Thesis / Dissertation Formatting Manual (2025)

University policy requires students be registered (payment of applicable student fees/tuition; and enrollment in applicable units) or be on an approved Filing Fee status the quarter they earn the degree. If your student status lapses, so does your candidate status.

Registration

A graduate student is expected to continuously register full time for each regular academic session (fall, winter, and spring quarters) until all requirements for an advanced degree have been completed, including final examinations and the submission of an approved thesis or dissertation.

Filing Fee

Students who have completed all requirements for the Master's degree or a Doctoral degree and are ready for the formal submission of their thesis, dissertation, have the option to go on filing fee. The “filing fee” is a reduced fee paid in lieu of other student fees. It is equal to one-half of the student services fee. While on filing fee, students do not enroll in classes. The filing fee status can be used for one quarter only during the student's entire graduate career.

**While graduate students are not required to register for the summer quarter, those earning a summer degree must register in summer session or be on an approved filing fee.

Filing Fee Information on the Graduate Division website

If you miss the deadline, the formal conferral of your degree will be delayed until (at minimum) the following quarter. The UC Irvine Libraries is not authorized to approve extensions.

If your thesis/dissertation defense is scheduled within 48 hours of the filing deadline, we strongly recommend that you contact gradthesis@uci.edu ahead of your defense in order to ensure that your thesis is approved on time.

Deadlines are published on the Graduate Division’s Filing Deadlines page. These official deadlines are final.

All final checklists/degree paperwork that is due to the Graduate Division is now completed through DocuSign.

Forms for both Ph.D. candidates and Master's candidates can be found on the UCI Graduate Division's Thesis Dissertation Electronic Submission webpage.