Graduate Student Policies & Rules

Policies and Rules for Graduate Students

You can view Graduate Division's Policies and Procedures here

 

• Enrollment Deadlines

• Fees

• Grade Options

• Graduation

• Petitions

• Registration

• Unit Cap

• Withdrawal/Leave of Absence/Readmission

 

NOTHING IS AUTOMATIC
Check your registration carefully and add/drop/change grading options for classes by the appropriate deadlines. You must initiate all adds, drops, and changes to your class schedule or transcript. YOU - not your faculty or advisor - are responsible for ensuring that your academic record is correct. Check your study list and UCI transcript through StudentAccess. 

You are responsible for checking your transcript each quarter. Be aware of all deadlines posted in the Quarterly Academic Calendar from the Registrar's home page.

Printable One-Sheet for CTSA Grad Info - Fall 2023

 

Enrollment Deadlines

Add/Drop Policies and Deadlines

UC Irvine Add and Drop Policies

• Students may ADD or DROP a course through 5:00 p.m. on Friday of the second week of classes

The instructor of the class as well as the academic unit in which the course is offered may specify a different deadline. Please note that add/drop deadlines may vary by course; please check the comments section on WebSOC for more information.

An exception to the above policies may only be requested for extenuating and documented circumstances outside the student's control. Requests will not be considered if submitted for any of the following reasons:

• The student did not know the deadlines, or did not understand the Add/Drop process
• The course is not required to meet Degree, School, or University requirements
• The student did not meet the proper prerequisites for the course
• The student is receiving a poor grade because of difficulties with the course material or is under a heavy course/work load

Submit an Enrollment Exception Request via Student Access under "Applications" --> "Enrollment Exceptions."  No Enrollment Exception Requests may be submitted after Week 10.

How to Add or Drop a Class
	Procedure	Notes
Weeks 1-2	Use WebReg to add or drop courses	Courses listed on the Schedule of Classes with a B or X restriction require an authorization code from the instructor
Weeks 3-10	Submit request via Student Access. Exceptions to add or drop courses require approval from the Academic Advising office of the school offering the course. Documentation regarding extenuating circumstances must be provided to MAB 101	Courses listed on the Schedule of Classes with a B or X restriction require an authorization code from the instructor There is a $3 fee for all transactions made after the 2nd week of classes If permitted to drop a class after the 6th week, a W will be recorded on your transcript

 

How to Change the Grading Option
	Procedure	Notes
Before Friday of Week 2	Use WebReg	Courses listed on the Schedule of Classes with a B or X restriction require an authorization code from the instructor
Weeks 3-6	Submit request via Student Access	No documentation is required before the end of 6th week There is a $3 fee for all transactions made after the 2nd week of classes
Deadline to Change Grading Option
Weeks 7-10	Approval from the Academic Advising office of the school offering the course required.  Documentation of extenuating circumstances is required for such an exception to be considered. Submit request in Student Access	There is a $3 fee for all transactions made after the 2nd week of classes
After Week 10	It is too late to change the grading option

 

Fees

Lab Fees: Some Arts classes may require students to pay a lab fee. Please be advised that lab fees are charged to a student's ZotBill account at the end of Week 2 and are NOT included with the general registration fees. Failure to pay lab fees on time will result in late fees and restrictions to campus services.

Save All Receipts! They are needed as proof of your transactions, should an error appear on the transcript. Be sure to read the transaction record for accuracy before you leave the Registrar’s window. Keep the transaction record until you see the change reflected on your transcript at the end of the quarter.

 

Grade Options

Satisfactory Scholarship
Only the grades of A+, A, A-, B+, B and S may be applied toward graduate degree requirements. Please be advised that a "B- or lower" is considered a "failing" grade at the graduate level. Only upper-division Undergraduate and Graduate level courses will count towards the degree. Graduate students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Incomplete Grades

The grade Incomplete (I) may be assigned when a student's work is of passing quality but is incomplete for good cause. The student must make arrangements with their instructor to complete the coursework within a period of no more than 12 months following the term in which the grade Incomplete was originally awarded, or prior to the end of the quarter immediately preceding award of the degree, whichever comes first. The instructor is not obligated to allow the maximum time period. The student should not re-enroll in the course to make up the Incomplete. An "I" (Incomplete) grade will automatically turn into an "F" or "NP" within one year of the Incomplete being assigned, or at graduation (whichever comes first).

NR (No Report) Grades

The Registrar will assign an NR when a final grade is not submitted by the instructor. NRs may be removed within one quarter or changed to a grade by the instructor provided a clerical or procedural error has occurred. The student's NR becomes a final grade of F, NP, or U (depending on which grade option the student enrolled under) after one quarter of subsequent attendance.

Pass/Not Pass (P/NP)
Graduate students may not register for any course P/NP. Given that graduate students must earn "B or better" in all required course work, and earning a "P" represents "C or better" work ("NP" represents "C- or lower"), any course graded "P" will not count toward satisfaction of degree requirements. 

Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U)
The "S/U" (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory) grading option is the graduate equivalent of the "P/NP" grading option. An "S" represents "B or better" work, while a "U" represents "B- or lower" work. Please be advised that the "S/U" grading option is offered at the faculty's discretion only; in order to request "S/U" grading, graduate students must register for the class "graded" and then speak directly to the faculty teaching the course to request an "S/U" rather than a grade.

 

Graduation

Graduation is not automatic. Starting in late October through early February of the last year of your M.F.A. program, you will meet with the Graduate Program Administrator in the Arts Student Affairs office, 101 MAB, to prepare the documents necessary for graduation (Advancement to Candidacy). Ph.D. students will work with their Faculty Advisor as well as the Graduate Program Administrator to advance to candidacy.

You can visit the Commencement website for more information on the graduate hooding ceremony, regalia, etc.

Petitions

Use the Graduate General Petition to waive or substitute course work; petition UCI courses towards a degree; waive the UCI residency requirement; or request any general exceptions. Students should submit a Graduate Student Petition to the Arts Student Affairs office in MAB 101.

 

Registration

Check the current quarter course offerings in WebSOC from the Registrar's home page. The course schedule for the next quarter is made available on Friday of the fifth week of instruction of the current quarter.

Login to WebReg for your enrollment window. Enrollment windows are open for 48 hours. Once your enrollment window closes, you may make changes to your schedule from 7:00pm-7:00am. Failure to register during open enrollment will result in late enrollment fees. 

 

Unit Cap

Your faculty advisor must approve you to register for 16 or more units per quarter of graduate-level (#200+) and/or upper-division undergraduate courses (#100-199). Please email your faculty advisor and cc the Graduate Program Administrator [jenniaw4@uci.edu] with the specific number of units you want to enroll in for that quarter. With your faculty advisor's approval, the Graduate Program Administrator will authorize you to enroll for that specific number of units via WebReg.  

 

WITHDRAWAL/LEAVE OF ABSENCE/READMISSION

Lapse of Status

At UCI, graduate students are expected to remain continuously enrolled in their degree program while progressing toward their degree. Students who have failed to maintain their graduate student status will be notified in writing by the Graduate Dean at the end of the quarter in which one of these conditions applies . A Lapse of Status will occur under any of the following conditions:

1. If a student fails to register (i.e., pay fees and enroll in units) by the last week of instruction in a given quarter.
2. If an academic leave of absence, or permission to pay the Filing Fee in lieu of registration, has not been submitted and approved by the student's department and Graduate Division.
3. If a student fails to comply with any provisions of admission to UCI.

Students wishing to re-enroll retroactively must provide to Graduate Division a written request signed by their Department Chair/Program Director and Associate Dean for Graduate Affairs requesting reinstatement and justifying the request for change in student status. Approval of such requests is rare and is given under exceptional circumstances only. In most cases, students wishing to re-enroll will be required to submit a new Application for Graduate Study.

Withdrawal

A student who plans to withdraw after completing the most recent quarter of enrollment, but prior to enrollment and fee payment for the subsequent quarter, should submit a written notice of intent to their department and the graduate program administrator. Once the decision is made to leave the University, the student must file the Withdrawal form with the graduate program administrator in the Arts Student Affairs office. If unable to do so in person because of emergency or serious illness, the student should notify the graduate program administrator by e-mail (menciso1@uci.edu) as soon as possible so that timely assistance may be provided. 

Leave of Absence

A student in good academic standing who intends to re-enroll after missing no more than three consecutive quarters may wish to request a leave of absence in order to avoid a lapse of student status and the necessity to apply for readmission. A Leave of Absence may be granted with written approvals by the Faculty Graduate Student Advisor and/or the school's Associate Dean for Graduate Affairs, and the Graduate Dean. It is important that applications for Leave of Absence status be submitted to the Graduate Dean prior to the beginning of the quarter for which approval is sought.

Readmission

Prior to resuming graduate study at the University, a student who previously withdrew, or who failed to meet the continuous registration requirement, must request readmission from Graduate Division by submitting a new Application for Graduate Study with the full, non-refundable application fee applicable at that time. However, graduate students who were not enrolled within the previous two years should submit, in addition to the completed application form, an updated statement of purpose, and transcripts covering all academic work since their last enrollment at UCI. Readmission of former UCI graduate students without academic standing may be granted only by the Graduate Dean and only upon recommendation by the academic unit. If readmitted, a student’s previous academic work may be applied toward the requirements for an advanced degree only with the approval of the faculty graduate advisor and the Graduate Dean. A readmitted student must satisfy the academic requirements in effect at the time of readmission and will be required to satisfy certain requirements a second time, including formal advancement to candidacy. A readmitted student will also be expected to complete at least one additional academic quarter in residence before receiving an advanced degree, which will be conferred no earlier than the second quarter following readmission.