Policies regarding the M.S. in Networked Systems:
M.S. degree requirements:
You may petition to transfer credit for up to two graduate-level courses taken at another university prior to to your first graduate enrollment at UCI, if the courses were not applied toward a degree at the other university and you obtained a grade of B or better. Such a petition requires the appropriate UCI form and approval by the Networked Systems Director or Co-Director. The petition, along with transcripts from the other university, should be submitted to the Bren School Graduate Office.
You may petition to substitute a UCI course for a Networked Systems breadth or concentration course if it is more pertinent to your educational goals or if not enough Networked Systems breadth or concentration courses have been offered recently. Such a petition requires the appropriate UCI form and approval by both your advisor and the Networked Systems Director or Co-Director. The petition should be submitted to the Bren School Graduate Office.
M.S. Plan I:
Students pursuing this option must enroll in at least two quarters of CS 298 or EECS 296. A committee of three faculty members will guide the student and give final approval of the Thesis. The committee consists of an advisor (a Networked Systems faculty member), who is willing to supervise the thesis project, and two other faculty members (at least one of which must be a Networked Systems faculty member). An oral presentation of the thesis to the committee is required.
M.S. Plan II:
Students pursuing this option must pass a comprehensive examination which will be administered through NetSys 295 and will
consist of a term paper on a topic relevant to the student's educational program
and that term's speakers.
Advancement to Candidacy:
You must fill out the appropriate UCI form to advance to candidacy for the M.S. degree one quarter prior to the conferral of the degree.
Policies regarding the Ph.D. in Networked Systems:
Ph.D. degree requirements:
Courses applied to the M.S. degree in Networked Systems can also be applied to the Ph.D. degree in Networked Systems.
You may petition to waive Networked Systems course requirements if you believe you have taken a substantially equivalent graduate course at another university. Such a petition requires the appropriate UCI form, a syllabus of the course, and approval by both your advisor and the Networked Systems Director or Co-Director. The petition, along with transcripts from the other University, should be submitted to the Bren School Graduate Office.
Ph.D. students who have served as teaching assistants, readers, or tutors at another university may petition to apply this experience toward the teaching practicum requirement.
You may petition to substitute a UCI course for a Networked Systems breadth or concentration course if it is more pertinent to your educational goals or if not enough Networked Systems breadth or concentration courses have been offered recently. Such a petition requires the appropriate UCI form and approval by both your advisor and the Networked Systems Director or Co-Director. The petition should be submitted to the Bren School Graduate Office.
Advancement to Candidacy:
Students who enter the Networked Systems program with a M.S. in a related field may not obtain a M.S. in Networked Systems. Students who enter the Networked Systems program without a M.S. in a related field are expected to obtain a M.S. in Networked Systems within the first two years in the program.
For students who entered the Networked Systems program without a M.S. degree in a related field, the normative time for advancement to candidacy is three years. For students who entered the Networked Systems program with a M.S. degree in a related field, the normative time for advancement to candidacy is two years. Advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree should thus be accomplished by the end of the second year for students who do not obtain a M.S. in Networked Systems and by the end of the third year for students who obtain a M.S. in Networked Systems.
Advancement to candidacy requires completion of all of the following elements:
(1) All Ph.D. coursework degree requirements should be completed.
(2) A research paper of publishable quality must be completed and either submitted to a conference or journal or written as a technical report. All students are assigned an initial advisor at entry to the Program. By the end of the second year, each Ph.D. student must find a research advisor who agrees to supervise the student's research. The student should enroll in at least one quarter of CS 299 or EECS 299 with the research advisor, and carry out research as part of this course. The research paper must be approved by the research advisor.
(3) A Ph.D. candidacy exam must be passed. The objective of the candidacy exam is to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of an area of Networked Systems, readiness to carry out independent research at the doctoral level in that area, and an initial direction for dissertation research. The Candidacy Committee will consist of 4 faculty members, of which at least 3 must be Networked Systems faculty. The Ph.D. student will present a proposal for dissertation research and the Candidacy Committee will administer an oral exam according to the UCI Senate Regulations based on this proposal and on background knowledge relevant to it. Upon successful completion of the exam, the student's Doctoral Committee is appointed, consisting of 3 faculty members of which at least 2 must be Networked Systems faculty.
Annual Review:
Each spring quarter the Networked Systems faculty conducts a formal review of all graduate students enrolled in the graduate program. The faculty reviews each student's progress. If unsatisfactory progress is being made, a letter of probation is sent to the student and placed in their file. Reasons for probation can include GPA below 3.0, incomplete grades, lack of affiliation with a research advisor, or unsatisfactory progress. The probation period varies, depending on the individual’s situation. If the problem area is not cleared during the probation period, the Networked Systems program will recommend to the Graduate Division that the student be dismissed from the program.
Teaching Requirement:
Ph.D. students are required to participate in teaching activities according to the degree requirements. Summer teaching or teaching at another university may be accepted in fulfillment of this requirement. Students who fulfill this requirement with a teaching assistantship at UCI are required to take an orientation course, ICS 398A & B, enroll in 4 units of ICS 399 each quarter they serve as a TA, and attend the campus wide TA training seminars in the early fall during Welcome Week.
Dissertation Topic Defense:
Ph.D. candidates are required to pass a Dissertation Topic Defense, which consists of submission and approval of a proposed dissertation outline and a proposed plan for completing the dissertation. The outline and plan should be submitted in writing to the candidate’s research advisor. At the discretion of the candidate’s research advisor, the advisor may either approve the proposed outline and plan, forward the outline and plan to the Doctoral Committee for its review and approval, or require the candidate to give an oral presentation of the proposed outline and plan to the Doctoral Committee for its review and approval.
Ph.D. candidates should pass the Dissertation Topic Defense by the end of the third year for students who do not obtain a M.S. in Networked Systems and by the end of the fourth year for students who obtain a M.S. in Networked Systems.
Doctoral Dissertation and Final Examination:
For students who entered the Networked Systems program with a M.S. degree in a field not related, the normative time for completion of the Ph.D. is six years. For students who entered the Networked Systems program with a M.S. degree in a related field, the normative time for completion of the Ph.D. is five years.
Ph.D. candidates are required to complete a Ph.D. dissertation in accordance with Academic Senate regulations. In addition, they must pass an oral dissertation defense which consists of a public seminar presenting results followed by a private examination by the Doctoral Committee and other interested UCI faculty. The oral dissertation defense should occur at least one month before the quarterly deadline for submitting the approved dissertation, in order to allow time for any required modifications.
Additional Information:
All other policies follow those detailed in the DBICS Graduate Student Handbook.
The UCI Graduate Division Academic Policies and the UCI Graduate Policies and Procedures also apply.
Questions about the Networked Systems Program should be directed to the Director, the Co-Director, or the Bren School Graduate Office.
Policies that were in effect prior to November 2019 can be found here and policies that were in effect between November 2019 and June 2020 can be found here.
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