Current Students

Application for Candidacy

 

Application for Candidacy

To become an official candidate for a PhD degree, you must complete and submit the final version of your Application for Candidacy for Doctoral Degree after passing the department’s General Qualifying Examination (GQE). During the GQE, your advisory committee may recommend adjustments to the proposed programs of study, which should be discussed and incorporated into this final version.

Application for Candidacy for Doctoral Degree

The proposed program of courses must be typed or clearly printed using supplemental sheets as necessary. List only the 45-units of Post-MS course work. Do not list any of your anticipated thesis units (CEE300/CEE400) on this form. Be certain to indicate on the form the quarter in which you will complete the teaching requirement. Even though it often changes, an estimated date for completion of the PhD degree should also be given.

Signatures

To verify their approval of the proposed program, at least two advisory committee members (your GQE committee, other than your principal advisor) must sign in the space labeled “Other” under section D of the form. You are responsible for obtaining these signatures prior to bring it to your principal advisor for approval.

After obtaining the required advisory committee members’ and your principal advisor’s signatures, turn in the form to the department office, for the department chairperson’s signature.

Changing your Academic Program

If your actual course work changes after submitting the Application for Candidacy for Doctoral Degree (and it probably will), you must submit an Academic Program Revision.

This form is typically submitted only once, by the end of the third week of the final quarter of your program of study, when all changes to the proposed course work have already been made. If you make any further changes in your program, no matter how minor, you must submit another form. When your principal advisor and the department chairperson have approved this form, the revised list of courses becomes your official program for the PhD degree.

After obtaining your principal advisor’s signature, submit the form to the department’s student services office, for the department chairperson’s signature.

Dissertation Topic

An acceptable research dissertation must be presented for the PhD degree. Because development of a dissertation is usually an intense and personal process involving you and your research advisor, it is not possible to abstractly define an acceptable dissertation. You should be very careful to reach a clear understanding of your advisor’s expectations and standards before embarking too far into the research project.

30 to 45 units (CEE400) are typically allowed for dissertation preparation; these units may be included in the department’s post-MS 90unit requirement, but may not be counted toward the required post-MS 45 coursework units. Your dissertation research must be conducted while registered at Stanford.

The Dissertation Reading Committee

A dissertation reading committee consists of three members: your principal dissertation advisor and two other readers. At least two of the members must be Stanford Academic Council members. At least one member must be from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. A reader may not be a University Chair for the candidate’s oral exam committee.

On occasion, the department may approve permission for appointment of one of the three members who is not on the Academic Council if that person is particularly well qualified to consult on the dissertation topic. Approval is requested on the Petition for Doctoral Committee Member form. The reader must have a PhD or foreign equivalent. Guidelines for committee members requiring a CV are listed at the top of the reading committee form. Petitions are not required for former Stanford Academic Council members. All members of the reading committee must sign the signature pages of the completed dissertation.

As soon as your dissertation reading committee is established, you should submit a Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee Form. After obtaining each reading committee member’s signature, submit the completed form to the department’s Student Services office, for the department chairperson’s signature.

Terminal Graduate Registration

As soon as you qualify, you’ll want to apply for Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status to reduce your tuition payments. To be eligible for TGR status, you must have:

When you’ve fulfilled all preliminary requirements, complete a Request for TGR Status. Submit this request well in advance of the posted deadline for your first quarter as TGR status. After obtaining your principal advisor’s signature, submit the form to the department’s student services office.

NOTE: students with “required” or “strongly recommended” remedial linguistics courses may not include those credits in the 45 units of coursework required for the degree; however these courses may be counted as part of the overall cumulative units toward residency. They must be completed or waived before the TGR status is requested.

Enrolling in 802

Students who register for TGR should enroll in the course CEE802 each quarter until the final quarter of degree conferral. Courses taken for credit during TGR require payment of tuition at the appropriate unit rate.

  • Your principal advisor will evaluate your thesis work as a measure of continued academic progress, and you’ll receive as grade either

  • “N” or “S” indicating satisfactory progress, or
  • “N-” or “NC” indicating unsatisfactory progress (no credit).

  • If you receive “NC” grades for two consecutive quarters, you should meet with your advisor and work out a satisfactory plan for completing degree requirements. Subsequent “NC” grades may be grounds for dismissal.

Extension of Candidacy

If you will be unable to complete the requirements of your PhD degree program of study within five years after admission to candidacy, you must complete an Application for Extension of Candidacy.

Review your situation with your advisor as soon as you realize that you will be unable to complete your PhD program within the specified time limits. Submit this form before your candidacy expires. If you allow your candidacy to expire, your registration privileges will cease and you must apply for reinstatement to continue with your program.

This form may be used to extend the time limits for completion of your PhD degree program for up to one year. Extensions require a review of your academic progress and approval from the department chairperson.

After obtaining your advisor’s signature, submit all forms to the department’s student services office, for the chairperson’s signature and processing.