Applicable only to students admitted during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Doctoral Degree

Advising

Each department in the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has a graduate adviser. A current list of graduate advisers can be obtained from the Office of the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, 6426 Boelter Hall, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Students are assigned a faculty adviser upon admission to the School. Advisers may be changed upon written request from the student. All HSSEAS faculty serve as advisers.

New students should arrange an appointment as early as possible with the faculty adviser to plan the proposed program of study toward the Ph.D. degree. Continuing students are required to confer with the adviser during the time of enrollment each quarter so that progress can be assessed and the study list approved.

Based on the quarterly transcripts, student records are reviewed at the end of each quarter by the departmental graduate adviser and Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs. Special attention is given if students were admitted provisionally or are on probation. If their progress is unsatisfactory, students are informed of this in writing by the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs.

Students are strongly urged to consult with the departmental student office staff and/or the Office of Academic and Student Affairs regarding procedures, requirements and the implementation of policies. In particular, advice should be sought on the procedures for taking Ph.D. written and oral examinations, and on the use of the Filing Fee.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Student can pursue specialization across three major areas of study: circuits and embedded systems, physical and wave electronics, and signals and systems.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

The selection of courses for the doctoral degree program is tailored to the student's professional objectives and  must meet the requirements outlined below. The courses should be selected and approved in consultation with the student's faculty adviser. Changes from the stated requirements are considered only in exceptional cases and must be approved by the Vice-Chair of Graduate Affairs.

The minimum standards and course requirements for the doctoral degree program are:

Prerequisite. A UCLA master's degree in electrical engineering or a related field, or a comparable master's degree from an accredited institution.

Time-to degree. All doctoral degree course requirements must be completed within five academic years from admission into the doctoral program.

Academic standards. Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 during each quarter of registration in the doctoral program.

Courses:

Four formal graduate courses chosen in consultation with the faculty adviser
Two of the formal graduate courses must be in electrical engineering
One graduate seminar series course (Electrical Engineering 297)
One technical communications course such as Electrical Engineering 295
Electrical Engineering 296, 375, and 500-series courses may not be applied to course requirements

A formal graduate course is defined as any 200-level course, excluding seminar or tutorial courses. Formal graduate courses taken by the student to meet the master's degree course requirements cannot be applied toward the doctoral degree course requirements.

At least two of the formal graduate courses must be in electrical engineering.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

The written qualifying examination is known as the Ph.D. preliminary examination in the School. The purpose of the examination is to assess the student's competency in the discipline, knowledge of the fundamentals, and potential for independent research. Students admitted first to the master's program in this department must complete all of the master's degree program requirements with a grade-point average of 3.5 in order to be considered for admission into the doctoral program. Students can take the Ph.D. preliminary examination only after admission into the doctoral program. The examination is held once each year. Students are examined independently by a group of faculty members in the student's general area of study. The examination by each faculty member typically includes oral and written components. The student is required to pass all components of the examination at one time. A student who fails the examination may repeat it once, subject to the approval of the Vice-Chair of Graduate Affairs. The preliminary examination, together with the doctoral course requirements, should be completed within two academic years after matriculation into the doctoral program. The department strongly recommends that students take this examination during their first year in the doctoral program.

After passing the written qualifying examination described above, the student is ready to take the University Oral Qualifying Examination. Students are required to take the University Oral Qualifying Examination when all courses have been completed and within one year after the Ph.D. Preliminary Examination is passed. The nature and content of the examination are at the discretion of the doctoral committee, but ordinarily include a broad inquiry into the student's preparation for research. The doctoral committee also reviews the prospectus of the dissertation at the oral qualifying examination.

Students nominate a doctoral committee prior to taking the University Oral Qualifying Examination.  The doctoral committee consists of a minimum of four members. Three members, including the chair, are inside members and must hold appointments at UCLA in the student's major department in the School. The outside member must be a UCLA faculty member outside the student's major department. Students should consult Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA regarding petitions for exceptions to this policy.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of the Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

All doctoral degree requirements must be completed within five academic years from matriculation into the doctoral program.

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

A recommendation for termination is reviewed by the school's Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs.

Master's

In addition to the standard reasons noted above, a student may be recommended for termination for

(1) Failure to maintain a grade point average of 3.0 in all courses and in those in the 200 series.

(2) Failure to maintain a grade point average of 3.0 in any two consecutive terms.

(3) Failure of the comprehensive examination.

(4) Failure to complete the thesis to the satisfaction of the committee members.

(5) Failure to maintain satisfactory progress toward the degree within the three-year time limit for completing all degree requirements.

Doctoral

In addition to the standard reasons noted above, a student may be recommended for termination for

(1) Failure to maintain a grade point average of 3.5 in all courses and in any two consecutive quarters prior to the successful completion of the University Oral Qualifying Examination.

(2) Failure of the Ph.D. preliminary examination.

(3) Failure of the University Oral Qualifying Examination.

(4) Failure of the final oral examination (defense of the dissertation).

(5) Failure to make satisfactory progress toward the degree within the department's specified time limits.

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