Advancement to Candidacy
Before you can file the application for Candidacy, you should have passed Research Mentoring B. Upon successful completion of research mentoring and all other course requirements, you may advance to candidacy. You are encouraged to apply for candidacy as soon as possible after all requirements for admission to candidacy have been met. Failure to make a timely application can be construed as lack of adequate progress toward the degree. Students apply for candidacy on-line instructions are available at https://gradschool.utexas.edu/academics/theses-and-dissertations and summarized below to assist you in preparing for the online application process
Certification of Academic Credentials: Program of Work
The SPE Advancement to Candidacy form must be signed by your adviser and submitted to the Graduate Coordinator electronically. The Chair of your committee and the Graduate Advisor must approve the SPE Advancement to Candidacy form. The Program of Work must:
meet all of the requirements established by the Graduate Studies Committee and the Graduate School,
be taken within the past six years, and
must include coursework that is sufficient in academic breadth/depth.
Application for Candidacy
Students ready to file the Application for Candidacy should log in to UT Direct using the following link below. You will need to submit the online application to the Graduate School to apply to Advance to Candidacy. This is the last step towards your approval for Candidacy and, upon approval, allows you to register for dissertation hours. The Application for Candidacy form must have accurate information for it to be correctly routed to the appropriate people for signatures. Please note: Students must have registered and paid tuition during the term in which the candidacy application is submitted. (IE: If you submit in the summer, you must be registered during the summer semester(s)).
In consultation with your Dissertation Supervisor, you are responsible for the following:
Choice of at least three people (in addition to your Dissertation Supervisor) who have agreed in advance to serve on your dissertation committee.
Selection of a supervisor or co-supervisors.
Your supervisor and at least two other committee members must be members of the Graduate Studies Committee in your program.
Selection of at least one person on your committee from outside of your program GSC.
To apply, you will need:
Your committee information, including Name, EID, Email
A CV for ANY committee member that is outside of UT Austin sent to gradstudentsvcs@austin.utexas.edu
An abstract/summary of your dissertation
Once the Dean of Graduate Studies approves your application and you have been admitted to candidacy, you are required to continuously register for the dissertation course (_99W) or treatise course beginning the next long term. You may also change your placeholder course to dissertation hours, should you and your committee chair agree that is in your best interest. Please contact the Graduate Coordinator for assistance to switch your hours.
Steps for Advancement to Candidacy-Very Important!
You may not enroll in dissertation hours until you have been advanced to candidacy (successful completed Research Mentoring A and B and all other courses).
Read ALL directions and complete ALL portions of each form.
Complete a SPE Advancement to Candidacy form as part of your application for candidacy. This form must be completed by you and signed by your Committee Chair. Submit your signed SPE Advancement to Candidacy form electronically to the Graduate Coordinator before you initiate the on-line application process.
The Application for Doctoral Candidacy requires that you submit the names of your Dissertation Supervisor, at least 4 committee members, the dissertation title, and an abstract. It will take time to talk with potential committee members so allow time for this part of the process.
Once you have completed the online application, the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS) will contact your Dissertation Supervisor and the Graduate Adviser to obtain their signatures and approval. Should there be any problems or questions about your online application, the Graduate Coordinator will contact you.
When the Graduate Adviser has approved your application online, it will be forwarded to the Graduate Dean for approval. You will receive notification from the OGS of your advancement to candidacy and the appointment of your dissertation committee. When the Graduate Dean approves the application for candidacy, you will be a doctoral candidate.
Continuous Registration
As a doctoral candidate, you are required to be enrolled continuously during all long semesters until you complete your degree. You should register in the dissertation course each semester. If you fail to register and do not have an approved for a leave of absence, you will be barred from further registration. If you are requested to maintain full-time statue due to your fellowship, international student status, employment status, etc. full time status is as follows:
9 hours in the long semesters
3 hours in the summer (whole summer)
You only need a total of 6 dissertation/treatise hours, so if you do not have requirements to be full time, you can choose to take either 3 or 6 hours until your dissertation/treatise is complete.
Summer Registration
You must be enrolled during a summer session if you plan to defend, or are attempting to graduate, during the summer. You may also need to be enrolled during the summer to satisfy departmental, employment, financial aid, visa, housing or other requirements. Please check with the Graduate Coordinator, if you have questions.
You have two years in which to complete the dissertation. If you have not completed your degree within that period, the department's GSC will review your work to ensure satisfactory progress is being made. If so, the GSC may petition the Graduate Dean for an extension for you to continue with your dissertation. It is wise for a candidate to structure work to ensure completion of the dissertation within the allowed two-year period, and to confer with the dissertation supervisor and the Graduate Adviser if an extension is anticipated.