How do admissions work?

Admissions Information
Faculty make decisions based on the course application, personal statement, and any supplementary material specifically requested in the course description (e.g. samples of cataloging records). Course descriptions can be found here. Students are admitted on a rolling basis until the course is full. To follow up on the status of your application, contact the Project Manager. Please allow two weeks for processing before contacting the Project Manager. If you require a rush decision, please include a note with your application stating the reason for your expedited request.

Tip: While CalRBS accepts applications up until a course begins, your chances of admission are greatly increased if your application is received well in advance of the course start date  (i.e. three and half months before the course begins). We cannot hold your application for future years. All admissions decisions are final. Faculty will not provide additional details about individual admissions decisions.

Wait-list
Invariably, there are many more qualified applicants than there are spaces. Some qualified students may be placed on a waiting list. In general, instructor(s) do not indicate a preference order for wait-listed students. If for any reason an admitted student is unable to attend, the instructor(s) will make a selection from the applicant pool, which will include those students on the original waiting list as well as any additional applicants. We encourage those on the waiting list to contact the Project Manager for advice in applying for alternatives. If you do wish to apply to another course, you will need to submit a separate application.

Admitted Students
Admitted students will receive an admissions packet containing a confirmation form and tuition invoice along with their letter of admission. As a courtesy to students who may be on a waiting list, we ask students to confirm their attendance within two weeks of receiving their admission packet. Participants will receive more specific information closer to the course start date.

Payment
Please do not send payment with your application(s): no payment is due until you have been notified of admission to the course(s) for which you have applied. Payment is due June 1, 2024 and is $1200 for one course (unless otherwise noted). If applying for a scholarship, please hold off on any payments until you are notified of a scholarship decision.

Travel and Accommodations
We advise prospective students not to make travel or hotel reservations until they have been admitted to a course. Information to help plan your trip can be found here. Be sure to select the location in which your class will be held.

Can UCLA students receive course credit?

If you are a UCLA student in Information Studies, you may receive credit for courses taken in the California Rare Books School (CalRBS) and apply it toward MLIS or PhD degree program requirements as an IS Department elective. Contact hours in CalRBS courses are equivalent to those of a four-unit graduate seminar; however, students should arrange with their academic advisor or other appropriate ladder faculty member to produce a substantive paper, project, literature review, or other deliverable in order to meet the work requirements and learning objectives for a graduate-level course. Students should submit deliverable(s) no later than the end of the first regular academic term after the CalRBS course is  taken.

Upon completion of the CalRBS course and submission of the deliverable material(s) to the advisor or other faculty member, the student should make a timely submission of the Petition to Apply CalRBS Course Credits to the Degree form to the Professional Program Committee or Doctoral Program Committee (as applicable). For more information, visit: https://seis.ucla.edu/current-students

Do I need to submit a letter of recommendation to receive a scholarship?

Letters of recommendations are no longer required for scholarship applicants.