Forms and Petitions

Guide to Filing Theses and Dissertations

Final Degree and Filing Requirements

Degree Conferral Dates and Filing Deadlines

Degrees are granted four times a year; the degree conferral date is the last official day of each quarter. A student must have finished all requirements by the final day of the quarter as published in the Office of the Registrar's quarterly Schedule of Classes to get a degree dated that quarter. If the quarter officially ends on a Saturday, the student must file on the preceding Friday, since Graduate Division is closed on Saturdays. Students who miss the filing deadline for the quarter will be degree candidates for the following quarter. A thesis or dissertation filed between quarters (e.g. during the winter or spring break) will not cost the student additional fees if s/he was enrolled the previous quarter, but the degree will be dated the end of the next quarter. On the title page, students should use the month and year of the quarter of degree conferral that marks the official end of the quarter published in the quarterly Schedule of Classes.

Fee Status Required for Graduate Degree Awards

To be awarded a graduate degree, all students must be in a fee relationship with the University the quarter they finish degree requirements. Establishing a fee relationship with the University is done in one of two ways:

1. Register the quarter of degree completion. Payment of fees and registration in a quarter allows students to file their theses or dissertations without use of the Filing Fee. Quarterly registration maintains graduate status until the beginning of the next quarter. For example, students who registered Spring quarter may file their theses or dissertations until Fall quarter officially begins without having to pay additional fees. Students who are unregistered at the time they file must use the Filing Fee option as explained below.
2. Use the Filing Fee in lieu of registering. The Filing Fee is for the use of unregistered students who have completed all requirements for a degree, including filing the thesis or dissertation, and are not employed as a Teaching Assistant or Graduate Student Researcher and are not receiving centrally administered funding. The Filing Fee may be used only by doctoral degree candidates and terminal master's degree students, not by master's degree candidates who are continuing on to pursue a doctorate at UCSB. The Filing Fee is always half the amount of the registration fee. Currently, the Filing Fee is approximately $131, but is subject to change. Students should not pay the Filing Fee until after they have filed the thesis or dissertation and completed all other degree requirements, including the defense of the dissertation or securing a waiver of the defense. The Filing Fee is valid only for the quarter in which it is paid; it is not transferable to a later quarter. Premature payment of the Filing Fee has serious ramifications since it terminates the student's status at UCSB. Students may not hold student academic positions while on Filing Fee status; to hold appointments, they must be fully registered and enrolled.

Students who are eligible to use the Filing Fee option should apply for a Filing Fee Quarter of Leave. Students applying for leave must furnish documentation from their research advisors verifying that they will finish during the quarter in question. The Filing Fee Quarter of Leave represents a contract. In return for the Leave, students agree to file that quarter or face serious consequences for not fulfilling this obligation. Students who do not file the thesis or dissertation during the approved Filing Fee quarter must register and pay full fees the quarter the final degree requirements are met. Since one and only one quarter of Filing Fee Leave can be granted, Filing Fee leave cannot be extended. Graduate Division may be consulted for additional information.

Completion of Final Degree Requirements

A graduate degree can be awarded only to students who have fulfilled all University and departmental degree requirements - as determined by degree checks conducted by the student's academic department and the Graduate Division - and completed all the paperwork that is part of the filing process. Students are responsible for remedying any deficiencies found during the final degree check. Students must take care of any unfinished coursework - denoted by an Incomplete, No Grade, or No Record - by finishing the coursework for a grade or petitioning to withdraw retroactively from the course(s) before a graduate degree can be awarded. For doctoral students, this includes completing and signing the Doctoral Dissertation Agreement Form (see Chapter I) as well as completing the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) and the UCSB Survey of Doctoral Degree Recipients (Exit Survey) described later in this chapter.

Defense of Dissertation or Waiver of Defense Required

Graduate Division cannot award a degree until either a Form III is received from the department indicating that the student has successfully defended the dissertation and secured the approval of all committee members, or a Form III-A is received from the department indicating that a defense of the dissertation is being waived for the student in question. Faculty signatures on either form must correspond to the signatures on the student's approval pages. It is in the student's interest to make sure that the Form III or III-A arrives in Graduate Division at the time of filing, or shortly thereafter. In some departments, students are given the Form III to take with them to their defense, or given the Form III-A prior to their securing the signatures of their committee members on the approval pages.

When a department requires a public defense of a dissertation, it is not unusual for members of the audience to ask questions of the student. However, only faculty who have been approved to serve on the student's doctoral committee have a deciding vote as to whether the student has successfully defended the dissertation.

Petition Required for Extension of a Time Limit for Degree Completion

Graduate Council is charged with ensuring that degrees are granted only to students who are current in the scholarship of their field. The importance of this charge is underscored by the fact that knowledge in all disciplines is advancing at an accelerating pace. In order to ensure scholarly currency, master's degree students are expected to complete their degree requirements in four years, while doctoral candidates are expected to complete their degree requirements within seven years of beginning the doctorate. To be awarded a master's or doctoral degree, students who have exceeded the relevant time limit for degree completion must petition Graduate Council for a degree deadline extension prior to the committee's approval of the thesis or dissertation.

The nature of the petition depends on the length of time by which the degree deadline has been exceeded. If the degree deadline has been exceeded:

• By less than two years, a Graduate Student Petition requesting the extension, endorsed and signed by the student's departmental Graduate Advisor, must be submitted. Approval of such petitions is usually routine.
• By more than two years, a Graduate Student Petition requesting the extension, endorsed and signed by the departmental Graduate Advisor must be submitted. The petition must be accompanied by a memo documenting and certifying currency in the field, signed by all members of the thesis or doctoral committee. Graduate Council has identified continuous registration, teaching or research apprenticeships, or contact with current literature and research in the field as examples of currency. If additional information is needed, Graduate Division will contact the departmental Graduate Advisor. Approval of such petitions may be considered by the Chair of Graduate Council, or referred for inclusion on the Graduate Council agenda as necessary. Every effort will be made to reach expedited decisions.

The Survey of Earned Doctorates and UCSB Survey of Doctoral Degree Recipients (Exit Survey)

Graduate Division requires all doctoral degree candidates to complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) and UCSB Survey of Doctoral Degree Recipients (Exit Survey). Students can complete the Exit Survey prior to or at the time of filing. Doctoral degree candidates can log in with their perm number and complete the survey prior to filing their dissertations. Paper copies of the UCSB Survey of Doctoral Degree Recipients (Exit Survey) will continue to be available for students who prefer that medium or are unable to access the Web site at Graduate Division, Cheadle Hall 3117. Information provided by students is confidential and only reviewed in summary form. The Survey of Earned Doctorates is available in paper or on-line from Graduate Division. The SED is used to compile longitudinal information about graduate education on a nationwide basis, while the UCSB Survey of Doctoral Degree Recipients elicits feedback about student experience at UCSB.