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It is required that all doctoral students be admitted to candidacy within 36 months from the date of initial registration. A student who is not admitted to candidacy within this time period will be required to withdraw from the program. Extensions may be granted under exceptional circumstances and with the permission of the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

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The basic requirements for a doctoral student to be admitted to candidacy are:

• all required coursework has been successfully completed
• the comprehensive examination has been passed
• the supervisory committee has certified that the thesis proposal has been approved.

Where the program specifies the completion of a foreign language requirement, it is an additional requirement for being admitted to candidacy. A graduate program may also wish to apply additional criteria for students to be admitted to candidacy. In such cases, the graduate program must inform the Faculty of Graduate Studies and the student(s) of these criteria in writing.

Students are expected to complete their comprehensive examination within 24 months from the date of initial registration. A student who is not admitted to candidacy within 36 months from date of initial registration must withdraw from the program. Extension of this period may be permitted by the Dean of Graduate Studies in exceptional circumstances.

As soon as a student has satisfied all requirements, the graduate program must recommend to the Faculty of Graduate Studies that the student be admitted to candidacy. (Advancement to Candidacy form) This status is then entered on the University’s Student Information System (SISC). “Advancement to candidacy” and the date which this status was met will appear on the student's transcript.