PhD Milestones

The Ph.D. is taken with special emphasis in one of the following programmatic areas: Brain, Behavior & Cognition (BBC); Clinical (C); Developmental Science (DS). Time allowed to complete the following requirements for the Ph.D. is seven years from the student’s date of entry into the program. Students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher and have no more than two failing grades (lower than a B-or an incomplete grade older than 12 months) in order to complete the degree. 

MILESTONES FOR COMPLETION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH PROGRAM: 

Brain, Behavior & Cognition 

• Course Requirements: 4 semesters (2 years) 
• Qualifying Examination: 6 semesters (3 years) 
• Thesis Prospectus: 8 semesters (4 years) 
• Thesis Defense: 12 semesters (6 years) 

Developmental Science 

• Course Requirements: 6 semesters (3 years) 
• Qualifying Examination: 6 semesters (3 years) 
• Thesis Prospectus: 8 semesters (4 years) [may petition the Program Director for an extension of up to 2 semesters] 
• Thesis Defense: 12 semesters (6 years) 

Clinical 

• Second Year Research Project (2 years) 
• Course Requirements (3 years) 
• Qualifying Examination/Profile (3 years) 
• Thesis Prospectus (4 years) 
• Internship (5 years) 
• Thesis Defense (6 years) 

Please see the Graduate Student Handbook and the Clinical Student Handbook for detailed information on the specific requirements for each program.