Academic Residence
Other Pages In General Requirements for Graduate Degrees
Continuous registration is required of all graduate students. Only coursework taken when a student is registered may be counted toward a graduate degree. Graduate students are required to register each quarter by paying fees and officially enrolling in classes.
Graduate students who fail to register are lapsed and not considered students. Lapsed students must reinstate in order to enroll, consult with faculty, complete degree requirements, or utilize University resources. In some cases, students will be required to prove they are still current in the field either by taking classes or by re-taking their qualifying examinations.
To establish residence, a graduate student must be registered and enrolled in courses of instruction, research, or study totaling or equivalent to at least four units of upper division or graduate work during a regular term, or (1) in two consecutive six-week Summer Sessions of at least two units of upper division and/or graduate work as given in a regular term; or (2) enrollment in an eight-week Summer Session enrolled for the equivalent of at least four units.
Students in master’s programs (with exception of the MFA program) must register
for a minimum of three quarters at UCSB. Attendance in two six-week Summer
Sessions may be substituted for one of the three quarters of required residence.
For MFA students, the minimum residence requirement is six quarters.
The minimum academic residence requirement for any doctoral degree is six quarters. Students in doctoral programs will spend at least six quarters in residence at the UCSB campus pursuing a program of full-time study and research; three consecutive quarters of this residence must be completed in regular session before advancement to candidacy. In doctoral programs, attendance in two consecutive six-week Summer Sessions in the same summer may be substituted for one of the six quarters of required residence.