Policies and Procedures

Course Numbering

PSU designates course numbers of the form 5xx as Master’s level and 6xx as Ph.D. level. However, from a requirements perspective these are usually interchangeable, so it does not matter which version one takes. (One exception is that CS 503 applies only to M.S. theses, and CS 603 only to Ph.D. dissertations.) In fact, the CS department offers very few regularly scheduled 6xx courses except for CS 669 Scholarship Skills. Also, many 5xx courses are combined with a 4xx version suitable for undergraduate juniors and seniors. In such cases, the course places additional requirements on students enrolled at the 5xx level, such as additional learning objectives, an extra project, etc. It is crucial for graduate students to register in the 5xx version for the course to count towards graduate degree requirements.

By Arrangement Courses

Course numbers of the form CS 50x and CS 60x are called “by arrangement” – they do not meet at a regularly scheduled time and place, and are not listed in the Registration Hub. These courses must be registered for using the By Arrangement Approval Dashboard . Either the student or the faculty member can initiate a by-approval request, and once both have approved it, the request is automatically forwarded to the Department for approval and then to the Registrar’s Office for processing

DARS (Degree Audit Recording System)

DARS is an automated system that the university uses to keep track of student progress towards requirements completion. Students can check their progress by requesting a DARS audit; see the Graduate School DARS page for details. In some cases, students will need a “DARS exception” in order to graduate; these exceptions are handled by the CS Graduate Advisor.

Incompletes

In exceptional circumstances, students can arrange to receive an Incomplete (I) grade for a course, giving them more time to complete course requirements. See this page for more detailed information.

Petitions

Exceptions to policies imposed by the Graduate School and University require a formal petition process. The CS Graduate Advisor can assist in preparing petitions, but it is the student’s responsibility to file them with appropriate supporting documentation. University petitions go to one of two university-wide faculty committees (Deadline Appeals Committee or Graduate Council), depending on their time frame. See this page for more detailed information.

Joint Campus Registration with OHSU

Admitted graduate students at Portland State may take graduate courses offered by Oregon Health and Science University and have the credits included in their current term enrollment and tuition assessment at PSU. Only specific courses are approved for this joint campus arrangement . Students must have permission from the instructor of the OHSU course as well as their home department to use the joint campus registration process and apply the OHSU courses to their PSU degree. Contact the CS Graduate Advisor (gccs@pdx.edu) for details.

PSU Code of conduct

Students should be familiar with the university’s student code of conduct , which describes the rights and responsibilities of PSU community members.

Academic Misconduct and Plagiarism

The CS department follows the university’s general rules on academic misconduct . Students should note that the particular rules for independent work and the use of generative AI may differ widely among CS courses, and they should consult the course syllabus for more detailed information.

Intellectual Property

In general, Portland State retains intellectual property rights for all work done by its employees, including funded research assistants. Students should discuss any concerns they may have about intellectual property, patents, open-source licensing, etc. with their Faculty Advisor.

Travel

Students may have the opportunity to travel on academic business, e.g. to present papers at conferences, attend summer schools, etc. Funding for travel is typically arranged through the student’s Faculty Advisor, although departmental or university funding opportunities may sometimes be available. All funded travel must follow PSU’s official travel policies .

In particular, a travel authorization must be approved in advance of travel, and a reimbursement request must be filed after travel. This summary has more details and pointers to the relevant forms. Students should consult their funding source to determine the name of the “contact person” to fill in on the travel forms. Note that airfare and conference registration are normally paid directly by the university in advance of travel, whereas hotel costs and meal per-diems are reimbursed after the fact; an advance on these costs can be requested. Oregon state law requires travel to be done efficiently and cost effectively. All travelers should take this charge seriously, and remember that they are representing the Department and PSU when traveling.