F2.8 Advancement to Candidacy for a Doctoral Degree
Updated: August 26th, 2011
Eligibility for advancement to candidacy. To be advanced to candidacy, doctoral students must:
- satisfy the foreign language requirement, if applicable;
- pass the Qualifying Examination;
- have no more than two courses graded Incomplete;
- have a minimum 3.0 grade-point-average in all upper division and graduate work taken while in graduate standing;
- have no more than one-third of the total units undertaken for the degree be graded on an S/U basis,
- fulfill any additional departmental requirements, and
- have secured an appropriately configured dissertation committee.
How doctoral students are advanced to candidacy. When a student has satisfied the eligibility requirements listed above, the student submits the “Application for Candidacy to the Doctoral Degree” appropriate for the student’s plan (Plan A or B) to the Graduate Services: Degrees Office (318 Sproul Hall, #5900), accompanied by a check made payable to “UC Regents” in the amount of $90. The application form is available on the Graduate Division website (http://www.grad.berkeley.edu/policies/forms.shtml). The Head Graduate Adviser of the student’s major, the Chair of the Dissertation Committee, and, if applicable, the Head Graduate Adviser of the Designated Emphasis must sign this form.
The student must also indicate on the form whether human subjects or animal research will be involved in the dissertation research. A human subjects protocol must be procured from the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects before any dissertation research is conducted. For more information, see Section F4.
The advancement form should be filed no later than the end of the semester following the one in which the student passed the Qualifying Examination. (Students in majors participating in the Dean’s Normative Time Fellowship or Dissertation Completion Fellowship programs must submit the advancement form according to eligibility deadlines.)
Informational packets for new doctoral candidates. When doctoral students are advanced to candidacy, the Graduate Division mails them a packet that includes information on writing a dissertation, finding financial support for research and writing, using campus resources during this new phase of doctoral study, and meeting the requirements that apply if the proposed research will involve human or animal subjects.
See All Topics in the Category: F. Degrees, Guide to Graduate Policy
