Candidacy, Normative Time, and Filing Fee
It is essential that you understand the details of the various fee reduction programs at U.C. Berkeley, as they form an important part of your overall support package. Decisions regarding timing in fulfilling various departmental requirments, completing exams, filing for advancement and temporary withdrawals can all affect your eligibility for these important forms of support.
Candidacy
When a student has satisfied the language requirement, passed the oral qualifying examination, and has the prospectus approved by the thesis adviser, the student submits an application for advancement to candidacy to the Graduate Division. This application, available in Graduate Degrees, online, and in departmental offices, must be signed by the graduate adviser and the chair of the dissertation committee and accompanied by a check for $65 made payable to the UC Regents.
The advancement form should be filed no later than the end of the semester following the one in which the student passed the qualifying examination. Students who fail to file for advancement soon after they pass their exams may jeopardize the validity of the exam; qualifying examinations more than five years old will usually not be accepted as representing current knowledge. In addition, in order to qualify for the DNTF (see below), you must time your orals so that they are taken at least 3 months before the deadline to Advance to Candidacy so that you will have sufficient time for completion and approval of your prospectus (a departmental requirement before the Graduate Advisor will sign approval for you to Advance). Remember that your dissertation advisor must also sign your Advancement forms; therefore, do not neglect to secure both these signatures before faculty leave during the summer.
Reduction in Nonresident Tuition
Effective in fall 1997 for graduate students who have been advanced to candidacy for the doctorate, the annual nonresident tuition fee is reduced by 75 percent, subject to the understanding that:
(a) a graduate doctoral student may receive the reduced nonresident tuition rate for a maximum calendar period of three years; and
(b) any such student who continues to be enrolled or who re-enrolls after the three-year period will be charged the full nonresident tuition rate that is in effect at the time.
Normative Time Program
Normative Time is the elapsed time, calculated to the nearest semester, that students would need to complete all requirements for the doctorate, assuming that they are engaged in full-time study and making adequate progress toward their degrees. The purpose of the program is to provide incentives to both students and departments to reduce the average amount of time taken to complete a doctoral degree.
There are two parts to Normative Time for each program: Normative Time to Advancement and Normative Time in Candidacy. The first represents the number of semesters expected for you to have completed all of your course requirements, pass your PhD exams, have your prospectus approved and be able to file for Advancement to Candidacy. The second represents the remaining semesters that you will still be within Normative Time for completion of your dissertation.
For the Demography Phd, Normative Time is as follows:
- Normative Time to Advnacement: 6 semesters
- Normative Time in Candidacy: 4 semesters
- Total Normative Time: 10 semesters
For the Sociology/Demography Phd, Normative Time is as follows:
- Normative Time to Advnacement: 8 semesters
- Normative Time in Candidacy: 4 semesters
- Total Normative Time: 12 semesters
Students who are advanced within the normative time for advancement to candidacy established for their majors will receive a two-semester stipend of $14,000 plus fees (and nonresident tuition for international students) those who are advanced within the following year will receive a one-semester stipend of $7,000 plus fees (and nonresident tuition for international students)
Also, in order to qualify, students must be in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 3.0. They are required to file their applications for Advancement to Doctoral Candidacy by the DNTF deadline established for the required semester for completing this benchmark as established by their disciplines. Eligibility is based on the date of filing the Advancement application in the Graduate Division, not on the date the Qualifying Examination was passed.
Approved Withdrawals for DNTF Purposes
A maximum of two semesters of withdrawal (documented by formal petition) are allowed and will not count in calculating a student's eligibility for medical and parental leave only. Unlike past normative time programs, a withdrawal for research or other academic purposes will count in accrued time. If no withdrawal form is filed, the interim semesters will count in accrued time. Retroactive withdrawals will not be permitted for purposes of the calculation of Normative Time.
Claiming the DNTF Award
Students must be registered by university deadlines in the semester(s) they intend to receive this fellowship. Since the DNTF pays for fees, this means that students are responsible for enrolling in 8 units and removing any blocks they might have. After their advancement, students may claim their award in any subsequent semester(s) remaining within their major's normative time. These fellowships should allow students to make substantial progress on their dissertations without the need to work. For this reason, students may not hold employment when utilizing their award. Students may use this fellowship after advancement to candidacy and before the expiration of normative time for completion of the doctorate in their disciplines. Demography students should consult with the Graduate Advisor and Graduate Assistant in order to coordinate acceptance of the DTNF with promised or possible departmental support.
The Degrees and Petitions office has additional information on the Dean's Normative Time Fellowship and updates on filing deadlines.
Time in Candidacy, Lapsing, Reinstatement, and Termination of Candidacy
Candidacy for the doctorate is of limited duration. When students are advanced to candidacy, the Graduate Division informs them of the number of semesters they are eligible to be candidates, based on time in candidacy, or Normative Time, calculations for each discipline. Students who do not complete the requirements within that time, plus a two-year grace period, will have their candidacy lapsed by the Graduate Division.
Filing Fee
The Filing Fee is a reduced fee for graduate students who have completed all requirements for the degree except for filing the master's thesis or doctoral dissertation or taking the final comprehensive examination for the master's degree or the Final Examination for the doctorate. The Filing Fee is not a form of registration or equivalent to registration. If students wish to use University services that are supported by registration fees, they must pay those fees.
The current amount of the Filing Fee is $178.25, which is equal to one-half the University Registration Fee.
Starting in fall semester, 2002, those who are on Filing Fee, and thus are not registered and enrolled, will not be approved for academic student appointments. The Filing Fee will apply for the length of the semester for which Filing Fee status has been approved, up to the deadline for filing for a degree in that semester. These dates vary from year to year, but are approximately December 20 and May 25 of each year.
The Filing Fee may be used only once. However, students currently in graduate programs who have used the Filing Fee to file for a master's degree in spring semester, 2002, or in a prior semester, will be permitted to apply for Filing Fee for the doctoral degree.
Students may file for graduate degrees during the Summer Sessions if they are registered and enrolled. Degrees for which students file in Summer Sessions will be awarded as of the end of the following fall semester. Summer Sessions enrollment, for purposes of the regulations covered in this memo, must be for a minimum of four units. The current fee for Summer Sessions is on the order of $114 per unit for an undergraduate course and $142 per unit for a graduate level course.
As in the past, to be approved for the Filing Fee, students will have to have been continuously enrolled during all periods of study and research that have required use of University facilities or faculty consultation. Two semesters of approved withdrawal are permitted, but the student must be registered in the semester (or in a Summer Session) immediately preceding the one for which Filing Fee status is requested.
Students must apply for the Filing Fee by the end of the first week of classes of the semester in which they intend to file.
Filing Fee status satisfies the registration requirement for international students. They should contact Services for International Students and Scholars (SISS) well before the beginning of the semester during which they will use the Filing Fee in order to avoid visa problems with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
If it is determined that a student is ineligible for Filing Fee status, the student will be required to pay full registration fees to complete final requirements for the degree.
Students on Filing Fee status may not take course work or use any University facilities not available to the general public. They are eligible only for the faculty time necessary for a final reading of a thesis or dissertation or judging a final examination. Students must be registered in order to receive advice on academic requirements by a faculty member, whether the faculty member is out-of-town, on sabbatical, or temporarily off the UC payroll.