Master’s Degree

Program of Study

A master’s student’s program of study is the Program Requirements established and approved by the Graduate Council, published for their program for the year in which they matriculate.

Students must fulfill all formal University requirements for the master’s degree: scholarship; academic residence; foreign language proficiency; and, depending on what is offered by their major department, the master’s comprehensive examination or capstone project, or master’s thesis.

Scholarship

To be in good academic standing, a cumulative ‘B’ (3.0) grade point average is required in all courses taken in graduate status at the University. Only courses in which a grade of ‘C’ or better is received may be applied toward graduate degrees unless the program requirements set a higher standard.

Academic Residence

Students are required to complete at least three quarters of academic residence (registration and enrollment) in graduate status at the University of California, including at least two quarters at UCLA. A student is in academic residence after completing at least one course (four units) in graduate or upper-division work during a quarter.

One quarter of residence in summer study may also be earned in either of these ways: (1) enrollment in two six-week Summer Sessions taking at least two units of upper division and/or graduate work in each session, OR (2) enrollment in one eight-week Summer Sessions for at least four units of credit. Residence earned through Summer Sessions enrollment is limited to one-third of the degree requirements.

Advancement to Candidacy

It is the student’s responsibility to file advancement to candidacy forms for the master’s degree in the major department no later than the second week of the quarter in which the student expects the award of the degree. Failure to do so will prevent the student from receiving the degree until the quarter in which the forms are filed and the student is advanced to candidacy, regardless of when the degree requirements were completed.

An eligible student who plans to pay a Filing Fee in the final quarter must advance to candidacy at least one quarter prior to using the Filing Fee. The advancement to candidacy forms must be received at the Registrar’s Office no later than the Friday of second week of the quarter. Students may not advance to candidacy while using a Filing Fee.

Advancement to candidacy may not occur until the foreign language requirement has been satisfied. Master’s advancement to candidacy should always precede doctoral advancement to candidacy. Students may advance to candidacy but not earn their degree if they have incomplete (I) grades in any required courses.

Petitions and transcripts pertinent to the master’s program should be attached to the advancement to candidacy form. Any change in a program of study after filing for advancement to candidacy should be reported in writing to the Registrar’s Office by the department chair or graduate adviser.

Candidates have one calendar year from the date of advancement to candidacy in which to complete all requirements for the degree. After that point, a petition to extend candidacy is required. In instances where five years have passed since advancement to candidacy, the student and department must justify in writing to the Division of Graduate Education why the student should be allowed to graduate without being required to repeat course work, examination or language requirements. Such justification also may be required in instances where the course work included in an advancement to candidacy petition was completed five or more years ago.

Capstone Plan or Thesis

Depending on what is offered by their major department, students follow either the thesis plan (Plan I) or the comprehensive examination plan (Plan II). The University minimum standards are the same under either plan, but a department may set higher standards and require additional courses and/or examinations to evaluate a student’s capability in his or her field. The departmental graduate adviser should be consulted concerning such requirements. Information regarding standards and examinations may also be found in the UCLA General Catalog and in Program Requirements for UCLA Graduate Degrees.

Master’s Comprehensive Examination or Capstone Project
Under the Capstone Plan (Plan II), students complete a capstone requirement, which may be a comprehensive exam, an individual project or a group project.

Master’s Thesis
Every master’s degree program that includes a Thesis Plan (Plan I) requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research. Before beginning work on the thesis, the student obtains approval of the subject and general plan from the thesis committee.

Registration in the Final Quarter for the Award of the Degree

If a student is completing courses, using faculty time, library facilities, laboratories, or other University resources, or receiving University funds, the student is required to register in the final term in which the student expects to receive the degree.

When the award of a degree is expected at the end of a given term, but special circumstances (not involving preparation of the manuscript), over which a student has no control, prevent the completion of all requirements before the first day of instruction in the next term, a student may petition for a waiver of registration for that term. Such petitions must be accompanied by a justification from the graduate adviser or department chair elaborating the exceptional circumstances of the case.

Complete official transcripts are available approximately 30 working days after the last day of the term. For graduating students, official transcripts with the graduation date included are available approximately seven weeks after the end of the term. If a student requires earlier proof of graduation, the student should contact the Registrar’s Office.

Doctoral Degree

Program of Study

A doctoral student’s program of study is planned in consultation with the faculty adviser and/or departmental guidance committee, who supervise the student’s activities until the appointment of the doctoral committee. This program lies within the scope of the departmental or interdepartmental program which has been approved by the Graduate Council. However, it is designed with flexibility for individual needs and interests. Students must fulfill all formal University requirements for the doctoral degree: scholarship; academic residence; foreign language proficiency; written, and in some cases oral, departmental qualifying examinations; the University written and oral qualifying examination; and the dissertation, as well as any additional requirements.

The University does not specify course requirements for doctoral programs. Such courses are completed as required or recommended by the department for knowledge in the field of specialization and for preparation for qualifying examinations.

Scholarship

To be in good standing, a ‘B’ (3.0) grade point average is required in all courses taken in graduate status at the University.

Academic Residence

Doctoral students are required to complete at least two years of academic residence (registration and enrollment) in graduate status at the University of California, including one year, ordinarily the second, in continuous residence at UCLA. If the master’s degree was earned at UCLA, one year of the residence requirement may have been met towards the doctorate. In most cases, however, a longer period of academic residence is necessary, and from three to five years is generally considered optimal. Academic residence occurs after a student has completed at least one course (four units) of graduate or upper-division course work during a quarter.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy following completion of course and language requirements and the written and oral qualifying examinations. The academic residence requirement for doctoral advancement to candidacy consists of four quarters of registration, three of which (ordinarily the last three) must be spent in continuous residence at UCLA. If offered by the program, the Candidate in Philosophy degree is awarded for the quarter in which the student is advanced to candidacy. A student is advanced to candidacy by the Division of Graduate Education when the report on the University oral qualifying examination is received, providing that all the above conditions are met.

A student may not advance to doctoral candidacy and receive a doctoral degree in the same quarter. At least one quarter must elapse between the doctoral advancement to candidacy and the completion of degree requirements (filing of dissertation). Students may advance to candidacy but not earn their degree if they have incomplete (I) grades in any required courses.

In instances where ten years have passed since advancement to candidacy, the doctoral committee chair must justify in writing to the Division of Graduate Education why the student should be allowed to graduate without being required to repeat course work, examination or language requirements. In all such cases, the student is required to complete a final oral examination (defense of the dissertation) with all committee members present. This requirement cannot be waived by the doctoral committee.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study. The choice of subject must be approved by the doctoral committee which usually reviews and approves the dissertation prospectus at the time of the University oral qualifying examination. Subsequently, the doctoral committee guides progress toward completion of the dissertation.

For guidance in the final preparation of the manuscript, the student should consult the Thesis and Dissertation Filing Requirements.

If planning to submit a dissertation during the current academic year, the student is encouraged to attend a workshop on manuscript preparation and filing procedures conducted by the Division of Graduate Education at the beginning of each quarter. Information is available on the Division of Graduate Education website.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of the Dissertation)

If the final oral examination is required, either for all students in a specific degree program or for an individual student by the doctoral committee, normally the entire committee must be in attendance and each member must record a decision of “passed” or “not passed.” A student is not considered to have passed the final oral examination with more than one “not passed” vote, regardless of the size of the committee. The final oral examination may be waived with the written consent of all members of the doctoral committee on a designated form submitted to the Division of Graduate Education. If the examination is required for all students in a specific degree program, the waiver request form also must be accompanied by an additional written justification from the chair of the program.

Registration in the Final Quarter for the Award of the Degree

If a student is completing courses, using faculty time, library facilities, laboratories, or other University resources, or receiving University funds, the student is required to register in the final term in which the student expects to receive the degree.

When the award of a degree is expected at the end of a given term, but special circumstances (not involving preparation of the manuscript), over which a student has no control, prevent the completion of all requirements before the first day of instruction in the next term, a student may petition for a waiver of registration for that term. Such petitions must be accompanied by a justification from the graduate adviser or department chair elaborating the exceptional circumstances of the case.

Complete official transcripts are available approximately 30 working days after the last day of the term. For graduating students, official transcripts with the graduation date included are available approximately seven weeks after the end of the term. If a student requires earlier proof of graduation, the student should contact the Registrar’s Office.

Excerpted from Standards and Procedures.