Degree Time Limits

Calculating Your Maximum Time to Degree 

KU and your department monitor your time in the program to ensure you are staying within the maximum time limits to complete your degree, set by University policy:

• Master’s degree only – 7 years
• Doctoral degree only – 8 years
• Master’s and doctoral degree within the same academic department – 10 years

Time limits are calculated from the beginning of your first semester of enrollment as a degree-seeking student in the department offering the degree. For example, a master’s student who started enrolling in their program in Fall 2023 would have to complete their degree by the end of Summer 2030.  

If in the event you complete a master's degree, leave KU or your program, and then return at a later date to complete a doctoral degree in the same department, you still have a combined maximum of 10 years to complete both degrees. The period between completion of your master's and start of the doctoral program is not calculated in the time to degree. For example, a student who completes a terminal master's degree in History in three years, leaves KU after graduation, and then applies to the History PhD program two years later would be allowed up to seven years to complete the doctoral degree upon re-admission.  

Again, this is only true for degrees obtained in the same department. Time to degree is calculated separately for degrees obtained in different departments.  

If your enrollment is non-degree seeking, it is not calculated in your time to degree, even in cases where you are later admitted to a degree program and the coursework taken while a non-degree seeking student is approved to count towards that degree. 

Requirements for Students Nearing Their Degree Time Limit

In the College, if a student completing a thesis or dissertation is within 2 years of exhausting their degree time limits and has not yet scheduled their final defense, the College's Graduate Regulations on Advising & Mentoring require the student and their advisor to complete the College's Mentorship Agreement (.pdf) and submit the agreement to the College within the first two weeks of classes of that penultimate year.

Example:A student who will exhaust their degree time limit at the end of summer 2027 would be required to complete the College Mentorship Agreement by the end of the second week of classes of Fall 2025.

Departments and the College monitor student progress and time to degree closely. The College notifies departments annually of students who are nearing this stage. The department graduate program coordinator or DGS will notify the student and advisor at the point that the mentorship agreement is required and provide guidance on completion of the agreement. The department is then responsible for submitting the completed agreement to the College to verify completion.

Note that the use of a formal mentoring agreement can be a highly effective tool to support completion of the degree in a timely manner, as well as to support positive mentoring relationships and the objective evaluation of progress. As such, the College's Graduate Regulations on Advising & Mentoring also strongly encourage the use of Mentoring Agreements for all students who have finished coursework and identified a thesis/dissertation advisor.

The College's Mentorship Agreement Timeline (.png) provides an overview of the College's expectations and requirements for Mentorship Agreements during each stage of doctoral student's graduate study.

If there are exceptional circumstances that still prevent a student from completing their degree by the final time limit, they may petition their department for an extension to the maximum time limit. If approved by the department, the student and their faculty advisor and Director of Graduate Studies to prepare a Graduate Degree Completion Agreement (.pdf). This document is submitted to the College to request a University level time limit extension petition. 

Students should consult with their department for more information on petition requirements.