MEDICAL AND ACADEMIC LEAVES
In rare instances, graduate students may need to take a leave of absence (LOA) for personal and/or health reasons. If this occurs, please review the LOA guidelines and contact the appropriate department graduate student services staff member for further details.
ADVANCEMENT
Review campus-wide filing deadlines and check with your department for internal deadlines, as several signatures are needed prior to filing paperwork.
- Advancement to Candidacy
- Master's students must advance to candidacy at least one quarter prior to degree completion. For Social Ecology master's programs, advancement typically occurs in the winter quarter of year two.
- Comprehensive Exam Option:
- The masters advancement to candidacy form should be initiated using DocuSign. Please contact your program Assistant Director for more information on initiating this form.
- MA Thesis Option:
- For masters students who choose the thesis option, a committee of three faculty members must be indicated on the advancement paperwork. The masters advancement to candidacy form should be initiated using DocuSign. Please contact your program Assistant Director for more information on initaiting this form.
- The masters thesis committee is comprised of three voting members of the University Academic Senate.
- A majority of the committee, but not necessarily all, shall be affiliated with the program.
- Please see Graduate Division's Policies and Procedures for additional information.
- For masters students who choose the thesis option, a committee of three faculty members must be indicated on the advancement paperwork. The masters advancement to candidacy form should be initiated using DocuSign. Please contact your program Assistant Director for more information on initaiting this form.
- Comprehensive Exam Option:
- Master's students must advance to candidacy at least one quarter prior to degree completion. For Social Ecology master's programs, advancement typically occurs in the winter quarter of year two.
FINAL DEGREE INSTRUCTIONS
Review campus-wide filing deadlines and check with your department for internal deadlines, as several signatures are needed prior to filing paperwork.
- Final Degree (Comprehensive Exam)
- Master's students can petition to graduate after a successful advancement.
- The Master's Exit Survey must be completed before submitting final degree paperwork. Master's students should pay close attention to program deadlines for providing proof of survey completion.
- For Social Ecology master's programs, final degree (comprehensive exam) paperwork is managed by program Graduate Affairs staff (e.g. Assistant Directors), and is typically submitted in the Spring Quarter of year two.
- Final Degree (Master's Thesis)
Master's students can petition to graduate after a successful advancement. For master's students who choose to complete a master's thesis, there are additional steps:- Review instructions on how to upload your MA Thesis to the UCI Libraries.
- After uploading, you will receive a confirmation from UCI Libraries - save a copy of this email so that it can be added to your final degree paperwork.
- Complete the Master's Exit Survey before submitting final degree paperwork.
- Doctoral students pursuing a master's degree in Social Ecology will not be able to complete the Master's Exit Survey. Please consult with program Graduate Affairs staff for more details.
- Complete the Master's Thesis Signature Page/Report on Final Examination for the Master's Degree form via DocuSign. Please consult with program Graduate Affairs staff on how to initiate the document.
- This will also include the Master's Thesis Submission Checklist form - summarizing all required documents.
- Compile all materials above and pay the Master's Thesis Submission Fee online.
- Review instructions on how to upload your MA Thesis to the UCI Libraries.