Graduate – Prospective – Student Guide
Student Guide
Leave of Absence
Students needing to leave the University for one academic quarter or longer but plan to return may wish to apply for a leave of absence. Withdrawal without a leave of absence requires an application for admission in order to return. Leaves of absence may be approved for students in good academic standing who owe no currently-due debts to the University. For a more detailed description of eligibility and procedures, consult the Graduate Division’s Leave of Absence Request webpage.
Students who need to discontinue their studies for any reason before the end of a quarter are strongly advised to submit a withdrawal form. Failure to do so can result in grades of F being assigned to the student’s current courses and can make future re-entry to graduate study difficult.
Registration in Absentia
Doctoral Candidates who need to conduct dissertation research outside the state of California for one to six consecutive academic quarters (fall, winter, spring) may apply for Registration in Absentia, which qualifies them to be charged 15% of the usual quarterly tuition (excluding the UC SHIP health insurance premium) during the quarters in which they are outside California while conducting such research. For more information, consult the Graduate Division’s Registration in Absentia webpage at https://grad.ucla.edu/academics/graduate-study/in-absentia-registration-petition-for-graduate-students/.
Incompletes
Students are strongly advised to avoid Incomplete grades. Although Incompletes are not immediately computed in grade-point averages, they do automatically become F’s if not made up the quarter following that in which the Incomplete was received. F’s, of course, seriously damage grade-point averages, and no credit can be received for a course graded F. While a student sometimes cannot complete all the work for a graduate course in ten weeks, taking an Incomplete grade that must be made up the following quarter causes undue pressure which can lead to additional incompletes being taken in subsequent quarters. Students who find it necessary to take an Incomplete should be sure to request one from the professor before the end of the quarter and make arrangements for completing the work as soon as possible. Upon completion of the work, the Graduate Counselor should be informed so that the incomplete can be lifted and the new grade recorded in the student’s official record. A fee is charged to the student for the service by the Registrar. Teaching Assistants must remove all Incompletes accumulated through the end of the previous Winter quarter by August 31st.
Academic Disqualification
Termination of graduate status may be recommended in cases of continued unsatisfactory scholarship, insufficient progress toward the degree, or failure of the First or Second Qualifying Examinations. Such a recommendation is made by the Graduate Vice Chair, after consultation with the Graduate Committee, and confirmed by the Faculty. Appeals of such actions may be made by formal petition to the Graduate Division. Please refer to the Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA handbook for further information.
Graduation
Those who wish to take part in UCLA’s Doctoral Hooding Ceremony in June should time the completion of their dissertations well in advance. Candidates who file by the spring filing date set by the Graduate Division may participate in the ceremony. Those who wish their names to appear in the printed program must file by the date set by Graduate Division for this purpose. Information on these deadlines can be found at https://grad.ucla.edu/academics/calendar/thesis-dissertation-filing-deadlines-and-workshops/.
Student Mailboxes
All graduate students are assigned individual mailboxes in the Main English Office. It is very important that students check their boxes frequently for mail and departmental notices. Students are responsible for the information contained in all official notices sent by the Department and placed in their boxes in addition to electronic correspondence sent by the Department.