CCT Students 

Students should first take CCT courses and look outside of CCT only if they cannot find a comparable course on the CCT class listing. If students do not find a course in CCT that fulfills their academic and professional interests, they may, with approval of their CCT academic advisors, look for courses offered in:

• Other Georgetown Departments (may require permission of department or instructor)
• Georgetown Law Center - email the Academic Program Manager to request these courses
• Washington Consortium of Universities
• Transfer Courses
• Tutorials/Independent Studies

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Non-Language courses with course numbers 350-499 have a combination of undergraduates and graduates enrolled in them and will count toward the CCT degree, as long as your CCT advisor approves the course content. 

500-level and higher courses are only for graduate students.  CCT students are highly encouraged to look only at 500-level and higher courses.

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MSFS and MBA courses

CCT students can't register for MSFS and MBA courses via Student Access+. How to Register for these:

• Email the Academic Program Manager during Registration or Pre-registration with MSFS and MBA course requests.
• Register in the interim for alternate courses in case you don't get into a MBA or MSFS course
• You'll receive an email the first day of add/drop (late August or mid January) letting you know if you can register for MBA or MSFS courses along with registration instructions. 
• MBA and MSFS accomodate the majority of CCT student registration requests, so please be patient and wait until the first day of add/drop to find out.  Don't email the MBA and MSFS professors or departments directly.

MBA course note: The Business School is on a quarter system rather than a semester system, so most of their courses are 1.5 credits each and last for half a semester. Students should try to find a combination of two Business courses in one semester or in different semesters to fulfill the full 3 credits needed for a full elective course.

The section number of a business course corresponds to the quarter in which it is offered. MGMT 555 is used below as an example to illustrate how course numbers work in MBA:

MGMT 555-10 is offered in the first fall quarter.  1.5 credits
MGMT 555-20 is offered in the second fall quarter.  1.5 credits
MGMT 555-30 is offered in the first spring quarter.   1.5 credits
MGMT 555-40 is offered in the second spring quarter.   1.5 credits
MGMT 555-01 lasts the entire semester.  3 credits.

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Taking Other Georgetown Courses (not MSFS or MBA)
Other GU courses: If a non-CCT course has registration restrictions or if the course has prerequisites, the department or professor teaching the class has to approve your registration. Approval is given by the professor or department on a course permission form or via email. Take the course permission form or printed email approval to the Registrar's Office in White Gravenor to register for that course.

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Washington Consortium of Universities (the "Consortium")

The "Consortium" refers to a cross-listing arrangement with schools in the DC area.  The agreement allows degree-seeking students to take courses at another consortium school. The benefit is ease of registration and payment, and preferred access into classes.  There are some restrictions, so please check these before seelcting courses.

• CCT students may take two classes through the Consortium. A third class may be approved in exceptional situations
• 505 and 996 Thesis Colloquium may not be fulfilled with a consortium class. A core theory or core method class my only be fulfilled via the consortium in exceptional circumstances.
• Students must obtain permission from the instructor and in some cases, permission from the visited department as part of the registration process.
• Course must be graduate level according to the school visited
• Course can't be a language classes
• Course must be approved in advance by the CCT Academic Program Manager and your faculty advisor.
  

Tuition is paid directly to Georgetown. Consortium classes are considered the same as Georgetown classes in regard to federal financial aid and international student visa concerns. If you take two CCT courses and one consortium course, you are considered full-time for aid and visa purposes.

Registering for Consortium Courses

1. Email the professor at the school you want to visit. For some schools, you will need to get permission from the department.
   
2. Bring those approvals (e-mail is fine), a course description, course number, and title to your academic advisor to approve the content.
   
3. Then bring that information to the Academic Program Manager. She will help you complete paperwork to register.
   
4. Take that paperwork to the Graduate School for approval
   
5. Then take the approvals to the Registrar's Office.
   

Our Registrar will work with the consortium school to register you for the course. Submit the registration form before classes start at the school you plan to attend.  Make sure to note if their class schedule is different from Georgetown's. Some schools may start a week earlier or later. If the registration is approved (check for the course to appear online in Student Access to see if it's approved), go to the other school for the class, and follow their calendar for class meetings. At the end of the semester, your grade will appear on your Georgetown record once it has been posted by the professor.

For more information, please refer to the GU Consortium website.

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• Be taken at an accredited U.S. or international university.
• Be graduate level according to the school visited.
• Not be a language class.
• Be approved in advance by the student's Academic Advisor and CCT's Academic Program Manager. Be sure to use CCT's transfer request and pre-approval form.

If transfering courses from an international school, students must also submit documentation showing the following:

• If the courses are seminar or lecture format
• How many classroom hours the course(s) consist of
  
  Once CCT has Approved the Transfer, How to Register and Transfer the Class.......

Students usually register as a non-degree student at the visited school to take courses. Students are strongly discouraged from taking transfer courses during their last semester, as this may keep them from graduating. Once the class is complete and the grade is posted, request an official transcript, and bring it to the Academic Program Manager.  International students on student visas must submit the transcript before the start of their last semester in the program. If they do not, we can't cerify them for graduation that semester. Thus, they must enroll in an extra class or classes (that the transfer courses would have fulfilled) to complete the CCT degree.

Students can transfer up to 25% of total courses into the CCT Program. This usually means 9 CCT credits.

Additional information is in the Graduate School's Bulletin.

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Independent Study/Tutorial

CCT students may on occasion request to do an independent study/tutorial only if they have a specific research or academic interest that cannot be satisfied in a regularly scheduled course. Students must first find a professor with the appropriate academic background who is also willing to do an independent study. Independent studies are done on a case by case basis at the discretion of the professor.

The independent study is a course designed around one student's interests, and the professor and student must complete a tutorial request/registration form outlining the tutorial type, reading list, meeting schedule, course description, exams and papers required, and grading basis. This form must be signed by the professor, Academic Program Manager, and the Graduate School Dean. The form must be submitted to the Graduate School for approval no later than the last day of the registration add/drop period for that semester.

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Coursework option students who matriculated in Summer and Fall 2005 can take a three-credit capstone internship course in the last semester of the program. 

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  Tuition and Fees, Scholarships, Federal Financial Aid, and Employment 

Tuition and Fees

University tuition and fees are set each year in March, and details on the tuition and fees for CCT students are on the Financial Aid page of the CCT Web site.
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CCT Scholarships

CCT offers competitive, academic merit-based scholarships to particularly outstanding applicants (both U.S. and international students) who apply for admission by the scholarship admission deadline. Funding is given to full-time students only. 

Scholarships given to new students can be renewed for one year after the original award year. This is done based on overall GPA. Effective Summer 2009, scholarship students must earn a 3.8 GPA or higher to have the scholarship award renewed for the second year.  Students who matriculated Summer 2006-Spring 2009 must earn a 3.9 GPA to have the scholarship renewed in the second year.  No application is required for renewal of funding, and awards are made as soon as a full two semesters of grades are posted.

The award amounts for the second year are dependent on the first year award amount:

• 18 credits awarded Year 1 = 15 credits awarded Year 2
  
• 15 credits awarded Year 1 = 12 credits awarded Year 2
  
• 12 credits awarded Year 1 = 9 credit awarded Year 2
  
• 9 credit awarded Year 1 = 9 credit awarded Year 2
  
• 6 credits awarded Year 1 = 6 credits awarded Year 2
  
• 3 credits awarded Year 1 = 3 credits awarded Year 2

All current CCT students who did not receive funding their first year are automatically considered for merit-based scholarships the second year, pending availability of funds. No application is required as these scholarships are awarded to current students based on highest cumulative CCT GPA. These scholarships, when available, are funded by CCT and the Graduate School, and academic merit is the only measure used to award these scholarships.

CCT occasionally offers scholarships that are merit-based but targeted for specific students. This type of scholarship is dependent on external grant funding, thus funding may not always be available. When external grant funding for scholarships is available, CCT adheres to the guidelines specified in the grant for selecting scholarship recipients.

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Georgetown University Student Financial Aid Counselors
Counselors from the Office of Student Financial Services are available to assist you Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST. Visitors are seen on a walk-in basis whenever possible, and appointments are also available. The counselors see students based upon their last names. Check the contact list for your particular counselor.

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