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Home Graduate School Current Students Doctoral Degree Candidacy Form Instructions

Doctoral Degree Candidacy Form Instructions

NOTE: All doctoral students and those who may also be completing a graduate certificate must "Apply to Graduate" (located in the MyMemphis portal) and must also submit candidacy forms.

FAILURE TO COMPLETE BOTH THE GRADUATION APPLICATION AND CANDIDACY FORM WILL AUTOMATICALLY DELAY YOUR GRADUATION UNTIL THE NEXT SEMESTER.

Please read instructions carefully

  1. When filing for graduation, doctoral students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 on all graduate work undertaken at The University of Memphis whether or not the courses are listed on the candidacy form.
  2. Grades of D or F are not accepted for credit for graduation purposes, but these grades are computed in the overall cumulative GPA.
  3. No more than 15 post-baccalaureate hours of 6000-level courses may be applied to a doctoral degree.
  4. No more than seven (7) hours of C, C+, or C- grades will be counted toward degree requirements.
  5. If you were admitted as a Non-Degree student and eventually admitted to a doctoral program, you must have taken at least 2/3 of the credit hours AFTER acceptance.
  6. Do NOT include undergraduate level courses, courses completed for "Audit" credit, or courses dropped or withdrawn on the candidacy form. List only graduate level courses required for your degree program, including all electives -- No excess courses, please.
  7. Course titles listed on the candidacy form may be abbreviated and should be no longer than 100 characters long for both letters and space between words.
  8. If you are currently enrolled in course work and/or dissertation credit, include these courses on the candidacy form. Enter the maximum number of dissertation hours required for your degree in the appropriate field, i.e., 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18,or 30. Do not enter every semester of dissertation enrollment. One entry is sufficient.
    • Doctoral Candidates must register for dissertation credit each academic semester (fall and spring) until the dissertation is completed. Students must also enroll in the summer semester but ONLY if the dissertation will be defended.
    • Failure to continuously enroll in dissertation credit will result in the student being charged back tuition in addition to applicable late fees charges for each semester he/she did not enroll.
    • If you do not complete your dissertation in your intended term of graduation, your graduation application in the MyMemphis portal will be automatically updated by the Graduate School.
  9. If another course was substituted for a required course or for an elective, your major advisor MUST complete an Approved Course Substitution Form and submit to the Graduate School.
  10. If you have transfer credit from another graduate institution that has not been posted to your U of M record, complete an Evaluation of Transfer Credit Form and submit to the Graduate School.If transfer credit has already been posted to your U of M record, complete an Approved Transfer Credit form and submit to the Graduate School.
  11. If you have previously completed a Credit by Examination/Course Validation Examination or are planning to complete either type of examination in your intended term of graduation, indicate the type of credit on your candidacy form in parentheses AFTER you have listed the course title, e.g., LDPS 7130, Microcomputer Application (CBE) or ICL 7001, Fundamentals of Curriculum (CBV).
  12. If you were accepted to a U of M post-baccalaureate doctoral program (e.g., Biology, Economics, History, Mathematical Sciences, Philosophy, Psychology, etc.) with an earned master's degree from another institution, include the total number of hours accepted by your department on the last page of the candidacy form.
  13. List information about your bachelors and master's degrees including the type of degree (BS, BA, BBA, etc.), the year you earned it, and the name of the institution where you earned it. Do not list the degree you are currently applying to graduate with. This information goes in the Commencement program.

If you have questions regarding the completion of the candidacy form, contact the Graduation Analyst in the Graduate School for further information.