Graduation Candidacy

Are you planning to graduate? Let's make sure you meet all the requirements and deadlines, and then follow the right steps to graduate. Information on this webpage applies to all EEE graduate students intending to graduate.

Plan of Study

Make sure your Plan of Study is current, degree type is accurate; all grades display and meet program/academic requirements, and advisory committee members are accurate. Submit a change to your Plan of Study if updates are needed. You will not be able to graduate until all degree-required coursework is complete. It will be your responsibility to make the above changes to your Plan of Study.

To double-check degree requirements, please review this website: https://engineering.purdue.edu/EEE/Academics/CurrentStudents/Graduate/GraduateDegreeRequirements

If there are concerns or questions about the Plan of Study, please email EEEgrad@purdue.edu. 

Register for Candidacy

Right before the semester in which you plan to meet all your degree requirements to graduate, you must “declare candidacy.” This means you should register for some form of Candidacy (CAND) prior to the semester in which you intend to graduate, and by the designated deadline (which you can find on the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Post Doctoral Scholars (OGSPS)) Calendar: https://www.purdue.edu/academics/ogsps/about/calendar/index.html).

Announcements will also be made to the EEE graduate student mailing list ahead of the deadlines each term. You can declare candidacy by registering for either CAND 99100, 99200, or 99300 in the Scheduling Assistant, or by emailing EEEGrad@purdue.edu. The EEE Graduate Office can register you for Candidacy, but we strongly recommend that students add Candidacy themselves.

You declare candidacy by using the scheduling assistant within myPurdue and registering for either CAND 99100, 99200, or 99300. CAND is the considered the subject. If Departmental Approval is required, the OGSPS would approve the request, not EEE.  The Scheduling Assistant will prompt you to submit the request for approvals. Be sure to watch your registration to ensure that the request is processed, and CAND appears on your schedule.

Candidacy Types: What are the differences?

CAND 99100 (Applies to most students)

This is the candidacy type to register for if you are currently taking any courses and/or research. Most students will register using this candidate registration type.

Note for all MS and PhD students completing research: Even if you have completed your minimum research credits, you still need to be registered for at least one credit hour of research in your final semester, 3 credit hours if on an assistantship, and full-time on a fellowship. The only exception is if considering one of the special candidate types below. Research registration should be commensurate with actual research and writing efforts.

Note for internationals students: Non-funded international students registering for candidacy and less than full-time status, need to request approval for a Reduced Course Load (RCL) from the ISS. All international students need to be aware of additional minimum registration requirements in their last term. Questions about the RCL should be directed to the ISS.


CAND 99200 (Degree-Only Candidacy)

Candidacy for those that ONLY need to deposit their thesis/dissertation because they already held their defense in a previous term. An earlier, mid-semester deposit deadline applies. Cannot be registered for any other research and/or coursework.

CAND 99200 is a CAND type only for EEE research students. EEE Professional MS students should not register for CAND 99200.

If this deadline is missed, the student's registration will be revised to research credit(s) and will instead need to meet the defense and deposit deadlines outlined for CAND 99100 registrants to qualify for the degree. More information is below.

Please note that there is a fee to register in CAND 99200 which is not covered by Purdue University-funded tuition/fee remits.


CAND 99300 (Exam-Only Candidacy)

Candidacy for those that ONLY need to defend AND deposit their thesis and can meet an earlier, mid-semester defense/deposit deadline. Cannot be registered for any other research and/or coursework.

CAND 99300 is a CAND type only for EEE research students. EEE Professional MS students should not register for CAND 99300.

If this deadline is missed, the student's registration will be revised to research credit(s) and will instead need to meet the defense and deposit deadlines outlined for CAND 99100 registrants to qualify for degree. More information is below.

Please note that there is a fee to register in CAND 99300 which is not covered by Purdue University-funded tuition/fee remits.


Important note for CAND 99200 and CAND 99300: Candidates who register for this special registration and who do not meet the early deadline, will be switched by the OGSPS to CAND 99100 and one credit of research will be added to your schedule with your Major Professor/Committee Chair. If you are funded, you need to make sure you are registered with the appropriate amount of credits as soon as you know you will not meet the early deadline, so check your schedule if you miss the early deadline and notify EEEGrad@purdue.edu immediately to assist you with modifying the number of registered credits.

More to know about Graduation...

Certificates

If you are declaring candidacy for a certificate within the same semester, please register for candidacy once, and then please contact EEEGrad@purdue.edu to let them know the information about the certificate. Candidacy will only show on your schedule for one degree and/or certificate, but we will work with the appropriate office(s) to ensure that you will earn both the degree and the certificate. If you will earn a certificate in a different semester than your degree, please email EEEGrad@purdue.edu to let us know.

Commencement Ceremony

For information about the commencement ceremony; all OGSPS commencement-related activities; how to request a Letter of Invitation for International Students’ Families; how to request special accommodation for family members; and much more, please visit purdue.edu/commencement.

Being registered as a candidate does not automatically register you for the commencement ceremony itself. If you plan to participate in commencement, you must respond by using the Commencement card on myPurdue. This card will be added to your myPurdue account after a specified date in the semester you have registered as a candidate. The tasks and deadlines can be found each term on the Commencement website.

Please note: There are no extensions to register for commencement if you miss the commencement registration deadline. You can, however, request to participate in a future summer or fall graduation ceremony; contact commencement@purdue.edu.

 

Complete OGSPS and EEE Surveys

Please complete any OGSPS and EEE surveys sent out during your final semester.

Thesis/Dissertation Students

Please see the Thesis and Dissertation Office webpage, for steps outlining the thesis and dissertation deposit process: https://www.purdue.edu/academics/ogsps/research/thesis/index.html.

Summer and Fall Candidates

Diplomas are mailed out 6-8 weeks after commencement ceremonies are held. You can also request a Certified Electronic copy of your diploma. See https://www.purdue.edu/commencement/diploma/CeDiploma.html for more information.

Fees

If you don’t register for candidacy by the deadline, there is a possibility we can get you added for the semester with an extension request to the OGSPS, but if approved there will also be a $200 late fee charged. If you need to request an extension, please reach out to EEEGrad@purdue.edu for instructions.

The third time you register for candidacy for the same degree type, there is a $200 fee that will be assessed by the OGSPS.

Frequently Asked Questions

MS-students, are you considering continuing for a PhD in EEE?

Are you a Master’s student who would like to continue on for a PhD in EEE? Please email EEEGrad@purdue.edu if so.

What should I expect regarding my Purdue email and access to programs, once I graduate?

Your Purdue email will stay active for a little while after graduation, but please check out ECN’s page that outlines expectations for access to various tools and options for Purdue email after you graduate.

It’s possible to set up a free Purdue University alumni email address: please see https://alumniemail.ud.purdue.edu/ for details. But don’t set this up until at least a month or so after graduation; once this is established, your @purdue.edu email goes away and you may lose out on notifications sent to your student email address.

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