For help with planning your candidacy, please reference this candidacy timeline flow chart. 

Allowing for time to revisions of the aims page and final document, expect the entire process to take ~4 months from when you start preparing your aims page to completing your oral.

Remember to submit an application to graduate with MS based on candidacy on GRADFORMS by the 3^rd Friday of the semester in which candidacy will be completed.

For more information about the candidacy exam process, please consult Section XII of the MCDB Student Handbook.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I begin to discuss my intended candidacy timeline with my advisor?

• Students are encouraged to begin discussing their candidacy timeline with their advisor near the end of their first year, or at the start of their second year in the program.

When should I take the Candidacy exam?

• Students are encouraged to complete candidacy in their second year in Spring or summer term and must complete it by the end of their seventh semester, which is Fall semester of their 3rd year.

How many credit hours do I need to register for during the semester in which I plan to take my candidacy exam?

• Students must register as full time students during the semester that they plan on taking their candidacy exam (8 credit hours for GRAs, 12 hours for students on fellowships in the Spring/Autumn). For the semesters after passing their candidacy exam, they will register for 3 credit hours.

On GRADFORMS, what forms do I need to submit, and when do they need to be submitted?

• The student should submit an Application to Graduate (master's degree, candidacy option) on GRADFORMS at the start of the semester in which they intend to complete candidacy. After scheduling the written and oral portions of the candidacy exam, the student must submit the Application for Candidacy Exam at least two weeks in advance of the scheduled date of the oral exam. If this form is submitted later than two weeks before the date of the candidacy exam, the student will need to reschedule their Candidacy exam.

Upon approval of the Specific Aims, how long do I have to write my Candidacy proposal?

• The student will have no more than four weeks to write their Candidacy exam proposal.  Any extension of this timeline due to extenuating circumstances requires prior approval of the entire committee.  

How long do the members of the Advisory Committee have to evaluate the Candidacy proposal?

• The Advisory Committee has two weeks to evaluate the Candidacy proposal. If you wish to give your committee less than two weeks, you must get the approval of the entire committee.  

After approval of the written candidacy proposal, when do I need to schedule the oral exam?

• The oral exam must be held within 4 weeks of the completion of the written exam. The completion date of the written exam is the date that the written proposal is approved by all the committee members.