Add a Class
You can add, drop or change a grade basis up till the last day of instruction per quarter. This can be done on URSA at http://www.ursa.ucla.edu or 310-208-0425. You have until the end of the second week of the quarter without being charged a fee. During the third week you will be charged $3.00. After that time you will be charged $13.00 per course; $10.00 penalty and $3.00 assessing fee. You must already be enrolled to do this otherwise it's considered a Late Study List (see Late Study List below).
Enrolling in classes:
Again, you can enroll up till the last day of instruction but will be charged fees after the second week. If you have not enrolled in any courses by the end of the second week, you will have to pay a $50.00 Last Study List fee and complete an Enrollment Petition form, which is available in OSS. (You may not enroll in courses via URSA at this point.) You will be charged a $50.00 fee. The form requires the signature of the Director of OSS, but not the faculty whose course you are adding.
After the quarter ends:
The department does not approved retroactive enrollment petitions. Students are responsible for making sure the details of their study list are correct prior to the end of the quarter.
Advancement to Candidacy
Doctoral students advance to candidacy after they pass their Written Qualifying Examination and their Preliminary Oral Exam. Master's degree candidates must submit advancement to candidacy petition to the Office of Student Services (OSS) within the quarter they expect to be awarded the degree. ATC forms are also attached to the Master's Comprehensive Exam applications given in the Fall and Spring Quarters
Ph.D students taking the Doctoral Screening Exam or HEOC Ph.D students taking the DAP exam and want to receive a Master's degree in Education along the way, you must also fill out an ATC form at the time of application.
For PhD's taking your quals, make sure you have removed any Incompletes you may have had and have filed a Cognate Petition form.
Address Change
To change your address in the University's computer system, you can either change it on URSA or pick up a form that is available in the lobby of Murphy Hall. Forms are available in the Office of Student Services for address changes in GSE&IS. Students should file both forms.
Bruin Card
Can be picked up at 123 Kerckhoff by presenting a photo ID. To report a lost or stolen card, call 310-206-3199.
Cognate
Ph.D. in Education students complete a cognate in a department at UCLA other than Education. Three courses are required with the approval of the student's advisor and division head prior to taking the courses. Cognate credit is not given for coursework taken to satisfy a previous degree. Cognate forms and supplemental forms are available in OSS.
Commencement
The Graduate School of Education & Information Studies holds its own commencement ceremony each year in the middle of June. Doctoral candidates who have completed their final oral examination are hooded by faculty at the ceremony.
Committee Nominations
For Master's students writing a thesis (including those on the way to a doctorate): During the quarter, in which you are completing the 9th course that meets the master's requirement, you should nominate your thesis committee and be advanced to candidacy. Master's Thesis Committee Nomination and Advancement to Candidacy forms are available in OSS and must be filled out in conjunction with your OSS Student Affairs Advisor.
For Doctoral students: as soon as you receive word that you have passed your Written Qualifying Exam, you should begin the process of nominating your committee. You may download the Doctoral Committee Nomination form online at www.gdnet.ucla.edu that explains the process and requirements or you may pick the form up in OSS. Once the faculty has agreed to sit on your committee, you fill out the form (with the aid of your SAO) and submit it to OSS. It takes approximately 3 weeks for your committee to be approved. YOU MUST HAVE YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED BEFORE YOU SIT FOR THE PRELIMINARY ORAL EXAM.
Comprehensive Examination
Students in a Master of Arts degree program may opt to take a Master's Comprehensive Exam or do a Master's Thesis. Some exams are in-house, others are take-home (based on the divisions). TEP students must do a portfolio.
Computers
To gain access to UCLA's library system (Orion and Melvyl), you need to purchase Bruin On-line in the Computer Store and to get a password from the Office of Academic Computing (OAC). This will enable you to do book and periodical searches. You will be able to view some text or abstracts on Melvyl (journals, newspapers, and magazines). To gain access to the library system from home, you need a personal computer with a modem.
DAP or Doctoral Screening Exam
Some divisions require that students pass a Doctoral Screening Exam at the end of their first year or after a specific number of courses. All doctoral students admitted without a Master's degree must take the Doctoral Screening Exam. (In HEOC, it's called DAP.) Please check with your division for specific policy.
Diplomas
To receive a duplicate or special request, call 310-825-1091, option 6 or go to 1113 Murphy. Please allow 3 months after degree completion to receive your diploma.
Dissertation Procedures (click here for complete process)
Dissertation Filing Advisor
The layout for all culminating projects must be prepared according to the standards set by the Dissertation Filing Advisor also known as the University Archivist. Two copies of the dissertation/culminating project are filed with the advisor upon completion. The advisor is located in 390 Powell Library. The telephone number is 825-3625. The hours are noon - 4:00 p.m. Guidelines are also available at www.gdnet.ucla.edu.
Doctoral Committee
Each student will select a committee of four UCLA faculty to oversee their culminating projects. For Ph.D. committees, all four members must be tenure -track faculty. Two of the four must be Associate Professors or Professors (including emeritus associate professors or professors). The other two can be adjunct professors or assistant professors. Three of the committee members must be from the students department and One must be from an outside department such as , Anthropology, Management, or Sociology at UCLA. A doctoral committee may have one chair or co-chairs.
You must submit the Doctoral Committee Nomination form to the Office of Student Services (OSS) at least three weeks before you do your preliminary orals examination. These forms are available online at www.gdnet.ucla.edu or in OSS and can be picked up any time.
If you decide to change the members of your committee, you must complete a Doctoral Committee Reconstitution form that must be signed by your committee chair, by the member leaving the committee, the new member, and by the Department Chair. Please submit the form to the Office of Student Services after you obtain the first three signatures. The form is also used for a change to the Final Oral Examination. You may download the form at www.gdnet.ucla.edu or pick it up in OSS.
Drop a Class
You can drop a class at any time during the quarter up till the last day of instruction. If you are enrolled and add/drop a class before the end of the second week you will not be assessed a fee. If you drop or add a class after the end of the second week, but are enrolled, you will be assessed a $13.00 fee.
Enrollment
Enrollment means you have enrolled in classes not to be confused with registering. To be registered means you have paid tuition and fees so that you can enroll in classes.
You have until the end of the second week to enroll in classes without paying a $50.00 Last Study List fee though URSA at 310-208-0425 or online at http://www.ursa.ucla.edu. You have until the end of the third week to enroll, but you will be charged a $50.00 fee.
Final Oral Examination
When your doctoral committee has decided that your dissertation is complete, you will schedule a two-hour session (called the Final Oral Examination) with all of your committee members, unless your final oral is not required (check with your SAO in OSS for proper procedures). You need to contact the department room scheduler in Moore Hall 2005 to reserve a room for the exam. Before you sit for the exam you must obtain a Doctoral Final Oral Examination form from OSS. If your committee approves your project at the examination, they will sign the signature page of your culminating project and the Final Oral Examination Form. Please return the signed form to OSS immediately. You may want to retain a copy for your records.
Filing Fees
Master's students with the thesis option: Once you have finished the coursework, or are in the last quarter of your coursework, you will nominate your thesis committee and advance to candidacy. Ordinarily, our Master's students will file the thesis that same quarter. However, UCLA says that you have up to a year from the date you advance to file your thesis. So, beginning the quarter after you advance to candidacy, you do not need to register (pay fees) or enroll in courses. When you are ready to file the thesis, you simply pay the filing fee (one-half the current registration fee, currently $119.00) and file the thesis. Then you are officially done. [Note: You will continue to receive notices from the registrar's office about your fees until you actually file the thesis. You should contact them to let them know you have advanced to candidacy and will use the filing fee at a later date.]
Doctoral students: Once you have finished your coursework and have passed the Written Qualifying Exam, you will nominate your doctoral committee as you prepare to take your Preliminary Oral Exam. Once you pass the oral exam, you automatically advance to candidacy. For doctoral students, you must register (pay fees) and enroll each quarter up to and including the quarter before you file the dissertation. During the quarter you file, you may pay the filing fee in lieu of registration fees (one-half the current registration fee, currently $119.00). You pay the filing fee at the time you file and are then finished. NOTE: In order to use the filing fee, you must have been registered and enrolled the previous quarter.
For both Master's and Doctoral students: a Filing Fee form signed by the department chair is required when using the filing fee. These forms are available in OSS.
If you go through an entire quarter without registering (paying fees) or using a filing fee, the university will drop you. It is important for students to know that you will have to reapply. The department does not approve retroactive leaves of absence or retroactive enrollments except in extreme cases.
Financial Aid
Government student loans are available to half-time (4 units) or full-time students (8 or more units). They are available as need-based or non-need-based loans. The U. S. government subsidizes the need-based Stafford Student Loan and payments on the interest and the loan begin after program completion. On Stafford Loans that are not need-based, payment on the interest begins after the loan is given.
Student loan materials can be obtained from the Financial Aid. Office, A129 Murphy Hall, 310-206-0400. Loan checks are generally given out about a week before the quarter begins.
Financial Aid Checks
Checks must be picked up in person at A227 Murphy Hall. Their office hours are 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Key Financial Terms and Their Order of Completion
* FAFSA Free Application for Federal Student Aid Sent to Federal Student Aid (P.O. Box 4016, Iowa City, Iowa 52243-4016)
* SAR Student Aid Report - Based on information from the FAFSA
* FAT Financial Aid Transcript - It is sent to the Financial Aid Offices of the colleges you attended
* FAN Financial Aid Notification - Approval of loan, describes amount of funds awarded
GPA (Grade Point Average)
A "B-" (2.7) is the lowest grade acceptable for course credit for a doctoral program. A "C" is the lowest grade acceptable for a master's degree program. All graduate students must maintain a "B" average (3.00) or better to be in good standing. Students whose GPA is below a 3.00 are automatically placed on probation and are subject to dismissal from the Program and the University.
Grades
You may check on your grades on line at http://www.ursa.ucla.edu. or by calling URSA at (310) 208-0425. If you are doing it by phone, all entries must be followed by the # sign. Please follow this sequence:
Enter your UCLA 9-digit ID number #
Enter your 4-digit security code #
Then follow the directions from the recording.
You may give the professor a grade card (postcard) to mail back to you with your course grade. Grade reports are not sent out by the Program or by UCLA. If you wish to obtain your class grades at the end of a quarter, give the professor a self-addressed postcard or obtain a transcript from the Registrar's Office (825-3801).
Grading
UCLA uses a grading system that ranges from A+ through F. Only grades of B- or above are acceptable for credit in doctoral programs. It is the student's responsibility to check their grades and follow up on any grade changes that are put through.
Health Care at UCLA
Students are required to pay the Health Care Fee each quarter unless they have their own medical insurance and submit the waiver form.
Holds
Any type of holds you have on your student account may affect your ability to enroll, register, use campus facilities and/or receive financial aid. To check your status, you can either call 310-208-0425 or online at http://www.ursa.ucla.edu
Incompletes (I)
Due to exceptional circumstances, a student may be unable to complete a course at the end of a quarter. If the professor agrees to the student's request for an incomplete, the course must be completed by the end of the following quarter or the incomplete (I) automatically lapses to a grade of F. If an "I" is given for the Spring quarter, the course must be completed by the end of following Fall quarter. After you complete the criteria to complete the course, it is your responsibility to have OSS give the faculty the form or have the professor pick up the form from OSS. The professor and only the professor obtain the Removal of Incomplete Form from OSS. The completed form is then and files the form and fee with the Main Cashier's Office. (Murphy Hall). Do not have the professor sign the form. It is not sufficient to just obtain the professor's approval. Students with incomplete courses can not take the qualifying examinations.
Late Study List
A late study list means it is past the second week of the quarter, you haven't enrolled in any classes and now will have to fill out an Enrollment Petition form and be charged a $50.00 fee. The Enrollment Petition form ia available in OSS and requires the signature of the Director of the Office of Student Services.
Leave-of-Absence
For exceptional reasons such as severe illness, students may formally request a leave-of-absence. This involves completing a university leave-of-absence form and a Department of Education or LIS leave-of-absence form. The student needs to make an appointment with the Director of the Office of Student Services before the paperwork can be approved. A leave may be given for up to one year.
Libraries
UCLA has extensive library facilities. It is most likely that you will use the Charles E. Young Research Library. Up until 1991, the Department of Education had its own library, the Ed/Psych Library. Due to seismic renovation and budgetary factors, this library was closed. The Education books are now shelved in the Research Library while the Psychology books are in the Biomedical Library (Medical Center). Education dissertations are shelved in the Research Library. You may also want to use the Management Library (Anderson Graduate School of Management).
The Department of Education contact person in the Research Library is Jennifer Osorio. Her telephone number is 825-5526. Information Science books are also at the Research Library. The IS Department has a collection in the IS LAB.
Library Cards
You use your Bruin Card for access to the UCLA libraries.
Name Change
To change your name officially with the University, you need to pick up a UCLA Correction or Change of Name form at Academic Record Services, 1134 Murphy Hall. There is no fee for this. A new BruinCard must be obtained at 123 Kerckhoff for a $15.00 replacement fee.
Nomination of Committee
See "Committee Nomination" above.
Parking
For GSR's: Any GSE&IS graduate researcher, working at least 49% time, can obtain a parking pass for $129 per quarter based on space availability. GSR's can request any parking lot but will be placed in whichever lot is available at that time. To attain the neccessary paperwork see Michael Hall in the Business office, 2052 Moore Hall.
All graduate students can apply for parking at Parking Services, 555 Westwood Plaza, Suite 200. Telephone (310) 825-9871. Permits are usually purchased on a quarterly (Fall through Spring) basis. You may request regular permits or ones that are good after 4:30 p.m. and on the weekend. Parking permits are required on Saturdays and Sundays. The closest lots to Moore Hall are Lots 9 (top level comes out near the Bomb Shelter and the Court of Science), Lot 6 (across from Ackerman Student Union) and Lot 2 (off of Westholme and Hilgard).
Petitions
UCLA Enrollment Petitions are used to add a class, drop a class, change the grading basis, or number of units after the university deadlines have passed. Students who do not enroll by the deadline or who must make enrollment changes, must file a petition and pay the required late fees. Forms are available in OSS or in Murphy Hall. If you need to do one of these petitions, please:
* Complete the form, have the professor sign (instructor's approval)
* Obtain a note from the professor indicating what happened
* Write your own explanation
* Drop off these three items in OSS to obtain approval from the Chair of Department
* Pick-up the form and take to the Cashier's Office to pay fee
* Take to the Graduate Division in Murphy Hall
Preliminary Oral Examination
When your doctoral committee judges that the proposal for your dissertation is ready, you may schedule your preliminary oral examination. Room arrangements are made in OSS. Please note that you must wait at least three weeks to schedule your preliminary orals after your doctoral committee form has been processed by OSS and sent to the Graduate Division.
The preliminary orals are a defense of your proposal and must be attended by all the members of your committee. Others are not permitted to attend. Please schedule a two-hour block of time. On the day of your exam, pick up the required forms in OSS. The committee will review your proposal and make suggestions. If your proposal is approved, they will sign your oral examination form (available from OSS). The form is given to the Office of Student Services immediatly after the examination as this serves as your Advancement to Candidacy.
Probation
To be in good standing, students must maintain a GPA of 3.00 or better or be subject to dismissal from the Program and from UCLA. While grades of B- count towards the degree, they suggest that the student needs help with the subject matter in that course.
Recreation
Use of the Wooden Center is available to all students and are included in your fees.
Registration
You must register and pay UCLA fees prior to the beginning of each quarter. You enroll on URSA by calling (310) 208-0425 or online at www.ursa.ucla.edu/. If you do not enroll by the university deadlines, you will pay late fees and may need to petition for late enrollment. If you do not pay all fees by end of 2nd week, courses are dropped and fellowships suspended
Security Code
This is a 4-digit number, which will be mailed by the Registrar prior to your start at UCLA. You need this code to use URSA. When you use URSA, it will tell you how to change your security code.
Study List
A study list is the record of courses you are enrolled in for the quarter. If you haven't enrolled in any classes by the end of the second week of the quarter, you will be charged a Late Study List fee of $50.00
Student I.D. Number
see "Univeristy I.D. number"
Termination
Students who are on probation for more than one quarter may be subject to termination from GSE&IS and UCLA
Transcripts
They are available from the Registrar's Office, 1134 Murphy Hall, (310) 825-3801.
University I.D. Number (UID)
This is a 9-digit student ID number given to you by UCLA. It is not your social security number. This number is Located on your Bruin card.
Written Qualifying Examination
After students complete their coursework for the doctoral degree, they take the Written Qualifying Examination. Students may receive a "honors", "pass" or fail. "Honors" are rare. Exams are offered in Fall and in Spring only. |
