Minimum Degree Requirements

Campus regulations concerning graduate education are set by the Graduate Council, a committee of the Academic Senate, and carried out by the Graduate Division staff under the direction of the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies.

GR 1.2 Standards of Scholarship and Disqualification

Graduate students are expected to prove themselves worthy of the privilege of advanced study and research offered at the university by making acceptable progress towards degree objectives and maintaining the standards of scholarship established by the Graduate Council.

Acceptable Progress includes, but is not limited to:

• 1. Completing courses with letter grades of “C-“ or better or “S”. Only

these grades and higher may count toward satisfying graduate degree requirements

• 2. Completing course work and other degree requirements in a timely

manner. In order to support timely progress, students may take courses outside of their required course work only with approval of the Graduate Advisor 3. Applying to graduate and completing the academic program once all degree requirements are met

Students are considered to be making unacceptable progress and be- come subject to dismissal when:

• 1. Cumulative grade point average falls below the required level of 3.0

at any time or

• 2. Quarterly GPA in two consecutive terms falls below 3.0, even if the

cumulative GPA remains above 3.0 or

• 3. Fail to make progress in research for two consecutive quarters

resulting in NC grades in research units or

• 4. Program requirements such as exams or research are not fulfilled in

a timely or satisfactory manner or

• 5. Fail to pass critical exams (including comprehensive or qualifying

exams) in two attempts or

• 6. Does not have a faculty advisor to supervise research in accordance

with the standard of practice in the student’s program or

• 7. PhD students not advanced to candidacy by their 15th quarter or

any student not having completed all degree requirements within one year beyond normative time

After consultation with the appropriate department or graduate group, the Dean of the Graduate Division will notify students who become sub- ject to dismissal of action taken.

Courses must be completed with letter grades of C- or better or S. Only these grades or higher may count toward satisfying graduate degree requirements. To continue in good standing and obtain an advanced degree, students must complete course work and other degree re- quirements in a timely manner. In order to support timely progress, students may take courses outside of their required course work only with approval of the Graduate Advisor. In addition, students must ap- ply to graduate and complete their academic program once all degree requirements are met. Students are considered to be making unaccept- able progress and become subject to dismissal when

• cumulative grade point average falls below the required level of 3.0 at any time or

• quarterly GPA in two consecutive terms falls below 3.0, even if the cumulative GPA remains above 3.0 or

• failing to make progress in research for two consecutive quarters resulting in NC grades in research units or

• program requirements such as exams or research are not fulfilled in a timely or satisfactory manner or

• failing to pass critical exams (including comprehensive or qualifying exams) in two attempts or

• does not have a faculty advisor to supervise research in accordance with the standard of practice in the student’s program or • PhD students not advanced to candidacy by their 15th quarter or any student not having completed all degree requirements within one year beyond normative time

Academic Standing is noted internally in the student profile, not publicly on the transcript or diploma.

Good Standing means the student has at least a 3.0 GPA both cumulative and quarterly.

Academic Warning means the student has received one quarterly GPA of below 3.0, but the cumulative GPA is still above 3.0.

Academic Notice means the student has a cumulative GPA of below 3.0

or two quarterly GPAs of below 3.0.

The minimum required period of residence in the University is one aca- demic year (3 quarters) of which two quarters must normally be spent at the University of California, Riverside. A candidate for a higher degree is regarded as a student in residence in a regular term only if actually enrolled in at least four units of upper division and/or graduate work; or, in a ten-week summer session at least four units.

The master’s degree can generally be earned in one of two ways: by writ- ing a thesis or by passing a comprehensive examination. Some programs offer only one of these options.

Both plans require a minimum of 36 quarter units of graduate (200 level) or upper-division (100 level) undergraduate work in the major subject or some other subject deemed relevant by the program faculty. Many programs have additional requirements. Courses at the 300 and 400 level do not count towards this minimum requirement.

Unless otherwise stated in the program description, the normative time required to complete the master’s degree is two years.

Plan I (Thesis) requires that at least 24 units be in graduate (200) level courses taken at a University of California campus (see residency requirements). Of these, only 12 may be in graduate research for the thesis and, in most cases, none may be in courses numbered 291 (exam preparation). Students are guided by a committee of three faculty who must be approved by the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies. In addition to requiring an acceptable thesis, the department may require any examination that it feels necessary to confirm that the student has an appropriate knowledge of the discipline. Once completed the thesis must adhere to University standards and be filed in the Graduate Division electronically.

Plan II (Comprehensive Examination) requires that at least 18 units be in graduate (200) level courses taken at a University of California campus (see residency requirements). Of these, only 12 may be in directed research, none may be in graduate research for the thesis and, in most cases, none may be in courses number 291 (exam preparation). Students must take a comprehensive examination, the content of which is determined by the department or program. No more than two attempts to pass the exam are allowed.

Master’s students in residence and in good standing may earn course credit by examination. Consult the departmental graduate advisor for further details.

Students must file for advancement to candidacy no later than the first week of the quarter in which they expect to receive their degree. Some degree requirements may be in progress at that time. The advancement to candidacy form is available through R’Grad (via R’Web) or directly at rgrad.ucr.edu. Students must complete all requirements for the degree by the last day of the quarter in which they intend to graduate. Students cannot graduate with an Incomplete grade unless they are continuing in a PhD program. Students may not graduate with a GD grade outstand- ing. Students must be enrolled or on filing fee status to complete degree requirements. If they were enrolled (or on filing fee status) every quarter of the previous academic year then they may complete during the summer without paying fees.

Permission to work for a second master’s degree may be approved when there is little relation in content between the two degrees. Duplication of a master’s degree in a single field is allowable only with permission of the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies.

Pursuit of a second doctorate is not permitted for currently enrolled graduate students. It is rarely permitted for students when they first apply to the University. For the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies to consider such an exception it must be in a fundamentally unrelated area and there will be no duplication or waiving of course- work if approved.

Students who are enrolled in a master’s program may petition to pur- sue the doctorate in their field of study. To do so, they should use the graduate application system while they are enrolled. Approval by the department is not automatic; the department determines whether or not each student has the academic potential to succeed in its Ph.D. pro- gram. This requirement for evaluating each student’s potential and academic fitness to proceed toward the Ph.D. is enforced regardless of the student’s initial degree objective at matriculation.

The minimum academic residence for the Ph.D. is six quarters at the Univer- sity of California, three of which must be spent in continuous residence at UCR. The normative time required for the Ph.D. varies considerably and is given at the end of each program’s description in the Programs and Courses section of this catalog. For the doctoral degree, normative time is defined as the period of full-time registration required to earn the degree. For most UCR programs, this is between five and seven years.

The doctorate, the highest degree the university can bestow, is a re- search degree, conferred on the recommendation of a doctoral commit- tee, which is nominated in consultation with the student by the program faculty and confirmed by the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies.

Because the Ph.D. is a research degree, the university gives programs considerable latitude in establishing degree requirements. The individual student’s program of study is planned in consultation with the graduate advisor, who supervises the student’s progress prior to the appointment of the doctoral committee.

A doctoral program generally involves two stages. The first stage is spent fulfilling the requirements established by the program or depart- ment and the Graduate Council, typically a series of courses culminat- ing in written and oral qualifying examinations. When these are passed, the student is advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D.

The second, or in-candidacy stage, is devoted primarily to indepen- dent study and research and to the preparation of the dissertation. The doctoral dissertation must be an original work of research in the candi- date’s chosen field of specialization. The doctoral committee determines the acceptability of the dissertation and may require that the student defend its contents in a final oral examination.

Only two attempts at major exams are allowed unless the program has special approval from the Graduate Council for additional attempts.

Professional development training is required for all MS, MA, MFA, MPP, and Ph.D. programs. Such training is ideally designed to help students achieve mastery of some core competencies including communication (e.g., writing and publishing, presentation skills, networking); academic development (e.g., skill building in teaching and mentoring, grant writing); leadership and professionalism (e.g., abilities in research/scholarship, professional ethics, and inclusiveness); and career development (e.g., strategies for success in graduate school and the profession, maintaining work/life balance, time management, and career and job market guidance). This list is not meant to be exhaustive or prescriptive, but rather to reflect the range of skills our students need to be successful.

Each program determines the format, content, and extent of its training in order to make it specific to, and appropriate for, the discipline. Training must be for unit credit and may be delivered as a single course or as portions of multiple courses. The courses must be listed in the catalogue and clearly noted as serving to meet the professional development requirement.

Each academic program has a faculty graduate advisor appointed by the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies. Advisors assist students in program planning, completing degree requirements, and submit a yearly evaluation of each student's progress toward the degree to the Graduate Division. Students should make an effort to confer regularly with their graduate advisor.

To be awarded a graduate degree, graduate students may meet gradu- ation requirements in the UCR catalog either: (1) in effect at the time of entrance to UCR, or (2) petition the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies to use those subsequently established after entrance and prior to the student’s graduation.