Policy allows graduate degrees to be given posthumously

Graduate students who die before graduating can now formally obtain degrees from UCLA through a new policy that allows families, colleagues or faculty members to submit requests for their degrees.

The Graduate Division announced the new standardized policy on posthumous degrees recently through an email sent by Robin Garrell, the vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate Division.

Each academic year, the UCLA Graduate Council, a committee in the Academic Senate, is brought a couple of cases which typically involve a graduate student who recently died or an inquiry by the family of a student who died years ago, Garrell said.

“This policy can recognize the individuals since a degree is a form of celebration,” Garrell said.

Garrell said she thinks it is important to recognize the rigorous process of completing coursework for a doctorate or a master’s degree. Through the policy, students who worked for the degree can still receive acknowledgment for their studies.

To obtain a posthumous degree, individuals must first submit requests to the chair of the department or interdepartmental program of a student’s academic concentration. Then the request goes to the Graduate Division and the Graduate Council.

The Graduate Council evaluates posthumous degree requests on a case-by-case basis, and the process differs for students in various master’s or doctoral programs.

Under the new policy, master’s students must have registered for their last quarter in which they would have completed all the necessary requirements for their degree. Master’s thesis students must have finished their necessary coursework and a draft of a thesis, which a thesis committee would then evaluate.

Students pursuing a doctorate degree must have completed all the academic requirements necessary for their concentration of study to receive a degree. Students also must have a presentable draft of their dissertation, which their dissertation committee would then evaluate.

For all requests, the policy states that the Graduate Council would have the final decision before issuing the degree.

The UCLA Graduate Division does not currently track the exact number of posthumous degrees it has distributed, since previously issued posthumous degrees were not marked in any special form, Garrell said.

Conversations about the policy started last fall and the Graduate Council approved an official draft in February. UC Riverside’s posthumous policy acted as a starting point for the Graduate Division’s policy, Garrell said.

The new policy is a nice gesture to the families of students who have died, said Anas Mahafzah, an Islamic studies graduate student.

The UCLA College of Letters and Science also awards degrees to students who have died, said Ricardo Vazquez, a UCLA spokesman. The College approved a policy on posthumous degrees in 1999.

Undergraduate students in the College of Letters and Sciences must be one quarter away from completing the requirements for the degree and have at least a 2.0 grade point average.

There are no official known policies for any of the other undergraduate colleges.

If a graduate or undergraduate student did not complete the requirements for the degree, UCLA officials may offer a certificate of attendance to a family to acknowledge the student’s work at UCLA.