For Incoming Graduate Students
Course registration advice for incoming graduate students is really very simple: enroll in Introduction to Book Publishing, one other required course, and Publishing Lab. Since Publishing Lab is a 1-credit course and the others are 4-credit courses, this adds up to 9 credits, which qualifies for full-time enrollment. Students can take more than 9 credits in a given term, but 9 credits in a student’s first term is recommended as you adjust to graduate school. Indeed, most students continue to take 9 credits each term they are in the program, as they are balancing their education with part-time employment. It’s possible to take fewer than 9 credits in a given term and, thus, be enrolled part-time. However, graduate assistantships, some student loans, scholarships, and grants all require full-time status.
Please note that students are encouraged to enroll in Publishing Lab and to get involved with Ooligan Press in their first term, as the publishing house is so central to most students’ experience of the graduate program in Book Publishing. However, diving into Publishing Studio, which is 4 credits, is perhaps a bit too much for most first-term students.
Note: To gain ID card access to the Ooligan Press suite, you’ll first need to obtain your PSU ID card from ID Services. Once you have your ID card, please fill out the Ooligan Press Access Request Form to complete the access process.
Preview the Book Publishing program’s tentative list of courses and the terms they are offered.
For Students in Other Programs and Undergraduate Students
It is not necessary to be a student in the graduate program in Book Publishing in order to enroll in publishing courses. All of the required courses in the program are also open to students in other programs, including undergraduate students. So, too, are some of the elective courses. It is even possible for students in other programs, including undergraduate students, to work at Ooligan Press by enrolling in Publishing Lab.
In order to enroll in any of the aforementioned courses, students should log into myPSU during the registration period and locate courses in the graduate program in Book Publishing by navigating to the "Academics" tab, selecting "Registration Hub," and searching under the subject "Writing." If you are having difficulty registering for any course, it may be that you need to request permission to register for that course, in which case you should email the Director of Publishing, Dr. Rachel Noorda, at rnoorda@pdx.edu, with the details of your situation.
Please also note that undergraduate students can take up to 12 PSU graduate credits at the end of their undergraduate course of study (they only pay undergraduate fees even though these are graduate credits) and transfer these credits into a graduate program. However, prior to completing their undergraduate degree, these credits must be reserved for use as part of a graduate degree. Talk to your PSU advisor about this process.