Academic Services

Petitioning for Reinstatement

Students who have a break in their registration must petition for Reinstatement to return to registered status. To reinstate, the student must complete a Petition for Reinstatement to Graduate Status and secure the approval of the departmental Graduate Advisor and Graduate Division.

Students seeking to reinstate who have exceeded one or more of the time-to-degree requirements must formulate a plan and detailed timetable for completion of the relevant degree requirement. This includes students who have yet to advance to candidacy and/or complete the master's degree within the four years allowed, or who have not completed the doctorate within the seven years allowed. In some cases, students who have been unregistered for a long period of time may be required to sit for doctoral qualifying examinations following reinstatement to prove currency in the field.

The plan for completion and timetable must be verified by the student's research advisor and submitted to the Graduate Advisor with the Reinstatement Petition. If the Graduate Advisor approves the Reinstatement Petition, the timetable for completion should be forwarded to Graduate Division along with the petition.

Departments are asked to think carefully about a decision to reinstate a student. A department may have good reasons for not reinstating a student: for example, if the student was having trouble meeting academic requirements, or the department's resources to support the student's area of interest have diminished over time, or faculty with whom the student previously worked have left UCSB. These factors should be taken into account before reinstatement is approved.

Petition for Reinstatement to Graduate Status Form

Note: Students in unregistered status spring quarter may enroll in summer session through the Summer Session Office without filing a reinstatement petition; however the student must file a reinstatement petition to enroll in the subsequent fall quarter