Get Candidature Change Form

On initial enrolment in a PhD, students are given 'probationary' status. Candidature is 'confirmed' after the student presents a satisfactory, detailed research proposal to their School - in both written and oral forms. The process of presenting your research outline and work to date is referred to as 'confirmation'.

The Confirmation of Candidature is a process requiring candidates to develop a formal thesis proposal in the first six to eight months of candidature (or part-time equivalent) and present to a panel of experts.

Candidature refers to your enrolment in a higher degree by research, such as a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or Master of Philosophy (MPhil). Research students are often referred to as candidates.

a concise statement of the research question(s) a literature review. as appropriate to the discipline of study, an explanation of the conceptual framework to be used and/or a summary of experimental methods and equipment requirements. a summary of progress to date including preliminary data, resources development, etc.

Candidacy is defined as that period in a doctoral student's studies when she or he is deemed ready to undertake independent and original research resulting in a dissertation (PhD) or to meet performance and document requirements (DMA).

During the studies that lead to the degree, the student is called a doctoral student or PhD student; a student who has completed all their coursework and comprehensive examinations and is working on their thesis/dissertation is sometimes known as a doctoral candidate or PhD candidate.

The maximum period of candidature for PhD students is: four years from the date of first enrolment for full-time students. eight years for part-time students.

In other words, a PhD student is still completing their coursework. They could be on the first day of their PhD program. A PhD candidate has completed all of the requirements for their degree except their dissertation (yes, that's the infamous “all but dissertation” status).