Stuart Weitzman School of Design
102 Meyerson Hall
210 South 34th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
6.1 Continuous registration: You must be continuously registered unless granted a formal leave of absence by the Dean of the School of Design. Registrations take place in the fall and spring semesters. Candidates for August graduation remain full-time students through August 31st without summer registration.
6.2 Leave of Absence The Dean will grant a leave of absence for military duty, medical reasons, and family leave. This leave is typically for up to one year and “stops the clock” on time to completion. Personal leave for other reasons may be granted for up to one year with the approval of the GGC, but it does not automatically change the time limit. In this case, additional requirements for return may be imposed by the GGC.
You may not take any degree examinations while you are on leave of absence. A student without an approved leave of absence who fails to register each semester will be considered to have withdrawn from the degree program; reinstatement requires the GGC’s approval and recertification.
6.3 Policy on childbirth and adoption accommodation for PhD. students: You are eligible for a "Time Off" period of eight weeks for the birth or adoption of a child. You must notify the GGC and Dissertation chair in writing, at an early date, of your plans to initiate a "Time Off" period, so that appropriate arrangements can be made to cover any teaching/research responsibilities. Normally the "Time Off" period commences within two weeks of the birth or adoption.
During the "Time Off" period, you remain enrolled full-time. In order to facilitate a rapid return, you may participate in the program as fully as you deem appropriate. By remaining on full-time status, your visa status and loan repayment schedules, if any, will remain unchanged. You are entitled to academic accommodation including relief from academic requirements, such as postponement of exams and course requirements. If you are receiving stipend support, you are entitled to continuation of support during the "Time Off" period as follows: 1.) If you are receiving stipends from University/school funds, you are entitled to draw support for eight weeks during the academic year. 2.) If you are funded by government grants or other external funding sources, you are entitled to benefits as determined by the funding agency.
6.4 Family Leave policy: You may take a Family Leave for the birth or adoption of a child, childcare, or care of an immediate family member (spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent) with a serious health condition. You may take a Family Leave for one or two semesters. You must notify the GGC and your principal adviser in writing of your plans to take a Family Leave at an early date, so that appropriate arrangements can be made to cover any teaching/research responsibilities.
Family Leave "stops the clock" on your academic requirements, including service requirements, for the duration of the leave. During the period of Family Leave, you may arrange to continue Student Health Insurance, but you will be responsible for the payment of your premiums. Upon paying a fee, students on approved Family Leave will retain their PennCard, e-mail accounts, library privileges, and building access. Funding commitments from the institution are deferred until you return from Family Leave. If you are receiving funding from external sources, such as government grants, you are subject to the conditions established by the funding source. You will meet your service requirements (e.g., teaching, research) following return from Family Leave. You may request for an extension of Family Leave beyond one year, or for repeated Family Leaves. Approval of an extension, deferral of funding and continued academic accommodation is at the discretion of the Dean.
*IMPORTANT: If you anticipate adding a dependent (e.g., newborn) to your Penn Student Insurance Policy while on Family Leave, you must remain in ACTIVE student status at the start of the fall semester. Students should arrange with their school/division to maintain full-time student status for at least 31 days from the start of fall classes, after which time the Family Leave status can be recorded in the Student Records System. After the birth/adoption, contact the SHS Insurance Coordinator to ascertain fees and enroll the dependent. The premium for dependent coverage is payable directly to Aetna Student Health.
The University of Pennsylvania is a member of a ten-university consortium that allows doctoral students to enroll for up to one year at one of the participating institutions: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, University of California-Berkeley, University of Chicago, or Yale. For additional info, see rule VIII. in the Academic Rules for PhD Programs at https://catalog.upenn.edu/pennbook/academic-rules-phd/.
If you have not completed your doctoral work within ten years of your initial matriculation, you may apply to the GGC to recertify your continuing in the program. To receive permission to do so, you must retake and pass your Candidacy Examination and complete and defend your dissertation within one year.
If you are relocating to Penn for your doctoral program, several University services can be of assistance.
And once you are here, Penn’s Graduate Student Center will serve as your community center. Penn Health Services will become your health provider when you sign up for the Penn Health Plan. Below are some helpful websites:
For general resource guides for graduate students: http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/resources/guide/
You will be given a hard copy of The Graduate and Professional Student Resource Guide during new student orientation.
For off-campus living http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/offcampusservices/
For the Graduate Center: http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/
For Student Health Services: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/shs/
