| Ph.D. coursework | Language requirements, MELC course requirements, outside Ph.D. courses | 2-3 years |
| Ph.D. advisory committee | Committee consisting of at least 2 MELC faculty and outside minor representative. Form can be found on COLL website. | Must be submitted by the end of 1st year of study. Usually end of spring semester |
| Ph.D. Qualifying Exams | Meet with members of Advisory Committee to discuss reading lists and exam formats at least one semester before taking exams. Consists of 1 Major MELC, and 2 Minor MELC exams. May include outside Ph.D. minor exam. Reading lists and exam dates must be submitted 60 days in advance to the HLS Graduate Studies Office. | The exam must be passed at least 8 months before the degree is awarded. |
| Continued enrollment | After passing the qualifying exams, students must enroll in at least 1 credit hour of a Thesis Course each semester until they graduate. | Must register for M810 or G901 by Registrar’s deadlines each semester. |
| Ph.D. Nomination to candidacy (edoc) | Student must initiate edoc after all coursework, requirements, and passing the qualifying exams. | Completed after passing qualifying Exams in a timely manner. |
| Ph.D. research committee (edoc) | The Research Committee consists of at least 3 MELC faculty members and the outside minor representative. The dissertation prospectus that has been approved by the committee will also be attached to the edoc for approval. | The edoc must be initiated and approved by the UGS 6 months in advance of the dissertation defense. |
| Dissertation | The student will work on their research and dissertation with advising from their Research Committee. | 2-4 years |
| Dissertation defense (edoc) | The defense occurs after the completion of the dissertation but before it has been bound. The student will need to have properly formatted Acceptance and Abstract pages for committee members to sign after a successful defense. | The document must be completed 30 days in advance of the proposed dissertation defense date. |
| Submit dissertation | The dissertation can be submitted online, and the specific requirements can be found on the UGS website. The abstract and acceptance pages must be original signed documents. Thesis course letter grades need to be submitted to the Graduate Secretary after the dissertation is submitted. | The dissertation must be submitted by the 15th of the intended graduation month, except May and December. Please refer to the grad school webpage for official deadlines |
