All CS Grad Students
UCLA Calendar Links
- UCLA Annual Academic Calendar – Summary, year-at-a-glance calendar includes term and instruction start and end dates, and school holidays, through 2028-29
- UCLA Annual Term Calendar -View detailed dates and deadlines by term
- UCLA Summer Session Calendar – Start and end dates of summer sessions A, B, C, and D.
- UCLA Graduate Student Study List Deadlines & Fees
- Department of Graduate Education Academic Calendar & Deadlines
CalFresh Initiative
CalFresh is California’s version of SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), a federally-funded food assistance program, colloquially known as “food stamps.” Many students qualify for CalFresh and can receive up to $250/month to spend on groceries at places like Ralphs, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Target, and participating Farmers Markets. Once enrolled, participants will receive an EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) card in the mail, which is reloaded monthly and functions as a debit card at participating grocery stores.
For more information/ to see if you qualify please visit: https://basicneeds.ucla.edu/services/calfresh
CS Student Welfare Page
Introducing our new CS Student Welfare Page the link is below:
https://www.cs.ucla.edu/graduate-student-welfare/
CS Graduate Student Groups
The Computer Science Department has two graduate student groups:
Computer Science Graduate Student Association (CS GSA)
The CS GSA provides a great opportunity to participate and be part of the community of policy makers for graduate students. CSGSA has a direct link to the Grad Office.
Employment Opportunities
- External employment opportunities bulletin board for CS Grad Students
- TA Marketplace – The UCLA Division of Graduate Education has created this web group to aid graduate students in finding TA opportunities. Departments that need to fill TA vacancies will post job announcements along with required qualifications and application instructions to the group.
- UCLA Handshake – UCLA’s platform that connects Bruins with internships, jobs and career opportunities
Commencement
For CS Grad Students (both MS and PhD students) who are finishing their graduate program this academic year (i.e. Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024 and Summer 2024) and wish to participate in the UCLA Engineering Commencement Ceremony taking place in Spring 2024 (there is only one Commencement Ceremony each Academic Year which takes place in Spring) please fill out the Commencement Survey by the deadline March 30, 2024.
You are welcome to submit multiple entries if information changes.
For PhD students, information on UCLA Dept of Graduate Education’s Doctoral Hooding Ceremony (this is a separate ceremony from the School of Engineering Commencement Ceremony) can be found HERE.
Enrollment Info
Enrollment for Winter 2024
Per the Registrar’s website, “Based on units completed and priority status, appointments are assigned randomly (by the Registrar’s Office not the department) within pass time periods. Exact enrollment times are available through MyUCLA.” Enrollment appointment times cannot be changed/modified.
Graduate pass for enrollment for Winter 2024 starts on November 9th at 9 a.m. PST and the last appointment ends on November 13 at 11 p.m. PST. It is the student’s responsibility to check their MyUCLA to check what time your enrollment appointment is. Based on your enrollment appointment time listed on your MyUCLA, CS grad students can only enroll in CS grad courses for 8 units max. This was done to avoid hoarding CS grad classes.
Once second pass starts for CS grad students (November 16 at 7 a.m. PST), CS grad students should be able to enroll in up to 18 units max. If you are trying to enroll in a course outside of the CS department, first check the class description to see if the class has any restrictions (i.e. only students in that dept can enroll). If it has restrictions then you most likely will not be able to enroll in that course (please email the instructor directly if its still possible to enroll in that course or not). If there are no restrictions, then you should be able to enroll yourself via MyUCLA (remember from Nov 9-15, CS grad students can only enroll in 8 units max) provided there is still open enrollment spots and or it does not conflict with any classes you are enrolled/waitlisted and or you do not exceed 18 units (waitlist classes count towards your unit count during the enrollment period).
For more information on UCLA term deadlines please visit: https://www.registrar.ucla.edu/Term-Calendar
CS Undergraduate Courses – Winter 2024
CS Undergraduate Courses (both lower and upper division) are highly impacted due to the overwhelming demand from CS undergraduate students. CS undergraduate courses are given priority to CS undergraduate students (just as CS Grad Courses are given priority to CS Graduate Students). Please note the likelihood of enrolling in CS upper division undergraduate courses is competitive therefore we ask that grad students exercise flexibility and explore the possibility of asking the instructor at the start of the quarter teaching a breadth requirement class if they will allow you to audit the course for breadth requirement credit (it is the student’s responsibility to ask the instructor) or take CS grad courses that have open enrollment spots as well as grad courses in related fields.
We ask our CS grad students students who wish to take CS Upper Division undergraduate courses for W24 to please fill out the following ECR survey each quarter to indicate their preferences. Filling out the survey does not guarantee you will be enrolled in the course(s) you selected. Once the CS Grad Office is given access by the Undergraduate Office (most likely sometime in mid-September) we will begin manually enrolling based off of the survey results and if there are any enrollment spaces left in those courses (if any) as grad students are not allowed to directly enroll themselves into CS undergrad courses.
Please click the following link to fill out the ECR survey by November 16: http://cs.ucla.edu/classes/enroll/
Enrollment for F23
Friendly reminder the minimum number of units you should be enrolled in is 12 with the max being 18 (if you have questions, please email jalvarez@cs.ucla.edu). The last day to enroll/add in any course at UCLA without a financial penalty is the end of Week 2 (Jan. 20). If by Week 2 you are still enrolled on a waitlist for any course and were not able to procure a PTE from the instructor, you will automatically be dropped after Week 2 (April 14) so please plan accordingly.
The Last day for graduate students to add/drop classes with per-class fee through MyUCLA is December 8, 2023.
For more information on UCLA term deadlines please visit: https://www.registrar.ucla.edu/Term-Calendar
For CS research seminars (i.e. CS 298, CS 375, CS 596, CS 597, CS 598) it is the CS grad student’s responsibility to obtain the instructor/advisor’s consent first before signing up/enrolling in any of these courses. Friendly reminder, CS 298, CS 375, CS 596 and CS 597 do not count towards the M.S. Program of Study.
For CS 239 courses which may be taken for variable units (i.e. where students can determine how many units they may enroll in that course), CS grad students must enroll for 4 units total. If you increase the unit count for one the CS 239 course(s), your instructor will need to provide proof as well as put it in writing that the student did over 4 units worth of coursework in addition to the regular coursework. If you sign up for less than 4 units and you are an MS student then this course will not count towards the MS Program of Study requirements therefore please be sure to enroll in the course for 4 units only. The deadline to change unit count for a course is before week 10 of that quarter. To change the units for a course after week 2. you must fill out the enrollment petition form(the class ID may be found in the schedule of classes) and requires the instructor’s signature and email it back to jalvarez@cs.ucla.edu before the end of week 10. Please note, Graduate Division believes ten weeks is more than enough time to make this decision to switch units for a course and retroactive petitions (i.e. enrollment petitions submitted after week 10) are very rarely approved for this reason.
For more information on UCLA term deadlines please visit:https://www.registrar.ucla.edu/Term-Calendar
Friendly reminder, you must be registered and enrolled full-time each quarter continuously unless you apply for a Leave of Absence/In Absentia/Filing Fee for a particular quarter(s).
Tentative Course Offerings
Adding/Dropping Courses
Fall 2023
To view the add/drop deadlines and fees associated with it please visit the UCLA Graduate Student Study List Deadlines & Fees
You have until week 10 (December 8th) to add/drop a course without it reflecting on your transcript via MyUCLA.
If you are unable to add/drop courses via MyUCLA by week 10, you must fill out the enrollment petition form (the non digit class ID may be found in the schedule of classes) and requires the instructor’s signature. The student is responsible for filling out the form completely and obtaining the instructor’s signature on the form (the “Authorized Approval Signature” and the “Authorized Departmental Signature” are something the CS Grad Office can obtain so please leave that part blank on the form).
Please email the completed form to jalvarez@cs.ucla.edu before the end of week 10 (/December 8th).
Please note, The Department of Graduate Education believes ten weeks is more than enough time to make this decision to add/drop courses and retroactive petitions (i.e. enrollment petitions submitted after week 10) are very rarely approved for this reason so please drop the course (via MyUCLA ) no later than December 8th.
Auditing Courses/ Lecture 80 Courses
If you wish to audit a course for your Breadth Requirement please note that auditing a course is done between the Faculty/Instructor of that course and the student wishing to audit at the start of the quarter. Friendly reminder, faculty/instructors are not obligated to allow students to audit a course(s). It is completely up to their discretion if they decide to do so and how you will be audited (i.e. project or test, etc). For more information please visit: https://www.registrar.ucla.edu/Registration-Classes/Enrollment-Policies/Class-Policies/Auditing-Classes
Lecture 80 courses (i.e. online courses)
Please note any online course that has a lecture 80 means that course is for the MS Online Engineering Program only (i.e. CS grad students cannot take/enroll in these courses)
Week 10 Deadlines
Friday, December 8, 2023 is the last day for graduate students to:
· Make changes to their study lists via MyUCLA with the applicable fee (drop/add courses).
· Submit a Graduate Degree Petition to request a change of grading basis for a mandatory graded course by filling out the enrollment petition form (course ID can be found on schedule of classes website) and have the instructor sign off where it says “Instructor’s signature” and turn in the completed form to jalvarez@cs.ucla.edu before week 10.
- Submit a Withdrawal Notice for the current quarter.Graduate students receive an official reminder from the Registrar’s Office during third week to check their study lists; they have ten weeks to take the actions listed above.The Graduate Division complies with published deadlines. We recognize exceptional situations may require a retroactive petition. However, retroactive petitions without compelling cause and documentation create an unnecessary and unfair burden and can negatively affect university records. Any retroactive change requests (add/drop courses, change of grading basis) require departmental and instructor signatures as well as a supporting, explanatory memo from the department chair. Please note this is not a guarantee petitions will be approved.
CS PhD Students Only
Please visit the Graduate Student Handbook page for instructions and forms for completing milestones. If you have any questions, please email Helen Tran at helen@cs.ucla.edu.
WQE - Fall 2023
The deadline to create an account and register your paper at the WQE website is Thursday, October 26th at 11:59 am. The deadline to email your WQE cover page and submit your paper to the WQE website is Friday, October 27th at 11:59 am. For the WQE website link and detailed formatting requirements, please review the WQE instructions. Please note that the Spring 2024 deadlines are tentative and will be confirmed at the start of Spring quarter.
Ad-Hoc Minor Proposal Deadlines
For instructions on submitting an ad-hoc minor proposal to satisfy the Proposal of Fields requirement, visit the Graduate Student Handbook or the Proposal of Fields form (page 3).
| Term | Deadline |
| Fall 2023 | November 3, 2023 |
| Winter 2024 | February 9, 2024 |
| Spring 2024 | May 3, 2024 |
| Summer 2024 | Petitions are not reviewed in the summer. |
Term Calendar 2023-2024
Graduate Student Refunds, Leave of Absence, In Absentia Registration, Filing Fee
Test of Oral Proficiency (TOP)
- For CS graduates you can only take the TOP once a quarter.
- CS requires you to receive a 7.1 minimum score to be eligible to TA in the Department.
- If you receive a Provisional Pass you will be able to take the TOP again due to a special arrangement CS has with TOP.
CS MS Students only
Please visit the Graduate Student Handbook page for instructions and forms for completing milestones. If you have any questions, please email Juliana Alvarez at jalvarez@cs.ucla.edu
CS 596 (CPT)
For CS MS international students who are interning during the summer, students must sign up for one unit for CS 596 but before they sign up they must obtain their CS faculty advisor’s (or any CS faculty) consent first to sign up under them via email (note faculty are not obligated to give their consent and if they do not or if they do not respond, you must ask another cs faculty member). Once you get their consent via email please forward the email to Madelen Hem at madelen@cs.ucla.edu so she can give you a PTE. Please note do not ask for a PTE anytime before Spring Quarter as the class system for summer will not be live yet.
Please keep in mind, if you submit an ATC packet this quarter it takes months for ATC to be processed (you will most likely hear back at the end of the quarter) therefore students should sign up for CS 596 for one unit to fulfill their CPT requirement (ATC processing cannot be expedited). For questions on summer session fees/deadlines/etc please visit the summer session website directly: https://summer.ucla.edu/fees-payment-and-financial-aid/
For questions on CPT (process, deadline, how many units to enroll for CS 596, etc) please contact the Dashew Center directly as they oversee CPT.
Initial Faculty Advisor
The initial faculty advisor you were assigned when you first started the CS MS program is your first point of contact re: your Capstone/Thesis. The initial faculty advisor is there to point you in the right direction re: Capstone/Thesis (i.e. they are not automatically your Capstone/Thesis Advisor). As mentioned at the CS MS Orientation as well as in the CS Grad Student Handbook, is up to the CS MS student to find their own Capstone/Thesis Advisor (must be CS faculty) and procure their consent that they are willing to be your Capstone/Thesis Advisor.
Once a student has found a Capstone/Thesis Advisor who gave their consent to be their Capstone Advisor, the student must fill out the Advisor Consent Form and have the Capstone/Thesis Advisor sign off. If you have any questions regarding this please contact jalvarez@cs.ucla.edu.
If you are doing a Capstone, you may switch and/or find an advisor even after you’ve submitted your ATC paper work (as long as you find one before your Capstone). If you are doing a thesis, you may switch advisors after your ATC forms but you will need to reconstitute your committee (please email jalvarez@cs.ucla.edu for further information).
Finishing Capstone/Thesis This Quarter
If you are about to finish your Breadth Requirement and MS Program of Study courses this quarter, you will be ready to Advance to Candidacy (see the CS Grad Student Handbook for more information). Once you are ready to Advance to Candidacy for Fall 2023, please do the following:
Please submit your MS Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) Form and within the same pdf (no zip files please) please include:
- a copy of your unofficial transcripts with the nine MS Program of Study courses highlighted or asterisked
- Breadth Requirement Form with the three CS 201s filled out as well. If you petitioned/audited courses and it was approved please include within the pdf the email showing it was approved.
- Program of Study Form should be emailed as a pdf (no zip files please)
An example of the ATC packet can be found HERE.
If you were/are an ESAP student about to Advance to Candidacy, you still need to mark and fill out and provide all the forms mentioned above which should be consolidated into one pdf as seen in the ATC packet example above and emailed by the deadline.
This ATC packet must emailed as a pdf to jalvarez@cs.ucla.edu by Friday, October 13, 2023.
If you submitted your ATC packet by the deadline please note it takes months for both the Registrar’s Office and Graduate Academic Services office to process ATC’s and will most likely hear from Academic Services re: ATC status at the end of the quarter. You will be notified via email.
Please note that you must be registered and enrolled full-time in order to submit your ATC packet.
Petitioning a Breadth Requirement Course – if you are petitioning a course that is not on the approved list make sure you provide one pdf that includes the Breadth Req form filled out, a copy of your unofficial transcript with the grade/class highlighted and a copy of the syllabus to jalvarez@cs.ucla.edu. Please note petitioning courses can only be done in the first quarter of your CS MS program (see CS Grad Student Handbook).
Thesis Route
If you are planning to do the thesis option, please be sure to submit your Nomination of Committee Form. As mentioned at the CS MS Orientation as well as in the CS Grad Student Handbook, it is the student’s responsibility to find and obtain the faculty members consent to being on your thesis committee before turning this form in (advisor/chair must be CS faculty, one other CS faculty must serve on the committee and the third can be a faculty outside the CS department) along with your ATC packet by Friday, October 13, 2023 You do not need to obtain the Departmental Chair/Authorized Faculty Departmental Advisor’s signature on the Nomination of MS Committee Form in order to turn it in along with your ATC packet (as long as you have received the consent of your advisor and committee via email that they agree to serve on your thesis committee that will suffice). If you are doing the thesis route, please be sure to attend an ETD workshop. For information on filing your thesis electronically and the date(s) for the ETD workshop please visit: https://grad.ucla.edu/academics/calendar/thesis-dissertation-filing-deadlines-and-workshops/,
If you are doing an MS thesis you must upload your thesis and have your committee sign off on it electronically by Friday, December 15, 2023.
Capstone Route
If you are planning to submit your Capstone this quarter, the deadline to submit the Capstone Results Form with all the advisor and committee signatures and abstract is Friday, December 15, 2023.
An example of the Capstone Results Form packet can be found HERE.
As mentioned at the CS MS Orientation as well as in the CS Grad Student Handbook, it is the student’s responsibility to find their capstone/thesis advisor (must be CS faculty and make sure to have them sign off on the Advisor Consent Form and email it to jalvarez@cs.ucla.edu) along with one other CS faculty to be on the committee and another faculty member (this faculty member may be outside the CS Department or also could be CS faculty) to review and sign off on their capstone.
The capstone advisor and committee members may sign off via email but the student must consolidate this into one pdf where the capstone results form is in front (under signature write – see email), a copy of your abstract (one paragraph long will suffice) and include the email thread where the faculty signed off. They may also have the faculty cc’ jalvarez@cs.ucla.edu when they sign off on their capstone via email.
The quarter that you are submitting your Capstone or Thesis you must either be registered and enrolled full-time (for Summer you must be enrolled in a minimum of 4 units) or have submitted an electronic filing fee application by the deadline provided that you meet the qualifications to submit a Filing Fee application.
Note, if you are finishing in Summer please get your committee and advisor’s approval in Spring Quarter that they will be available to review/approve your thesis/capstone over the Summer.
Filing Fee/Last Quarter in the MS program
Filing Fee
Filing fee means that you are about to finish all your course work for the Breadth Requirement as well as the Program of Study by this quarter and need an additional quarter to finish your capstone/thesis (you’re welcome to finish it all the same quarter they finish all their course requirements but some students need extra time). “Filing Fee” for the next quarter (i.e. you have finished taking all the Program of Study/Breadth Req courses and Advance to Candidacy in Winter 2023 and will go on Filing Fee in Spring 2023 to work on the capstone/thesis that you will submit in Winter 2023) as all you need to do is work on and submit your capstone/thesis (you cannot be enrolled in courses when you are on filing fee).
If you are unsure that you will be able to finish your capstone/MS program and might need more time, we strongly recommend students register and enroll and not submit an application for filing fee. If you need more time after filing fee you will need to apply for readmission back into the MS program which is laborious and takes time for both the student and various UCLA offices involved.
Filing Fee is not required to do and is completely optional provided that you meet the requirements (i.e. Advance to Candidacy one quarter prior to the quarter you plan on being on Filing Fee) and submit your application by the deadline. Please note the filing fee application is separate from the Advancement to Candidacy petition form.
If a student is planning/going to apply for filing fee, it is the student’s responsibility to make sure they read through the filing fee website as there are important information on what services and access are suspended and be aware of deadlines. One of the many services suspended while on filing fee is access to the UCLA VPN and library. If you are in UCLA Housing, please notify UCLA Housing that you will apply for filing fee and ask if it will impact your Housing or not. For a list of services suspended/impacted while on filing fee please visit the filing fee website.
Once you receive the email from the Department of Graduate Education stating that you have successfully Advanced to Candidacy (please note this is separate from emailing your Advancement to Candidacy packet), please fill out the electronic Filing Fee application. To access the filing fee application and for more information on filing fee please visit: https://grad.ucla.edu/academics/graduate-study/filing-fee-application/
Please note that filing fee is completely optional. If you do filing fee and require another quarter to finish your capstone/thesis, you must apply for readmission into the CS MS program. Please contact jalvarez@cs.ucla.edu for further information.
If you are not going to be on Filing Fee during your last quarter in the program you must be registered and enrolled full-time.
If you are finishing in Summer you must be enrolled in a minimum of 4 units + have your advisor/committee’s consent that they will review your capstone/thesis during the Summer.
For deadlines on the last day to submit a filing fee application please visit: https://grad.ucla.edu/ucla/gasaa/filingfeedeadlines.pdf