At the beginning of your final academic year in CCS (the third quarter
prior to your intended quarter of graduation), you should obtain a Graduation
Checklist (blue) from the CCS office (room 102A). At that time you must
make appointments with Leslie (
)
and your faculty advisor, to specifically discuss, plan, and note on this
checklist the remaining courses you must complete in your discipline and
other requirements that you must satisfy to qualify for graduation. Your
advisor will sign the Graduation Checklist at your meeting with her/him,
and you will return the form to Leslie for your file.
At the beginning of your final quarter (the quarter in which you intend
to graduate), you must again meet with Leslie and your advisor using the
Graduation Checklist. At this time your advisor will certify that all
courses and requirements for graduation have been completed/satisfied
or are in progress in the final quarter and will again sign-off on the
checklist. This form will ultimately go to the CCS Executive Committee
for their review and approval of your eligibility to graduate.
The original of this form must always be returned to your permanent file
in Leslie’s Office. You may wish to make a photocopy for reference.
The deadline for returning the completed and signed Graduation Checklist
to Leslie is the end of the second week of classes of your final quarter.
Graduation
• Petition to Graduate - It is your responsibility to notify
your advisor and Leslie as early as possible regarding which quarter
you intend to graduate. This must be done at least two quarters prior
to expected graduation. You must also officially declare your candidacy
for the Bachelor’s
Degree with the Registrar’s office. This is done using GOLD.
The deadline is usually the end of the second week of the quarter in which
you wish to graduate. There are no exceptions made to this deadline. See
Schedule of Classes for the exact date.
• Graduation Ceremony - The CCS graduation ceremony takes
place one week prior to the College of Letters and Science commencement
ceremony. It is followed by a reception where family and friends can meet
with your instructors, fellow students, and CCS staff. The CCS ceremony
is smaller, more personal and relatively informal (caps and gowns are
optional). CCS students may also participate in the main UCSB ceremony
(with caps and gowns) if they meet all the sign-up deadlines as required
by the Registrar (http://www.registrar.ucsb.edu/), and Office
of Student Life (http://www.sa.ucsb.edu/osl/).
Graduate & Professional Schools Admission
Planning
If you are considering attending a graduate or professional school, be
sure to discuss your plans with your CCS advisor. The campus has pre-professional
school advisors, and a Health Sciences Advising office. In addition, the Graduate Division Office
(http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/) (3rd
floor, Cheadle Hall) maintains two publications helpful to students searching
for appropriate graduate programs: Graduate School Admissions Manual,
which identifies all graduate schools in the U.S. offering programs in
each specific field of study; and Petersen’s Guides, which are helpful
in deciding which school is most suitable.
Financial support for graduate education varies with each school and discipline.
• Letters of Recommendation
Even if you do not plan to apply to graduate school right away, ask for
general letters of recommendation before you leave UCSB! There are two
reasons for this: 1) faculty may forget details about you as time passes;
2) faculty may leave UCSB and the area, or for other reasons be unreachable
. CCS staff will keep the originals of these letters in your permanent
file, so that copies can be made whenever necessary, at your request.
Graduate programs usually require two or three letters from instructors
who know you well. Give your instructors plenty of time prior to your
deadline when you ask them for this favor. You can facilitate the process
by providing to each letter writer: 1) a copy of your CCS and UCSB transcripts,
2) a copy of the statement of purpose you intend to send to the graduate
program, and 3) a stamped addressed envelope for each school that is to
receive the letter.
• List of Courses Taken - Your official UCSB transcript lists
CCS courses by their generic titles, as printed in the UCSB catalog.
Your CCS unofficial transcript which is updated each summer and maintained
in your CCS file, lists CCS classes by their actual titles, and you are
permitted to make copies of this for inclusion in your applications to
graduate schools. In addition, if more information is required concerning
the content of specific courses, you may photocopy the full description
of each course you have taken. This takes a while, so start early. Ask
about access to prior quarters’ course descriptions.
