FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions by prospective undergraduate and graduate students:

 

Most relevant for GRADUATE STUDENTS

  • Q: Are you taking on new grad students next September?
  • A: Yes. We tend to welcome about 2 new grad students every academic year.
  • Q: Where should I submit my application to?
  • A: We welcome all incoming students into the following programs: UCLA ECE, UCLA Physics, Stanford Applied Physics, and Stanford EE. 
  • Q: Is the GRE required for grad school admission?
  • A: No, the GRE is not required for any of the programs above. However, students may voluntarily submit GRE test scores and they will be reviewed as part of the holistic application consideration.
  • Q: Is there assistance with the graduate program application fee?
  • A: Yes, both UCLA and Stanford have application fee wavers. Be sure to pay attention to the respective requirements and deadlines.
  • Q: Will you be admitted to our group?
  • A: Graduate school admissions work at the departmental level, not at any specific research group’s level. Thus, we can discuss your prospective participation and whether our group is a good fit when you are admitted to your graduate program of interest. But if you are determined to join our group, you should flag our group in your application’s statement of purpose for us to note you in our admissions system. You can always contact us for more information and we recommend you read one (or more) of our papers and explain how you would follow-up or improve on that study.
  • Q: How do I increase my chances of admission (in general)?
  • A: Having a high GPA, good writing/presentation skills, and some research experience are all instrumental, as well as having strong reference letters from people who know your work ethic well. If your GPA has suffered for any personal reasons or background, be sure to explain in your application what your situation may have been to the extent you feel comfortable sharing that. When possible, be a co-author on any publications or conference abstracts. Be sure to list these and any awards on your application. Your research statement should also make it clear that you wish to work in an area that has good intellectual overlap with at least one our research areas.
  • Q: I got into the MS program, how do I transfer to the PhD program?
  • A: This is a generally successful pathway for UCLA ECE students. If we agree that you are a good fit, you can begin research with our group during your MS and sponsor you to enter the PhD program through the following procedure. For all other programs, please ask directly as there are also viable procedures to continue on with your Ph.D. program.
  • Q: I am currently enrolled in another UC-system university’s graduate program, can I transfer to the UCLA graduate program?
  • A: While this is not a very common path, it is in principle possible and requires careful consideration. The first important note is that the department does not allow transfers for Ph.D. students without guaranteed funding for the student so you may have to find a faculty to sponsor you or find your own funding sources. Second, the timing for the transfer request has to align with the admissions calendar if the target is to start with the Fall quarter. Alternatively, the transfer application can be moved up to the Winter or Spring quarters of the following calendar year. This option is only available for Ph.D. students transfers and not for M.Sc. students. Last but not least, you may want to consider coursework credit transfer restrictions since the department does not normally accept credit transfers for doctoral students. Likewise, the department does not qualify you for having passed your preliminary exam in your original graduate program, so in case you had passed already, you’d unfortunately have to go through the hoops again. 
  • Q: How long does it take to get a PhD in your group?
  • A: Anywhere from 4.5 to 6 years. It depends on the project, how hard we work, and what challenges we encounter. We do our best to collectively define project milestones and deliverables but it’s science and we expect to find lots of (fun and interesting) hurdles along the way!

Relevant for ALL STUDENTS

  • Q: Do you co-advise students?
  • A: Yes. At any given time there are a few students in the group who are formally co-advised, and everyone else ends up working closely with at least one other faculty member, or with external academic and industry collaborators. In essence, everyone in the group is highly collaborative and co-advised in some way.
  • Q: How do you organize your group meetings and communication?
  • A: We have one regular group meetings per week that everyone is invited to attend divided by research area(s) but you are encouraged to use personal discretion to decide when it’s best to attend any given meeting. We use clearly delineated agendas to let everyone know whom may present, update, or provide a literature review presentation, usually within 90-min but it can run a little longer.We have a bi-weekly “Journal Club” meeting where we discuss off-topic papers or topics somewhat tangential to our specific research initiatives to spur broader perspectives on science & technology. Our team members, and occasionally external invited people, rotate to lead the discussion they chose to present on. We also have sub-group meetings on a need basis that function as brainstorming or hiccup-solving sessions. Otherwise, we’re heavy slack users for quick and straightforward communications that do not require much iterative or collective critical thinking.

     

  • Q: What projects do you have available for new students?
  • A: Our research falls within or intersects with the four research areas broadly described here. You can make a more specific guess about what the latest areas are in our group by looking at the latest 15-20 publications. Beyond that, we tend to tailor and narrow down your specific projects during the summer preceding your first quarter based on your interests, skills, and career goals.
  • Q: May I reach out to current group members with any questions?
  • A: Yes, of course — they’d be happy to (hopefully, candidly) answer any questions.
  • Q: I would like to consider becoming a Visiting Graduate Researcher (VGR), what else should I know to take advantage of this opportunity?
  • A: It’s important that you contact us using the information shared in the “Join Us” section and follow the instructions on the VGR website. In addition to the resources listed there, you ought to know that VGR students are required to have 51% of the total cost of living of their duration of stay to be covered – these must be from scholarship, award, or other sources than private funds and not necessarily UCLA-funded but another company or University or both to equal at minimum 51%. The remaining 49% or less can be from private funds, such as personal savings.