Office of Graduate Studies

Graduate Adviser's Manual

Office of Graduate Studies > Academic Affairs


This publication is written for the Graduate Coordinator audience. It does NOT supplant departmental/program policies, deadlines, or direction. Coordinators are advised to consult with Mary Lillis Allen, Academic Affairs Director, for specific questions or interpretation relating to the Academic Affairs portion of the Graduate Adviser's Manual. Contact April Bjornsen, Assistant Dean, for any questions relating to the Student Affairs section.


Department and program should be considered as interchangeable terms throughout this site. Department Chair may be the Vice Chair, Graduate or Student Affairs advisor, may be the Faculty Advisor, in some departments. Graduate advisor refers to the faculty departmental advisor; research advisor refers to the student's research advisor/doctoral or master's committee chair.


Graduate Coordinator refers to a staff position; in some departments that person may also be called the graduate adviser. Regardless of the title, only the original faculty signatures are accepted for the chair, graduate advisor, or instructor.


A graduate student is expected to enroll in a minimum of 12 units of coursework per quarter. Any request affecting a student's academic standing or official record is initiated and approved by the department prior to submission to OGS for consideration. Students are advised to discuss their plan with the department graduate advisor and/or graduate coordinator before beginning any process.


Various forms are used for requesting student academic activity and seeking exceptions to University academic policy. Department graduate coordinators retain Graduate Academic Forms, which are obtained by contacting Susan Van Duren in OGS:  svanduren@ucsd.edu


Definitions:

  1. OGS: Office of Graduate Studies
  2. OAR: Office of the Registrar
  3. Definition of Required Signatures:
  4. Instructor: Instructor of record for the course.
  5. Advisor: Dependent on the request; program faculty graduate advisor or student's research advisor; not a staff member.
  6. Chair: Program/Department chair or designee; includes department appointed chair/vice chair of graduate program.
  7. Doctoral/Thesis Committees: Under no circumstances may a staff or faculty member sign for another as a doctoral or thesis committee member.
  8. Student: In some instances, "Not available for signature" may be used by the department if the student is aware of the request or can be used when student is out of town and has requested the initiation of an action.

Regardless of the title, only the original faculty signatures, not a stamp, are accepted for the chair, graduate advisor, or instructor.

Table of Contents

Special Programs

Degree Information Procedures and Completion

Admissions

Student Affairs

Faculty and Staff