Residency is calculated in terms of quarters of full-time study.

Residency

A student pursuing a doctoral degree must complete eight quarters of residency consecutively over two years, including summers (see the PhD Timeline for Completion). Any alterations in the residency timeline can be managed through Leave of Absence requests.  Per the continuous registration policy, all doctoral students must be registered at Northwestern University in each of the fall, winter and spring terms until all degree requirements have been completed, including dissertation submission to The Graduate School.


Residency and Transfer Credit

No residency credit will be awarded by The Graduate School for work completed in a graduate program outside of The Graduate School. Individual programs may waive course requirements based on work completed at another institution (either prior to or after enrollment at Northwestern), but all students must complete nine graded courses in The Graduate School and maintain a B average (3.0 GPA). Students may register for 590 Research within their programs to maintain full‐time registration during quarters in which they are not enrolled full time in graded coursework.