Other Important Information

The Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

To continue to be eligible for financial aid and for teaching appointments, students in the Ph.D. Program must be making satisfactory progress. The following ten items provide general criteria for satisfactory progress. If you have any questions concerning this policy, please see the GPD as soon as possible. The GPD and the Graduate Studies Committee perform an annual review of all student progress in the spring and send formal written notification to each student via hard copy and email.

1. Students must receive more A’s than B’s, and no grade lower than a B-. G1 and G2 students must complete at least 6 courses each year with no more than one INC. 
2. Students must have resolved all remaining INCs before they will be eligible to take the Comprehensive exams. 

3. A student must have passed the Comprehensive exams by October 15 of their G4 year, unless the GPD has granted an extension. A student who entered the program with a related M.A. degree must have passed the Comprehensive exams by June 15 of their G3 year.
4. By April 15 of the G4 year a student must have defended and filed the Dissertation Prospectus unless the student has been granted an extension by the GPD. 
5. By the end of the fifth year and each subsequent year, a student must have produced at least one acceptable chapter of the dissertation. Non-resident students must also produce at least one chapter or the equivalent each year and remain in communication with the program. 
6. The program expects students to finish the dissertation no later than the end of the G8 year. 
7. A student who has not completed the dissertation by the end of the tenth year will be asked to withdraw with the option of applying for readmission at a later date. 
8. International students should bear these deadlines in mind and plan accordingly, as exceptions cannot be made on the grounds of a student’s visa and immigration status. 
9. A student who fails to meet any of the above requirements may, on the recommendation of the GPD and the Graduate Studies Committee, be granted an exception and remain eligible for financial aid, for a grace period of up to one semester. At the close of the grace period, in order to be considered as making satisfactory progress the student must have met both the requirement that was missed and the requirements that would normally be imposed at that time. 
10. No student may have more than one semester of such grace during the Ph.D. Program. 

In the case of special circumstances such as pregnancy or the need to care for dependents, a student may request – and shall be granted – a Leave of Absence of a length appropriate to the given circumstances. Time will be added to the “thesis clock” for students who must take such a leave or who must work at a reduced rate because of special circumstances. Students are advised, however, that taking a leave of absence will not modify their year in the program as this is calculated based on the year they entered. 

Academic Probation

There are two kinds of academic probation: (1) Students in years G1-4 who have more than one incomplete or who fail to pass their comprehensive exams or file their prospectus on schedule will be placed on a probation for a duration of one semester, during which time they are expected to get back on track. They will receive formal written notification that they are on probation as well as a clear list of expectations of what needs to be accomplished for them to be taken off probation. Students on probation are not guaranteed a teaching assistantship for that semester. If the student successfully fulfills the stipulated conditions within the expected time frame of the semester, they will be taken off probation and once again be eligible for a teaching assistantship in the following semester. (2) Students in years G4+ who fail to make adequate progress on the writing of the dissertation may also be placed on probation for the duration of one semester. If their failure to make satisfactory progress persists, they (and their chair) will be notified by means of a formal letter. These students will be ineligible for funding while on probation and may be asked to withdraw from the program.

Statue of Limitations (SOL) Extensions

The Statute of Limitations (SOL) for each student is set to 5 years from the time they pass their Comprehensive Exams. Note that this in no way alters their year in the program (G1 is understood as the year a student enters the program regardless of their source of funding). Students who are making good progress towards completion of the degree but who need additional time may ask the GPD to request an extension to their Statute of Limitations from the Graduate School. The student must initiate this request by June 1 of the year in which their SOL expires. An extension may be granted for up to two years, but often an extension of only one semester or one year may be deemed appropriate. Note that these extensions are not granted automatically; if a student has consistently failed to make adequate and satisfactory progress, such a request may be denied at the discretion of the GPD and Graduate Studies Committee. 

Conference Funding

Students are encouraged to attend one or two conferences a year and the program is pleased to provide some funding support to facilitate this. Students are required to notify the GPD in September of any conferences they plan to attend in the academic year as funding allocations are made in the early fall to ensure a fair distribution of available funds. For domestic conferences, students can receive up to $300 in funding per conference. For international conferences, students may receive up to $500 per conference. All conference travel must be entered into the university online travel registry website PRIOR to travel for approval by the GPD. Students are required to send a brief email to the GPD if they decide not to attend a conference for which they requested funding so that the funding can be made available to other students. Likewise, students must notify the GPD by email upon their return from a conference, confirming their attendance for program records.