doctoral candidate
Aspiring PhD recipient
A doctoral candidate is a student in a PhD program who has completed coursework and qualifying examinations and is now working on their dissertation.
The transition from doctoral student to doctoral candidate marks a significant milestone—the person has demonstrated competence in the field and is actively conducting original research: She became a doctoral candidate after passing her comprehensive exams.
- PhDHighest academic credential
- grad schoolPost-undergraduate academic institution
- dissertationExtended academic treatise
- dissertation defenseOral examination of thesis
- thesisAcademic argument requiring defense
defense · advisor · academia · research · literature review · scholar · university · comps · proposal · working title · footnotes · library · caffeine · late nights · stipend · publish · academic job market · committee
- studentsstudent, freshman, university students, sophomore, pupil
- academicsprofessor, course, university professors, math, professors
- Graduatesgraduate, graduates, alumni, alumna, alumnus
- graduationcap and gown, diploma frame, graduation ceremony, graduate, commencement address
- DoctoratesPhD, dissertation, PhD holder, dissertation committee, DBA
- grad schooldissertation, thesis committee, PhD program, graduate school, graduate student
doctoral candidatefull professor
Highest academic rank
tenured professor · professor · emeritus professor · distinguished professor · department chair
doctoral candidatekindergartener
Early elementary pupil
first grader · preschooler · high school freshman · school dropout
doctor, doctoral, doctorate, doctored, doctoring, doctors, doctrine, doctrinal, document