All students must enroll and pay fees on or before the deadline dates established by the Office of the Registrar for each quarter to avoid paying late fees. See Schedule of Classes for current deadlines.


Priority Enrollment for Continuing Students

Continuing graduate students may enroll in classes through WebReg on TritonLink any time during the quarterly enrollment period. Students may also use WebReg to add, change, and drop classes up to the end of the second week of instruction. After the second week of the quarter, students may complete an Add/Drop Card, which is available from the ECE Graduate Student Affairs office, to add, drop or change classes up to the Friday of the fourth week.

A graduate student may drop a class up to the end of the ninth week of classes by filing an Add/Drop card with the Registrar’s office, after first notifying the instructor, and obtaining the approval of the curriculum/research advisor or ECE and the Dean of Graduate Studies. If the course is dropped before the end of the fourth week of classes, no course entry will appear on the student’s transcript. Courses dropped after the end of the fourth week of instruction and before the end of the ninth week of instruction will remain on the transcript as permanent entries showing course number and title, and the registrar will assign a final grade of W, signifying Withdrawal.

Students may not drop courses after the end of the ninth week of instruction and will receive the earned grade or an Incomplete, if applicable. When a grade in a course has been assigned in accordance with the Academic Senate policy on Integrity of Scholarship, a student may not subsequently change that grade by dropping the course or withdrawing from the university.


Continuous Registration

All graduate students are required to be registered each quarter until all degree requirements have been completed, including filing of the thesis or dissertation and the final examination, or to be on an approved leave of absence.

A student who fails to register or to file an approved leave of absence form by the registrar’s deadline date (no later than the end of the second week each quarter) will be assumed to be withdrawn from UCSD and will be dropped from the official register of graduate students. In addition, all outstanding Incomplete grades, and NRs assigned by the registrar, will lapse to F’s or U’s unless cleared by the end of the current quarter. A student who is on leave of absence or who has withdrawn from the university is not entitled to withdraw books from the library or to use other university facilities or faculty time. A student who is withdrawn must petition for readmission to resume study at a later date, pay the nonrefundable readmission fee, and be considered for readmission with all others requesting admission to that quarter.

Doctoral degree candidacy will lapse for graduate students who fail to register and are not granted a formal leave of absence. To be reinstated to candidacy, a graduate student must be readmitted, enroll and register, be re-advanced to candidacy, and pay the candidacy fee.

Late Registration/Deadline and Penalty Fees

Enrollment and registration deadlines are scheduled for the same day and must be met to avoid penalties.  Students will be assessed late fees if not enrolled and registered by the registrar’s published deadlines outlined in the quarterly Schedule of Classes and the TritonLink website under the Calendars links.

A student who has not completed registration (enrolled and paid fees) by the deadline for change of program must petition for permission to register late and will pay late fees totaling $100, regardless of the source of fees payment.

A student whose registration in classes is cancelled for non-payment of fees and seeks reinstatement will be assessed both the late enrollment ($50) and late registration fees ($50), currently totaling $100, regardless of the source of fees payment.

Students are advised to consult the quarterly Schedule of Classes for current deadline dates.

Leave of Absence

A student who discontinues graduate study with the intention of resuming during a later quarter, with ECE approval, must file a formal Leave of Absence, Extension and/or Withdrawal form by the end of the second week of instruction of the quarter in which the leave is to begin, prior to leaving the campus.  Graduate students must have completed at least one quarter of academic residence and be in good standing (GPA 3.0 minimum or equivalent and no more than eight units of U or F) to be granted a leave.  All graduate students are limited to a maximum of three quarters of leave and/or withdrawal.

Fee refund will be subject to the refund schedule published in the quarterly Schedule of Classes.  A graduate student who enrolled in classes before requesting a Leave of Absence must also request a withdrawal from course work for the quarter of leave to avoid paying fees for that quarter.  Graduate students may request an extension of an approved leave prior to the expiration of the leave, up to the maximum of three quarters in all degree programs.  For an extension of an approved leave, the student must complete a new leave of absence form.

A student who has a long-term loan is considered to be out of school while on a leave of absence and must set up an exit interview with the Loan Records Office before leaving the campus.  Since rules and regulations pertaining to such loans are complex, it is to the student’s advantage to determine loan requirements prior to seeking a leave of absence.

A student on leave of absence may not (1) be employed by UCSD, UCSD Medical Center or UC Extension, or hold a fellowship, traineeship, or similar appointment administered by the university, (2) use university facilities, (3) complete a qualifying examination for advancement to candidacy, or (4) place demands on faculty, including discussion of thesis or dissertation work, either directly or by correspondence, during the period of leave.

A student may remain in student housing while on an approved leave of absence providing he or she has been a full-time student (twelve units or more) for three consecutive quarters immediately prior to the leave of absence and is eligible for university housing.

Students must return all borrowed library material if requesting a leave of absence or withdrawing.

Any student on an approved Leave of Absence must contact ECE to be reinstated and cleared for enrollment and registration.

A new Statement of Legal Residence is required for all graduate students returning from a leave of absence of two quarters or more.

Foreign Students on a Leave of Absence

Under normal conditions, a foreign student is not permitted to go on a leave of absence.  Immigration regulations require that the student must be enrolled in a full-time course of study for the duration of the student's stay in the United States.  Exceptions may be granted under the following circumstances.  All requests for a leave of absence for foreign students require International Center approval prior to OGS consideration.  The usual requirements of ECE approval and campus regulations apply.

Students who have advanced to Master's or Ph.D. candidacy may apply for a leave for research or employment related to their research purposes.  The International Center requires a copy of the OGS approved advancement form and a letter from ECE stating the purpose of the leave prior to consideration of the leave request.

If the student is leaving the country, International Center approval is usually automatic and the student does not need a department letter.

Parenting Leave

A graduate student who is bearing a child, who has primary responsibility for the care of an infant immediately following birth, a child under the age of five, or adoption of a child under age five, and is in good academic standing will be granted, on request, a one-quarter extension of all unexpired doctoral time limits.  During the quarter in which childbirth or adoption occurs, the graduate student may choose one of the following registration options:

After the quarter in which childbirth or adoption occurs, a graduate student who has primary responsibility for caring for a child up to the age of five will be granted, on request, a leave of absence for the purpose of caring for the child for a maximum of two quarters (or three quarters, if a one-quarter extension has not been granted for the quarter in which childbirth or adoption occurred).

The total amount of time for which graduate students may receive extensions of time limits for parenting or childbearing may not exceed three quarters in a graduate student’s career at UCSD.  Approved leaves for childbearing and parenting will not count in the three-quarter leave limit available to all graduate students.

Student Health Insurance Program (SHIP)

A student is eligible to be enrolled in SHIP when on approved leave of absence for a total of one academic quarter.  A student on approved leave is responsible for his or her health insurance enrollment, premium payment, and Student Health Service fee payment.  Enrollment in SHIP is through the Student Health Insurance Office.

Withdrawal

A student withdrawing from the university must obtain a Leave of Absence, Extension and/or Withdrawal form from the ECE Graduate Student Affairs office and secure appropriate signatures.  The approved form must be filed with OGS.

Students who withdraw during the first thirty-five days of instruction will receive refunds of fees in proportion to the number of elapsed calendar days since the first day of instruction.  The date of withdrawal used in calculating the refund shall be the date on which the approved notice of withdrawal is submitted to OGS.

A registered student who stops attending classes and fails to file a Leave of Absence, Extension, and/or Withdrawal form will receive a grade of F or U in each course, thus jeopardizing eligibility for readmission.