Deadlines
The Personality Program in the Psychology Department does not impose rigid formal deadlines for completing the master's degree, comprehensive examinations, third year paper, or dissertation. However, two financial aid restrictions do require that steady progress be made in fulfilling these requirements: (1) No student will receive university or department financial aid beyond the fifth year of graduate study at Northwestern (third year for those entering with an MA); (2) in the fourth year, no student will receive financial aid who has not completed his/her residency requirement and been admitted to candidacy. This means that the oral examination over the dissertation proposal must be taken before the beginning of the fall quarter of the fourth year (third year for students with an MA) in order to avoid considerable personal expense.
