Students are expected to defend their dissertations successfully within five years after they have been admitted to candidacy, following the completion of all course work and the qualifying paper examination.

A student who has not successfully defended her or his dissertation within five years after being admitted to candidacy may appeal for a one-year extension. The extension may be granted if the graduate program director is able to certify that the student is actively working on the dissertation and has a realistic plan in place for completion of the dissertation within one year.

A student who has not successfully defended her or his dissertation after six years may request a further extension. The request will be reviewed by the full faculty. For the extension to be granted, the student must show evidence of active work on the dissertation, a realistic plan for completion of the dissertation, and enroll in a minimum of one graduate level course per year until the dissertation is completed. The courses must be pertinent to the dissertation (as certified by the dissertation chair and the graduate program director). An Independent Study course will not fulfill this requirement. The course may be a repeat of a course taken prior to candidacy. Exceptions to these requirements may be made following a review by the full faculty.

Students should be also aware of the following Graduate Studies policy:

A student may obtain a leave of absence up to a maximum of two years by filing a request that must be approved by the GPD and the Dean of Graduate Studies. A leave of absence extends the time limit by the length of the leave, but the student must pay the program fee for each semester of the leave.