Readmission to the EECS Department
If you have withdrawn from the university and want to come back and finish your degree, you will need to file for Readmission. Note: Readmission is not guaranteed.
To apply for Readmission you will need to submit the following materials to an EECS Staff Graduate Advisor at least 6 weeks before the start of the semester you hope to return:
- A Statement of Purpose which includes what you believe has changed since you were last enrolled and what your plans for research and financial support are upon your return
- If you plan to use courses more than 7 years old in fulfillment of degree requirements and do not already have an approved program of study (blue or white card) on file with the Department’s Graduate Office, you must submit a petition justifying the use of these courses in your program of study
- Official transcripts if you have attended school since you left Berkeley
- A letter of academic, research and financial support from an EECS faculty member who will serve as your advisor
If you were an EECS Ph.D. graduate student before you withdrew, your performance on the oral preliminary examination (see right sidebar) and your progress toward completion of the prelim requirements will be heavily weighed in the evaluation of your application for readmission, so it is strongly recommended that you take prelims before withdrawing.
It is also strongly recommended that you complete a Tentative Program of Study (blue card) after passing the prelim and before withdrawing. The University has established time limits for use of units completed in the past. If you leave the graduate program without an approved Program of Study on file in the Department’s Graduate Office, it may be difficult to approve the use of courses for your degree that are more than 7 years old at the time of readmission.
As of Fall 2016, you will need to apply as a new student if you want to be readmitted to EECS from another department. In addition, students who want to transfer into the EECS graduate program from other Berkeley graduate programs will need to file all the supporting documents required of applicants who have never attended Berkeley. Most applicants can obtain many of these documents by having the Graduate Advisor in their current department copy materials from their file and send them to the EECS Graduate Office. A new statement of purpose and a letter of academic, research and financial support from an EECS faculty member are required as part of an application for a change of major. The University of California does not support the duplication of degrees, so you should be aware that if you already have an M.S. or a Ph.D. in a field closely allied to EECS you will probably not be allowed to earn a second M.S. or Ph.D.
Graduate Division will send you a letter telling you whether your application has been approved. You can also keep track of the status of your application(s) by staying in touch with your Graduate Advisor or you also view the status of your application in the Grad Division database.