PhD Time Limits & Milestones

Graduate College Time Requirements for Degree

  • Bachelors to PhD Program Time Limits - 7 years from first term enrolled in doctoral program. Please see PhD Milestones below for the School's Time Requirement for Ph.D.
  • PhD Program Time Limits with a MS at Illinois - 5 years (2 yrs. for MS and 5 yrs. for PhD)
  • PhD Program Time Limits with a Non-Illinois MS - 6 years from first term enrolled in doctoral program

PhD Milestone Timeline

The department's timeline is an average of 6 years to complete the Ph.D. degree. The timeline below is based on a 5-year program of study.

Year Semester Milestone
1 1
2
Design and submit Program of Study
Select a Ph.D. Thesis Advisor
2 3
4
Take the Qualifying Exam - 4th semester
3 5
6
 
4 7
8
Preliminary Exam (Thesis Proposal) - 8th semester
5 9
10
Final Exam (Thesis Defense) - 10th semester

Graduate Advising

The Graduate Academic Office, a guiding hand for graduate students, offers weekday assistance.