The Graduate College Handbook for Students, Faculty and Staff
Chapter VI: Requirements for the Doctoral Degree
Students are expected to be aware of and follow the policies and requirements in effect at their term of admission. Departmental and Graduate College policies may change subsequent to the term of admission, but subsequent changes in program requirements may not be imposed on students. Doctoral students should also review the General Graduate Degree Requirements.
Doctoral degrees require successful completion of a minimum of 96 semester hours of graduate credit (see section A of this chapter for doctoral degree stages) as well as the preliminary and final examinations. Any doctoral degree candidate, regardless of transfer credits or a master's degree completed elsewhere, must complete at least 64 hours of residence credit out of the total of 96 hours required for the doctoral degree. Thesis hours can count toward residence credit.
The Graduate College does not require students to be registered at the time of deposit. However, all doctoral candidates must be registered for the entire semester or term during which they take the final examination. For this purpose only, "term" is defined as extending through the day prior to the first day of the following term. If enough thesis credits have been accumulated, registration for 0 hours is acceptable. There is one exception to the registration requirement. A student who was registered during summer session need not register for the fall semester if the final examination occurs on or before the final October examination deadline for the doctoral degree students. This date is published on the Thesis Office Deadlines Web page. This exception provides a grace period at the beginning of the fall semester for students who are unable to assemble their dissertation committees over the summer. For example, in Fall 2007, a doctoral student who wants to defend but does not want to register for the fall term must: (a) have been registered for Summer 2007 and (b) successfully defend by September 14, 2007, the deadline for holding the final examination for October 2007 graduation.
A. Doctoral Degree Stages
Stage I: A doctoral student is considered to be in Stage I from initial enrollment in the Graduate College 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 not only GPA, but 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 considered to have completed Stage I of the doctoral program unless the department stipulates otherwise.
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. A student who passes the preliminary examination has completed Stage II is often referred to as being "ABD" (all but dissertation), and is formally a candidate for the doctoral degree.
Stage III: Stage III is the time from the completion of Stage II to passing of the final defense and deposit of an approved dissertation. Registration is required for the entire term in which a student takes the final defense, regardless of when the thesis will be deposited or when the degree will be conferred. See the Thesis Handbook for more information about enrollment dates for each term, deadlines and time limits, and also review the registration requirements for doctoral students (see chapter VI.B).
