General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Broadwell failed in her PhD attempt at Harvard, faces ethics review at fallback school [View all]HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)Last edited Thu Nov 15, 2012, 04:48 PM - Edit history (1)
it was quite common for students to hold off on the preliminary exam until the dissertation project was proven to be on course and nearing completion.
The reason being that in my program at Texas A&M, and many grad schools at that time, there is a time limit for _successful_ completion of ALL requirements once the pre-lim was taken.
In the department Ph.D. students hedged their bets against the clock by holding off prelims as long as possible.
I knew several students who actually completed preliminary exams and defended dissertations within a matter of a handful of weeks.
I also know students who were in the program for over 8 years and were up against time limits on their course work which is expected to include up-to-date training when the PhD is granted.