Time Limit
All requirements for the Ph.D. degree must be completed and the degree awarded within a maximum of nine years from the term of full Ph.D. admission, and within five calendar years from the term in which the student is admitted to candidacy.
(Example: if the date of admission is Fall 2008, the nine-year time limit ends Summer 2017. If the student in this example is admitted to candidacy in March 2010, the time to degree expires at the end of the spring semester 2015).
Extension of Time Limit
When extenuating circumstances warrant, the Dean of The Graduate School may grant an extension for one year. The student must submit a written request to the dissertation advisor and obtain approval from both the major advisor/dissertation chair and the program’s graduate director, who forwards the request to the Dean of The Graduate School. Final approval of the request rests with the Dean of The Graduate School.
The program can make a request on the behalf of the student for a leave of absence prior to or during candidacy. The proper chain of command should be followed (dissertation advisor, department chair, college dean, graduate school dean).
An approved leave of absence allows the time limit clock to stop for students during the leave.