Doctoral Degree

University Requirements

To complete a doctoral degree at UCSB, candidates must:

• Be in good academic standing
• Meet academic residency requirements (Senate reg. 350B)
• Have an approved doctoral committee
• Advance to doctoral candidacy (Senate reg. 350A) within appropriate time-to-completion designated by admission year
• Fulfill all department-specific degree requirements designated by admission year
• Be in a fee relationship with the University
• Completion of dissertation (Ph.D. and Ed.D.) or research document (D.M.A.) (Senate regs. 355 & 360)

Complete doctoral degree within the department-designated time-to-completion

Doctoral Committee

Nomination of a doctoral committee is required prior to advancement to doctoral candidacy. For details, see Committees.

Doctoral Advancement

Departments set different requirements for the qualifying examination(s) to advance to doctoral candidacy. Students should refer to their department-specific advancement to doctoral candidacy requirements in the General Catalog and department handbook (designated by admission year). Students are not permitted to advance to candidacy while registered In Absentia.

Qualifying Examinations

To take the qualifying exam(s), students must meet the following requirements:

• Satisfactory completion of all preliminary requirements established by the University and their department (Senate reg. 350D). Students should understand their department-specific requirements as many departments have additional standards above those established by the University
• Registration in three consecutive quarters prior to the quarter of the qualifying exam(s)
• Registration (excluding In Absentia) in the quarter taking the qualifying exam(s)
• An approved doctoral committee on file with the Graduate Division

To advance to doctoral candidacy, students must pass the department-specific written and oral exams conducted by a doctoral committee. (Senate reg. 350D)

After the exam(s), the committee completes and signs the Doctoral Degree Form II, indicating if the student passed or failed. If a student does not pass all or part of the qualifying exam(s), the Committee Chair should submit to the Graduate Division the Doctoral Form II including a brief summary explaining committees' decision and re-examination requirements.

Advancing to Doctoral Candidacy

To advance to doctoral candidacy, students must:

• Pass the qualifying exams
• Pay the $50 advancement to candidacy fee charged to your BARC account
• Submit to Graduate Division the completed Doctoral Form II and Cashier's receipt

After advancing to doctoral candidacy, a student's class level changes to P2 the next registered quarter, non-resident supplemental tuition is waived for nine registered quarters (if applicable), and  additional borrowing privileges are granted at the Davidson Library.

Advancement fees help support graduate student Career and Professional Development resources and events.

Preparing for the Dissertation Defense

When preparing for a dissertation defense, students should:

• Verify with their department that all University and departmental degree requirements have been met
• Verify the defense format required by your department (Senate reg. 355)
• Review and use the Thesis and Dissertation Formatting and Filing Requirements resources
• Verify with your department that dissertation committee membership is current. If there has been a change in the committee from the time of advancement, a Committee Form 1-A must be submitted to the Graduate Division
• Have signature page(s) and Doctoral Form III ready for committee to sign

If you would like to have a Graduate Division Academic Advisor conduct a “pre-check” of your document, feel free to stop by the Graduate Division during business hours, prior to the week of a filing deadline due to the high volume of traffic and limited staff availability. Please print and bring your preliminary pages and several pages from the body of your document when stopping by for a pre-check.

Filing Your Dissertation

For details about the dissertation filing process, visit Filing Your Thesis/Dissertation/DMA Document.