Concurrent Candidacies
In general, graduate students are best advised to focus on one degree objective at a time. However, a candidate for an advanced degree in one major field who wishes to begin work for either a master's or a doctoral degree in a second field while concurrently completing the first program can petition to do so. The department heads of both fields and the dean of the Graduate School must approve any such plan. Approval will not be granted for concurrent double Ph.D. or D.Ed. degrees. Guidelines for preparation of a proposal for concurrent candidacies have been established by the Graduate Council. Forms are available in the Office of Graduate Enrollment Services, 114 Kern Graduate Building.
The student should consult with the graduate program heads or graduate officers responsible for each major. If both approve, the student and advisors will draw up a plan of study designed to meet the requirements for both degrees. Any common agreements, such as the required completion of one program before advancing beyond a specified point in the other, should be noted in the stated plan of study as part of the agreement before it is approved and sent to the Office of Graduate Enrollment Services for final review. This review is simply to verify that Graduate Faculty degree requirements for both programs will be met by the proposed plan of study, and that overlap between the programs is not excessive.
The total required credits for two separate degree programs should not be reduced by more than 20 percent when the two degrees are taken concurrently. The project, paper, or thesis requirements for each concurrent degree must be equivalent in rigor and scope to that which would be required for a separate degree. There must be a separate paper or thesis for each degree.
The examining committee or set of individual readers for each program should include a representative or representatives from the other program; however, each program must retain the controlling vote on the approval of the project, paper, or thesis for its degree. A doctoral student must have representation from both majors on his/her doctoral committee.
In most cases, concurrent degrees will be conferred at the same time. However, if all requirements for one degree are satisfied before those of the other degree, and if these are equivalent to the requirements for a separate degree, then that degree may be conferred separately.