Advancement to Candidacy Policy | 2026-27 Academic Catalog

Advancement to Candidacy is awarded when a doctoral student has completed all preparatoryphases of their doctoral work and is ready to enter the culminating task of the doctoral process, that of completing the dissertation (PhD and EdD students) or the clinical case study (PsyD students). Doctoral students are advanced to candidacy once all of the following requirements have been met:

Psychology

All coursework is completed.
Fieldwork and psychotherapy requirements are completed.
Dissertation Proposal has been successfully defended (PhD) or the first three chapters of the Clinical Case Study have been successfully completed.
Financial obligations have been met.

Education

All coursework is completed.
Creative Action Project and its associated final paper are completed.
Dissertation Proposal has been successfully defended.
Financial obligations have been met.

After certain thresholds, the student’s record is proactively reviewed to assess whether the student qualifies for Advancement to Candidacy. These thresholds take place after the Proposal has been successfully defended (for PhD and EdD students) and after the first three chapters of the clinical case study have been completed. If other requirements needed for Advancement to Candidacy have not yet been met at the time of this review, the student will not qualify for this designation. Once these requirements have been met and the student wishes to determine if Advancement to Candidacy can be granted, it is the student’s responsibility to request this review.In accordance with ethical standards, students who are advanced to candidacy may not represent themselves as “PhD or PsyD candidate,” or “EdD candidate,” nor publish information listing themselves as “PhD or PsyD (cand.),” or “EdD (cand.),” or “PhD (c), PsyD (c)” or “EdD (c).” All of these are potentially misleading to the non-academic public, potentially appearing as if the student has already earned the PhD, PsyD, or EdD. However, calling one’s self a “doctoral candidate,” is certainly acceptable.