2023 Grad Students

Graduate Students

Current Graduate Students

Current students enrolled in SOE's M.A., M.Ed. (not tied to credential), and Ph.D program are encouraged to use the resources and forms outlined below. If you have any problems viewing or using the documents, please contact the Graduate Program Coordinator. The Graduate Division also offers resources for students including GradSuccess, Graduate Writing Center, and GradQuant, which you can access at the bottom of the page.

  • Orientation Handbook
  • Course Offerings
  • Determining Authorship

    As a graduate student, you will be working with peers and faculty members on research projects that may result in publication(s) and/or presentation(s). To assist with determining authorship, please use the following reference materials. In all cases, you should check in with your faculty advisor and/or PI to begin a discussion on authorship and research duties.

    Graduate Student's Guide to Determining Authorship Credit and Authorship Order

    Authorship Duties and Scorecard

  • Advancing to Candidacy

    Depending on the degree program, students will advance to candidacy when they meet the following criteria: 

    Master of Arts (MA) degree 

    1. Complete all required coursework within degree program in consultation with their faculty advisor. Students should review their degree audit on R’Web. For any course substitutions, email the Graduate Program Coordinator cc: your faculty advisor to confirm approved substitutions (ex: EDUC 269E to substitute for EDUC 200). 

    1. Fill out the Application for Candidacy for Master’s Degree on R’Grad via R’Web by the posted deadline. Note: you only need to submit this form once. 

    Master of Education (MEd) degree 

    1. Complete all required coursework within degree program in consultation with their faculty advisor. Students should review their degree audit on R’Web. For any course substitutions, email the Graduate Program Coordinator cc: your faculty advisor to confirm approved substitutions (ex: PBPL 200 to substitute for Higher Ed elective). 

    1. Fill out the Application for Candidacy for Master’s Degree on R’Grad via R’Web by the posted deadline. Note: you only need to submit this form once. 

    Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree 

    1.  Complete all required coursework within degree program in consultation with their faculty advisor. Students should review their degree audit on R’Web. For any course substitutions, email the Graduate Program Coordinator cc: your faculty advisor to confirm approved substitutions (ex: PBPL 200 to substitute for Higher Ed elective). 

    1. Complete the written qualifying examination and pass all sections. 

    1. Complete and pass the oral qualifying examination.  

    Note: Once all steps are complete, the Graduate Division will notify you via email that you have advanced to candidacy and will be charged a $90 advancement fee. PhD students must be enrolled full time once they have advanced to candidacy. 

  • MEd Capstone Project

    Depending on your M.Ed. specialization, follow the instructions below:

    M.Ed. Education Policy Analysis and Leadership: Students will complete a culminating analytical report. The report will either be organized as a literature review or as a policy analysis. The project is expected to take at least two regular academic terms to complete and may well include one or more of the following: research, service learning, and program internship opportunities tied to the topic of study. 

    M.Ed. Higher Education Administration and Policy: analytical reports should be started the first quarter after completing all 36 units for the program. Students should identify a topic in consultation with their Faculty Advisor. The report should be finalized in one quarter, which means students may request to be on filing fee status.

    M.Ed. Racial Justice: analytical reports are worked on during Spring quarter while completing two other graduate courses. Students should meet with their Faculty Advisor to discuss their topic and fill out an enrollment form for EDUC 297: Directed Research. Once you have the form filled out, email a copy to the Graduate Program Coordinator so they can enroll you accordingly.

    M.Ed. Special Education with credential: case studies should be finalized in Fall of your second year with your Faculty Advisor. You do not need to enroll in units to complete the case study, rather, complete the case study while finishing your final two graduate courses in special education. If you do not finish the case study in the Fall term, request to go on filing fee for the Winter term.

    Once the final project is complete, you must fill out and have your Faculty Advisor sign a completion form  (see below). A final copy of the project and completion form should be emailed to the Graduate Program Coordinator two days prior to the final graduation deadline.

  • Thesis

    MA students completing a thesis (plan I) should meet with their Faculty Advisor as soon as possible to discuss their topic and timeline to complete the paper. If all required coursework is complete, you may enroll in EDUC 299 for 12 units with your Faculty Advisor in the term(s) you are working on your thesis. Note: EDUC 299 is a variable unit course (1-12 units). You only need to add EDUC 299 if you are not enrolled in a total of 12 units for the purposes of financial aid or fellowship. If you are taking other courses while working on your thesis, then you do not have to add EDUC 299 unless you are short units to reach the 12 unit minimum for the term, if needed.

    Alternatively, if you are done with all the required coursework and plan to graduate in a particular term to file your thesis, you may request to be on Filing Fee Status for one quarter. Filing fee status means you are not enrolled in units and will only be charged the filing fee ($201) instead of full tuition. To fill out a Filing Fee form, login to R’Web and navigate to the R’Grad icon. Note: if you are a GSR, TA or Associate In, you cannot go on filing fee and maintain your position. Contact the Graduate Program Coordinator for more information.

    All students completing a thesis must nominate a thesis committee at the time they apply to advance to candidacy in R’Grad. Information about committee criteria can be found here.

    After completing the thesis, follow the steps for filing and the corresponding deadlines. Note: only students earning an MA in School Psychology must complete a final defense.

  • Written Qualifying/Comprehensive Exam

    Students completing the written exam can enroll in EDUC 291 (exam prep) with their faculty advisor for 1-12 units in the term they are studying and plan to sit for the written exam. To sign up for the written exam, email the Graduate Program Coordinator cc: your faculty advisor by the deadline outlined in the exam schedule (see link below). All students will have two chances to pass the written exam.

  • Oral Exam

    After a PhD student passes the written qualifying exam, they will work with their Faculty Advisor to complete a pre-proposal/prospectus. Once their faculty advisor gives permission, the student may proceed with scheduling their oral qualifying exam.

    Note: Students may enroll in EDUC 291 for 12 units with their faculty advisor in the term(s) they are working on the pre-proposal. Note: EDUC 291 is a variable unit course (1-12 units). Students only need to add EDUC 291 if they are not enrolled in a total of 12 units for the purposes of financial aid or fellowship. 

    Nominate your committee

    Nominate your oral qualifying exam committee no later than two weeks before the exam date by filling out the Nomination for Oral Qualifying Exam Committee on R'Grad via R'Web. Check out the criteria for the committee here.

    Review degree audit

    Prior to taking the exam, students need to review their Degree Audit on R’Web to make sure all the required coursework is checked off. If there are any outstanding items, the student will either need to complete those classes or speak with their faculty advisor about any appropriate substitutions/waivers. If modifications are required, contact the Graduate Program Coordinator for instructions.

    Schedule exam date with committee

    The student will coordinate a date for their oral exam with the committee members. It is recommended that students utilize a Doodle poll to collect faculty availability in two hour time blocks. The presentation will take approximately 20-30 minutes leaving time for the committee to ask questions, and for the student and chair to meet to discuss next steps/revisions.

    After the exam

    Initiate the Report of Oral Qualifying Exam on R'Grad within 48 hours of completing the exam. In order to advance to candidacy, students must nominate at least their dissertation chair on the results form.

    Note: The oral exam is a closed examination and only the nominated committee members are allowed to be present, or other Senate Faculty.

  • Dissertation Proposal

    After passing your oral qualifying exam and updating your pre-proposal to your final dissertation proposal, you will need to follow these steps:

    1. Enroll in EDUC 299 for 12 units with your Faculty Advisor in the term(s) you are collecting data and writing your dissertation. In the final term you plan to finish your dissertation and complete the Final Defense, you may request to be on filing fee for one quarter, which replaces the cost of tuition with the filing fee (around $192). To fill out a Filing Fee form, login to R’Web and navigate to the R’Grad icon. Note: you cannot maintain a TA/GSR/Associate-In position while on filing fee since you will not be enrolled in units.

    2. Complete the IRB application if human subjects are involved in your data collection for the dissertation. See the IRB website for more information.

    3. Nominate your dissertation committee and send the members your final dissertation proposal draft. Once all committee members approve, have your dissertation chair confirm via email the dissertation proposal has been approved and submit your final proposal to the Graduate Program Coordinator.

  • Final Defense - Dissertation

    Once your chairperson has given permission to proceed with scheduling your final defense, you should complete the following:

    1. In the final term you plan to finish your dissertation and complete the Final Defense, you may request to be on filing fee for one quarter, which replaces the cost of tuition with the filing fee ($201). To fill out a Filing Fee form, login to R’Web and navigate to the R’Grad icon. Note: you cannot maintain a TA/GSR/Associate-In position while on filing fee since you will not be enrolled in units.
    2. Fill out a Graduation Application on R’Web no later than Monday of week 4 of the term you plan to complete your Final Defense and Dissertation. If the deadline has passed, contact the Graduate Program Coordinator.
    3. If your final defense will be held in-person, email the Graduate Program Coordinator to check room availability in Sproul Hall. It is helpful if you provide a week you think you will be ready to take the exam. Once availability is given for the room(s) in Sproul, work with your dissertation committee to identify a 1-2 hour window; send confirmed date and time to the Graduate Program Coordinator to reserve the room.
    4. If you wish to advertise your final defense to the SOE community, send the Graduate Program Coordinator a copy of your abstract and title two weeks prior to your scheduled final defense date.
    5. Follow the steps for ProQuest submission, reporting the results of your final defense, and signature approval page outlined here.
  • Graduation & Commencement

    Upon completing your degree requirements, read through the Graduation Procedures here.

    The commencement ceremony is held once a year in June. Students are eligible to participate if they graduated Fall through Summer that academic year (ex: to participate in June 2023 ceremony, student must have graduated/ will graduate Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023 or Summer 2023). Read more about commencement here.

Department Forms

Below are additional forms related to enrollment, faculty advisor change requests and grants.

Dedoose

Below you will find information relating to Dedoose, a cloud-based qualitative and mixed methods research program. The SOE is currently paying for SOE faculty, staff and enrolled student accounts. See the information below for details.

  • How to create an account through SOE

    For Those Without an Existing Account
    If you do not have a Dedoose account, please email Heather (heather.killeen@ucr.edu) to indicate your interest in signing up and download the application by visiting dedoose.info/account.

    For Those With an Existing Account
    If you have an existing Dedoose account, please email premiumsupport@dedoose.com from your Dedoose email account in order to be migrated under your organization's subscription.

    Account Migration
    If you have an existing Dedoose account under a personal email and would like to migrate your projects and/or your account to your organizational email, contact premiumsupport@dedoose.com for assistance.

  • Trainings & Resources

    Introduction to Dedoose

    This interactive training begins with a basic overview of Dedoose, including some of the advantages of how this cloud-based application can support qualitative and mixed methods research analysis. Topics include:

    • Overview and Homescreen Orientation
    • Importing Data
    • Coding (and coding in teams)
    • Managing a Codebook
    • Memoing Data visualization preview


    Watch the training here and access the PowerPoint slides here. Note: you must be logged into your UCR account to access the video and presentation.

    Additional resources:

    Data Preparation Tips
    Survey Data Preparation and Preview
    Coding Resources: Coding Various Media
    Coding Resources: Codebook Management 


    Advanced Use of Dedoose

    Introduces quantitative, categorical, and demographic components into your analysis, along with more advanced analytical features of Dedoose. Topics include:

    • Descriptors
    • Filtering data and creating datasets
    • Data visualizations
    • Exporting data
    • Survey data


    Watch the training here and access the PowerPoint slides here. Note: you must be logged into your UCR account to access the video and presentation.

    Additional resources:
    Survey Import Resources
    Descriptor Resources

Professional Development Series


SOE’s Professional Development Series is designed to provide support and tools to help SOE students prepare and succeed in their chosen career. A mix of faculty, post-docs, administrators, and professionals are invited to lead these panel discussions and learning sessions throughout the year. Learn about the most recent events below.

 

  • Alumni Panel: Experiences and Strategies for Advancing & Completing a Dissertation - May 2021

    Hear PhD alum share their experiences and strategies for advancing and completing a dissertation project, and offer pro tips for graduate students to better position themselves for competitive post grad opportunities.

    Alumni Panel:

    • Yasamin Bolourian
    • Suneal Kolluri
    • Guillermo Ortega
    • Sasha Zeedyk

    View the event here.

  • Grant Writing 101 - November 2021 & October 2023

    This session covers the basics of doctoral grant writing including how to search and apply for grants, application best practices, and examples of grants specific to education students.

    View the event here

    For additional fellowship and grant resources, check out the Graduate Division website.

    October 2023

    Updated presentation slide deck and materials can be found here.

    Additionally, a sample of the budget and timeline for a fellowship can be found here.

  • Gender Recognition Workshop - October 2022

    Director of LGBT Resource Center, Nancy Tubbs, presents and discusses the importance of gender recognition and pronouns. Download the PowerPoint presentation here.

  • Alumni Panel: Women in Higher Education - February 2023

    This hybrid panel was moderated by Associate Professor Raquel Rall featuring alumni with dynamic backgrounds in higher education. The panel answers the following prompts:

    • What support systems did you have as you transitioned into your role in education? What were your biggest transition challenges as it relates to support; identity/systemic oppression?
    • How have you been mentored and how have you mentored others?
    • What has been your greatest success and your greatest challenge in this role?
    • What are those opportunities or programs aspiring education professionals should be taking advantage of now to prepare them for future opportunities in this field?
    • If you had it do to all over again, would you take the same path or have the same career? Why or why not?

    Watch the event here.

  • Preparing Academic Job Application Materials Workshop - October 2023

    The “Preparing Academic Job Materials” workshop offers insight into the academic job search process as well as offer an overview of the most common application components: including CVs, cover letters, teaching statements, research statements, etc. The presentation is tailored to SOE students interested in pursuing faculty and administrative positions in institutions of higher education.

    Presentation slides and materials can be found here.

  • Alumni Panel: Getting to the Finish Line - February 2024

    Hear from recent alumni, Drs. Aya Shhub and Valeria Dominguez, and assistant professor Suneal Kolluri discuss their tips for "getting to the finish line" as they navigated graduate studies. This panel was moderated by Associate Dean Eddie Comeaux.

    View the video here. Passcode: ^fsmD.f6 

Meet Your Advisors

Have questions about your program status, degree progress or other administrative items? Contact the Graduate Program Coordinator for assistance. Need guidance on an unresolved academic related item or issue? Contact the Associate Dean.

Graduate Program Coordinator

Heather Killeen

Graduate Program Coordinator

UCR GSOE Professor Eddie Comeaux

Eddie Comeaux

Associate Dean, Graduate Students

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