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Candidacy Deadlines

A student must be enrolled or otherwise be eligible for campus privileges, for a minimum of one credit, during the term in which preliminary exams are taken. Please see the Rackham Graduate School Academic Policies section 4.3 Candidacy Requirements for more information.

Registration for Prelims

Deadline for Completion of All Candidacy Requirements (Including Prelims)

Term Student Is Eligible for Candidacy (Enrollment in Course 995)

Spring 2023 term (prior to deadline) or previous term*

May 4, 2023

Spring or Spring/Summer 2023

Summer 2023 term (prior to deadline) or previous term*

June 30, 2023

Summer 2023

Fall 2023 term (prior to deadline) or previous term**

September 5, 2023

Fall 2023

Winter 2024 term (prior to deadline) or previous term

January 12, 2024

Winter 2024

Spring 2024 term (prior to deadline) or previous term

Exception: If registered full time the previous fall and winter terms, prelims can be taken in May (prior to deadline) without registration.

May 9, 2024

Spring or Spring/Summer 2024

Summer 2024 term (prior to deadline) or previous term

Exception: If registered full time the previous fall and winter terms, prelims can be taken in May without registration. 

July 2, 2024

Summer 2024

Fall 2024 term (prior to deadline) or previous term

Exception: If registered full time the previous fall and winter terms, prelims can be taken in May without registration.

August 28, 2024

Fall 2024

*COVID Accommodation. All dates are subject to change.
**Connectivity Issue Accommodation approved August 30, 2023

Keep in mind prelims taken in the fall or winter term (for a student being advanced to candidacy in that term) will be assessed 8 hours of 995 for that term. Students registered full-time (8 hours, or 6 if a GSI, GSSA, or GSRA) during the previous fall and winter terms have through the end of May to complete the preliminary examination without registering for the spring or spring/summer term.

Recommendation for Candidacy

A doctoral student may be advanced to candidacy by the graduate school upon recommendation of the student’s department. Advancement to candidacy will be granted when it is determined that the student has completed all requirements for the doctoral degree except the dissertation, and been approved for subsequent dissertation work. To recommend a doctoral student for candidacy the graduate coordinator (not the student) must submit the recommendation through the online system.

Advancement to Candidacy

When candidacy is approved, the Registrar’s staff will change all 990 enrollments to 995 for the student. Tuition will then be reassessed at the candidacy rate; only 990 registrations will be changed to 995; other courses would require an official drop/add form initiated by the student if changes are needed.

Contact Academic Records and Dissertations

0120 Rackham Building
915 East Washington Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1070
Phone: 734.763.0171
Fax: 734.936.3335

Hours

Academic Records and Dissertations is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The office is closed Saturdays and Sundays and on the following holidays: Thanksgiving (Thursday and the following Friday), Christmas through New Year's, Memorial Day, Independence Day (July 4), and Labor Day.