Graduate Student Handbook
CEE Degree Requirements - Effective June 2025
CEE Degree Requirements - Effective June 2022
Students who were enrolled in the program prior to June 2025 may be eligible to elect to follow the old degree requirements or the new degree requirements, and should review the Legacy Degree Requirements Policy.
Faculty Advising
It is important to discuss your chosen track and Program of Study with your Major Advisor or the Area Advisor for your research group. Your faculty advisor can provide insights into how the different tracks can fit in with your area of studies and your academic goals. View the Area Advisors.

View our Area Advisors!
These are the faculty members who can advise you on your master's track and help you achieve your goals.
- All students are admitted initially as MS Plan II
- Regardless of what you expressed interest in during the application process, all students are admitted initially into the MS Plan II track. If you want to pursue a MS Plan I Thesis, it is your responsibility to find a Major Professor who is willing to mentor you for a thesis and serve as your Committee Chair. You will officially declare the MS Plan I or Plan II when you Advance to Candidacy. To Advance to Candidacy for the MS Plan I Thesis, you will need to have the agreement of your full Thesis Committee.
- Initial Faculty Advisor
- The Area Advisor, or GPC Rep, will serve as the initial faculty advisor until you find their major professor (permanent faculty advisor). Many MS Plan II students will keep the Area Advisor as their Major Professor through the duration on their MS Program. MS Plan I (thesis) students will likely need to change their Major Professor/Faculty Advisor who will serve as the Chair of their Thesis Committee.
If you stay with the Area Advisor, you do not need to take any action to change your Faculty Advisor. - Changing your Faculty Advisor
If needed, new students should select a Major Professor before completing the first quarter, or in the second quarter at the latest. You should discuss with the selected faculty member and obtain their consent to serve as their Major Professor. The Major Professor relationship is established by mutual agreement. While you should feel free to discuss academic matters with any faculty member, typically the Major Professor will oversee most of your research and progress during your degree program. You may change major professors (by mutual agreement) at any time as your research and educational interests change and develop.
After coming an agreement with a faculty member to serve as your Faculty Advisor for the MS Plan I or MS Plan II, you will file the "Change of Major Professor" form with the Graduate Program Coordinator (found on the CEE Forms website).
- Curriculum and Program of Study
- You are encouraged to discuss their courses and overall Program of Study with your Faculty Advisor quarterly, or as changes to an approved Program of Study occur. More guidance regarding the Program of Study is in the Milestones section of this website.
- ECI 299 - Research
- Some MS students will register in ECI 299 research units with your respective major professor (faculty advisor) at some point in their career. Every time you enroll in research units, you will want to talk to your faculty advisor early (before or when you enroll) so you can discuss what will be expected of you to earn “satisfactory” (or “S”) grades in your research units. While these units are sometimes used to “fill” a schedule to the 12 unit minimum, you are expected to put in the time and work based on the number of research units you are enrolled in to pass the course(s). Every CEE faculty member is assigned individual 299 CRNs, which change each quarter.
ECI 299 is a variable unit course and it defaults to 1 unit. Students may increase the variable units as needed. To do this, simply login to schedule builder and find the button that says “Edit” next to “Units” which is listed below the title ECI 299.
Please note these research CRNs change quarterly, are NOT published online and must be obtained from Lauren Worrell (lkworrell@ucdavis.edu) each quarter you plan to enroll in them. When emailing the staff to ask for the ECI 299 CRN, be sure to include the faculty name for the research units you want to enroll in so we can provide you with the correct CRN. After you enroll in research units, always check to be sure it is under the right faculty member, and the correct number of units. - MS Plan I Thesis - Committee membership
- MS Plan I Thesis Students will have a formal Thesis Committee which is established upon Advancement to Candidacy. The Thesis Committee must meet the requirements outlined in the Program Degree Requirements, as well as in the UC Davis Service on Advanced Degree Committees policy. If you have any questions about your potential committee members, please inquire with the Graduate Program Coordinator.
MS Milestones
Please see below for the important administrative steps needed to finish your degree and officially graduate. Each milestone lays out steps for both MS tracks. Contact the Graduate Program Coordinator for any questions about the administrative steps.