Academic Information for Current Students

EDS PhD students are responsible for:

• Registering for 12-units each quarter.  Employment, funding and student health insurance require student enrollment every quarter for the duration of the program.
• Checking to make sure your grades are posted each quarter.
• Spring Evaluation (please see below for more information on the Spring Evaluation).

EDS PhD Director of Graduate Studies, Student Liaisons, and the EDS PhD Program Committee  AY 2025-26

Director of Graduate Studies (DGS):  Shana Cohen

Student Liaisons

Cohort 5* - Ben Kennedy

Cohort 6 - Jenee Love

Cohort 7 - John Diaz

Cohort  8 - Rita Ewaz

Cohort 9 - Mari Amato

Cohort 10 - Jackie Lee

*Includes Cohorts 5, 4, and 3.

Graduate Program Committee (GPC)

Carolyn Huie Hofstetter - Admissions Committee

Alison Wishard Guerra - Curriculum Committee

Amy Bintliff - Student Engagement and Well Being Committee

Makeba Jones - Faculty IA Representative

Shana Cohen - DGS

Megan Hopkins - Chair of Department

Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA)

PhD Time Limits

• Students must be advanced to candidacy by the end of 4 years.
• Normative time is 5 years.
• Total university financial support cannot exceed 6 years.
• Total registered time at UC San Diego cannot exceed 6 years

The UCSD time to Doctorate Policy can be found here.*

Note:  There is a 3-quarter residency requirement between the time a student Advances to Candidacy and the Final Dissertation Defense.  See Graduate Coordinator for more information about this requirement.

*Please note that the time to degree timeline may be different from your guaranteed funding timeline.

Student Handbooks

• Ph.D. Cohort 10 Handbook 2025-2026
• Ph.D. Cohort 9 Handbook 2024-2025
• Ph.D. Cohort 8 Handbook 2023-2024
• Ph.D. Cohort 7 Handbook 2022-2023
• Ph.D. Cohort 6 Handbook 2021-2022
• Ph.D. Cohort 5 Handbook 2020-2021

Course Schedule for Academic Year 2025-26

Proposed Course Schedule for Academic Year 2026-27

Information on SPSS

PhD Program Catalog Description

 Course Requirements

All Required Coursework Should be Taken for a Letter Grade Only

• Required Foundational Core Courses - Take 2 courses in Year 1, and the 3rd course in Year 2)
  • EDS 251 - Transforming Learning Environments (4-units, Letter Grade Only)
  • EDS 252 - Transforming Inequities in Student Outcomes (4-units, Letter Grade Only)
  • EDs 253 - Transforming Educational Systems and Policy (4-units, Letter Grade Only)
• Required Research Rotation Course - Taken in Winter and Spring of Year 1
  • EDS 247 - Research Rotation Experience (2-units, S/U Grading Option)
• Required Foundational Research Design and Methods Courses (24-units)
  • Introductory 
    • EDS 254 - Intro to Research Design and Quantitative Data Analysis (4-units, Letter Grade Only)
    • EDS 264 - Intro to Qualitative Analysis (4-units, Letter Grade Only)
  • Advanced
    • EDS 255 - Advanced Quantitative Data Analysis (4-units, Letter Grade Only)
    • EDs 288B Advanced Research and Evaluation Methods (4-units, Letter Grade Only)
  • Research Methods Specialization (take only two of the following courses)
    • EDS 256 - Intro to Mixed Methods Research Design and Analysis (4-units, Letter Grade Only)
    • EDS 265 - Special Topics in Qualitative Methods (4-units, Letter Grade Only)
    • EDS 266 - Special Topics in Quantitative Methods (4-units, Letter Grade Only)
• Communicating Research - Taken in Years  2 and  4
  • EDS 259A - Communicating Research and Reviewing Literature (2-units, S/U Grading Option)
  • EDS 259B - Communicating Research for Broad Audiences (2-units, S/U Grading Option)
• Content Elective Courses (20-units)
• Research Advisory Courses (RAC) - required each quarter
  • EDS 296 - Research Advisory Course (Units will vary, S/U Grading Option)
• Dissertation Research Course - required after Advancement to Candidacy 
  • EDS 299 - Dissertation Research (Units will vary, S/U Grading Option)

Milestones

• First Year Project - Spring of Year 1
• Qualifying Paper - Completed between Years 2 and 3.
• Proposal Defense and Advancement to Candidacy - Completed before the end of Year 4
• Final Dissertation Defense - Completed by end of Year 5 (or Year 6). 

Proposed Course Schedule for AY 2025-26

EDS has partnered with the School of Social Science and with Critical Gender Studies to offer students specializations.

• Specialization in Computational Social Science
  • For more information please email css-advising-g@ucsd.edu.
• Critical Gender Studies
  • For more information please email cgs@ucsd.edu

Guideline for Changing Mentors or Advisors

There are two set points when a student will transition between mentors/advisors. At the end of Year 1, students transition from a First Year Mentor to a Research Advisor. At the time of the dissertation committee establishment the Research Advisor transitions to the Dissertation Advisor and Committee Chair. For many students, this is a change in title only and the faculty member providing the mentoring or advising does not change. However, there may be a variety of reasons why a student may experience a change in the faculty member serving as their first year mentor and/or research advisor. It is possible that a faculty member may leave the department or university, that student research interests change and become more aligned with other EDS faculty members, or that work styles or personalities differ between student and advisor. In any of these cases (or others not listed here), the goal is for the process of the student transferring to another faculty mentor/advisor to be an open and transparent process for both the student and the faculty mentor/advisor. At the end of each year, during the spring evaluation meeting, the mentor/advisor should initiate a discussion with the student to explicitly confirm that they each would like to continue the advisor/advisee relationship. The conversation may go like this: “I have really enjoyed mentoring you over the past year. I would be open and interested in continuing as your formal advisor (including your dissertation advisor). How do you feel about continuing our Advisor/Advisee relationship?” 

Initiating a change in mentor/advisor: If the student and/or faculty member would like to initiate a change in advisor/mentor, they are encouraged to have an open conversation first with one another, if they feel comfortable. The faculty advisor and/or student are encouraged to listen to the rationale for considering a change in advisor and provide support to the student in identifying a new advisor. 

If the student and/or faculty member does not feel comfortable openly talking about this transition, they are encouraged to initiate a meeting with the DGS, the Department Chair, or a trusted member of the senate faculty to facilitate a discussion about this transition. The establishment or transition of any student - faculty mentor/advisor relationship is a collaborative process that takes into consideration the needs of the student and the availability of the faculty member. If a student is initiating a change in advisor they are encouraged to provide suggestions for a new advisor. If a faculty member initiates the change they are also encouraged to provide suggestions for a new advisor. The Graduate Program Committee will facilitate discussions with the faculty member and student, either together or separately, to identify an appropriate transition. 

As all relationships are unique and it is impossible to foresee the specific details that may arise in an advisor transition, the following are guidelines to help students and faculty navigate this process and minimize discomfort or confusion.  

The UCSD Ombuds Office is also available to facilitate mediation when necessary. UCSD’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) may provide support to students and faculty in navigating transitions in mentor/advisor relationships. Finally, GradAdvantage provides resources and support to students navigating their career pathways during graduate school, including critical transitions such as these. 

Steps to Initiate a Change in First Year Mentor or Research Advisor

The following are guidelines for initiating a change in mentor or advisor. 

Step 1. Initiate a discussion about the transition. 

The student and/or faculty member are encouraged to initiate a meeting to discuss the transition. If a student (or faculty member) does not feel comfortable speaking openly with their current mentor/advisor, they are encouraged to reach out to the DGS, Department Chair, or another trusted member of the senate faculty to discuss the idea of an advisor transition. 

Step 2: Identify possible faculty to serve as new advisor. 

To identify possible faculty to serve as the new advisor, the student and/or faculty member in contact with the student should communicate with the potential new advisor to discuss this change and determine whether the potential new advisor is available, interested, and willing to support the student. Pre-tenured faculty may consult with colleagues and the student’s original advisor to better understand the need for this change in advisors. 

Step 3. Communicate advisor change with DGS, Department Chair, or other Member of GPC.

The DGS, Department Chair, or other member of the GPC, will initiate communication with the original faculty mentor/advisor and the new faculty mentor/advisor together to discuss the student’s transition into a new mentor/advisor. The discussion will focus on supporting the student and the new advisor to develop a relationship that supports the student’s needs. The decision of who will be the new mentor/advisor is a collaborative one centering on the perspective of the student and the availability or willingness of the proposed faculty member to serve as the mentor or advisor. If there is not a clear identification of a new mentor/advisor, the DGS, Chair, or other faculty member will bring the topic to the Graduate Program Committee (GPC) for a collective discussion of how to provide appropriate support to the student and/or faculty member and to identify a new mentor/advisor. 

Step 4. Formalize advisor change.

Once a new mentor/advisor has been identified and all involved parties have agreed, the DGS will communicate the transition to the Graduate Program Committee and the transition will be formalized. An email will be sent by the Staff PhD Program Coordinator confirming the transition in faculty mentor/advisor to the student and to the new advisor. 

EDS Grade Standards

Meets Standards 

• A: Excellent work, expected performance.
• A-: Good work, improved performance encouraged.

Approaching Standards, Acceptable Work

• B+: Approaching expectations, acceptable to count towards requirements, improved performance expected.
• B: Minimally acceptable work to count towards course requirements, greatly improved performance expected.

Below Standards, Unacceptable Work 

• B-: Marginal work, very poor performance, course will not count towards degree requirements. (A letter of warning from the Department Chair or Director of Graduate Studies will be sent to the student with a copy placed in the student’s file.)
• C+ (or lower): Unacceptable performance at the graduate level. (Student is put on internal probation, a letter from the Department Chair or Director of Graduate Studies will be sent to the student with a copy placed in the student’s file. The course will not count towards degree requirements, and the student may be subject to dismissal.)

If an EDS student receives a B- grade they will receive a letter from the EDS Directo of Graduate Studies.  If the student received another B- or below) grade, they will be required to meet with their Advisor and the DGS, and may be placed on academic probation.

University Policy on Grades for Graduate Students

GEPA monitors the GPA of all graduate students. A graduate student whose overall GPA drops below 3.0, or receives 8 or more units of “F” or “U” grades will be placed on academic probation. Students on academic probation risk dismissal if their GPA remains below 3.0 or if they receive additional units of “F” or “U” grades in future quarters. Students who receive grades indicating that improvement is expected in future quarters, and who need guidance in how to improve their GPA, are encouraged to confer with the Director of Graduate Studies, the course instructor, and/or their faculty mentor or advisor. For students who consistently earn unsatisfactory course grades and/or do not meet other program expectations, the Director of Graduate Studies will meet with the student and their faculty mentor or research advisor to establish a plan of action that will be documented in a letter of concern.

Spring Evaluations 

Graduate Council policy requires that all doctoral students be evaluated every Spring. A satisfactory evaluation on file in the UCSD Graduation Division is necessary for future financial support to be disbursed. Students are advised to work with their first-year mentor or research advisor and the Graduate Coordinator to ensure timely submission of their evaluation. 

During the Spring quarter of Year 1, students work with their faculty mentors to complete a First Year Portfolio. Portfolios include: (1) a paper, assignment, or other artifact from each course completed during Year 1, and (2) a self reflection that describes students’ evolving research interests and future goals, as well as any ideas about faculty for whom the student would like to receive mentorship. 

First-year students will prepare a poster that provides an overview of their First Year Portfolio and present it at a Spring Symposium (date and time to be announced). All PhD faculty and PhD cohorts are invited to attend the symposium, which provides a forum for students to reflect on their learning and achievements during the first year of the PhD program, and for faculty and other students to learn about first-year students’ interests and to share ideas. 

With the support of their first year mentor, and the instructor of EDS 246 First Year Doctoral Seminar, students should spend their first year putting together their first year portfolio to be submitted as part of their Spring Evaluation and to be presented at the First Year Spring Symposium. The first year portfolio includes: a website of the student with a positionality statement and their bio; sample writing assignments from the first their first year; examples of research experiences that they’ve been exposed to over the past year. Students will be supported in developing their first year portfolio during RAC and in the first quarter of EDS 246. The DGS will share the current expectations for the First Year portfolio and First Year Spring Symposium each year. 

The Deadline to Submit the Qualifying Paper is Spring Quarter of Year 3 (Friday of Week 6)

Students complete a literature review of publishable quality to satisfy the requirement of the qualifying examination. The topic of the literature review will be chosen in consultation with students’ research advisors. The qualifying exam will be submitted sometime between spring quarter of Year 2 and spring quarter of Year 3. Exams can be submitted during any quarter during the academic year, and must be submitted no later than Friday of Week 6. Summer submissions will be accepted on an as-needed basis. The student is expected to make special arrangements with the Director of Graduate Studies to arrange for a summer review. 

The student’s research advisor will support the student in preparing them for the written qualifying exam. In their second year of the program, students and advisors should begin conversations about the requirements of the qualifying exam. Students should think about the topic that they want to focus on for their exam and discuss and refine this topic with their mentors. This may require multiple conversations and drafts of writing that the students share with their advisor individually and/or with their RAC group in order to hone in and focus on a particular topic for which there is a significant gap in the field. Students will receive guidance from the DGS about current expectations and procedures for completing the qualifying exam. The Communicating Research Course also provides support for students in preparing for this exam. 

After faculty review, one of the following criteria will be applied:

• Pass to the PhD: Student is ready to progress towards a doctorate and the development of a dissertation proposal. To receive a Pass to the PhD grade a minimum of two of the three reviewers must rate the paper as Pass to the PhD grade. 
• Revise & Resubmit: If your paper does not fulfill the criteria for a pass grade from at least two of the three reviewers, you will be permitted to revise and resubmit the paper to demonstrate readiness to progress towards a doctorate and the development of a dissertation proposal. Revisions are due by week 6 of the following quarter.  Any student failing on the second attempt or who does not submit a revision by week 6 of the following quarter will not be permitted to continue in the program. [10/25/2023 updated]
• MA Pass: The student is ready to complete the project at a level expected for MA students, but is not ready for doctoral level work. Students may complete and file their thesis for a terminal master’s degree if they do not already hold one.
• No Pass: The student is not ready to progress in graduate studies.

Now that yo have Passed your Qualifying paper it is time to prepare to Defend your Proposal and Advance to Candidacy!

The first step will be to find a committee.  Please work with your Advisor to select your committee.  For more information on the composition of the Doctoral Committee please check out the GEPA Committee Website.

Once you have you have your committee please complete the 

EDS PhD Students to Request a Committee at least one month prior to your Proposal/Advancement Date.

Please inform the Graduate Coordinator once you have set a Date for the Proposal Defense.

UCSD policy on Advancing to Candidacy:

• The preferred means to conduct the qualifying exam is when all committee members are physically present. Graduate Council recognizes that this is not always possible, therefore, they defer to the graduate programs (Department Chair or Program Director) to review requests for exceptions and to make decisions to allow remote participation.
  • If the qualifying exam is entirely remote or in a hybrid format, then the graduate program must ensure that the student has agreed to this format.
  • All committee members will have synchronous participation. The committee chair, or one co-chair, must participate synchronously in the scheduled exam.
    • If an unavoidable situation arises that affects a committee member’s ability to participate synchronously, the committee chair (or co-chairs) may decide how to proceed.
    • If a committee member must be absent for the scheduled exam, it is permissible for one absent committee member to examine the candidate on a separate date.

In EDS the format of the proposal defense will be determined by the student and committee chair(s) in conference with committee members.

If it is determined that the proposal defense will be hybrid or remote, the student is to reach out to the DGS and request the decided upon format.  Please send Shana Cohen, src004@ucsd.edu, an email requesting a remote or hybrid proposal defence/advancement.

The Graduate Coordinator will prepare the paperwork for the day of the proposal defense.  Your Advisor will need to notify the Graduate Coordinator once you have passed and the DocuSign paperwork will be sent out for the committee to sign.  After each member of the committee signs it, the Chair of the Department will sign it and then it will get forwarded to GEPA.  After GEPA approves it they send it to the Registrar's office.

After you have successfully Advanced, please be sure that you continue to register for 12-units each quarter until you finish up.  You will need to register for a combination of EDS 296 and EDS 299.  Please check in with your Advisor for how best to set up the unit split between the two courses. 

UCSD policy on AFinal Dissertation Defense to Candidacy:

• The preferred means to conduct the final dissertatin defense is when all committee members are physically present. Graduate Council recognizes that this is not always possible, therefore, they defer to the graduate programs (Department Chair or Program Director) to review requests for exceptions and to make decisions to allow remote participation.
  • If the final defense is entirely remote or in a hybrid format, then the graduate program must ensure that the student has agreed to this format.
  • All committee members will have synchronous participation. The committee chair, or one co-chair, must participate synchronously in the scheduled exam.
    • If an unavoidable situation arises that affects a committee member’s ability to participate synchronously, the committee chair (or co-chairs) may decide how to proceed.
    • If a committee member must be absent for the scheduled exam, it is permissible for one absent committee member to examine the candidate on a separate date.

In EDS the format of the final defense will be determined by the student and committee chair(s) in conference with committee members.

If it is determined that the final defense will be hybrid or remote, the student is to reach out to the DGS and request the decided upon format.  Please send Shana Cohen, src004@ucsd.edu, an email requesting a remote or hybrid proposal defence/advancement.

The final defense will be announced to the EDS community one month prior to the defense.

The Graduate Coordinator will prepare the paperwork for the day of the final defense.  

UCSD Email After You Graduate:  Your @ucsd.edu email address will be active one quarter after you graduate.  You will be able to temporarily access it for one year after you complete the program.  To temporarily reactive it within the first year after you graduate please contact ITS to set this up. 

If you would like an @ucsd.edu email for life please register with the the UCSD Alumin Email Service right after you have graduated.

Student Health Insurance After You Graduate:  Your student health insurance will end at the end of the term that you graduate.  If you wish to purchase one additional quarter of students health please contact SHIP after graduation: https://shwadmin.ucsd.edu/uc-ship/non-registered/index.html.