Admission to the Graduate School does not imply admission to candidacy for an advanced degree. The rights to candidacy can be earned only by demonstrating the preparation for and ability to pursue graduate work and by fulfilling requirements prerequisite to candidacy. Those requirements are described in detail for each degree.

Advancement to candidacy does imply that the student has been judged by the advisory committee and the dean to have satisfactorily completed much of the formal course work and examination requirements and to be fully qualified to pursue the remaining, usually more independent, portion of the degree work.

Students who expect to receive a degree must file an Application for Graduate Degree in the Graduate School by the deadline noted in the Academic Calendar. All graduate students must have been advanced to Candidacy the semester preceding the semester in which they expect to graduate.

After the student applies for the degree, the Graduate School checks the academic record to ensure that the student is eligible to graduate. The eligibility to proceed with the graduation process (i.e., final examination) will be certified by the Graduate School, and the Preliminary Approval and the Final Report forms will be sent to the advisor approximately six weeks before graduation. (A new application must be filed if the student fails to graduate.)

Students must be registered for the term in which they expect to receive their degree.