F2. Doctoral Degrees
Updated: May 11th, 2012
Academic benchmarks. Administered by departments, schools, or graduate groups, the doctorate is awarded in recognition of a student’s knowledge of a broad field of learning and for distinguished accomplishment in that field through an original contribution of significant knowledge and ideas. To be eligible to receive the doctorate, the student must complete at least two years (four semesters) of academic residence, pass a Qualifying Examination administered by a committee approved by the Graduate Division on behalf of the Graduate Council, and submit an approved dissertation completed under the guidance of Berkeley Academic Senate faculty members. The dissertation must reveal high critical ability and powers of imagination and synthesis. There are two dissertation plans: 1) Plan B, which is followed by most doctoral programs, requires a three-member committee with a final defense at the discretion of the committee, or 2) Plan A, which requires a five-member committee (three members charged with approving the dissertation who are joined by two additional members for the student’s required final oral defense of the dissertation). A list showing which programs use Plan A or Plan B appears in the “Graduate Education” section of the General Catalog (http://www.berkeley.edu/catalog).
Unit requirements. Unlike a master’s degree, there are no specific unit requirements for the doctorate. A course of study is tailored to fit the needs of individual students. Departments, schools, and graduate groups may informally recognize that students have completed relevant courses at other institutions, if they wish, but no units will be officially transferred for the doctoral degree, unlike the master’s degree.
Normative time. All doctoral programs of the University of California system have an established length of time for completion of a doctoral program, which is called Normative Time. Each doctoral program was asked to submits its Normative Time for review and approval by the local Graduate Council and the University-wide Coordinating Committee on Graduate Affairs.
There are two components: NTA – normative time to advancement to doctoral candidacy, and NTIC – normative time in candidacy which begins after advancement and ends when the degree is awarded. The Graduate Division monitors a student’s Normative Time progress since it affects, among other things, the allocation of new admissions slots for academic programs and is one measure of a program’s ability to successfully conduct its students through the degree program. For further information, see “Normative Time and Calculation of Normative Time in Candidacy,” section F3.2.
Ad Hoc Interdisciplinary Doctoral Programs. The Graduate Division has established a procedure by which students may elect to pursue an interdisciplinary major of their own design. Fulfillment of academic residency, passage of the qualifying examination, and completion of a dissertation are all required of an ad hoc interdisciplinary doctoral student. Only students who have completed at least two semesters of a doctoral program at Berkeley with a superior academic record may be considered for an individual interdisciplinary major. Further information can be found on the Graduate Division website (http://www.grad.berkeley.edu/programs).
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