From Doctoral Student to Doctoral Candidate: Know thine school’s process
Becoming a “Doctoral Candidate” is a really big deal for doctoral students. It is a title that signifies that you have crossed some serious milestones along your path to the doctorate. It means that you are one step closer to gently requesting or obnoxiously demanding (at the slightest hint of disrespect) to be refereed to as “Dr.” and permanently attaching those 3 little alphabets to your name.
That’s why it’s important to know when you’ve actually earned the title of “Candidate”. I’ve seen some first semester students refer to themselves as doctoral candidates (I blame their advisors for this). I’ve seen others adopt the title as soon as they successfully pass their comprehensive exams. However, it’s been my experience that you are typically not a candidate until you receive an approval back from your University’s Graduate School on your Application/Petition for Admission to Candidacy. In other words, you are not a candidate until your University’s Graduate School says that you are.
Link to UAB’s Admission to Candidacy form.
When I was a doctoral student at the University of Alabama (Roll Tide), I didn’t learn of this document until just before I defended my dissertation proposal. My buddy Justice Tillman admonished me, “Make sure you get your signatures,” and I was like “What signatures?” He just shook his head as if to say to himself, “Do I have to teach this boy everything?” 😂
That’s when I learned that I didn’t become a doctoral candidate once I completed my coursework, nor did I become a candidate once I successfully passed my comprehensive exams. Instead, I wasn’t officially a doctoral candidate until I got that petition back from the Graduate School with the their stamp/seal affixed to it.
So what’s on this funky lil’ piece of paper and what’s so important about it? Well, I’m glad you asked. Although the form differs slightly from University to University, a few things are likely to be common:
- Date that you successfully completed comprehensive/qualifying exams.
- Declaration that you have completed all required coursework for the doctorate (including your Major/Minor where applicable).
- Signatures from your Advisor, Doctoral Coordinator and/or Department Chair.
- Subject/Title of your Dissertation.
- Signatures from each member of your Dissertation Committee signifying that you have successfully defended your dissertation proposal.
IRB Approval: Although I don’t remember this being a requirement for candidacy when I came through the doctoral program at Alabama, at UAB (Go Blazers), if your dissertation requires Human Subjects approval, then your approved IRB protocol number must be included with your petition for candidacy.
So that’s why I encourage all of my Phd Project mentees and phdpreplab students to download/bookmark the Graduate Handbook (partly because you never know when Dr. Super Petty will come with some foolishness). I also encourage them to download/bookmark copies of any other forms needed to successfully get into and through their doctoral programs. The last thing you want are surprises, missed deadlines, red tape or foolishness from Dr. Super Petty and Friends to hinder your matriculation.
What’s been your experience? What does this process/petition look like at your school?
Dr. Hood is an associate professor of management in the Collat School of Business at UAB where he conducts research on conflict, communication and innovation in teams. He is an alum of The PhD Project and founder of the PhD Prep Lab, a research-based startup that attracts, incubates and accelerates PhD-level talent.
