Guide for
Graduate Contacts
Program Deadlines
Time to Complete Degree
A master's degree candidate must complete all degree requirements, under normal circumstances, within five years of first registering in the Graduate College. With the approval of the Graduate College, a department may set a time limit for earning a master's degree that is different from the campus' general time limit. A doctoral candidate normally must complete all requirements within seven years of first registering in the Graduate College, unless the student is enrolled in a department for which the Graduate College has approved a different time limit for earning a doctoral degree. A candidate for the doctoral degree who has received a master's degree elsewhere, however, must complete the requirements within six years of first registration in the doctoral degree program on this campus, unless the department has received Graduate College approval for a different time limit. If a candidate's program of study has been significantly interrupted after receiving a master's degree from this University, and if the candidate later returns to work on a doctoral degree, he or she is allowed six years after the return to complete all degree requirements. An interruption is significant only if it lasts three years or longer. The time limit within which students in the M.D./Ph.D. program must complete the Ph.D. is 10 years after their first registration in the Graduate College. Students in the Medical Scholars Program pursuing the M.D. and the Ph.D. in a program that requires a master's degree must complete the master's degree requirements, under normal circumstances, within eight years after their first registration in the Graduate College. Students in the Medical Scholars Program pursuing the M.D. and the Ph.D. who have received the master's degree elsewhere must complete the requirements for the Ph.D. within nine years after their first registration in the doctoral degree program on this campus.
A student who has reached or exceeded the time limit for the graduate degree will not be able to continue to register without Graduate College approval of a Graduate Student Petition for an extension of time. To obtain such permission, the student's adviser and the executive officer of the student's major department must certify on a petition form or in a letter accompanying a petition form that the student is making satisfactory progress toward the degree, must indicate extenuating circumstances for the delay, and must indicate an expected completion date. Second and subsequent time extensions will be granted only in exceptional circumstances and with extensive justification.
Old Course Work
A master's degree candidate who will be using course work that is more than five years old at the time of graduation must petition the Graduate College asking that the course work be accepted for the degree. The petition must include an explanation from the department regarding how the student's knowledge in the field meets current standards. This justification is needed for degree certification and is required when the student is placed on the degree list.
A doctoral candidate who will be using course work that is more than seven years old at the time of graduation must petition the Graduate College asking that the course work be accepted for the degree. The petition must include an explanation from the department regarding how the student's knowledge in the field meets current standards. This justification is required when the student is placed on the degree list.
Prelim
If more than five years elapse between a student's preliminary and final examinations, the student will be required to demonstrate that his or her knowledge is current by passing a second preliminary examination, which is a prerequisite for admission to the final examination. 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 his or her field, but a preliminary examination committee must be appointed, an examination given, and its result reported to the Graduate College. It is not adequate to demonstrate that the student has sufficient current knowledge in the area of the thesis; rather, current knowledge in the field is defined broadly.
Defend
The Graduate College only requires Ph.D. students to be enrolled during the term in which they defend. In this case term includes the time up until the first day of the next term for fall and spring enrollment. Summer enrollment allows the student to defend up until the last day to defend for October graduation.
Deposit
Deposit Deadlines are listed at www.grad.uiuc.edu/thesis/deadlines.htm. M.S. students may deposit in May, August, October or December. Ph.D. students may deposit in May, October or December.
If more than one year elapses between the student's final examination and the deposit of the dissertation in the Graduate College, the dissertation must be accompanied by a statement from the executive officer of the student's major department to the dean of the Graduate College, c/o the Thesis Office, 206 Coble Hall. The statement should recommend accepting the thesis on the basis that it is essentially the one previously defended and should also state that the late award of the degree is appropriate.
