Academically Speaking
A Reminder about Academic Standards of Scholarship
In addition to meeting departmental degree requirements, master's and doctoral candidates must also fulfill graduate requirements established by the UCSB Graduate Council (see the Graduate Council article).
A student who meets all departmental and University requirements is considered to be "in good academic standin
|
To make timely degree completion, students admitted as of Fall 1995 must advance to doctoral candidacy within four years of admission. All students must meet the time limit of four years for completion of a master's and seven years for completion of the doctorate. This includes forming a master's or doctoral committee; presenting a thesis plan or dissertation research proposal acceptable to the committee; completing a thesis or dissertation acceptable to all committee members; and successfully passing a final defense of the thesis or dissertation when required.
What are the University's academic standards of scholarship? Two key standards students must meet are: (1) maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0; and (2) keeping the student transcript free of excessive units of unfinished coursework (defined as 12 or more units of Incomplete, No Grade, and/or No record). Students facing either are encouraged to seek help from their department immediately.
Students are urged to strike a balance between courses taken for a letter grade versus those for a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grade. Students who take too few courses for a letter grade face greater risk if they perform poorly in one or two courses. Students need to consider the additional risk of lowering their GPA when they have a choice of grading options in a particularly difficult or challenging course. This is especially important for students who may compete for centrally administered fellowships later in their graduate careers, since cumulative GPA and timely degree completion are taken into account along with the strength of the recommendations from their departments
Students may be unaware that they must take courses for a letter grade to establish a "positive" GPA. If they take all their courses for Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades they earn a 0.0 cumulative GPA. After one warning letter, they may be placed on probation since they do not meet the requirement of a cumulative GPA of 3.0.
Graduate Division monitors the student's transcript and progress toward degree completion to ensure academic standards of scholarship are met and to provide help to students who may need it. When a student experiences academic problems, Graduate Division will review the circumstances and consult with the academic department and/or the student, as appropriate. Students who do not achieve a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 are automatically placed on probation for the following quarter. Students with excessive unfinished coursework are sent warning letters in the following quarter, and will be placed on probation if the problem occurs for a second consecutive quarter.
Graduate Academic Services and the Graduate Peer Advisors in Graduate Division stand ready to help students who are experiencing academic difficulties.
A Reminder about Academic Standards of Scholarship
News From Graduate Council
Students commencing or continuing their graduate education at UCSB negotiate their way through degree milestones and face an array of policies, procedures, and standards. The origin, intent, and administration of these policies are frequently mysteries to graduate students. This column is part of an ongoing effort to keep the graduate community informed of decisions crucial to its academic success.
The Graduate Council, a standing committee of the Academic Senate of UCSB, has responsibility over many areas of graduate education. The Graduate Council is composed of twelve faculty members, a representative of the Graduate Students Associate, and the Dean of the Graduate Division (an ex officio member).
Last year the Council approved emphases in Women's Studies in the Department of Anthropology; Literature and Theory in the Classics Department; and Cognitive Science in the Departments of Geography, Linguistics, and Psychology, and the Graduate School of Education. Changes were made to normative times in a number of programs. It approved an M.A. in Media Arts and Technology (which has now gone to UC systemwide for review) and a Certificate Program in Graduate Management Practice. The Ph.D. program in Environmental Science & Management was approved after UC systemwide review.
In the last year Graduate Council has also been extremely active in approving new policies and confirming established ones concerning graduate students. Of particular interest for graduate students are: a) the requirement that each graduate program set out in writing the policies by which TAs are selected; b) the requirement that each program conduct annual reviews of the progress of all graduate students; c) that normative time be taken into consideration when students apply for fellowships; d) the documentation of satisfactory progress in the case of all graduate students who apply for fellowships or teaching assistantships.
If you have questions about Graduate Council and its work in the coming year the graduate student representative is Sarah Hunter, GSA Vice President for Academic Affairs or contact Toby Lazarowitz in the Graduate Division by e-mail: lazarowitz@graddiv.ucsb.edu.
Consult the Graduate Division's Web site for policy and standard updates.
Graduate Division Publications
webmaster@graddiv.ucsb.edu
Updated:
© Copyright 1998 Regents of the University of California