Master’s Thesis and Graduation Procedures

M.S. Advancement to Candidacy

All students must advance to candidacy one quarter prior to graduation. For students intending to complete their degree in two years, this means the advancement form must be completed in Winter quarter of the second year of enrollment.

The M.S. Advancement to Candidacy form must be initiated in DocuSign by the graduate academic coordinator, Maggie Mulcare (mmulcare@uci.edu). Please complete the DocuSign Request Form when you are ready for your form to be created.

M.S. Thesis Committee

On the M.S. Advancement to Candidacy form, you must elect your three Thesis Committee members. The committee should consist of a committee chair and two general members. Of the three members, there must be a BME majority, which means that at least two members (including your chair) must hold a primary or affiliate position within the BME department. The third member can be from outside the department. All members must be tenure-tract faculty with membership on the academic senate.

If you have changes to your committee membership after submitting your Advancement form, please notify the graduate academic coordinator as soon as possible.

Once your committee members have agreed to serve on your Thesis Committee, it is advised to give them a timeline of when you plan to submit your written thesis to them and when you would need their approval. We advise giving your committee members a minimum of two weeks to review your written thesis before giving their approval/asking them to sign the graduation paperwork.   

M.S. Thesis Signature Page

Once all three committee members have approved your thesis, the M.S. Thesis Signature Page and M.S. Graduation Checklist must be initiated via DocuSign. These are now combined into one form in DocuSign. The form should be requested here.

The final deadline to submit the M.S. Thesis Signature Page to Graduate Division is the last Friday of classes in the quarter you plan to graduate.

In addition to the form, students must attach proof that they have completed the exit survey and have submitted their final thesis to UCI Library through ProQuest. Please note that during peak graduation times, such as the last week of the quarter, it may take two to four business days for your thesis submission to be accepted by ProQuest. Do not wait until the last minute to submit your thesis.