PhD Program Links and Procedures 2026-2027
Updated Fall 2026
Graduate School Forms, Links, and Procedures for PhD Students:
Coursework – Please work with your faculty advisor prior to each semester on registration towards academic progress.
Progress Reports need to be completed annually. The DGS will inform you of the due date.
Ph.D. Progress Report
Apply for transfer credit evaluation early in your academic career, by consulting with your advisor and the Education Coordinator and using this form:
Transfer Credit Evaluation Request
Once you have completed, or are near completion, of your 39 hours of coursework requirements per the Handbook, please consult with your advisor and the education coordinator early to prepare for your portfolio semester.
Portfolio Preparation (procedural): Send the names of your Portfolio Advisory and Defense Committee members to the Education Coordinator before, or early, in the semester of your portfolio defense. Your committee member’s graduate faculty appointments may need to be renewed. Note that the portfolio defense is the same as the comprehensive examination, for the Graduate School’s purposes. For the department, you will work on Field Agreements and Field Assessments with each committee member.
Submit a Doctoral Comprehensive Exam form two weeks prior to the date of your portfolio defense (comprehensive examination):
Doctoral Comprehensive Exam Form
Within two weeks of a successful portfolio defense, apply to Candidacy using the form and instructions on this page.
Once completed, that will advance you to “D” (dissertation) status in CU’s fee schedule. You can then work on your prospectus with your advisor. Please submit a signed copy of your Prospectus Approval Form to the Education Coordinator.
Provide the names of your dissertation committee members to the Education Coordinator as each committee member agrees to serve.
Preparing to Graduate: As your dissertation nears completion, and you have completed at least 30 dissertation hours, be aware of the deadlines for the semester in which you intend to graduate. There are several steps you need to complete during that term.
Those steps include:
- Applying to graduate in the Buff Portal prior to the deadline for your semester.
- Scheduling your dissertation defense date and informing the Education Coordinator of the date along with the title of your dissertation. The Education Coordinator can help schedule space for your defense.
- Initiating a Doctoral Final Examination Form two weeks prior to your scheduled defense date.
- Preparing the formatting for your dissertation submission to ProQuest well in advance of the graduate school’s deadline for the semester in which you intend to graduate. The Graduate School recommends that you initiate a pre-check of your format before you submit the final version. You can request that by e-mailing a pdf of your thesis to gradinfo@colorado.edu.
- Initiating a Thesis Approval Form in plenty of time for your committee chair and second reader to sign off before your submission deadline. You need to include a signed copy of the TAF with your final dissertation submission.
- Submit your dissertation and Thesis Approval Form to the ProQuest website prior to the deadline for your graduation semester.
- Ph.D. graduates are also asked to complete a survey of earned doctorates by the deadline for that semester.