Current Student Information

Once students have chosen their primary advisor, they should complete their STL Plan of study, which guides their registration for future semesters, and submit it to the Graduate Coordinator. Students opting to do either a thesis or project as their culminating experience must submit a proposal and get it approved by their primary advisor. Once approved, the form should be submitted to the graduate coordinator as well.

1. Maintain continuous registration. In particular, you must be registered for at least one graduate credit the semester prior to degree conferral. Registration in summer sessions is not required.

2. Fulfill the minimum residency requirement of 24 UB credits of registration. 

Read more about these policies on the Graduate School website.

Students will be allowed to transfer a maximum of 6 credits toward the MS degree in Sustainable Transportation and Logistics. Those credits have to have been for graduate-level classes which were successfully completed by the student with a minimum grade of a B or the equivalent. The student interested in transferring prior learning credits would have to submit a “petition for graduate credit transfer” form to the ISTL degree program director, along with a detailed class description of those classes she/he would like to transfer. The student’s academic advisor would be the one making the determination as to the appropriateness of the requested transfer.    

Financial support for students in ISTL's MS Program corresponds to the normal financial aid available to graduate students in the Schools of Engineering & Applied Sciences (SEAS) and Management. http://financialaid.buffalo.edu/costs/ and http://financialaid.buffalo.edu/graduate-students/

For scholarships, please review the SEAS scholarship webpage or the Graduate School scholarship webpage.

There are many jobs on campus that students can apply for both within SEAS and the University at Buffalo. Read more at http://grad.buffalo.edu/apply/funding/jobs.html

Four years from the first registration date in the graduate program, excluding approved leaves of absence.

A petition for an extension of time limit requires  ISTL and SEAS or School of Management (SoM) approval through the ISTL Director of Graduate Studies. The student must be currently making active progress towards the degree. The petition will be presented to the SEAS or SoM divisional committee for approval before being submitted to the Graduate School. The petition must clearly delineate reasons for the extension, present a schedule for progress and set a deadline for completion of the program. The extension of time limit is normally granted for a maximum period of one year.

A graduate student must earn an average of at least 3.0 for all courses taken for graduate credit which could be applied toward the degree. Accordingly, graduate course work in excess of that applied toward the credit requirement for the degree will be included in the computation of the student's GPA.

Satisfactory progress requires a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. A student is placed on probation if his or her GPA falls below 3.0 at the end of any grading period.

The following will constitute grounds for dismissal if:

• a grade of "F" is earned in any course that could be applied towards the degree;
• more than two grades are obtained from among “C,” “D,” and “U” in courses which could be applied to the degree;
• the conditions of provisional admission have not been satisfied within one semester after admission;
• probationary status has not been removed after one semester;
• the cumulative grade point average for courses which could be applied to the degree falls to below 2.5 at the end of any grading period; 
• the student is found guilty of academic dishonesty according to existing regulations.

If at any time your GPA falls below 3.00, or you are not otherwise making satisfactory progress toward the degree, you will be put on  probation. If your GPA falls below 3.00 at the end of any semester, you are automatically on probation from the start of the next semester. You will be given a target that must be reached in order to continue in the program. Normally, the target will be that you raise your cumulative GPA to 3.00 or higher by the end of the current semester. First-year students who fall below 3.00 in their very first semester, however, will be given two semesters to raise their cumulative GPA to 3.00 or higher, on condition of performing at 3.00 or higher in the first of these two semesters. For part-time MS students, the time available to get off probation is doubled. Probation for other causes shall commence from your being notified in writing by the Graduate Studies Committee. In consultation with your advisor, you will be given requirements for regaining good academic standing. Being on probation is grounds for withdrawal of academic financial support.

Graduate students not meeting the written terms of their academic probation may be academically dismissed from the program by the director of graduate studies, chair of the department, or graduate program director. Such dismissals shall be done in a timely fashion but no later than three weeks after the completion of the term. The Graduate School will be notified in writing of all such academic dismissals.

Graduate students who are dismissed for academic reasons from a graduate program will have a "GRD" (Graduate School) service indicator placed on their academic record to prevent future registration.

A graduate student who has been officially dismissed and who seeks reinstatement shall submit a formal request for reinstatement, along with a supporting statement of explanation, to the chair of the academic department. The request shall be acted upon by the established procedure or review group appropriate to the particular graduate program. If a student is subsequently reinstated to the program from which he/she was dismissed or is admitted into another graduate program, the "GRD" service indicator will be removed from the student record by written request from the academic department to the Graduate School.

• A petition for leave of absence should be filed prior to the start of the semester in which the leave is to begin.
• Leaves of absence will normally be granted for only one year at a time.
• Leaves of more than one semester require valid justification and documentation from the student and the student's advisor. Documented cases of financial hardship, illness, or compulsory military service constitute valid justification.
• A student who leaves the program after completion of some graduate work but has not been given an approved leave of absence must reapply and be readmitted as a new student, according to University guidelines.
• Continued leaves of absence beyond two years will not be granted.

General information regarding graduation from the Graduate School may be found at http://grad.buffalo.edu/Academics/Graduation.html. This includes information regarding deadlines, required forms, and a checklist of requirements.

STL Candidates must meet the Graduate School’s degree conferral requirements to be eligible to graduate:

1. Maintain continuous registration each spring and fall semester until all requirements for the degree have been completed
2. Complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate study
3. Fulfill the minimum residency requirement of 24 UB credits of registration
4. Apply to graduate (in HUB) before deadline.
5. Successfully complete a project, thesis, or ePortfolio 
   1. Thesis must be orally defended at the department level and electronically submitted to the Graduate School for approval and filing
   2. Project and ePortfolio must be approved by the student's primary advisor. A copy of the final project paper and ePortfolio link must also be sent to the graduate coordinator for retention purposes.

Further, the MS STL program requires that all students complete an exit interview with the institute director prior to graduation. Students should email the graduate coordinator to assist with setting up this exit interview in the final semester of the program. 

There are several other documents and websites, updated regularly, with which you should be familiar, because they contain University policies and procedures. Among these are the following:

• The Graduate School Policies and Procedures: Office of the Graduate School, 402 Capen Hall

• Uniform Policies for SEAS Graduate Students

• Graduate School’s Forms for Students

• Student Response Center/ 1Capen (financial aid, billing, registration, financial records), 1 Capen Hall