Advancement to Candidacy

Passing the Qualifying Exam advances the student to candidacy, effectively changing their status from doctoral student to doctoral candidate (in-candidacy). 

The University will not allow students to register for the fall quarter following the advancement deadline or receive any financial support unless they have successfully advanced to candidacy. All required coursework must be completed before a student is permitted to advance. 
 
The Graduate Council requires that students Advance to Candidacy a minimum of three quarters (not including summer) prior to their final dissertation defense. This requirement may be waived under special circumstances. 

Preparation for Advancement 

NEUG 280 Minor Proposition should prepare NGP students to present their written proposal. Two years of Research Rounds should provide some insights into presenting research findings in an oral presentation. Proactive students will make sure they present to G1 and G2 students if they would like to hone in on their presentation skills. 

Students should plan to advance in the Spring Quarter of G3. They should have a complete and confirmed doctoral committee by the end of Fall Quarter G3. This should allow for an entire quarter to schedule their committee members in time for Spring Quarter.  

Written Proposal 

Students should leverage the skills and knowledge in Minor Prop (NEUG 280) to outline and strengthen their written proposal.  The written proposal is modeled after a predoctoral NRSA (F31) application. The proposal should be at least 5 pages.  Students should: 

• Summarize previous work and may include a review of literature. 

• Articulate the goals of your dissertation project and its significance 

• Detail the experimental design methods and how this will impact the goal of the project 

• Present your progress to date (experiments, analyses, findings) 

• Include Figures and visuals  

• Include a timeline for the remaining research and dissertation writing 

Advisor Approval and Submission to Committee 

Students should review the proposal with their advisor before submission to the committee. The final proposal should be shared with the committee members at least a week before the meeting.  

Oral Presentation and Committee Feedback 

The meeting is structures as a formal presentation and evaluation. Students should start the meeting with a quick summary of completed program requirements. You may include coursework, TAship, and other accomplishments, specifically: Publications (or contributions), Fellowships or awards, and Conference Presentations/Talks. 

The bulk of the meeting should be your research proposal. Provide a clear overview of the dissertation project utilizing your written proposal. Present your data from completed experiments if applicable. Lastly, you should have a timeline for completing your dissertation.  

The doctoral committee will evaluate your ability to independently defend your research, rationale and plans. They will assess if your research plan is feasible and may have some revisions. They should also estimate the time required to complete yoru dissertation.  

Filing: The Program Administrator will file your Advancement to Candidacy exam via Docusign if a notice is sent in due time. These are filed the day of or morning after your advancement exam. Detailed information is on the Neurograd Website as filing processes tend to change. All committee members must sign first before it reaches central UCSD offices. Students will be assessed a filing fee which they are responsible for.