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Candidacy Guidelines

University regulations require that as a doctoral student who has been advanced to candidacy you be registered at Berkeley while you are in pursuit of your degree, unless formal withdrawal is granted. If you formally withdraw from the University, whether or not you plan to return, you are not eligible to make use of University facilities, except as a member of the general public. In particular, you have no claim on faculty time. Therefore, it is important that you remain registered during the period when your research and consultation on the writing of your dissertation require substantial faculty time. This applies even if you withdraw temporarily after advancement to candidacy. Only if you have fulfilled these requirements will you be considered eligible for the Filing Fee.

If your research plans change to involve human subjects, you must complete training in human subjects research by taking and passing the online CITI Program, a basic course in the Protection of Human Research Subjects. Before you begin your research, you must have obtained an approved protocol from the Committee for Protection of Human Subjects (510-642-7461).

Make every effort to complete your dissertation within the period of time established for your graduate program. The specific time limits that apply in your case are available from your Graduate Adviser or Graduate Assistant.

If you do not make reasonable progress toward completion, your candidacy for the degree will be lapsed. If this occurs, candidacy may be reinstated only upon appeal from the Head Graduate Adviser in your department certifying that completion of your dissertation is imminent and that the results of your Qualifying Examination and language examinations are still valid. Reinstatement will be permitted if this appeal is approved by the Graduate Council.

Your candidacy will be terminated two years after lapsing takes place. Termination may also occur when the Qualifying Examination was taken so long ago as to render it invalid as an indication of current knowledge and skills within the discipline. Candidacy may also be terminated if you fail to correct, within the time specified, major deficiencies in your dissertation previously submitted for committee review. Termination represents a form of academic probation more severe than that of lapsing but still short of formal dismissal. In order for candidacy to be restored and probation lifted, you would have to rectify your qualification for the degree. This would require a new qualifying examination, recertification of required languages, and a new application for advancement to candidacy.

For more information, consult the Head Graduate Adviser or Graduate Assistant in your department, or the Graduate Division, 302 Sproul Hall.

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