ASK A QUESTION OR SUBMIT FEEDBACK ON THIS POLICY

Effective Date: Fall 2025
Last Reviewed: Summer 2025
Last Revised: Fall 2000
Next Review: Spring 2028

Policy Statement

Kent State stipulates that students must complete all requirements for a graduate program within a defined span of years starting from the most recent term of admission into the program, regardless of whether students are full time or part time.

• Master's and post-master's degrees: six calendar years
• Doctoral degrees: 10 calendar years.
• Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree: six calendar years (includes any leaves of absence, withdrawals or any other interruptions)
• Graduate certificates, minors and non-degree teacher licensure/endorsement programs: six calendar years

Students who do not complete their program by the time limits listed above and who have not been approved for an extension will be designated as inactive and cannot register for future coursework. Individual disciplines may have shorter time limits for their program and for the age of their courses to be applied toward the program, and students should consult their program page in the University Catalog.

Reason for Policy

This policy sets forth the time limits for students in graduate programs to ensure they make adequate and timely progress toward completion and that knowledge acquired in the program is sufficiently current at the time of completion.

Procedures

When an extension of any of these time limits is deemed necessary, students may submit an application to their faculty advisor to request an extension for a maximum three terms (e.g., if the time limit ends at the end of spring semester, the extension will end at the end of the following spring semester). The application must be approved by the faculty advisor and the administrator of the program's academic unit. The student, advisor, program coordinator and college dean will be informed of the final decision in writing.

Requests for extensions beyond the three terms must be approved by the college dean (or designee) in addition to the advisor and the administrator of the program's academic unit.

If the request for an extension is denied, the student will be designated as inactive and cannot register for future coursework after the time limit has been reached.

Forms/Instructions

• Application for Extension of Time Limits
• Graduate Forms Library

Additional Resources

• Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What should I do if I need to step away from my program for a short period due to personal reasons?
   Students who must be away from their studies for one or more terms for personal, family, financial or other compelling reasons may apply for a Leave of Absence policy. Time away under an approved leave of absence will extend your program's time limits with the exception of the D.P.M. degree.
2. I took a Kent State graduate course a year before I started my master’s degree program. Does the six-year time limit start with that course or when I started my master’s degree?
   The time limit starts with the term of admittance to the master's degree.
3. I was admitted into a master’s degree and plan to apply for the Ph.D. degree after that degree. Do I have six years to complete my masters, then another 10 years to complete my doctorate?
   Yes.

Additional FAQ: Time Limits for Graduate Programs

Definitions

• Time limits: The maximum length of time within which a student is required to complete a program.
• Calendar year: A one-year period that starts January 1 and ends December 31.
• Inactive: A student who is ineligible to be registered in any course in a given term.
• Academic unit: An umbrella term that includes an academic department headed by a chair or a school headed by a director or a college without departments or schools headed by a dean.

Related Information

• Admission of Former Graduate Studies
• Leave of Absence for Graduate Students
• Transfer of Graduate Credit

Revision History

Amended August 2025: Revised policy includes all graduate programs, which necessitated policy name change to “Time Limits for Graduate Programs”; removes time limits for passing candidacy and oral examinations; removes requirement that transfer coursework must be earned within six years; increases limit for post-master’s doctoral students, from nine to 10 years, to align with post-master’s doctoral students; clarifies the process that must be completed for an extension to be granted, as well as the actions that will occur when a student is denied an exception; and removes requirement that the application for an extension beyond a year include “evidence that the degree candidate is current in his/her field of study”

Amended August 2000: Revised policy requires departments seeking dean's approval for an extension of students' time limits to provide evidence indicating that students are current in their field of study.