University of Colorado Denver College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Please refer to the UCD Doctoral Graduation Deadlines. It is important that you adhere to the deadline dates if you desire to graduate in a given semester.

Admission to the Graduate School does not constitute admission to candidacy. Completion of hours of course work does not mean a student is automatically eligible for an advanced degree. Students must have fulfilled appropriate requirements, as established by their major department and the Graduate School.

• If you have any classes in which you have received an incomplete, this grade must be changed by the date indicated on the doctoral deadlines.
• You must be registered for five dissertation hours during the semester in which you defend. A student who wishes to schedule a defense between semesters may use the previous or the following semester’s registration to meet this requirement (NOTE: summer session is considered a separate semester). For the purpose of this registration requirement, a new semester begins on the first day of instruction for that semester. You need not be registered if you are just submitting the dissertation, provided you have already defended in a previous semester.

See the Electronic Thesis Dissertation submission process page for dissertation guidelines. Questions concerning matters not discussed in this document must be directed to the dissertation committee chairperson. 

• Application for Admission to Candidacy (PDF)  This initiates a process of determining if the student has met all of the other requirements for the degree, and is eligible to submit a dissertation.
• Application for Graduation (online process)  (This must be completed at the beginning of the semester you plan to graduate, even if previously submitted).
• A Title of Dissertation form is submitted for publication in the Commencement program. The student then submits a Request for Graduate Examination/Thesis Defense Form two weeks prior to exam.
• Typed Announcement of Dissertation Defense, which publicly announces the defense for all interested parties, is submitted to the Graduate School two weeks prior to defense.
• Biographical notes should consist of degrees, awards, publications, and work experience. The completed announcement will be reproduced to provide copies for members of the examining committee and for posting.
• Preliminary copy of dissertation to the Graduate School to be checked for format review. Questions concerning matters not discussed in the specifications must be directed to the dissertation committee chairperson.
• Final Electronic Thesis Dissertation submission.  Submit the Statement of Approval of the Thesis Form to the Graduate School (LSC-1251) with original signatures of your committee members. You may also order hard copies of the dissertation when submitted electronically, at an additional charge. Students whose theses are received after the deadline will graduate the following semester.
• University Microfilm International (UMI) Agreement and Survey of Earned Doctorates forms are available at the Graduate School office and are to be turned in with the dissertation when it is submitted. This can also be done online.

A Ph.D. degree should be completed within 8 years of acceptance into your program of study. If you exceed this limit, you must submit a Request for Extension of Time Limit to your Ph.D. program director. Individual graduate programs may have time limits that are more stringent. You may petition for a leave of absence from the program by submitting a Request for Leave of Absence form to your Ph.D. program director.