PhD Milestones

The PhD 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 PhD 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)*
Thesis Defense: 12 semesters (6 years)

*May petition the Program Director for an extension of up to 2 semesters

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.