GRADUATE PROGRAM IN VISION SCIENCE - GRADUATE POLICY DOCUMENT -- GRADUATE PROGRAM IN VISION SCIENCE GRADUATE POLICY DOCUMENT (Amended: 7/9/2009) |
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I. DEFINITIONS AND PROCEDURES A. Definitions 1. "Associate Dean" refers to the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs. 2. "Student Committee" refers to the Graduate Committee on Admissions and Course and Standing. 3. "Curriculum Committee" refers to the Committee on Graduate Curriculum. 4. "Graduate Program" refers to the College's Graduate Program in Vision Sciences. 5. "Qualified graduate faculty" refers to any member of the College Faculty who, following the recommendation of the Graduate Qualifications Committee, is formally designated as being qualified for the particular category of responsibilities under discussion. 6. "Academic-year semesters" refers to the Fall and Spring semesters. B. Procedures 1. This Policy Document is subordinate to, and must be interpreted in conformity with, the negotiated agreement with the UUP, the Policies of the Trustees of the State University of New York, and the Faculty Bylaws of the State College of Optometry. 2. This Policy Document shall constitute the Graduate Policy Document referred to in the Faculty Bylaws (Appendix III, Section II). 3. Changes in this Policy Document shall be made in accordance with the procedures described in the Faculty Bylaws (Appendix III, Section II). 4. In the sections that follow, when references are made to recommendations made by either the Student Committee or the Curriculum Committee, the following shall be understood: a. All such recommendations shall be made in writing to the Associate Dean or to whatever person in the Associate Dean's office that the Associate Dean designates. b. The Associate Dean shall either proceed to implement the recommendation OR shall meet with the Committee to discuss its recommendation OR shall respond in writing to the Committee indicating that its recommendation has been rejected or modified. 5. As indicated in several places below, formal communications from students concerning the Graduate Program shall all be made to the Associate Dean's Office. When appropriate, the Associate Dean's Office shall then pass copies of these communications along to the appropriate committee for its consideration. Likewise (with the exception of transcripts, which come from the Registrar), formal communication to students concerning the Graduate Program shall come from the Associate Dean's Office. 6. The Associate Dean shall be informed of all meetings of the Student Committee and the Curriculum Committee and may attend and participate in these meetings. 7. The academic calendar for the Graduate Program shall be prepared and distributed by the office of the Associate Dean. The calendar shall generally incorporate the dates given in these policies, but 8. Every year, prior to the beginning of the Fall semester, the Qualifications Committee shall prepare a list, in accordance with the Faculty Bylaws, of all members of the Graduate Faculty for the coming academic year. This list shall indicate which functions within the Graduate Program each faculty member has been formally qualified to perform. This list shall be sent to the office of the Associate Dean and distributed to all members of the Graduate Faculty. II. ADMISSIONS A. Admissions Decisions 1. Applications for admission to the Graduate Program shall be made to the Associate Dean, whose office shall maintain all admissions records and shall conduct all correspondence with applicants. 2. The Associate Dean's office shall transmit all applications materials to the Student Committee, which shall consider them and convey to the Associate Dean its decisions concerning action to be taken on the application. The Committee may consult other faculty and students as it deems appropriate. It may also interview applicants, when possible, as it deems appropriate. The Associate Dean's office shall inform applicants of the decisions made by the Student Committee. (See section III.A. and note that the Student Committee makes the final decision on admissions, but not on financial support.) 3. Admission is to the Graduate Program is to either the M.S. or Ph.D. program. B. Admission Requirements An applicant for admission must have completed the following requirements within the past ten years: a. Baccalaureate degree, or a professional degree in a health science b. Graduate Record Examination (aptitude test), or at the discretion of the Student Committee, the OAT or other similar examination. c. Ability to express oneself clearly in both written and spoken English. Foreign applicants from non-English speaking countries are required to submit the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores. d. Letters of recommendation (3) from professors e. Official Transcripts of all college and post-graduate work, (including 1st semester or quarter of senior year) f. Under special circumstances, the Student Committee may recommend waiving some of the requirements for admission. C. Admissions Timetable 1. Students will normally be admitted only to the Fall semester, but the Student Committee may, at its discretion, recommend that a student be admitted to any other semester. 2. Completed applications normally must be received not later than 1 March for admission to the Fall semester, but the Student Committee may, at its discretion, recommend the acceptance of a late application. 3. For applications completed by 1 March, notification of acceptance or rejection shall be sent to the applicant not later than 1 April. D. Admission with advanced standing 1. A student who has been admitted to the Graduate Program may apply to the Associate Dean for transfer credit for graduate level work completed at another institution. The Student Committee shall then assess the work that has been completed and make its recommendation concerning what transfer credit to grant. Transfer credit shall be indicated as such on the student's transcript, and no grade shall be assigned to it, nor shall it be counted in the determination of the student's G.P.A. III. FINANCIAL AID, AWARDS, AND ASSISTANTSHIPS A. Recommendations concerning granting of financial aid and awards and the assignment of graduate assistantships shall be made by the Student Committee. B. Students shall receive graduate assistantship support only for those semesters during which they are enrolled full-time in the graduate program. IV. ADVISORS A. Every graduate student must have a graduate advisor, whose role shall be to help the student plan her or his course of study, to direct the student's research, and to assist the Associate Dean and Student Committee in their periodic assessments of the student's progress. B. A student's advisor shall be selected by the student, with the consent of the chosen advisor, from among the appropriately qualified graduate faculty. C. It shall be the responsibility of the Associate Dean to inform students concerning available advisors and to inform all qualified faculty of students who are in need of advisors. D. An advisor should be selected no later than by the end of the student's third academic-year semester in the graduate program. The Associate Dean shall appoint, with his or her consent, an interim advisor to students who have not yet selected an advisor. E. A student may change to a new advisor at any time, with the consent of the newly chosen advisor. F. A student shall signify her or his choice of advisor, or change in advisor, by a written statement, signed by both the student and the chosen advisor, filed with the office of the Associate Dean. In the case of a change of advisor, the office of the Associate Dean shall send a copy of the statement to the previous advisor. G. At least once a year, the Student Committee shall meet with the Representative of the Graduate Program and the Associate Dean to discuss the assignment or change of assignment of qualified Faculty members as advisors to graduate students. V. REGISTRATION AND MAINTENANCE OF MATRICULATION A. Registration 1. Each student's registration form must be approved in writing by her or his advisor and filed with the Associate Dean before the beginning of the semester or as specified in the academic calendar. B. Adding Courses 1. With the written approval of the instructor and the written approval of the student's advisor, a student may add courses to his or her program. Notification of such additions, along with the written approvals, must be filed with the office of the Associate Dean within the first two weeks of the semester. C. Withdrawal from Courses 1. A student may withdraw from a course within the first four weeks of the course without the registration or withdrawal being recorded on the transcript. 2. A student withdrawing within the first four weeks must give written notice to both the Associate Dean and the instructor in writing of his/her intention to withdraw. D. Requirements for Active Status 1. To maintain active full-time status, students normally must maintain registration in at least 12 semester-hours of graduate credit in each of the academic-year semesters (Fall, and Spring). With the written approval of her or his advisor, a student may petition the Associate Dean to be granted full-time status for a particular semester while maintaining registration for as few as 9 semester-hours of credit. A recommendation to approve such a petition shall be at the discretion of the Student Committee. Students enrolled for fewer than 9 credits shall be considered part-time. 2. To maintain active combined program or part-time status, students normally must maintain registration for at least one graduate credit (including research done for graduate credit) per academic-year semester. 3. Failure to maintain active status, without formal leave of absence, for more than one academic-year semester, consecutively, shall result in dismissal from the graduate program. E. Leaves of Absence 1. A student may request a leave of absence by petitioning in writing to the Associate Dean. Such requests are generally for medical or emergency reasons. VI. GRADES, PROBATION, AND DISMISSAL A. Letter Grades and Credit-only Grades 1. The letter grades are "A", "B", "C", "D", and "F". Of these grades, "A", "B", and "C" are passing grades and receive full graduate credit, while "D" and "F" are failing grades and receive no graduate credit. 2. All graduate courses with the exception of research and independent study must be taken for letter grades. 3. The credit-only grades are P and U. 4. Research or independent study shall be taken for a credit-only grade. 5. The instructor of each course is responsible for determining the procedures to be used in evaluating performance for the course and is responsible for informing the students of these procedures at the beginning of the course. B. Incomplete Grades 1. A grade of "I"--incomplete--indicates that the requirements of the course have not been completed by the end of the grading period but that the work that has been done has been at a passing level. A grade of "I" may be given at the discretion of the instructor. 2. An "I" grade must be replaced by a letter grade or credit-only grade no later than the end of the following semester. An "I" grade that has not been replaced by this time will be automatically converted to an "F" or a "U" grade. Under exceptional circumstances the course instructor may grant an extension of one semester to this period. The instructor is to notify the Associate Dean's office in writing of any extension that is granted. After the "I" grade has been replaced, the student's transcript shall not indicate that the initial grade received in the course was an "I". C. Submission of Grades 1. Instructors shall submit course grades to the Registrar within 1 week of end of the final exam period. 2. A grade may be changed by the instructor of the course at any time after the grades for the course have been submitted, but only in the event that the original grade issued was in error. A written statement of such a grade change is to be submitted by the instructor to the Registrar and to the Associate Dean. D. Notification of Grades 1. Following every academic semester, each student will receive by mail from the Registrar a transcript of his/her grades. Grades with students' names should not be posted or otherwise made public. 2. The Registrar shall also send a copy of each transcript to the Associate Dean, who shall make it available to the Student Committee and to the student's advisor. E. Grade Point Average (G.P.A.) 1. In calculating a student's grade point average, the quarter- hour credit assigned to a course is multiplied by the numerical weight of the grade received in the course. The numerical weights of the letter grades are as follows: 2. If a student repeats a graduate course for any reason, the student's transcript shall show this and shall show both the first and second grades received. The grades and the credit hours shall each be averaged in calculating the student's cumulative grade point average. 3. Following every academic semester, cumulative G.P.A.s shall be calculated by the Registrar and recorded on the students' transcripts. F. Academic Probation and Dismissal 1. Students are expected to maintain a cumulative graduate grade point average of at least 3.00. 2. Starting with the end of a student's second academic semester in the graduate program, a student who, following the end of a semester or evaluation period, has a cumulative graduate G.P.A. of less than 3.00 or who has received a grade of "D" or "F" in any graduate course in the semester just completed, shall be placed on automatic academic probation. 3. A student may also be placed on academic probation if he or she is judged not to be making satisfactory progress toward the degree for which he or she is a candidate. In such cases explicit conditions should be specified that the student must meet during the next academic semester to be removed from academic probation. 4. When a student's academic performance does not yet warrant probation but appears to be in danger of doing so, a letter of warning may be sent. The Student Committee shall recommend to the Associate Dean that the student and his/her advisor receive written notification that the student is in jeopardy of being placed on probation. In such cases explicit conditions should be specified that the student must meet to avoid being placed on probation. 5. A student whose performance warrants automatic academic probation for two consecutive academic semesters or evaluation periods, or who fails to meet the conditions specified when he or she was placed on probation may be dismissed from the Graduate Program. 6. Prior to making a recommendation of dismissal, the Student Committee shall consult with the student's advisor and shall offer the student an opportunity to meet with the Committee. 7. A student shall be informed in writing of academic probation or dismissal. A copy of any such communications shall be sent to the student's advisor. 8. Decisions concerning probation and dismissal shall be made and communicated within the first two weeks of the semester following the semester under consideration. A student who is dismissed shall be allowed to complete the semester during which the decision is made. Prior commitments of financial support shall be honored during this period. G. Transcripts and record-keeping 1. The Registrar shall maintain official graduate transcripts for each graduate student. The transcript shall be a chronological record of each course taken, the course's instructor, the credit assigned to the course, the grade received, and the G.P.A. The transcript shall include an explanation of the Program's grading system and an explanation of the course numbering (GP100-level, GM200-level, etc.). Any credit awarded for prior academic work shall also be noted on the transcript. 2. Copies of all records pertinent to each student's admission to and progress through the Graduate program shall be kept by the Associate Dean and made available to the Student Committee as requested. VII. GRADUATE COURSES AND CREDIT A. Graduate credit for professional courses 1. Certain courses in the profession curriculum have been designated as courses that may be taken for graduate credit. The Curriculum Committee may recommend additions to or deletions from this list. 2. The graduate credit assigned to professional level courses shall be computed as one 4. Students in the OD/MS program who wish to receive graduate credit for professional courses that they are taking as part of their professional program requirements must follow the usual procedures for registration in (or withdrawal from) graduate courses. Otherwise, they will not receive graduate credit for the courses and the courses will not appear on their graduate transcripts. 5. Students entering the OD/MS program may petition the Associate Dean, as described above, for graduate credit for G100 level courses already completed in the professional program. Ordinarily such credit shall be granted for such courses in which the student received an "A" or a "B". The graduate transcript shall not include grades for work completed prior to entering the graduate program and such grades shall not be counted in computing the student's G.P.A. B. Graduate Seminars and Tutorials 1. All graduate seminars/tutorials on the options list shall be designated as GM200-level 2. Other graduate seminars/tutorials shall be designated as GE300 level courses. 3. Proposals for graduate courses must be submitted to the Associate Dean no later than the third week of the semester prior to the semester in which the seminar is proposed to be offered. The Curriculum Committee shall consider such proposals and shall recommend whether the proposal be accepted, rejected, or modified as to content and amount of meeting time and associated credit. C. Credit for research and independent study 1. Students working toward the M.S. degree may register for and receive credit for their research activities. Such credit shall be designated at the GM200-level. 2. Students may register for and receive credit for independent study. Such credit shall be at the G300-level. 3. Students working toward the Ph.D. degree may register for and receive credit for their research activities. Such credit shall be designated at the GD400-level. 4. To receive graduate credit for research or independent study in a given semester, a student must follow the usual procedures for registration in (or withdrawal from) graduate courses and so must have the signed consent of the advisor. They must also have the signed consent of the person supervising the research or independent study, if different from the advisor. 5. In general, it shall be expected that a student do at least 2 hours of work per week for each one semester-hour of credit for research. 6. Research shall receive credit-only grades. 1. A student enrolled in the graduate program may, with the written approval of his or her advisor, petition the Associate Dean to receive graduate credit for courses, seminars, or research to be undertaken at another institution. Regarding research, when the majority of it is being done off campus, the Office of the Associate Dean and the Student Committee should be notified. Subsequently, after due consideration, the Student Committee should make a recommendation to the Associate Dean. Petitions must be made no later than the beginning of the quarter prior to the quarter in which such work is to be done. 2. Such petitions shall be considered by the Curriculum Committee, which shall make a recommendation on granting or denying credit, and may also recommend conditions that must be met (in terms of grade earned, supervision, reporting, etc.) for credit to be granted. VIII. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE M.S. DEGREE A. Completion of the curriculum requirements (see Section IX). B. Completion of at least 40 semester-hours of graduate credit, at least 20 of which must be at the GM200-level or above. Up to 20 semester-hours of graduate credit may be earned at another institution (either prior to or following enrollment in this program), but at least 20 semester-hours (including research credit) at the GM200-level or above must be completed in this program. C. A cumulative graduate grade point average of at least 3.00. D. Completion of the Master's Research requirement (see section X.). E. All graduate students are expected to attend a minimum of six (6) of the SIVR Colloquia and VisionNYC , Journal Club or Scientific Meetings such as ARVO or the Academy of Optometry presented each academic year. F. All requirements for the M.S. degree must be completed within 5 years of starting the program. G. M.S. degrees may be awarded two times a year, near the end of each semester. (Commencement ceremonies are held once a year, near the end of the Spring semester, for all degrees awarded during the past year.) H. When a student has completed all the requirements for the M.S. degree, the student may file a written request for the degree with the office of the Associate Dean. The first day of each semester is the deadline for filing a request to receive a degree near the end of that semester. I. At the time of filing a request for the M.S. degree, the student must also indicate whether he or she wishes to be considered for admission to the Ph.D. program. J. Following a written request for the degree, the Student Committee shall examine the student's credentials and, if all the requirements have been completed, shall recommend to the Associate Dean that the student be awarded the degree of M.S. in Vision Science at the next opportunity. Awarding of the degree shall be subject to verification by the Registrar that all requirements have been completed. IX. M.S. CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS A. The Core Curriculum 1. To qualify for the M.S. degree, students enrolled in the OD/MS Program must pass the following professional program courses: 2. All students must also pass the GM200-level Introduction to Statistical Methods (GM201). 3. To qualify for the M.S. degree, all students must pass the seminar GM219: Ethics in Research. 4. The published description of each core course shall list any courses or material prerequisite or co-requisite to that course. Students must meet these requirements to the satisfaction of the course instructor. B. The Options List 1. To qualify for the M.S. degree, a student must pass five (5) of the following GM200-level seminars: 2. Each of the above seminars shall be a 2-credit course. 3. Seminars in the above areas are expected to be somewhat broad, rather than narrowly specialized, but are not necessarily expected to cover all of the topic area or to cover exactly the same ground every time they are offered. (A student may, with the permission of his or her advisor, take more than one seminar in the same topic area, but is still required to take seminars in five distinct options list areas.) 4. A student taking an options list seminar must also satisfy the prerequisites and co-requisites for the seminar. 5. Each time an options list seminar is to be offered, a proposal concerning the topics to be covered must be submitted to the Associate Dean no later than the third week of the semester prior to the semester in which the seminar is to be offered. The Curriculum Committee shall consider the proposal and recommend whether it is appropriate in content and breadth for the options list area or needs to be modified. If necessary, the Curriculum Committee shall also recommend whether the proposed seminar is sufficiently different in content from a previous seminar in that options area so that a student taking both seminars could receive separate graduate credit for each of them. 6. By the end of the semester during which an options list seminar is offered, a complete reading list for the seminar must be requested and received by the Associate Dean to be put on file. 7. The Associate Dean is requested to make every reasonable effort to ensure that at least two options list seminars are offered every academic semester and to plan and announce the scheduling of these offerings at least two years in advance. C. Exemptions from required courses 2. The instructor may use any appropriate evaluative method in deciding on whether to recommend the exemption and shall transmit his or her recommendation in writing to the Associate Dean. X. M.S. RESEARCH A. Each OD/MS student must write a paper based on the student's research activities. The paper must be of publication quality and submitted to a refereed journal with the student as first author (or second author if the first author is the student’s advisor). B. The paper must be approved by an ad hoc committee, consisting of the student's advisor, as chair, and two other members of the Graduate Faculty. This committee shall be appointed by the Associate Dean in consultation with the student's advisor and the Student Committee. The ad hoc committee may if it desires make use of consultants not on the committee. XI. PH.D. IN VISION SCIENCE A. Requirements for the Ph.D. 1. Complete at least 80 semester credits. (See Ph.D. Curriculum requirements Section XI.B) Candidates are encouraged, in consultation with their advisors, to take advance seminars and tutorials and relevant course work. 2. Be enrolled full-time for at least 2 consecutive semesters. 3. All graduate students are expected to attend at least 75% of the SIVR Colloquia, VisioNYC, and Journal Club presented each academic year. 4. All Ph.D. students are expected to give a minimum of one conference presentation during Year 3, and at least one presentation during Year 4 or 5. In addition, Ph.D. students are required to give one journal club presentation each year starting with year 2. 5. All Ph.D. students are required to make an oral presentation of the work done after each year. (See Section XID on Oral Presentations.) 6. Take and pass a specialty area examination (see Section XIF). 7. Have a dissertation approved (see Section XIH). 8. Ph.D. degrees may be awarded two times a year, near the end of the Fall and Spring semester. (Commencement ceremonies are held once a year, near the end of the Spring semester, for all degrees awarded during the year. 9. When a student has completed all the requirements for the Ph.D. degree, the student may file a written request for the degree with the office of the Associate Dean. The first day of each semester is the deadline for filing a request to receive a degree near the end of that semester. 10. Following a written request for the degree, the Student Committee shall examine the student's credentials and, if all the requirements have been completed, shall recommend to the Associate Dean that the student be awarded the degree of Ph.D. in Vision Science at the next opportunity. Awarding of the degree shall be subject to verification by the Registrar that all requirements have been completed. B. Ph.D. Core Curriculum Requirements 1. To qualify for the Ph.D. degree, students must pass the following courses: GM230 Introduction to Vision Science – Part I 3. All students must also pass GM200-level Introduction to Statistical Methods (GM201). 4. To qualify for the Ph.D. degree, all students must pass the seminar GM219: Ethics in Research. 5. Ph.D. students are required to complete two lab rotations during the first year in the program, one during the Fall semester and a second in the Spring semester. 6. The published description of each core course shall list any courses or material prerequisite or co-requisite to that course. Students must meet these requirements to the satisfaction of the course instructor. 7. To qualify for the Ph.D. degree, a student must pass five (5) of the following GM200-level seminars/tutorials from the Options List: 8. Each of the above seminars/tutorials shall be a 2-credit course. 9. Seminars/tutorials in the above areas are expected to be somewhat broad, rather than narrowly specialized, but are not necessarily expected to cover all of the topic area or to cover exactly the same ground every time they are offered. (A student may, with the permission of his or her advisor, take more than one seminar in the same topic area, but is still required to take seminars in five distinct options list areas.) 10. A student taking an options list seminar or tutorial must also satisfy the prerequisites and co-requisites for the seminar. 11. Each time an options list seminar/tutorial is to be offered, a proposal concerning the topics to be covered must be submitted to the Associate Dean no later than the third week of the semester prior to the semester in which the seminar is to be offered. The Curriculum Committee shall consider the proposal and recommend whether it is appropriate in content and breadth for the options list area or needs to be modified. If necessary, the Curriculum Committee shall also recommend whether the proposed seminar/tutorial is sufficiently different in content from a previous seminar in that options area so that a student taking both seminars could receive separate graduate credit for each of them. 12. By the end of the semester during which an options list seminar/tutorial is offered, a complete reading list for the seminar must be requested and received by the Associate Dean to be put on file. 13. The Associate Dean is requested to make every reasonable effort to ensure that at least two options list seminars are offered every academic semester and to plan and announce the scheduling of these offerings at least two years in advance. C. Exemptions from required courses 1. A student may, on the basis of previous work, request an exemption either from a required course in the core curriculum or from a required prerequisite or co-requisite to a core curriculum course or to an options list seminar. Such requests shall be made by petition in writing to the instructor of the core course or the options list seminar. 2. The instructor may use any appropriate evaluative method in deciding on whether to recommend the exemption and shall transmit his or her recommendation in writing to the Associate Dean. D. Required Oral Presentations 1. Each Ph.D. student is required to make an oral presentation of the work done after each year. The presentation will last 15 minutes, with 5 minutes for questioning by the Graduate Faculty. The presentation will be evaluated by an Oral Presentation Committee, consisting of the student’s two lab rotation supervisors from the Fall and Spring semester of the first year, and a third member appointed by the Associate Dean. 2. In subsequent years, the presentation will be evaluated by the student’s Dissertation Committee. 3. The student’s oral presentation will be evaluated on the quality of their research as well as their presentation skills on a five point scale. This grade will be part of the students official transcript. If the Oral Presentation Committee or in subsequent years, the Dissertation Committee, rates the students’ presentation as below satisfactory, the student will be referred to the Graduate Students Committee for consideration of dismissal from the program. E. Dissertation Committee 1. Each student’s Dissertation Research Committee must be formed by the end of the first semester of their 2nd Year in the program. F. Specialty Area Examination 1. The Specialty Area Exam must be submitted by the end of Year 2. It should cover the background and literature sections of the Ph.D. dissertation in the following form: A written exam in NRSA form to include:
2. The student will be required to provide an oral defense of this written exam which will be graded by the student’s Dissertation Research Committee. G. Dissertation Proposal 1. Students are required to successfully defend a Ph.D. proposal in NRSA form before the end of Year 3. After the proposal is reviewed and approved by the student’s Dissertation Committee, it should be submitted to NIH or a suitable funding source. Students are encouraged to submit the proposal to the Dissertation Committee by the beginning of the Year 3. H. Dissertation 1. An oral dissertation defense will be conducted by the Dissertation Committee, augmented by a member appointed from outside the College by the Associate Dean in consultation with the Student Committee. It is expected that in-house members of the Dissertation Committee will have been kept informed of progress on the dissertation during the conduct of research. 2. A portion of their public dissertation defense will consist of a SIVR Colloquium. 3. Interested members of the graduate faculty may attend the dissertation defense and may 4. Approval of the dissertation must be unanimous. Signatures of all members of the Dissertation Committee (including its outside member) indicating approval are necessary. 5. Final, approved copies of the dissertation must be submitted to the Associate Dean not later than 5 years after admission to candidacy. (Back to Outline) |