PhD | Candidacy Requirement

Overview

Students are expected to be admitted for candidacy by the end of the second year of doctoral study. Candidacy makes you eligible for the post-candidacy rate and sets your five-year time clock in motion to complete the rest of your PhD requirements. 

Eligibility requirements:

• Students have permanently aligned with an advisor/s. Aligning with an advisor outside of the CS Department will require a CS co-advisor (courtesy faculty do not count).
• Have completed three (3) foundation/breadth requirements; this could be a combination of foundation and breadth courses taken as a current CS PhD student (foundation waivers do not count). For more information, please visit: Foundation & Breadth Requirements.
• Have completed at least a three-unit graduate-level course with each of the four instructors who are members of the Academic Council as a CS PhD student.

Units that count towards candidacy:

• Courses taken as a CS PhD student to satisfy foundation and breadth requirements.
• Rotation units and courses taken outside the CS Department as long as a Stanford faculty member teaches them.
• A total of 10 units of PE courses.

Units that do not count towards candidacy:

• Any foundation courses that are waived.

If you have any questions regarding your eligibility for candidacy, please email phdstudentservices@cs.stanford.edu

How to fill out your form?

Candidacy for Doctoral Degree Application

1. Enter the student information.
2. Fill out Section A. Doctoral Course Requirements.
   • All completed coursework and/or research units are listed in section 1. All planned coursework and/or research units in section two.
   • Include the total units per section. Units should total 135 or more.
   • A total of 10 units of PE courses can be counted towards this.
3. Sections B, C, and D are optional. Not required.
4. You should sign and date the form.
5. Your advisor should sign as Principal Dissertation Adviser. If you have an advisor outside of the CS Department and a CS co-advisor, then your primary advisor will sign under Principal Dissertation Adviser, and your CS co-adviser under Program Adviser.
   • The advisor's signature (s) indicate the academic adequacy of the proposed program of study.
   • An email confirmation from an advisor (s) to the PhD Student Services Office email is an acceptable form of signature.
6. Students are not required to collect the Department Chair’s Signature. Once your advisor (s) have signed, please submit it to the PhD Student Services Office.
7. The PhD Student Services Office then reviews the form to make sure that it accurately reflects the University and Departmental requirements.
8. An email confirmation will be sent once the form is approved.

Deadline

Submit your Candidacy form (PDF) to phdstudentservices@cs.stanford.edu a week before the Preliminary Study List Deadline of the quarter you are applying for.

What does Candidacy mean?

The candidacy form serves as a "contract" between the Department and the student. The Department acknowledges that the student is a bona fide candidate for the PhD and agrees that the program submitted by the student is sufficient to warrant granting the PhD upon completion. The Department may not change requirements unilaterally. The student may petition the Department for modification of their program.

Candidacy expires five years from the date of submission of the candidacy form, rounded to the end of the quarter. In special cases, the Department may extend a student's candidacy; however, it is under no obligation to do so.