Degrees Administered by the Homewood Graduate Board
- Arts and Sciences: Ph.D., M.A., M.F.A M.S.
- Engineering: Ph.D.
General Graduate Degree Requirements
Doctor of Philosophy
- A minimum of two consecutive semesters of registration as a full-time, resident graduate student
- Completion of registration in the semester that degree requirements are met
- Certification by a department or program committee that all school*, departmental, program, and/or committee requirements have been fulfilled
- A dissertation approved by at least two referees appointed by the department or program committee** and submitted to the library. The dissertation must adhere to the Graduate Board Dissertation Guidelines. (Referees must certify that the dissertation is a significant contribution to knowledge and worthy of publication)
- Successful completion of a Graduate Board oral examination. As determined by the department or program committee, this is classified as either preliminary or a final examination
- Though time-to-degree is determined by the department and may not exceed 9 years, continuation in the program will be based/contingent upon satisfactory academic progress after eight years of enrollment. Any approved leave of absence would not count toward the 9 years. *Students who started their PhD program prior to (but not including) Fall 2019 are grandparented into the previous university time-to-degree maximum of 12 years.
*Whiting School of Engineering doctoral students must complete training on academic ethics and responsible conduct of research. Krieger School of Arts and Sciences students must complete training on the responsible conduct of research if applicable.
**Referees (also known as readers) are responsible for signing the ‘readers letter/report’ that confirms that the dissertation is a significant contribution to knowledge and worthy of publication. At least one referee should be internal to the student’s academic program, external referees (to the university) must be approved by the Graduate Board through the same process as external examiners participating in the Graduate Board oral examination.
Master of Arts
- Minimum of two consecutive semesters of registration as a full-time, resident graduate student
- Certification by a department or program committee that all departmental or committee requirements have been fulfilled
- Thesis approved by at least one reader when the department or program requires a thesis
- Submission of the thesis to the library when a Master of Arts with essay is being requested***