Leave of Absence

Under exceptional situations, students may apply for a Leave of Absence. Students on leave are excused from the continuous registration requirement during the period of the leave and thus are not required to pay tuition and fees.

Leaves are normally granted for six months with a possible extension of 6 months for a total of up to one year. A Leave of Absence is granted only in exceptional circumstances, such as illness or other unusual personal hardship, and requires detailed justification. Students must submit a Returning Student Application to the Graduate Division prior to return.

Leaves of Absence are not granted to students who wish to absent themselves to undertake thesis or dissertation research elsewhere.

Requests for Leaves of Absence should be submitted one month prior to the semester for which the leave is requested. Students may NOT apply retroactively for a Leave of Absence because they have failed to register for a current semester. Students not submitting Leaves of Absences or requests to extend their Leaves of Absence must comply with the Continuous Registration policy.

In order to request a Leave of Absence, or an extension to a Leave of Absence, students must submit the Petition for Leave of Absence with the signed approval of the chair of their program for his or her signature.

Additional signatures must be obtained from the Financial Aid Office, and if the student is an international student, from the Director of International Student Services. The completed Leave of Absence form is submitted to the Graduate Division Office for approval by the Graduate Council Chair and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.