Degree Program Time Limits

Students must maintain continuous registration every term in which any degree requirements, including course requirements, dissertation/thesis/research paper and oral defence, are completed. No oral defence will be scheduled or held without registration being completed prior to the proposed date of the defence.

Candidates who fail to maintain continuous registration will be required to withdraw from the program unless they have been granted inactive status.

Master's candidates in full-time programs with normal duration of four or fewer terms will be required to complete the program requirements, including thesis defence (if applicable), in no more than 6 terms. Master's candidates in full-time programs with normal duration of 5 or more terms will be required to complete the program requirements in no more than 9 terms (Note: There are extended time limits for the Master's in Divinity [MDiv] program and for the combined master's program MDiv/MSW offered by Martin Luther University College and the Faculty of Social Work--please consult the appropriate sections of the calendar.)

Master's candidates in part-time programs will be required to complete the program requirements, including thesis defence (if applicable), in no more than 15 terms.

Doctoral students will be required to complete the program requirements, including the dissertation defence, within 12 terms of acceptance from a master's degree, within 15 terms of acceptance from an incomplete master's degree, or within 18 terms of acceptance from a bachelor's degree.

Students who require an extension to their degree program time limits must petition to the Graduate Student Appeals Committee (petition form is available on the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies website). If the petition is not approved or if a student fails to submit a petition, he or she will be withdrawn from the program and will have to apply for readmission.

Note: For students in full-time programs who change their registration status to part-time, 3 terms of part-time registration will be considered equal to 1 term of full-time registration for the purpose of calculating degree program time limits.