F3.1 Doctoral Completion Fellowship (DCF)
Updated: January 6th, 2012
The Doctoral Completion Fellowship (DCF) provides an incentive for students in certain graduate programs, to complete their degree within a reasonable time. This is a new fellowship program available to students in participating graduate programs who enter in Fall 2010 or later. It replaces the Dean’s Normative Time Fellowship (DNTF). Students in qualifying programs admitted in Spring 2010 and before remain in the DNTF program.
Normative Time to Degree (from first enrollment to filing the dissertation) can range from 10 to 14 semesters, depending on your major. Within that period, Normative Time has two components: 1) time from first enrollment as a graduate student at Berkeley until advancement to doctoral candidacy; and 2) time in candidacy until the dissertation is filed. Most programs have a Normative Time to Advancement of 4 to 10 semesters. The total Normative Time to Degree is the sum of the Normative Time to Advancement and the Normative Time in Candidacy. Students should check with their department about the normative time for their major.
Students in the following majors may be eligible for the DCF:
| African American Studies | Information Management and Systems |
| Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology | Italian Studies |
| Anthropology | Japanese Language |
| Architecture | Jewish Studies (with GTU) |
| Asian Studies | Jurisprudence and Social Policy |
| Buddhist Studies | Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning |
| City and Regional Planning | Latin American Studies |
| Chinese Language | Linguistics |
| Classical Archaeology | Medical Anthropology (with UCSF) |
| Classics | Music |
| Comparative Literature | Near Eastern Religions (with GTU) |
| Demography | Near Eastern Studies |
| Economics | Performance Studies |
| Education | Philosophy |
| English | Political Science |
| Ethnic Studies | Public Policy |
| French | Rhetoric |
| Geography | Romance Languages and Literatures |
| German | Scandinavian Languages and Literatures |
| Hispanic Languages and Literatures | Science and Mathematics Education |
| History | Slavic Languages and Literatures |
| History of Art | Social Welfare |
| South and Southeast Asian Studies | Sociology |
NOTE: The eligible majors were selected using a multidimensional measure constructed from: net stipends received by doctoral students in the program, recourse to loans by students in the program, and challenges with respect to time to degree and completion rate. Eligible majors also had to submit plans for improved advising and professional development. These were reviewed and approved by the dean of the Graduate Division; continuing DCF participation by programs will be based on their effectiveness in degree completion within normative time.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the DCF students must:
- Be advanced to candidacy within the number of semesters established as the Normative Time to Advancement in their major
- Be in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 3.0
- Have a current, satisfactory annual progress report on file with Graduate Division
- Have participated in PhD completion activities or in other requirements, as directed by their program
- Submit an application for Advancement to Doctoral Candidacy to Graduate Degrees by the deadline date specified for DCF in Dates for Completion of Requirements for Higher Degrees for that semester.
Claiming the DCF Award
Students who qualify may accept the award at their discretion any time between their advancement to candidacy and filing their dissertation or the end of the year Normative Time to Degree (NTD) plus one year. Departments may choose to establish more specific guidelines regarding the timing of the award for their students. Filing of the dissertation is expected to occur before the end of year NTD+1; consequently, no university funding is available after year NTD+1 (except for loans) for students who choose to accept the DCF. The Filing Fee option is available to students at any time they qualify. Note to international students: Doctoral candidates may be eligible for a nonresident tuition waiver for three calendar years after advancement to doctoral candidacy. Beyond that period, non-resident tuition is again owed. More information on how to claim your award will be posted on this website as the Fall 2010 entering cohort nears Advancement to Candidacy.
Approved DCF Normative Time Calculation Credits
- A maximum of two semesters of withdrawal for medical leave only (documented by formal petition) will not count in calculating normative time.
- Credit for up to two semesters of parental leave can be granted if 1) the student formally withdraws for that purpose, or 2) the student intends to register to undertake a modified schedule and applies for parental leave status before or at the start of the proposed semester. This request must be endorsed by the student’s Head Graduate Adviser.
Note: Withdrawal for research or other academic purposes does count in accrued time. If no withdrawal form is filed, the interim semesters count in accrued time. Retroactive withdrawals are not permitted for purposes of altering the calculation of Normative Time.
For eligibility questions, contact the Graduate Services: Degrees Office (318 Sproul Hall, 510-642-7330).
For details concerning activating and receiving the award, contact the Graduate Services: Fellowships Office (318 Sproul Hall, 510-642-0672).
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