A doctoral student entering in Stage I is required to graduate within seven years of first registering as a degree-seeking student in a graduate program. A student who enters the graduate program with an approved previous master’s degree that would satisfy Stage I of the doctoral program is considered entering at Stage II and is required to graduate within six years of first registering as a degree-seeking student in a graduate program. Students who begin in a master’s program and then enter a doctoral program would be required to graduate within eight years of first registration in the Graduate College. Stages of a doctoral program are described below. Time extensions can be made under extenuating circumstance, as described below.
Expected Graduation Date Calculation
- Admitted to doctoral program as Stage I (no approved master’s): seven years
- Admitted to doctoral program as Stage II (with approved master’s): six years
- Admitted to University of Illinois master’s program and continuation into doctoral program (where master’s program fulfills Stage I of doctoral program): eight years from admission to master’s program
Doctoral Stages and Time Limits
Stage I. A student is considered to be in Stage I from initial enrollment in the graduate program to completion of a master’s degree or its equivalent. Each department should have a procedure for evaluating a student’s progress at this first stage of doctoral work. Elements of this evaluation will include GPA, along with other factors related to good academic standing and satisfactory progress. In some departments, this evaluation may take the form of a qualifying examination or other examination or series of examinations, which a student must pass before entering Stage II of the doctoral degree program. Evaluation of progress in Stage I, whether by examination or other formal review, should take place no later than the end of the second year after a student enters the doctoral program. The evaluation results should be communicated in writing to the student. Students who apply to a doctoral program having already completed a master’s degree equivalent to that awarded by the University of Illinois are generally considered to have completed Stage I of the program unless the department deems otherwise, in which case the department must notify the student of the stage in which they are entering the program.
Stage II. A doctoral student is considered to be in Stage II from completion of the master’s degree or equivalent to completion of all departmental requirements (except the defense and deposit of the dissertation), including passing the preliminary examination. In some programs, doctoral students entering with a master’s degree will take a qualifying examination early in Stage II. Stage II usually consists of one or more years devoted to course work and research in preparation for the preliminary examination. Stage II ends with the successful passing of the preliminary examination. Students who have not successfully passed their preliminary examination by the deadline (as determined by their admission stage) of their graduate program will be not in good academic standing. See table below for deadlines based on admission stage. The deadline to complete Stage II is two years less than the expected graduation date/deadline to complete Stage III.
Stage III. Stage III is the time from the completion of Stage II to graduation. Stage III consists of the student conducting research and writing their dissertation, successful passing of their final examination (defense), and deposit of their dissertation. Students in Stage III must have a director of research (who is often the student’s adviser) who oversees the dissertation research (See Chapter 6.4 Directors of Research). Stage III must be completed by the deadlines in the table below based on admission stage. Students who have not completed Stage III by this time can receive one time extension before being placed on academic warning.
Deadlines to Complete Degree Stages Based on Admission Stage
| Admission Stage | Stage I | Stage II | Stage III |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admitted to doctoral program as Stage I (no approved master’s) | Approximately 2 years (not monitored by the Graduate College | End of year 5 | End of year 7 |
| Admitted to doctoral program as Stage II (with approved master’s) | Not applicable (completed prior to enrolling) | End of year 4 | End of year 6 |
| Admitted to University of Illinois master’s program and continue into doctoral program | Completion of Illinois master’s program (typically 2 years) | End of year 6 (since first enrollment in master’s program) | End of year 8 (since first enrollment in master’s program) |
Leaves and Changing Programs
- Degree time limits are not automatically extended for students who change curriculum from one doctoral program to another doctoral program within the Graduate College.
- Degree time limits are not automatically extended for students who do not register and who are not on an approved leave of absence.
- The process to request extensions is described below.
Re-Entering
In some unusual scenarios after review by the student’s department and Graduate College, it may be appropriate to restart the time limit for an individual student. Factors that would be considered include the amount of time spent in the previous program and the amount of time away from the program. In cases where the time limit is restarted, the student would follow the degree requirements for the new term of admission. This is documented through the re-entry process.
Time Extensions
Exceptions to the above time limits are reviewed on a case-by-case basis through the Graduate College petition process.
Use of Old Coursework
When supporting petitions for extensions of time to degree, it is the program’s responsibility to determine whether old course work is still relevant to the current degree.
Exceptions to degree time limits. There are a few programs that have exceptions to the time to degree limits.
- For all College of Education doctoral programs, the time to degree limit is seven years from first enrollment in a doctoral program, after completing the master’s degree (effective Fall 2000).
- For doctoral students in Anthropology, the time limit is ten years from the enrollment in a doctoral program if no master’s degree was earned previously (effective Fall 1999).
Second Preliminary Examination
If more than five years elapse between a doctoral student’s preliminary and final examinations, the student is required to demonstrate that their broad knowledge of the field is current by passing a second preliminary examination. It is not adequate that the student has sufficient current knowledge in the area of the dissertation. The form of the second preliminary examination need not be identical to that of the first. Scholarly publications and college-level teaching assignments may be used as partial evidence of the student’s current knowledge of their field, but a preliminary examination committee must be appointed by the Graduate College, an examination given, and its result reported to the Graduate College.
Dissertation Deposit
Students are expected to deposit their dissertation promptly following their final exam to preserve the currency of the research and the integrity of the document approved by the committee. Students must deposit their dissertation within three semesters (including the current semester). The deposit must be made by the published deadline for that semester. After this time, a new final examination may need to be conducted.