Purdue University College of Liberal Arts

Information for

Progress through the Ph.D. Program

During the first portion of the program, a student will normally take three or four classes a semester, until all the course work for the area requirements is completed. The student is encouraged to complete at least one of the area requirements during his or her first year of study. Each student (unless excused by the faculty) must complete the requirements in at least two areas by the end of his or her second year of graduate study, and must complete all four areas by the end of his or her third year. 

It is recommended that a student choose a dissertation committee and begin preparing a dissertation prospectus as soon as possible, preferably early in his or her third year. Ideally, the dissertation should be completed at the end of the fourth year, since, while the department will attempt to ensure that graduate students who enter the program with departmental aid or a Purdue fellowship will continue to receive support through their fourth year of graduate work (as long as their scholastic work and teaching have been judged to be of sufficiently high quality), it does not guarantee support to students beyond their fourth year. Lion's Head Fountain
In any case, a student should register for at least the minimum number of research credits (3) every semester until the degree is granted; failure to do so means that the student must reapply for admission to the program before the degree can be granted. 

Students are normally required to complete their Ph.D. program, including the dissertation and the final public oral exam, before the end of the fifth academic year following the academic year in which they passed their prospectus exam. Extensions of this deadline may be granted by the Graduate Committee, with the approval of the department head, upon receiving appropriate justification for such an extension.