I.  General Information

A.  University Policies

This handbook includes a few of the general University policies that have special relevance to the Department of Electrical Engineering (E E) It does not include all of the policies that can affect your stay at Penn State (for example, see www.gradsch.psu.edu/policies/student.html). This handbook does not supersede any general policy of the University.

The Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin is often a useful reference, especially with regard to academic issues. Special procedures related to registration, thesis approval, health insurance, housing, and visas are not included in this handbook but they are well documented elsewhere.

The World Wide Web provides an extensive listing of student policies that can be located under the Penn State home page at www.psu.edu. You can access the Electrical Engineering Department home page directly at www.ee.psu.edu. Anyone unable to locate needed information may inquire in 121 Electrical Engineering East for referrals to the appropriate source.

B.  Safety and Compliance

Any questions regarding safety should be directed to your research supervisor, the department head, and to Environmental Health and Safety at 865-6391.

EMERGENCIES --- 911

UNIVERSITY POLICE --- 863-1111

Beyond the safety issues are federally mandated compliance issues. Filing applications and obtaining approvals for the proposed work must precede any activities involving human subjects, vertebrate subjects, bio-hazardous material, and radioactive materials. Details are available at www.research.psu.edu/policies/index.html.

C.  Ethics, Patents, and Copyrights

Students are expected to commit themselves to the highest level of ethical conduct in their academic and research activities. Information on ethical guidelines and discussions of these issues can be found at the following web site: www.engr.psu.edu/ethics/codes.asp

The following websites contain information on the University policies regarding intellectual property and publication: www.research.psu.edu/ipo/faq.html and www.cede.psu.edu/ip/faq.html.

D.  Graduate Student Association and Other Graduate Organizations

The Graduate Student Association (GSA) provides numerous services and information to graduate students. The GSA invites graduate students to participate in its meetings and functions. More information about the GSA is at: www.clubs.psu.edu/up/gsa/.

There are many other student organizations, including the Engineering Graduate Student Council, the student branch of IEEE, hobby and sports clubs, etc. The GSA is a good source of information.

The EE Graduate Student Advisory Committee provides representation of the graduate student body to the Graduate Program Coordinator and the Department Head, who appoint this committee. The members also organize several events throughout the year to encourage interaction between graduate students in different research groups. The current members of the EE Graduate Student Advisory Committee are: