Information for Ph.D. Students
| Coursework | Prelim Reqs | Teaching Reqs | Qual Exam | Dissertation/Tech Report | Exit/Graduation |
The following may be used as a guideline for obtaining the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in EECS. For complete details on requirements and procedures, see the EECS Graduate Handbook. The PhD Flowchart provides for an overview of the necessary steps you will need to take before getting your Ph.D. Please contact the Staff Graduate Advisors (EE: Shirley Salanio, shirley@eecs, 217 Cory Hall / CS: Xuan Quach, xuquach@eecs, 339 Soda Hall) to obtain any forms not linked from below or if you have any questions.
When you have found a Research Advisor and no longer have a temporary one, you must notify the Staff Graduate Advisor to update the database. No forms or paperwork required.
( I ) Coursework
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Required minimum number of units: 24 (for students entering Fall 2009 or later) or 32 units (only an option for students entering prior to Fall 2009). Each unit total has an obligatory minimum GSI requirement.
- EECS Major: 12 or 16+ units of graduate courses; GPA=3.5+; number of units dependent on total number of units required;
- EECS Minor: 6 or 8+ units of at least 1 or 2+ graduate courses; GPA=3.0+; number of units dependent on total number of units required;
- non-EECS Minor: 6 or 8+ units of at least 1 or 2+ graduate courses; GPA=3.0+; number of units dependent on total number of units required;
- All courses of the major and two minors must be taken for a letter grade.
- EE or CS298, EE or CS299, EE or CS301, and EE or CS602 units are not counted toward Ph.D. coursework.
- Credit for courses taken on an S/U basis is limited to one-third of the total units (excluding courses numbered 299 or those in the 300, 400, or 600 series)
( II ) Preliminary Examination Requirements
The EECS Preliminary Requirement consists of two components: the oral examination and breadth courses. You will have fulfilled the Prelim Requirement only after you pass the oral exam and meet the breadth course requirement.
- EE students, visit the EE Prelim Exam web page for application deadlines and exam area syllabi.
- CS students, visit the CS Prelim Exam web page for application deadlines and sign-up sheets, exam areas, syllabi and questions.
| Oral Exam | Breadth Req | Breadth Courses | Blue Card |
Oral Exam
- Only students admitted to the M.S./Ph.D. or the Ph.D. programs are permitted to sign up for the oral exam.
- If you entered Berkeley's EECS graduate program with a bachelor's degree, you must take the exam for the first time at the beginning of the third semester of graduate study.
- If you entered the program with an M.S. degree, you must take the exam at the beginning of your second semester.
- You must be registered for the semester the exam is taken.
- You must have a minimum cumulative 3.5 GPA in courses taken at Berkeley while in graduate standing. Grade units of 299 and 298 are not included in the computation.
Breadth Requirement
- CS students who entered the program with a bachelors degree must complete all prelim requirements by the end of the 4th semester. Those CS students entering with a master's degree must complete the requirements by the end of the 3rd semester.
- EE students must complete the prelim breadth requirement before taking the Qual Exam.
EE BREADTH COURSES:
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CS BREADTH COURSES: The CS breadth requirement consist of taking one course from each of the areas listed below (for a total of 3 courses):
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Blue Card
- CS students complete the CS Blue Card after passing all Prelim Requirements. This outlines your tentative program of study.
- EE students complete the EE Blue Card after passing the oral portion of the Prelim examination. This outlines your tentative program of study.
- Transfer credit may be awarded for a maximum of 12 or 16 semester units (dependent on total number of units required); complete a Transfer of Credit Petition and submit all supporting documents for each course to which you intend to transfer.
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( III ) Teaching Requirement
- For those Ph.D.'s who enrolled in the graduate program before Fall 1998, the TA requirement is one semester for at least 25% time (10 hours per week).
- Those admitted Fall 1998 and thereafter are required to fulfill at least two semesters at 25% time (10 hours per week) each OR one semester at 50% time (20 hours per week).
- Effective with the class entering Fall 2002, students must serve as a GSI for at least 1 undergraduate class. This means one 50% appointment for an undergraduate class or at least one of the 25% appointments for an undergraduate class.
- Effective for the Fall 2009 entering class, students must serve as a GSI for at least 30 hours and 20 of those hours must be for an undergraduate course.
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( IV ) Qualifying Examination
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You should organize your Qual Exam Committee in the 3rd year of your
Ph.D. program:
- total of 4 Academic Senate Faculty members
- your advisor cannot be the chair
- 1 member must be from outside the EECS Department
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Submit the three (3) required pieces of paperwork (details below) to the Staff Graduate Advisors at least one month prior to your scheduled exam:
- Graduate Division Application for Qualifying Exam.
- Departmental Qualifying Exam Application.
- Completed and advisor approved White Card (EE / CS).
- You must be registered the semester the exam is given. Summer quals ok if registered previous Spring or following Fall semester.
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Students take quals, format a or b below, within 6 semesters
after starting the EECS graduate program.
- Research area survey, directions, evidence of research ability.
- Research area survey, directions, thesis proposal defense.
- Students passing only format a for quals must also do a satisfactory thesis proposal defense within 10 semesters after matriculation.
- Effective for students enrolling FALL 2003 or later. Students enrolling prior to Fall 2003 should refer to the EECS Grad Student Handbook for old QE format.
| Applications | White Card | Adv to Candidacy | Thesis Proposal Defense |
Applications for Qual Exam
- Complete the Graduate Division Application for Qualifying Exam and the Departmental Qualifying Exam Application at least one month before the date the exam is scheduled. Please note that your advisor only needs to sign the Departmental Exam Application, not the Graduate Division application. The Signature of Head Graduate Advisor is a current member of the faculty appointed to this position by the Dept. Chair. This signature will be obtained for you by the Staff Graduate Advisors.
- Submit both of these completed applications (and the white card described below) to the Staff Graduate Advisor for processing.
White Card
- Complete the White Card (EE / CS) at the same time you apply for the Qual Exam. This constitutes your final program of study. EE students must have prelim breadth courses completed at this time. This form must have your advisor's signature of approval befor submission.
- Submit your advisor approved white card (with the QE applications above) to the Staff Graduate Advisor for processing.
Advancement to Candidacy
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After passing the Qual Exam, start to organize your Dissertation Committee:
- total of 3 Academic Senate Faculty members
- 1 of whom is outside the EECS Department
- the chair must be your Research Advisor
- Complete an Application for Candidacy before the end of the semester following the semester you passed the Qual Exam. Note the application fee accompanying the application.
- If you are a GSR, you may be eligible for an increase in the percent of your appointment. Once you receive notification from Graduate Division of your official advancement, take the Certificate of Candidacy form to Human Resources Office of ERSO for processing.
- If you are assessed nonresident tuition, you are now eligible for an NRT reduction for a maximum of 3 years (whether registered or not). You must be advanced by the first day of the semester to take advantage of this NRT reduction.
Thesis Proposal Defense and Application
Any student not presenting a satisfactory thesis proposal defense at the Qual Exam must write up and present to the dissertation committee a thesis proposal which should include a summary of research to date and plans for future work.
- Complete the Departmental Thesis Proposal Application at least one month before the date the defense is scheduled.
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( V ) Dissertation Talk and Filing
You must refer to Graduate Division's guidelines on Submitting a Doctoral Dissertation (any deviated version will not be accepted).
| Filing Fee | Dissertation Talk | Filing | Tech Report |
Filing Fee
To submit your dissertation, you must either be registered or on Filing Fee. Most students are registered.
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If you need to use the Filing Fee option:
- May be used only once in your graduate career.
- Applicant must have been registered in the semester (or in a Summer Session) immediately preceding the one for which Filing Fee status is requested.
- You cannot hold an academic student appointment (GSI or GSR).
- Submit the Filing Fee Application by the end of the 1st week of classes of the semester you wish to file and graduate.
- The Filing Fee will apply for the length of the semester for which Filing Fee status had been approved, up to the deadline for filing for a degree in that semester. These dates vary from year to year, but are approximately December 20 and May 25 of each year.
Dissertation Talk
Give a talk on the principal results of your research (this is a departmental graduation requirement). Advertise your talk at least one week in advance on the EECS Department Calendar (click the left-column link called Submit or edit an event). All students must also complete and submit the Thesis Seminar Form.
Filing
- All doctoral dissertations must be submitted in electronic form. You need to consult the publication "Instructions for Preparing and Filing Your Thesis or Dissertation" which describes the requirements for preparing the final version of your dissertation and submitting it electronically. (NOTE: Grad Div. needs at least 3 working days to review your electronic submission before they are able to provide a receipt of filing. You may still file on the deadline date but don't expect to receive a confirmation until the following week.) After your degree is awarded, the original copy will be sent to the University Library to be bound and included in the Library's collection.
- One copy should be uploaded to the EECS Department Website through the online submission form.
- Departmental Submission: The Department no longer accepts a hard copy of your dissertation. The documents you must submit to the EECS Grad Office are (1) a copy of the signed signature page (2) a copy/printout of the title page (3) a copy/printout of the abstract .
Technical Report
Effective Spring 2006, every Ph.D. dissertation must be submitted to the EECS Technical Memorandum Series. Please fill out the online submission form. Your manuscript will need to be in pdf format. Once submitted, the report will be assigned a number, given an HTML coversheet, assigned a URL, and added the EECS Technical Reports database. You will be sent its number and URL via email. If you need to delay the submission of your Tech Report, there is an option via your My EECS Info page that will allow you to specify a "delayed publication date".
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( VI ) Exit Surveys & Graduation
- Complete the EECS Exit Survey (this is a departmental graduation requirement). There is also an optional Quality-of-Life Questionnaire that we encourage all students to complete.
- Check with the Staff Graduate Advisor to make sure all coursework, prelim, GSI, and other requirements are completed.
| Division Surveys | Commencement | Diploma |
Graduate Division Surveys
All doctoral candidates must submit the following:- Survey of Earned Doctorates - collected by Graduate Division on behalf of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council (this can be obtained prior to filing in 318 Sproul).
- Survey of Doctoral Students' Opinions - UCB's exit questionnaire (can also be obtained prior to filing).
- A copy of the approved letter of the Committee for Protection of Human Subjects or the Animal Care and Use Committee, if necessary.
Commencement
If you wish to participate in the spring commencement ceremony, you must fill out the College of Engineering's Commencement Participation Form. Throughout the spring, details about the ceremony will be updated on the commencement website. If you have any other questions about commencement, please call the COE Student Affairs Office, 642-7594.
Diploma and Transcript
Approximately four months after your degree is conferred, you may pick up your diploma in person at the Office of the Registrar, 120 Sproul Hall, or request to have it sent to you. For more information, please see Transcripts and Diplomas.
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Updated by SAS, January 2013.
| EECS Graduate Student Affairs |