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Upon advancing to doctoral candidacy,
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a graduate student becomes an official PhD candidate at UT Austin. This milestone involves identifying a
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general research area and tentative topic,
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as well as forming a dissertation committee of faculty members
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. The committee not only evaluates the student’s research and ultimately approves the dissertation but also serves as a group of subject-matter experts who provide ongoing guidance and support throughout the PhD journey.
ECE PhD students are expected to advance to doctoral candidacy within one year
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of attempting 33 or more credit hours of coursework
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in the Graduate Program
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(excluding approved leaves of absence
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). These credit hours may include individual instruction courses such as Research Problems. Once a student attempts 33 or more credit hours, the following semester marks the beginning of the one-year window to complete the candidacy requirements. Students are encouraged to pursue candidacy as soon as a
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research area and topic
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are identified.
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It is important to note that a student is not considered a PhD candidate until
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candidacy has been officially granted.
The process of advancing to doctoral candidacy consists of two
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main components:
Forming an approved PhD committee
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Completing individual candidacy evaluation meetings with
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Forming a Committee
Your candidacy and PhD dissertation will be overseen by the same committee of faculty members. This committee will consist of five members, including your supervisor(s). At least three members must be on the ECE GSC. At least one member of your committee must be from outside of the ECE GSC. The process of forming this committee is comprised of several steps listed below, and can often take more than a month to complete.
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When you have received tentative agreement from your proposed committee members, contact your Track PhD Coordinator with the names of your committee.
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each non-supervisory committee member
Please note that you are expected to complete the six steps in order, and to advance to the next step only after you have satisfactorily completed all preceding steps.
Part 1: Form Your CommitteeStep 1: Identify and Confirm Committee Members Step 2: Submit Committee Details
Step 3: Await Committee Approval |
Candidacy Evaluation
Once your committee is formed and approved, you will need to reach out to and setup a time to meet individually with each member of your committee for approximately 30 minutes. Each candidacy evaluation should have the following suggested format:
A Q&A that covers how prepared the student is for candidacy, including suitability and feasibility of their proposed project.
objection basis. Wait two weeks while your proposed committee is under review, and do not proceed to conduct one-on-one evaluation meetings with each proposed committee member until you have received approval from your Track PhD Coordinator confirming that you can proceed. Part 2: Complete Individual Candidacy EvaluationsStep 4: Conduct Evaluation Meetings |
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but you may use slides or figures to provide context |
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. |
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Committee members |
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may share specific expectations or |
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Each member of your committee will formally sign off on your readiness, the proposed research and whether they agree to serve on your committee via the ECE Candidacy Form HERE. Follow the instructions on the form and await further instructions via email.
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evaluation criteria in advance. Step 5: Obtain Formal Sign-Offs Step 6: Submit Final Application for Candidacy Note on Late-Semester Candidacy: |