Doctoral Programs Degree Progress Checklist
Consult the GSE Doctoral Handbook and Stanford Bulletin for your year of admission for detailed PhD requirements.
- Maintained enrollment or registration status in each quarter of the regular academic year (i.e., autumn, winter, and spring) unless on an approved leave of absence.
- Satisfied English language proficiency for international/foreign students.
- Completed First-Year (a.k.a., Third-Quarter or Preliminary) Review.
- Submitted preliminary Graduate Study Program (GSP).
- When applicable, prior graduate credit from another institution transferred to Stanford. Consulted Doctoral Programs Officer regarding forms and potential residency implications.
- Completed Second-Year (a.k.a., Sixth-Quarter or Specialty) Review. This is the qualifying process for doctoral candidacy and includes a Qualifying Paper.
- Submitted final Graduate Study Program (GSP).
- Applied for doctoral candidacy. Candidacy application is consistent with final Graduate Study Program (GSP), with no incomplete or missing grades.
- Maintained valid candidacy status (or pre-candidacy status before advancing to candidacy) at all times. Pre-candidacy is valid for two years from the start of the PhD program, and candidacy is valid for five years after advancement.
- Completed disciplinary minor or master’s requirement outside of education. PhD Minor, Interdisciplinary Distributed Minor (IDDM), or Stanford MA/MS declared or finished, when applicable. (Can be satisfied by a prior, non-Stanford MA/MS when outside of Education and approved by advisor and review committee.)
- Earned at least 135 units of doctoral residency credit
- Completed all courses listed on final Graduate Study Program (GSP) and Doctoral Candidacy form with passing grades. Includes PhD Minor or Stanford MA/MS courses, when applicable.
- Completed dissertation proposal and hearing.
- Dissertation Reading Committee formed and paperwork submitted.
- Changes to courses listed in final Graduate Study Program (GSP) and Candidacy Application were made via Academic Program Revision form, when applicable.
- Oral Examination scheduled. Forms and dissertation drafts submitted at least one month in advance.
- Dissertation revisions completed and final drafts submitted to Registrar’s Office by the published deadline.
- Applied to graduate online via AXESS before the published deadline for the quarter in which you graduate. Resolved any enrollment, or other, holds before graduating.