PhD Timeline & Candidacy

All doctoral students are subject to the requirements for good academic standing, including candidacy. To achieve candidacy, you must complete all requirements for the degree exclusive of thesis research and courses such as ongoing research seminars that run continuously through the program. You must also have an approved thesis topic, supervisor and Supervisory Committee. Upon achieving candidacy, completion is noted on your transcript.

Candidacy is achieved as noted below:

Students who do not achieve candidacy by these deadlines will be denied further registration in their program and will have their eligibility terminated, unless an extension has been approved.

If you need an extension, complete the Extension to Achieve Candidacy Form and submit it to the RSI student administration office for review along with a letter explaining the cause(s) for the delay and evidence that the remaining candidacy requirements will be completed within the period of the extension requested.

Failure to achieve candidacy will result in cancellation of the student’s registration for the following year.

PhD Timeline: This is an example of a timeline to complete a PhD degree within the 4-year period. Note that this template is to provide a rough guideline for various milestones to be achieved throughout the program and may not exactly reflect your personal timeline.