General Information - Degree Requirements
Advising and Orientation
Meetings
Each student is assigned a faculty member who serves as his or
her major-field adviser. All matters relating to the planning and
selection of a program of study must be approved by the major-field
adviser. All students, whether new or continuing, should schedule
a meeting with the adviser during scheduled advising periods of
each semester to obtain approval of their course schedule. To assist
new graduate students in starting their studies, a Department-wide
advising session is held prior to the beginning of instruction for
the Fall Semester. At this session information of a general nature
about the graduate program is provided by the Vice Chair for Instruction
of the Department who serves as the Head Graduate Advisor for all
students in Civil and Environmental Engineering. After the general
advising session, students in SEMM will attend a special group advisory
session. Thereafter, each student can make an appointment to see
his/her major field adviser to discuss his/her program of study.
A welcoming reception will be held on the first or second Monday
of the Fall semsester on the 7th floor of Davis Hall. All new and
continuing graduate students and the faculty in SEMM are invited
to attend this reception to meet informally and become acquainted.
Length of Time to
Attain Degrees
All graduate students should complete their degree
program as soon as possible. Therefore, the following rules apply:
All graduate students are expected to enroll a normal full-time program of 12 units per semester.
Master of Science students may take no more than 2 semesters and
a summer
to attain the degree. Exceptions to this rule are possible, but
require approval of the Graduate Advising Committee. Petitions for
such exceptions will be considered only from students who are enrolled
in a normal full-time program of study in each semester. Petitions
should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the deadline for
filing for candidacy. Students employed part-time (e.g., as teaching
or research assistants) are permitted up to 3 semesters to obtain
the degree.
Master of Engineering students are expected to take no
more than 4 semesters to attain their degree. Students employed part-time
are permitted up to 5 semesters to obtain the degree.
The "Normative Time" for the doctoral degree in the College
of Engineering has been set as 10 semesters of graduate studies
after the bachelor's degree (additional
information).
Study Programs
Students should carefully plan their study programs to attain their
degrees within the number of academic semesters permitted in the
Section on
Length of Time to Attain Degrees.
Graduate Student Instructors, Graduate Student
Researchers and others must enroll for additional units (which cannot be
used to satisfy degree requirements) to bring their study program up to 12
graduate units or equivalent. For this purpose, GSIs must sign up in CE
301, Graduate Student Researchers in CE 299, and students preparing for
comprehensive examinations in CE 601 or CE 602 as appropriate. Graduate
Student Researchers must sign up for 12 units of CE 299 if no other
courses are taken.
Cost of Attendance
at Berkeley
The Office of Financial Aid has established average costs of attendance
for students. Actual
expenses will vary depending upon life styles, priorities and obligations.
The budgets are revised every year to account for inflation. This
information can be found
here
and on the Financial Aid page here
under "Cost of Attendance."
Financial Aid
The University of California, Berkeley, offers a variety of financial
aid programs to help students meet their educational expenses. The
number of awards is limited and the competition is keen. The types
of aid offered by the campus such as fellowships, scholarships,
grants, loans, and work-study, are discussed in detail in the General
Catalog. In addition, the Department offers financial assistance
in the form of departmental fellowships, non-resident tuition scholarships,
graduate student instructors, graduate student researchers, and
readers. More information can be obtained from the Academic Affairs
Office.
The selection of students for Graduate Student Instructor appointments
and certain departmental fellowships is made by the SEMM Program
Chairman. However, the selection of students to be awarded appointments
as graduate student researchers is generally made by individual
faculty members. Therefore, students seeking research appointments
should consult with individual faculty members in their specific
fields of interest. Faculty research areas are listed under Faculty
Research Topics.
Students should also be aware of the numerous sources
of possible financial aid outside the University such as National Science
Foundation, Ford Foundation, ASCE, etc. For information, inquiries may be
made to the Committee on Fellowships and Graduate Scholarships, 318 Sproul
Hall.
Fee Remissions
Graduate student instructors and graduate student researchers
who are appointed a minimum of 25% are eligible for a partial remission
of student fees. Graduate student instructors who are appointed
45% or greater currently receive partial remission of student fees.
Graduate student researchers who are appointed 45% or greater currently
receive a full remission of student fees. Non-resident graduate
students who are admitted to the Ph.D. program and who have appointments
45% or greater also currently are eligible for a full waiver of
non-resident tuition. By the second year of study, however, domestic
Ph.D. students are expected to have established California residency.
Courses
to be excluded from Graduate Programs of Study
Upper division courses (100 series) can be taken for
graduate credit provided the student has not had equivalent courses in
their undergraduate program and subject to the restrictions in the
following paragraph. A student may petition for a waiver of a restriction
based on special circumstances.
The basic upper division courses, CE 130, CE 120, and
CE 121, recommended for a SEMM emphasis in the undergraduate Civil and
Environmental Engineering curriculum cannot be credited towards a graduate
degree in SEMM. One of the courses, CE 122 or CE 123, may be credited
towards a graduate degree, but not both. The following non-SEMM courses
cannot be used in a graduate program: E 115, ME 104, CE 100,
CE 103, CE 111, CE 150, CE 151, CE 167, CE 175, and CE 184.
Regulations
on Taking Courses on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Basis
DOCTORAL STUDENTS--ALL courses forming part of
the doctoral program (other than 299) and taken before the passing of the
doctoral qualifying examination must be taken on a letter-grade basis.
MASTER OF SCIENCE AND MASTER OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS--ALL
courses taken in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
(other than CE 298, 299 301, 601) must be on a letter-grade basis.
Upper-division or graduate courses taken outside the Department to satisfy
unit requirements may be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U)
basis
All CE 298, 299, 301, 601 and 602 units must be taken
on an S/U basis. Units in 298 courses do not count toward the minimum unit
requirement for any graduate degree. Students may enroll in a maximum of
16 units in each of 601 and 602.
SEMM Seminars
A program of seminars in Structural Engineering,
Mechanics, and Materials is offered every semester. Organized by a faculty
member-in-charge with the assistance of other faculty and graduate
students, this seminar program provides:
-
A forum for reporting research results by SEMM
students and faculty
-
A mechanism for learning about what is happening in
the profession and at other universities
-
An opportunity for SEMM faculty and students to
meet regularly
-
There will normally be a social function following
the seminar.
In order to achieve these objectives:
-
Every semester approximately six seminars are
scheduled every other Monday:
-
All graduate students are strongly urged to attend
the seminars.
Enrollment
The registration packet with instructions on the
registration process are available from the Academic Affairs Office, 750
Davis Hall.
Filing Fee
After satisfaction of residence requirements, a
candidate for the Master's or Doctor's degree need not be a registered
student at the time of completion of the last of the requirements for the
degree (students are required to be registered while taking classes,
carrying out research and writing the dissertation or thesis). Instead of
registering and paying the University Registration Fee (and the
Non-Resident Tuition Fee, if applicable), the candidate pays the Filing
Fee. The Filing Fee may be used under the following conditions:
(1) A student who has been continuously registered,
and, in particular, registered during the preceding calendar year, may
apply for the use of the Filing Fee when all but the final requirements
have been completed, i.e., actual filing of the thesis or dissertation,
or taking the formal final examination. All other requirements must have
been completed while formally registered. The Graduate Division will
carefully scrutinize the employment, registration, and financial aid
history of students for consistency with the registration requirement. A
student who has failed to meet the requirement or one who has made
inappropriate use of University facilities while unregistered will be
ineligible for use of the Filing Fee.
Filing Fee status may be applied for only once. The
fee will not be refunded or transferred because the dissertation or
thesis was not filed or the examination not taken or passed. An
application may be made at any time during the year, although it must be
made not less than one calendar month in advance of the filing date on
which requirements for the degree will be completed. If approved, the
Filing Fee will confer eligibility for a period of four calendar months
from the date on which the application is received in the Graduate
Division.
The Graduate Division will not be able to accept the
dissertation/thesis until such time as the student's Filing Fee status
(or registration, if necessary), has been finalized.
(2) A student who pays the Filing Fee is not eligible
for the privileges normally accorded regularly registered students, such
as use of laboratories, libraries, computer, Student Health Service, a
desk, or faculty attention other than that required for the final
reading of the dissertation or thesis or the taking of the final
comprehensive examination. No course work may be undertaken under the
filing fee.
Further details on conditions for use of the Filing Fee
are described in forms available in the Department Academic Affairs
Office, 750 Davis Hall. Students paying the Filing Fee are not considered
full-time students.
Computer,
Laboratory and Office Facilities
University facilities are available for use by
registered students and staff only. Students using the Filing Fee may not
utilize University facilities except as indicated in the Section
on Filing Fee.
A wide array of computer and laboratory facilities are
available within the Department. Instructors will make arrangements
directly with students for use of laboratory and computer facilities
associated with a formal course.
Students enrolled in CE 299, Individual Study, may use
computer and laboratory facilities to conduct their project. A form
"Proposed Program of Graduate Student Research" must be
completed and approved by the student's Faculty Supervisor and the
Department prior to use of any facility. A limited amount of technician
support is available for students working on CE 299 projects.
Enrolled students have access to a wide variety of
Departmental personal computers and workstations, as well as to several
public computer facilities administered by the campus Information Systems
& Technology unit (IS&T). Department facilities consist of a
network of Pentium-based PC's in room 604 Davis Hall, and networks of DEC
and SGI Unix workstations in rooms 509, 517 and 541 Davis Hall. Mainframe
Unix computer accounts are available on two IS&T systems ('violet' and
'garnet'), as well as on a system jointly administered by several
engineering departments ('euler'). Finally, free email accounts are
available to all students on the IS&T UCLink systems.
See the Departmental Computing Resources form for
further information on these and other computer resources. This form is
available on the information tables outside of the Academic Affairs
Office, 750 Davis Hall.
A limited number of student offices are available. Priority in assigning
office space is given to doctoral students and graduate students
engaged in research. GSIs share Room 504 to hold their office hour.
Petitions
It is important that each graduate student seek the
counsel of the major field adviser on all academic matters.
In the event any student wishes special consideration
for a change in a particular degree requirement, the student must provide
evidence to justify the request, obtain the approval of the major-field
adviser, and then submit a petition to the SEMM Academic Program Chairman.
Petitions to change from one degree program to another
and all advancement to candidacy applications must also be submitted to
the SEMM Academic Program Chairman.
Graduate Student
Representatives
Two students are elected to serve as the
representatives of the SEMM program to the Graduate Assembly -- a
University-wide association of graduate students. In addition, these two
students are voting members of the SEMM Academic Program Committee, which
helps to shape academic policy.
Post Graduate
Employment Opportunities
For general information on employment opportunities available
after completion of graduate study, students should inquire at the
Placement Center, on campus. They should also note the employment
listings in the Engineering News which is published weekly during
the academic year. A partial
list of employment opportunities in the Bay Area is also maintained
in the Department Academic Affairs Office (CalNet ID required).
Every year various colleges and universities are
seeking qualified individuals to fill academic positions. Students nearing
the completion of their doctoral programs and interested in such positions
should inquire in the Department and SEMM offices.
Commencements
Commencement exercises for the College of Engineering
are held in May. Candidates for December degrees may attend a May
commencement exercise if they have completed or expect to complete their
degree requirements by August 31. December commencement exercises for
graduating students are also offered. Check the Alumni
web page for details on the December commencement and the College
of Engineering web page for details on the May commencement exercises.
Continuous Registration
Requirement
Every graduate student in good standing, unless granted
withdrawal by the Dean of the Graduate Division, is required to register
with the Office of Admissions and Records each semester until the
completion of all requirements for the degree. No graduate student may
fail to register in any semester without having first obtained a formal
release in the form of a withdrawal; failure to register without such
formal release constitutes voluntary withdrawal from the University and
precludes readmission. The Graduate Division enforces this regulation
strictly.
The requirement of full-time continuous registration
for graduate students is satisfied by attendance in the two semesters of
an academic year. A student is required to be registered or pay the Filing
Fee, whichever is applicable, for the semester in which the degree is
conferred. All holders of non-immigrant visas must be registered for Fall
and Spring Semesters of each academic year unless special permission has
been obtained from the Immigration Service to do otherwise. Consult the
International Student Adviser for further information.
Consistent with these principles, graduate students
must register in any semester in which they are enrolled in formal courses
of instruction, or making any use of University facilities, including
access to the faculty, except those uses that are accorded the general
public.
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