Graduate Student Resources
ECE Graduate Student Services Office
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ECE Grad Student Services Office Hours
Grad Advising held by Zoom or In-Person
Appointments: Go to Calendly
Campus Holiday Closures (Winter & Spring 2026):
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January 1
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January 19
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February 16
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March 27
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May 25
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June 19
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Guides
- How to change the # of units in an EE 297/299
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CPT and OPT
Graduate students are expected to first discuss with the International Students Office (ISS) email: internationalstudents@ucr.edu before filing a CPT or OPT form.
Employment Options for F-1 Students: CPT, OPT, H-1B OPT form CPT form for graduate students -
Travel
**Travel must be approved by your Faculty Research Advisor (“PI”) for both the trip reason and the amount of money they are willing to reimburse. We will need an email from your PI specifying which of their funds to charge.**
As conferences and travel have opened up we are seeing a lot of issues with travel reimbursements that are being turned in. These issues can cause you to NOT be reimbursed. There are federal and UC guidelines we have to follow. Please refer to this when you will be planning travel.
- If you need to rent a car DO NOT purchase extra insurance. UC already has agreements with various rental car companies for insurance for employees renting for business and will not reimburse the insurance if you pay for it out-of-pocket. Please see information here about booking: https://accounting.ucr.edu/travel-entertainment/uc-car-rental-agreements
- Do not pay for someone else’s travel/conference fees, or have someone else pay for you unless you have received written approval from us before paying. There are some situations where Group travel is allowed and one person pays for the whole group but it will not be reimbursed unless it is approved before the payments are made.
- We cannot reimburse for travel before it has occurred, including conference fees, including virtual conferences. We have to wait until the event has passed to finalize the reimbursement.
- Bundling is not allowed: Airfare, lodging, Car Rental must be purchased individually or Accounting will reject request. Accounting needs to see itemization of these charges. It is best to book through UC’s approved Connexxus site, see below.
- Flight or travel insurance, and extra charges to choose seats will not be reimbursed. If you need a specific seat due to a medical condition a doctor’s note would be required, and it is also not guaranteed to be reimbursed.
- When the entire length of a trip is less than 24 hours, M&IE (meals and incidentals) shall not be reimbursed unless the travel includes an “overnight stay” as supported by a lodging receipt.
Best Practices:
- Whenever possible travelers should be initiated utilizing the UCR travel Connexxus to book travel and lodging: https://accounting.ucr.edu/travel-entertainment/connexxus
- Itemized Receipts are always best to increase chances of reimbursement
- Meals – The $62/day domestic meal cap is the most you can be reimbursed for meals while traveling domestically, it is NOT a guarantee of what you will be reimbursed per day while traveling. Receipts are always best to keep to increase chances of reimbursement, pictures of receipts are adequate.
- Submit trip and backup within 21 days of trip completion on travel.ucr.edu
- Provide PDF/Email of PI approval and Fund Source
- Transportation information: https://accounting.ucr.edu/travel-entertainment/transportation
- Meal and Lodging information: https://accounting.ucr.edu/travel-entertainment/meal-lodging
*When in doubt please reach out for any questions!
Evangeline Barriga
Important for International Students: Prior to traveling, international students are individually responsible to check directly with the International Students Office to ensure they won’t encounter any issues.
Preliminary and Comprehensive Exam
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PhD Preliminary Exam Schedule
The Ph.D. preliminary examination is combined with the M.S. Comprehensive Exam. Ph.D. candidates are required to pass the examination at the Ph.D. level, which typically requires a higher score than the M.S. pass level.
Students must register for the exam by notifying the Graduate Student Services Advisor at least one month prior to the exam date.
Electrical and Computer Engineering Ph.D. Preliminary Exams will be conducted at the end of the Spring 2026 quarter.
- MS Comprehensive Exam (CEP) Form
Thesis and Dissertation Defense and Submission
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Departmental Requirements and Deadlines
- Two weeks prior to your defense, you should do both of the following:
- Complete the with your defense information.
- Email the completed file as a word document to ecegradoffice@ece.ucr.edu
- CC Johnathan Johnson jjohn022@ucr.edu
- One week in prior to your defense, send your written dissertation to your entire committee (for PhD defense)
- Two weeks prior to your defense, you should do both of the following:
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Graduate Division Requirements and Deadlines
- Please read the full Graduation Procedures and Requirements here
- Dissertation/Thesis Filing Checklist - Information regarding filing the dissertation/thesis and graduation requirements
Colloquium
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Overview
The Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Colloquium is held weekly during the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. These sessions feature invited speakers from academia, industry, and research institutions who present on current topics and advances in electrical and computer engineering. Attendance at the colloquium is an important component of the graduate program and provides students with exposure to cutting-edge research, professional development opportunities, and engagement with the broader ECE community. Colloquium meetings generally follow the academic calendar and do not meet on campus holidays.