How often do I need to meet with my committee?
Students need to meet with their committee at least once every 12 months.

Do I advance to candidacy after passing the Qualifying Exam?
Possibly.  Students can apply for admission to candidacy after passing the Qualifying Exam or they can wait until they pass their Proposal Defense, which ideally occurs before the end of the student's fourth year in the program.  A reason a student might choose to delay advancing to candidacy is because they want to take courses before they are registered for dissertation credits.

What is the difference between the NACS 898 and 899 courses?
NACS 898 is the dissertation course for students who have not yet advanced to candidacy. NACS 899 is the dissertation course taken after the student advances to candidacy. Each Fall and Spring semester after a student has advanced to candidacy, the Registrar's Office will automatically register the student for six credits of NACS 899 until the student graduates.

Can students earn a Master's Degree while in the NACS PhD program?
Yes.  Students in the NACS program can earn a non-thesis MS degree or a thesis MS degree en route to their PhD.  Detailed information about the non-thesis MS degree and the thesis MS degree is available in the NACS Graduate Handbook.

Registrar's Office FAQs