The following document is intended to help graduate students plan their respective programs of study in an effort to ensure timely completion of each stage in accordance with departmental requirements. In addition, there is included a tentative two-year course plan to aid the student in planning to fulfill these requirements.
1. It is essential to note that all students prior to becoming ABD are required to attend year-end meetings with HR faculty, which are held immediately after the last day of classes in the Spring semester. In preparation for these meetings, students must submit the following forms (all of which are available on the department’s website), as relevant, no later than March 30 to the Graduate Secretary.
i. All students (including ABDs) must submit "Annual Summary" forms.
ii. All first-year and second-year M.A. students must submit a "Plan for Completing the M.A." form.
iii. All first-year students with relevant previous graduate coursework at other institutions must submit the "Advance Standing Request" form.
iv. Students in their final semester of coursework must submit the "Comprehensive Exam Schedule" form.
v. All ABDs who have not completed their dissertation after nine years following matriculation at UVA must annually file the "Petition for a year-long extension of dissertating status" form, in order to request a one-year extension of their status as dissertation students in good standing.
2. Masters students must apply to the doctoral program at the end of their third semester if s/he desires to continue his or her studies in the department. The form is on the HR Web site, and must be submitted by January 30th of the student's second year of studies. It should be prepared in consultation with the student's adviser. This does not require the formal completion of the Masters degree. While it is possible to obtain an M.A. degree while completing doctoral comprehensive exams, the student is advised to complete it earlier. Students at UVA are paid slightly more in hourly wages if they have a Masters degree, and an M.A. degree enhances one's vita when applying for fieldwork funding.
3. In general, all incompletes from a given semester must be finished by the end of the following semester.
4. At the end of the third year, students should begin the process of applying for grants in order to fund fieldwork to be done in the fifth year.
5. It usually takes one-and-a-half to two years to complete the M.A. course requirements. It usually takes four years to complete doctoral course requirements, for those who, due to a lack of previous language study, must also do language work. It is usually possible for students already holding a Masters degree to do so in three years, or two years if they have strong language backgrounds. A student can take a leave of absence, but if s/he doesn't maintain contact with relevant faculty or if it seems there is no concrete plan to return after an extended period, s/he will be terminated. Promised funding can be reclaimed after a leave if the advising faculty are satisfied with the student's overall progress. The doctoral course requirements must be completed within five years at the most; a terminal masters program must be completed within three years at the most.
6. Once doctoral course requirements are completed, a student has nine months in which both to finish comprehensive exams and complete the thesis proposal colloquium. Fieldwork can begin only after the student has passed comprehensive exams and defended the thesis proposal in the colloquium.
7. In general, students in the Department of Religious Studies are required to complete their doctoral degree within seven years from the date of matriculation. Because of the unusual demands of History of Religions, that period is extended to nine years. Students who take longer than nine years to finish the Ph.D. must file a formal petition requesting a one-year exemption, and they must file the appropriate paperwork every April after the nine years have transpired. If the petition is not filed, the student will be dropped from the roll of graduate students in the department.
