Satisfactory Progress Requirements

1. During the first two years of graduate study any student who is permitted to register is considered to be making satisfactory progress.
2. In each of the first two years a student must have achieved the minimum grade point average required by this faculty. That GPA is equivalent to a "B" average.
3. By the end of the third year a student must have passed general examinations or the departmental equivalent.
4. By the end of the fourth year a student must have obtained approval of a dissertation prospectus or its departmental equivalent.
5. By the end of the fifth year and each subsequent year during which a student is allowed to register s/he must be seen as making satisfactory progress toward the degree in the eyes of the graduate program (e.g., by producing an acceptable chapter of the dissertation).

G-10 Enrollment Cap
The statement of the "G-10 rule," as it is generally called, is found in the GSAS Handbook and the Handbook for Directors of Graduate Studies. It reads:

An overall GSAS policy has been established that students ordinarily will not be permitted to register beyond their tenth year in the Graduate School. However, exceptions to this rule may be made for students who have taken maternity or parental leave or for students with other special circumstances. Students are free to apply for readmission to the Graduate School, so as to re-register for the purpose of receiving the degree, when their thesis is completed. Students no longer enrolled because of this policy will have the status of "withdrawn."