New Graduate Student FAQ

The deadline for admitted students to submit the intent to register (SIR) is April 15th.

We encourage applicants who have received an offer of admission to submit the Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) as soon as they have decided on a graduate program.
To view important dates/deadlines for each quarter, please visit: https://www.registrar.ucla.edu/Term-Calendar

The average length of time in the MS program is 5 quarters. The maximum time allowed for completing the MS degree is 2 academic years (6 quarters).

No. 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 sixweek 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.

Applicants who are admitted into the PhD and do not hold a MS are required to complete and earn a MS degree within the first two years (6 quarters) of enrollment with UCLA. These students would then be expected to complete and earn the PhD within 5 years (15 quarters) of earning the MS.
Applicants who are admitted into the PhD and hold a MS are expected to complete and earn the PhD within 5 years (15 quarters) of earning the MS.

Please visit the university’s academic and administrative calendar.

Admitted students who SIR, can log-on to MyUCLA in mid/late-June to self-enroll in courses for the Fall term.

Enrollment for graduate students takes place during a single pass. Enrollment for Fall will begin in June. This date is assigned by the Registrar’s Office and cannot be changed by our office. The date can be found in your MyUCLA account home page and under “MyUCLA graduate pass enrollment appointments begin” in the Registrar’s Office Term Calendar.

Course Types:
1-99 = undergraduate, lower-division level courses
100-199 = undergraduate, upper-division level courses
200-299 = graduate level courses
500-599 = independent studies courses (“filler” units)

The University does not check prerequisites. The system will allow you to enroll even if a prerequisite is listed. If a prerequisite is listed and you believe you have the knowledge to perform well in a course, feel free to enroll in the course. If you have doubts, ask the instructor. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure they have the proper prerequisite knowledge for a course.

Our program’s full-time enrollment requirement is 12 units. To satisfy the 12 unit requirement, you can take individual studies courses (500-series courses). All independent study courses are S/U graded and you can choose to take 2-12 units under your faculty advisor’s section of the course. For example, if you are enrolled in 2 graduate courses (4 units each) then you can enroll in 4 units of an individual studies course in order to meet this 12 unit requirement.

500-series courses for Fall quarter will become available for enrollment in late-August/early-September. Students will not be able to view or enroll in 500-series courses for Fall before late-August/early-September. Our office will notify all students once these courses are available for enrollment.

No. Section 80/Lecture 80 courses are for the MS Online Program (MSOL). Only students admitted to the MS Online program are permitted to take these. Our students may take MS Online courses during Summer only by contacting the MS Online program directly and requesting to enroll in their online courses.

ECE graduate students cannot enroll in online courses during the academic year (Fall, Winter, Spring). You will need to directly contact the MS Online Program (MSOL) for permission to enroll in an online course during the summer. It is up to the discretion of the MSOL department whether you will be allowed to enroll in the course.

If there is a specific course that you are interested in that is full, our office recommends that you monitor enrollment and wait for a space to open. Graduate students almost always get into the graduate courses they want. Most often, enrollment numbers fluctuate before Fall quarter begins, and spots become available once students’ schedules settle during the first weeks of the quarter. Be sure to always attend the courses you want even if you are not yet enrolled, wait for a space to open up, and/or ask the instructor for a PTE number during the first week of class. Many instructors do not give out PTEs until Fall quarter/classes begin.

The ECE Graduate Affairs Office cannot provide PTEs for courses. The student will need to contact the instructor directly for a PTE via email or in-person. Many instructors do not give out PTEs until Fall quarter/classes begin. Many engineering related instructor email addresses can be found at the Samueli School of Engineering Faculty Directory and/or UCLA Campus Directory. Our office is not able to provide email addresses for instructors who are not in the Samueli Faculty Directory or UCLA Campus Directory.

Yes, students are required to either enroll in UC SHIP or complete the UC SHIP waiver. Students are also required to comply with the campus immunization requirement.

No. Per the Standards & Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA (pages 9-10):

Courses taken for any other degree previously awarded at UCLA or another institution, and courses taken before the award of the bachelor’s degree may not be applied toward a graduate degree at UCLA.

Grades earned in UCLA Extension are not included in computing grade averages for the graduate transcript and therefore cannot be considered in determining whether a student is on academic probation.

Through petition, courses completed in graduate status on other UC campuses may apply to master’s programs at UCLA, provided they were not used toward a previous degree. Courses taken for any other degree previously awarded at UCLA or another institution, and courses taken before the award of the bachelor’s degree may not be applied toward a graduate degree at UCLA. Correspondence courses are not applicable to graduate degrees.

UCLA’s Transfer Credit policy:

• Max of two courses may transfer
• Course(s) must be at the graduate level
• Must have earned a “B” or better
• Course(s) must not have been applied to a previous degree or certificate
• Courses(s) must closely align to a course offered at UCLA
• Course(s) must be completed prior to the student’s admittance date (UCLA does not allow concurrent enrollment at other institutions).

If you meet the above requirements, please send the following information to eerequest@seas.ucla.edu for a preliminary evaluation:

1. Your name and UID
2. A Student Petition form describing the request and justification, signed by you and your advisor
3. Course title + official course description (web links from the university are preferred)
4. Course syllabus
5. Specify whether the units are quarter or semester units

Please allow 3-4 weeks for a response. If the course is approved for transfer, you will be notified via e-mail. Please save the “approval” e-mail.

The department does not provide preliminary evaluations for students who have not yet been admitted and enrolled in courses. Due to the high volume of applications we receive each cycle, we will not be able to respond to emails from applicants inquiring about course transfers.
A maximum of two courses completed with a minimum grade of ‘B’ in graduate status at institutions other than UC may apply to UCLA master’s programs. Two courses would be the equivalent of eight quarter units or five semester units. They may not fulfill the minimum five graduate-course requirement or the academic residence requirement. Approval from the Division of Graduate Education and the student’s major department is required (via a petition) to transfer credits.

Enrollment through UCLA Extension is not a substitute for enrollment in a regular academic session. Credit for UCLA Extension courses is usually limited to instances where the courses are taken prior to graduate admission (but after award of the bachelor’s degree) to demonstrate ability in the field, although unusual circumstances may justify an exception. By petition to the Division of Graduate Education, UCLA Extension courses may be applied toward master’s degrees if the following conditions are met:

1. The courses (100, 200, or 400 series) must be clearly identified as CONCURRENT courses on the transcript. The designation “XLC” must appear before the department name and course number to designate a concurrent course.
2. A student must have received grades of ‘B’ or better in the courses.
3. A student must have completed the courses after the award of the bachelor’s degree.
4. The petition must have the support of the graduate program and include an official UCLA Extension transcript.

A maximum of two concurrent UCLA Extension courses (eight units) may be applied toward a nine-course, fivegraduate-course program.

A student in a program requiring more than nine courses for the master’s degree may petition for concurrent courses completed through UCLA Extension (with a grade of ‘B’ or better after the student has received the bachelor’s degree) to meet one-half the course requirements over and above the University minimum of nine.

Grades earned in UCLA Extension are not included in computing grade averages for the graduate transcript and therefore cannot be considered in determining whether a student is on academic probation.

Transfers from the ECE program to a different Master’s program are contingent upon departmental review. Admission is neither automatic nor guaranteed.

While the ECE program is not a pipeline to on-campus programs, you are welcome to inquire within your target department. Some students have been successful in their request to transfer. Other students have not.

Ultimately, we encourage you to first pursue the program which best suits your needs.

We do not have a separate transfer admission process at the graduate level; all applicants submit the same application through the official UCLA Graduate Application.
M.S. applicants should also refer to the M.S. transfer coursework policy by reviewing the Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Yes, new students are asked to submit official transcripts once they complete their degree. Official final transcripts are required before Fall quarter classes begin in September.

Official final transcripts must list the “degree awarded” or “degree conferred” date. If the “degree awarded” or “degree conferred” date is not listed then it is not considered “final” by the Graduate Division and the student will be required to submit another transcript once their Registrar’s Office adds the date to their document. International students must also request that their institution send their diploma and degree certificate in both English and the native/original language.

No. Our office and the Graduate Division require official documents from only the institution(s) you attended for your Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree.

Transcripts from WES are not considered official final transcripts. Since they are not generated directly by the institution’s Registrar’s Office, they cannot be accepted by the Graduate Division. Documents should be sent directly from your institution in order to be considered official/final.

Go to MyUCLA, click on the “Academics” tab and find the “Holds” link under “Academic Profile.” A hold will be listed as “Grad Admission Transcript Hold.”

If you do not have a Transcript Hold on your account, you do not need to submit documents.

No, if you completed a degree at UCLA, you do not need to submit a transcript. If you completed your degree this Spring or earlier, then your official final transcript will be internally verified in the UCLA system and by the department in late July/early August. Your hold should be removed in early August.

If you are completing a degree at UCLA during the summer before Fall classes begin, then you will need to submit a Transcript Hold Extension Request form since your official final transcript will not be available in the internal UCLA system until November.

Transcript Holds become active on student accounts on August 15th. We ask that students send their documents to us by August 5th so that our office and the Graduate Division have time to process and verify them. Active holds on a student record could affect registration, enrollment, and other services at UCLA so it is imperative you check on your status.

If your institution sent your transcript/documents electronically, you can expect an email from the ECE Graduate Student Affairs Office 4-5 business days after it is sent to us, confirming receipt. If your institution sent your transcript/documents by mail, you will need to wait 7-10 business days to receive an email confirmation from our office, since parcels are dropped off and signed for at the general Engineering mailing office and take several days to then be routed to our office.

You can check whether you still have a Transcript Hold on your account by going to MyUCLA, clicking on the “Academics” tab and finding the “Holds” link under “Academic Profile.” Holds will be listed as “Grad Admission Transcript Hold.” Please wait at least 10 business days before requesting a status update if you have submitted all of your documents and the hold has not yet been removed.

Transcript holds are placed and removed by the Graduate Division. It can take 7 to 10 business days for both our office and the Graduate Division to verify your documents after receiving them. If you have submitted your documents via mail, you will need to wait a few additional days since parcels are dropped off and signed for at the general Engineering mailing office and take several days to then be routed to our office.

No, students do not need to complete a comprehensive exam for any of the MS plans.

Funding information is located on the ECE Funding Information web page.

TA positions are reserved for 2+ year students. First year students are expected to focus on their coursework.

The department accepts applications from current students in summer for TA positions to be assigned the following academic school year. PhD students fill nearly all TA positions. Assignments are contingent on your eligibility which includes passing the 495 course: Teaching Assistant Training Seminar, and for non-native speakers of English, passing the university’s Test of Oral Proficiency (TOP).
All MS admittees may explore TA opportunities in other academic departments (i.e EE, Math, STAT). TAing is not part of the Electrical & Computer Engineering Masters Program and MS students (both incoming and continuing) are not guaranteed TAships/GSRs (i.e. Dept funding) for any year. MS applicants and MS students are not eligible for departmental financial support. To qualify for a visa to study in the U.S., international MS applicants must demonstrate personal or agency financial support of at least over $55,000 for the first year. Prospective MS applicants should apply for admission ONLY if they can provide such documentation, which will be requested if admission is offered, in early March. Information on the cost of attendance is available on the UCLA Graduate Division Cost of Attendance webpage.

Applicants are also strongly encouraged to apply for University and external funding opportunities. Information about university-wide fellowships and grants, and external fellowships may be found at the UCLA Graduate Division funding webpage.

GSR stands for Graduate Student Researcher. Each faculty member determines if he/she has the funding available and whom to hire as GSR.

PhD admittees are offered financial support as either a graduate student researcher (GSR) or departmental fellow. All MS admittees may explore GSR opportunities in other academic departments (i.e Math, STAT) and campus departments.

MS faculty advisors are assigned in early-June. Students can expect an email from the ECE Graduate Student Affairs Office notifying them of the assignment. Assignments are based on the areas of interest and preferred advisors that each student selected in the application, as well as department logistics, faculty member schedules, and several other factors.

PhD faculty advisors are based on the faculty member who recommended the student for admission. The advisor name and email address will be listed in the funding offer letter that PhD students receive. If a PhD student did not receive a funding letter and would like confirmation of who their advisor is they can contact eerequest@seas.ucla.edu.

A list of faculty members who teach for Electrical & Computer Engineering can be found at the ECE Faculty Directory.

A searchable database of UCLA Research Expertise is available online. Please note it will contain information from all departments on campus. Clicking the Contact Information link in this database will take you to the UCLA Directory.

Details on ECE Research is located here.

Yes, students who have research interests in the same area as a particular faculty member, may wish to email the faculty member regarding research, advising, etc. Keep in mind, many faculty schedules (teaching, research, travel, etc.) cause delays in response, especially during the summer. We encourage students to be considerate when emailing faculty.

MS students who are interested in changing their advisor may do so after completing the first quarter of studies, by submitting a Change of Advisor form to the ECE Office of Graduate Student Affairs at eerequest@seas.ucla.edu. The form will require the signatures of the student’s current and proposed advisor.

PhD students who are considering a change of advisor should contact the ECE Office of Graduate Student Affairs at eerequest@seas.ucla.edu and meet with the ECE Office of Graduate Student Affairs Manager before proceeding, as doing so could alter the status of their funding.

Students interested in pursuing the MS Thesis plan should first take courses from the faculty whose research interests them. Visit their office hours and/or send an email expressing your interest in doing master’s thesis research. The default plan is the courses option, but if you identify a thesis or project advisor, you can switch to either plan throughout the year. You should expect the thesis plan to take two full years, with research starting in the 2nd or 3rd quarter.

You do not need to notify our office that you are completing the MS Thesis plan until the beginning of the quarter that you plan to advance to candidacy and/or complete your MS degree.

All residency-related questions should be directed to the UCLA campus’ Residence Deputy. The best way to contact them is via email: residencedeputy@registrar.ucla.edu.

Unfortunately, you cannot defer your admission to UCLA. If you are unable to attend in the quarter you were admitted, you will need to submit a renewal application for the next admission cycle.

If you decide to reapply, we can re-use the supplemental materials that were previously submitted, i.e. official transcript, personal history statement, letters of recommendation, etc.

Admitted applicants who do not attend for the quarter they are admitted, may renew their application during the next academic year’s admission cycle. Students must apply as they did the previous year (meeting all stated deadlines). However, selecting the application type as RENEWAL will waive the application fee. NOTE: Only admitted students may “renew” their application. .

Renewal applicants will not be required to upload a new statement of purpose, Resume/CV, and scanned transcripts as part of the application process. If final, official transcripts were previously received by the EE Office of Graduate Student Affairs, they will be held on file for 3 years.

Many students may find it beneficial to gain new letters of recommendation outlining any additional achievements and skills earned to strengthen their application.

Space in university housing is limited. If you are interested, please submit an online housing lottery application immediately after admission to the university. The application requires a $30 non-refundable fee. Information is available at the UCLA University Housing website.

Information on the different buildings and room types can also be found at the UCLA Housing website. For information on room assignments and lottery results, you can email UCLA Housing directly at uclahousing@housing.ucla.edu.

The Electrical & Computer Engineering Department has limited guaranteed housing slots/allocations, which are offered to our most highly recruited PhD students. These PhD students are contacted directly by email regarding housing slots in May.

A good place to start is the UCLA Community Housing Office (CHO) which provides an online rental database and maintains additional resources to assist those searching for housing in the Los Angeles area. Please visit the community housing website.

No. Courses that are taken while a student is not yet in the Departmental Scholar Program (DSP), cannot count towards ECE Master’s degree requirements. The course will not count towards the MS degree if you are not yet admitted into DSP. For example, if you are admitted into the program for Spring 2026 then any graduate courses you take starting in Spring 2026 will count towards MS degree requirements.

Yes, you will need a PTE number to enroll in graduate courses even if you are a departmental scholar. You should request a PTE number directly from the instructor via email or in-person. If the instructor does not provide a PTE number to you by Tuesday of Week 2 of that quarter, you can request a PTE number from the ECE Graduate Student Affairs Office via email at eerequest@seas.ucla.edu. Please note, our office will not provide a PTE number before Tuesday of Week 2. Students are expected to attend classes in-person until securing a PTE number.

Your assigned MS faculty advisor is the ECE faculty member who provided a recommendation letter for your DSP application. If you would like confirmation of who your assigned faculty advisor is, please contact the ECE Graduate Student Affairs Office via email at eerequest@seas.ucla.edu.

Students admitted into the DSP program should follow standard ECE MS Degree Requirements. ECE MS degree requirements are the same for both students admitted through the standard UCLA Graduate Application and UCLA undergraduate students admitted to DSP.