Graduate Division

Promoting Graduate Education

Master's Degree

  • Step 1: Degree Audit

    Review your degree audit via R'Web (see Degree Audit icon under your authorized applications menu).  Confirm all requirements have been or will be completed by the end of the quarter you wish to graduate.  Discuss any discrepancies with the Graduate Program Coordinator in your department.

  • Step 2: Application for Candidacy

    Fill out the Master's Application for Candidacy in R'Grad appropriate for the master's plan you are completing (Plan I vs Plan II).  If you are completing a Thesis (Plan I), you must nominate your Thesis committee as part of the advancement process.  The application for candidacy is due by the first day of instruction of the quarter you plan on graduating.  See chart of deadlines below.

  • Step 3: Apply to Graduate

    Apply to graduate via R'Web.  The application will be available once registration begins for the quarter you wish to graduate.  The deadline to apply is the Monday of week 4.  See chart of deadlines below.

  • Step 4: Capstone Requirement

    Complete your capstone requirement (comprehensive exam, manuscript, project, etc.) and confirm the report of completion of the capstone was submitted by your department to Graduate Academic Affairs.  Creative Writing students completing a manuscript must follow the manuscript submission instructions received via email with the Advancement to Candidacy confirmation.  Any student completing a Thesis (Plan I) as the capstone requirement must review the Thesis Filing Checklist for detailed instructions regarding submission of the Thesis for format review and finalizing the document.

PhD Degree

  • Step 1: Degree Audit

    Review your degree audit via R'Web (see Degree Audit icon under your authorized applications menu) and review the Advancement to Candidacy letter you received from Graduate Academic Affairs at the time of advancement. Confirm all requirements have been (or will be) completed by the end of the quarter you wish to graduate. Discuss any discrepancies with the graduate program coordinator in your department. 

  • Step 2: Apply to Graduate

    Apply to graduate via R'Web. The application will be available once registration begins for the quarter you wish to graduate. The deadline to apply is the Monday of week 4. See chart of deadlines below. 

  • Step 3: Final Defense and Dissertation Submission

    Review the Dissertation Filing Checklist for detailed instructions regarding submission of the Dissertation for format review and finalizing the manuscript. 

Application/Submission Deadlines

  Summer 2019 Fall 2019 Winter 2020 Spring 2020 Summer 2020
Filing Fee Status 6/1/19 9/1/19 12/1/19 3/1/20 6/1/20

Application for Candidacy for Master's Degree (via R'Grad)

 6/24/19 9/26/19 1/6/20 3/30/20 6/22/20
Graduation Application (via R'Web)
 

7/15/19
or 3/27/19 if you wish to walk in commencement 2019		 10/21/19 1/27/20 4/27/20
or 3/27/20 if you wish to walk in commencement 2020 		 7/15/20
or 3/27/20 if you wish to walk in commencement 2020

Rough draft of dissertation/thesis

 8/30/19 12/2/19 3/6/20 5/29/20 8/28/20
Last day to complete all degree requirements (Noon PST). 9/13/19 12/13/19 3/20/20 6/12/20 9/11/20
Between Quarter Deadline Information*
Last day to complete all degree requirements and avoid fees for the next quarter--no later than Noon PST.  Graduation date will reflect the next quarter. See detailed explanation below.

6/21/19
('19 Summer
grad date)

 9/20/19
('19 Fall
grad date)		 12/20/19
('20 Winter
grad date)		 3/24/20
('20 Spring
grad date)

6/19/20
('20 Summer
grad date)
*After a quarter ends and before the next quarter begins, there is typically some "in between" time. This amount of time varies depending on the quarter. For example, if the Summer quarter ends September 13, all students wishing to receive a Summer graduation date must complete the requirements on or before that date. However, Fall quarter doesn't begin until September 23rd, so students have until the date listed in the above table, which is the last business day before the next quarter begins, to complete the requirements and avoid fees for the next quarter. The conferral date for the degree would be for the next quarter (Fall in this example). The between quarter deadline dates in the table above are in the column that the degree would be conferred.
 

FAQs about Graduation Application

Commencement Ceremonies 

The Commencement Ceremonies are held once a year, at the end of the Spring quarter. There are several ceremonies, so it is important for students to confirm which ceremony they will be participating in. The UCR Commencement Website is a great place to find details about tickets, times, location, and other general information. The Graduate Division Commencement page contains information specific to graduate students and the eligibility requirements for participating in commencement. 

Commencement Ceremony 2019 Deadlines  

These deadlines are for students graduating in Spring 2019 or Summer 2019. Students who graduated in Fall 2018 or Winter 2019 are automatically eligible to participate in commencement and do not need to submit the following items. 

R’Web graduation application 

3/27/2019 

Master's Application for Advancement to Candidacy (Master's students only)

3/27/2019 
 

Diplomas and Transcripts 

Your diploma will be directly mailed at no cost (Spring 2018 graduates and later).  Contact the Registrar's Office for more information.

If you would like an official transcript, you can order it through R'Web or contact the Registrar's Office.  

An unofficial transcript is available for you to print from your R'Web student profile. Log in to R'Web, click on the Student Profile icon and then click on "unofficial transcript" from the left menu.

Certificate of Completion 

The Graduate Division understands that you often need to prove your degree completion to outside entities for employment or other reasons. All students completing a master's or PhD degree will receive this document via email. This certificate is signed by the Dean of the Graduate Division and is watermarked with the seal of the University. It will list the date you completed the degree requirements in addition to your conferral date. Students report success when using this document for a postdoc position or other employment. 

If you need a University certified copy of the certificate, you may print the certificate in color and bring it to the Registrar's Office. For a small fee, they will put the University of California seal on the document that you provide and place it in a sealed envelope. 

The Graduate Division provides this certificate only when all requirements are complete and all grades have been posted.  Any communication regarding a degree yet to be conferred should be requested from the student's major department.  The only official documents regarding a student's graduation are the transcript (ordered through the Registrar's Office) and the Diploma (mailed to the student - spring 2018 graduates and later).  Please see Diplomas and Transcripts above for details.

Need Help? 

Graduate Academic Affairs
140 University Office Building
Monday-Friday, 10am-Noon and 1pm-5pm
Amanda.Wong@ucr.edu (last names A-L) 
Trina.Elerts@ucr.edu (last names M-Z)
951-827-3315
 

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