Students who intend to graduate must follow the appropriate steps for graduation based on their degree level.
M.S. Graduation
In order to graduate during a given quarter M.S. students must apply for Advancement to Candidacy by submitting the appropriate documents to the Electrical and Computer Engineering Office of Graduate Student Affairs. Only students who have advanced to candidacy are eligible to graduate.
Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) status is a formal confirmation that an M.S. student is expected to complete (or have completed) all course requirements by the end of their prospective graduation quarter.
To apply for Advancement to Candidacy, M.S. students must complete the following steps:
- Submit a signed copy of the ECE MS Advancement to Candidacy form no later than Wednesday of Week 2, during their graduation quarter. (Note that students are not responsible for completing the “Chair or authorized department advisor signature” field, and may submit the form with only their signature.)
- Submit a revised M.S. Program of Study if any changes have been made to their most recently submitted M.S. Program of Study form.
- Complete the M.S. Graduation Survey, sent to students by email at the beginning of each quarter.
The UCLA Graduate Division processes all requests for advancement by approximately Week 8 of a student’s expected quarter of graduation, when they will receive an email confirmation that they are officially a degree candidate for the M.S. degree. M.S. students must notify the ECE Graduate Office if any of the courses applied toward their degree requirements change or if they decide to postpone their quarter graduation.
M.S. Students who intend to continue into our Department’s Ph.D. program through the M.S.-to-Ph.D. application process are encouraged to follow our Department’s application instructions. All materials must be submitted to the ECE Graduate Office by the beginning of the first week of the quarter prior to an M.S. student’s intended quarter of graduation.
Ph.D. Graduation
Ph.D. Students are eligible to graduate after the completion of all course requirements, pass their Final Oral Examination (Ph.D. Defense), and file their dissertation. The quarter in which they file their dissertation will be considered to be their quarter of Graduation, with the final day of the same quarter being considered the date of the conferral of their degree.