Proposal Guidelines
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Proposal Timeline

How long does it take?

From one to two years for a proposal requiring campus and systemwide review– timing of submission is crucial.

Best case scenario:

  1. Submission of proposal to Graduate Division in summer for initial review.  Depending on needed revisions and any further faculty consultation needed, formulation of the final proposal may take proposers from one to three months; Graduate Division turn-around is approximately two weeks for draft reviews. 
    1. Proposers should allow sufficient development time to ascertain degree market niche and assessment of demand by survey or other appropriate means.
    2. New courses (including online versions) must be approved by the Committee on Courses of Instruction.
    3. All internal (department/school/college) review protocols and approvals need to be observed before submission for Senate review.
    4. Time should also be allowed for obtaining endorsement letters from other campus departments, other UC campuses, or non-UC institution programs (and industry contacts, if applicable) for final proposal submission to Graduate Council
  2. Request for reviewers on September Graduate Council agenda (first meeting) with recommendations reported to Graduate Council in October for its approval.
  3. Following Grad Council approval, the proposal is sent to the Committee on Educational Policy (CEP) and the Budget & Interdepartmental Relations Committee (BIR) for approval at November or December meetings.
  4. With the comments from Graduate Council, CEP, and BIR, Divisional Council conducts final UCB Senate review in January or February.
  5. Following Divisional Council approval, the VP for Faculty reviews and approves proposal.
  6. Proposal sent to the Coordinating Committee on Graduate Affairs before its deadline, March 1st, for Spring term review.  (If the proposal is not submitted before the deadline, proposal review is tabled until the fall term.)
  7. Approvals are obtained, in sequence, from CCGA, Academic Council, CPEC (temporarily suspended by the State), and UCOP during the Spring term.
  8. Proposal made effective by UCOP as of July 1st of that year.

If the proposal is first sent to Graduate Division in September/October, there is little likelihood that there will be enough lead time for all Divisional Senate committees to complete their reviews for submission to CCGA by March 1st to begin the Systemwide review process and obtain approval for the degree within one academic year.

Last Updated: August 14, 2012 10:27 AM