You’ve Taken your Core Classes, Passed Your Exams and Toiled Away in the Lab. Now You’re Ready to Graduate.
Prepare
In order to graduate in a particular quarter, you need to make sure that you are in good standing and are registered or are in filing fee status. You need to have advanced to candidacy at least one quarter before filing to graduate, and you should check to make sure your thesis or dissertation committee is up to date. If you’ve changed your committee, be sure to fill out a reconstitution of committee membership form at least a quarter prior to graduating.
Plan
Planning to file your thesis or dissertation is essential. The filing deadlines posted on the Graduate Studies webpage are a good place to start. Once you know which quarter you want to graduate in, you can determine when you need to start finalizing your dissertation and scheduling your exit seminar.
Once your committee gives you the go-ahead, you should find a mutually agreeable date and time for your exit seminar and schedule it by emailing mse-advising@ucdavis.edu. Then you may schedule your optional Graduate Studies appointment through OASIS. This appointment should take place after the exit seminar. It’s important to review the Graduate Studies candidate degree completion lists for all the forms and surveys you need to complete and bring with you to your appointment. Before you leave UC Davis, be sure to complete the department exit form.
Master of Science & Ph.D.
Conferral Letter
Once your paperwork has been received and processed by Graduate Studies, the SAA's will file you to graduate and email you a PDF degree conferral letter. The letter, signed by the Dean of Graduate Studies, states that you have completed all the degree requirements and will be conferred the degree on the date of conferral. Many employers and agencies accept conferral letters as proof of completion until the degree awarded official transcript and diploma are available.
Please note, due to the volume of filing paperwork received and the processing time required for each degree list, conferral letters may be sent 3-4 weeks after your report form is received. If you need a conferral letter by a certain date, email your SAA.
Publishing Options and Copyright
Information explaining open access release, why or why not to embargo, using copyrighted material, and copyright protections for your thesis or dissertation is available on the Publishing Options, Embargo, & Copyright page.
Transcript, Diploma, and Computing Account
Learn how to obtain your diploma, when your transcript will be updated, if you can keep your @UCDavis email, and more on our Diplomas, Transcripts, and Verification webpage.
Commencement
Graduate Studies commencement is held once a year in June, separate from the event conducted by the College of Engineering for undergraduate students. We advise that students participate in commencement for the calendar year in which they plan to graduate. For example, if you are planning to graduating in Fall 2019, you should participate in the June 2019 commencement.