Students can be dismissed from a faculty member's research program at any time their Major Advisor (in consultation with the student's Advisory Committee) determines that the student is not making acceptable progress. Such dismissal in itself will not constitute dismissal from the Department, but it is the obligation of the student to find an acceptable replacement Major Advisor in the Department within one semester. Students will not be allowed to continue their education in the Department without a Major Advisor. If a student finds him/herself in this situation, he/she should schedule a meeting with the Graduate Program Coordinator to determine the best course of action.
Students can be terminated from the Graduate
Program of this Department by their Advisory Committee for the following
reasons: 1) failure to meet minimum academic standards, 2) failure to
make acceptable progress in their degree work, 3) failure to meet generally
acceptable ethical standards of the University, 4) failure on the comprehensive
exams, and 5) failure during the thesis/dissertation defense. It is the
obligation of the student to ensure that they are in compliance with University
and Departmental guidelines with respect to these aspects of their education.
A student admitted to a Master’s/Specialist
degree program must register each fall and spring for a minimum of 3 graduate
units from original matriculation until all degree requirements are met.
If the degree program requirements are to be completed in the summer,
the student must register for a minimum of one unit of graduate credit
during that term. Summer-Only students are required to enroll continuously
for a minimum of 3 units during consecutive summers until all degree requirements
are met.
A student admitted to a doctoral program must register each fall and spring for a minimum of 3 graduate units from original matriculation until the completion of all course requirements, written and oral comprehensive exams, and 18 dissertation units. When these requirements are met, doctoral students must register for a minimum of 1 unit each semester until final copies of the dissertation are submitted to the Graduate Degree Certification Office. However, students receiving funding such as assistantships, fellowships, loans, grants, scholarships or traineeships may be required by their funding source to register for more than 1 unit to meet full-time status requirements, and should check with the Graduate Student Advisor regarding such requirements to ensure that they remain qualified for the funding. If degree requirements (including the Comprehensive and the Final Oral Examinations) are completed during the summer term, students must be registered for a minimum of 1 unit of graduate credit during that term. If degree requirements are completed during an intersession, the student must have been registered during the preceding semester. Unless excused by an official Graduate Student Leave of Absence, all graduate students are subject to the Continuous Enrollment Policy and must pay in-state and out-of-state tuition and fees in order to remain in the Program. If the student fails to obtain a Graduate Student Leave of Absence or maintain continuous enrollment, he or she will be required to apply for re-admission to the Program, pay the Graduate College application fee, and pay all overdue tuition and fees, including cumulative late penalties. No tuition or registration waivers will be applied retroactively.
The requirements described in this manual
have been implemented to provide a well-rounded background for all students
in areas important to the pursuit of a degree in the Department of Plant
Sciences. While the described guidelines are to be fulfilled by all graduate
students, the GPOC recognizes that specific cases may arise in which 1)
equivalent requirements (especially course requirements) have been fulfilled
recently at a comparable university or, 2) a student's program would benefit
if specific aspects of the Departmental requirements were modified. If
a student feels this to be the case, a formal written petition (Graduate
College Petition Instructions and General Petition Form) may be submitted
to the GPOC to request waiving or alteration of Departmental requirements.
Students may petition only once for each issue, and in all cases, sufficient
documentation must accompany the request. Petitions should be made in
a timely fashion prior to graduation (generally within the first year
for M.S. students and the first two years for Ph.D. students).
A petition to waive Departmental course requirements would include, but
not be limited to, grade received, institution and date the course was
taken, a letter from the course instructor if possible, a copy of the
course syllabus, a description of general areas covered, a list of textbooks
used in the course and a letter of support from the student's PAC or Major
Advisor. Other areas open to petition include substitutions in general
course area requirements. In all cases, the student should clearly describe
why the current requirement would not best meet their needs and what would
be gained from the requested change.
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