FAQs for Incoming Students

Provisional Admissions Status means that you were granted admission under the condition that you will provide final/official transcripts (and/or other documents, if applicable) from all post-secondary institutions as well as any missing application materials. These materials will be noted in your Decision Letter from the Graduate Division and in the Required Documents tab of your online application. Details of the document submission requirements are described on the Admitted Students web page (refer to Step 2).

You may review which document(s) are needed at any time. To do so:

1. Log into your eApp by clicking on the Existing Applicants option.
2. Select the Required Documents tab and review the information provided.

When all required documents have been received, your admissions status will be changed from Provisional Admission to Unconditional Admission and the Required Documents tab will no longer display. Once your status is changed to Unconditional no further action is required.

If the Required Documents tab is not displayed, then you do not need to submit any documents. You can verify this by checking that your admissions status is listed as Unconditional instead of Provisional in the eApp. Once your admissions status is Unconditional, no further action is required.

To finalize your admission you must send final/official transcripts from all post-secondary educational institutions attended, at which you completed one or more full academic terms (or equivalent), including community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs (please refer to your Decision Letter to see which exact documents you are required to submit). Unofficial transcripts, including those uploaded to your application, do not take the place of official documents under any circumstance.

Transcripts are considered final when all grades have been finalized and posted to your official student records and all degrees reported have been finalized and conferred. If you reported a degree in your online application (such as a master's degree or credential) that you do not intend to complete after all, please contact your department immediately.

Your final/official transcripts can either be sent electronically or by mail.

If sending electronic documents, transcripts must be sent directly from the institution using their approved official transcript or document delivery service. Be sure to supply the document delivery service with the Graduate Division's document submissions email address: transcripts@graddiv.ucsb.edu. Transcripts sent as email attachments or using cloud storage services will not be accepted.

If sending paper documents, official transcripts must be sent to the UC Santa Barbara Graduate Division directly from the school in the institution's sealed envelope, with all official seals and stamps intact.

UCSB Graduate Division mailing address:

UCSB Graduate Division
Attn: Graduate Admissions
3117 Cheadle Hall
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-2070

All admitted applicants who have earned a degree(s) from an institution(s) outside of the United States are required to complete and submit a WES Course-by-Course ICAP evaluation that includes all post-secondary study. Please visit the WES website to create your account. You will be prompted to input your academic history, and will then be provided with a list of documents required for the completion of your evaluation.

Jump to WES Evaluation FAQs

If you were admitted for fall quarter, provisional documents must be received by September 1st. For winter, spring or summer admission, final/official transcripts must be received before the first day of instruction of the quarter to which you are admitted.

If you do not submit provisional documents prior to the deadline, your registration may be blocked.

Please contact the Graduate Division’s admissions staff at gradadmissions@graddiv.ucsb.edu to request an extension. Extensions are not guaranteed.

Admitted applicants are expected to have completed all degrees reported in their application prior to enrolling in their graduate program at UC Santa Barbara. Enrolling in a different university while enrolled at UCSB is not acceptable.

If you did not complete your degree(s) as expected, please contact Graduate Admissions as soon as possible.

Official transcripts must be sent to the UC Santa Barbara Graduate Division directly from the institution via regular post or via your institution’s pre-approved official electronic transcript delivery service. Unofficial transcripts, including those uploaded to your application and those sent as email attachments, do not take the place of official documents under any circumstances.

No, the Graduate Division will internally verify your coursework and degree(s) completed. However, the UCSB Graduate Division reserves the right to require official transcripts at any time during the admissions process, and rescind any offer of admission made if discrepancies between uploaded and official transcript(s) are found. Please refer to your Decision Letter. If your admissions status is Unconditional, you do not need to submit any transcripts.

We generally expect document processing to take a minimum of 4-8 weeks after the expected date of delivery to campus, but cannot guarantee any specific time frame. Due to the extremely high volume of documents we receive each year, please allow sufficient time for complete review and processing of your documents before inquiring about your document review or admissions status.

If you sent your official documents and no changes have been made to your provisional status before the start of your admit quarter, feel free to email us at gradadmissions@graddiv.ucsb.edu to inquire at that time.

Please note that each document is carefully reviewed by a member of the Graduate Division staff and, due to the high volume of documents that we receive each year, it takes time for a set of documents to be reviewed and processed after arriving in our office. In addition, if you sent a set of transcripts or other documents, there are a few reasons your provisional admissions information may not have been updated (or may not have updated in the way that you expected):

1. Your documents were not final: If you reported to us on your application (in the Education History section) that you would be completing a degree at a particular institution, your final transcripts and/or WES Evaluation must reflect that the degree was awarded to you and the date on which it was conferred. In addition, all coursework must be completed with final grades posted (no “in progress” courses). Documents that are not final are not acceptable and must be re-sent after they have been finalized. If you will not complete a degree that was listed in the Education History section of your application prior to the start of your admission term, please contact us as soon as possible.
2. Your documents were not official: Transcripts and other documents must arrive sealed in envelopes issued by the institution, with any applicable stamps, signatures, or seals intact and untampered with. If you opened your documents before mailing them or sent us a copy that you made yourself, they are not official and cannot be accepted. If sending electronic documents, they must be sent directly from the institution using their approved official document delivery service. You will need to supply the service with the email address transcripts@graddiv.ucsb.edu. Examples of document delivery services include Parchment, eSCRIP-SAFE, National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), Credential Solutions, and eTranscript CA. Transcripts sent as email attachments or using cloud storage services will not be reviewed or accepted.
3. Your name has changed and we were unable to match your documents to your application: If your name appears differently on your transcripts than it does on your application (for example, you changed your last name since your last term of enrollment at the institution), we may have received your transcripts, but were unable to determine that the transcripts correspond to your records. Please contact us to let us know.
4. We didn’t receive your documents: Occasionally, documents are routed to other offices on campus by mistake. Please double-check that your transcripts were sent to us via the mailing address below, via an approved document delivery service using the email address transcripts@graddiv.ucsb.edu, or via the WES portal with University of California at Santa Barbara (Graduate Admissions) selected as the recipient.
   
   UCSB Graduate Division mailing address:
   UCSB Graduate Division
   Attn: Graduate Admissions
   3117 Cheadle Hall
   Santa Barbara, CA 93106-2070
    
5. There was an issue with the file we received: Rarely, we may receive a pdf that is corrupted or the transcript file may have been saved in an unreadable format before being released to us. While the file may appear to have been “downloaded” by our office, we are unable process these transcripts because we are unable to review them. In these cases, you will need to follow-up with your institution to request that your transcript be re-sent.

If you accept the offer of admission via the Statement of Intent to Register (SIR), your information will be transmitted to the Office of the Registrar, registration information will be generated, and registration instructions will be emailed to you. If you do not receive an email from the Registrar by August, contact the Office of the Registrar. International applicants should review the Office of International Students and Scholars website for additional steps and information.

No. Graduate Students have registration priority over undergraduates in all courses.

UCSB’s Disabled Students Program (DSP) offers a robust program to accommodate students with a wide variety of documented needs.

To register with DSP, please follow the guidelines posted on the The Disabled Students Program Registration Checklist. If you have questions about whether your personal disability qualifies for services through DSP, please contact their office at 805-893-2668.

The Office of the Registrar handles all matters of legal residency. Please contact the Residence Deputy, (805) 893-3033 with specific questions.

The Office of International Students and Scholars provides service and support to international students.