Academic Progress Reviews

All graduate programs at Berkeley are required to regularly monitor students’ overall progress toward graduate degrees. Progress Reviews are meant to help you and your faculty adviser(s) reflect upon your current academic goals, review progress toward meeting degree milestones, and plan for future completion activities that will advance academic progress within Normative Time.

As described below, annual progress reviews are required of all Social Welfare doctoral students depending on their current academic status in the program (pre-candidacy or advanced to candidacy). For more information please also consult the Guide to Graduate Policy E1.6 Program Review of Student Progress.

Pre-candidacy Progress Reviews

All 1st Year PhD and 2nd Year MSW/PhD students are required to have a Progress Review Meeting prior to the start of their respective 2nd and 3rd years. In addition to these required meetings, continuing students may request an elective meeting through the Annual Progress Review Form or if recommended by the GSAO or the doctoral faculty.

Progress Review Meetings occur in person, with the student, their primary advisor, and the three members of the doctoral subcommittee on doctoral Progress and Retention. For First Year Students, these meetings will review the progress of students after their first year doctoral requirements are complete; and plan for the student’s transition into less structured phases of the doctoral program. For continuing students, the Progress Review Meeting provides an opportunity for reflection and collective thinking.

Meetings can be scheduled for a range of reasons (e.g., the need to mobilize resources for an ambitious dissertation project, brainstorm external committee members, clarify a program of study, overcome challenges, or identify sources of information or support). The meetings are most helpful when students are prepared with a summary of their interests, progress to date, and broad goals for the future, are open to feedback and ideas, and have some consultation questions for the faculty.

These meetings usually occur on the first Monday of the Fall semester, prior to the start of instruction. Follow-up meetings, as needed, will be scheduled for the first Thursday of Instruction in the Spring semester. All students are expected to hold these dates for these purposes, until they are told that they may release them.

A student who has not yet advanced to candidacy, and who is not required to have a progress review meeting with the doctoral subcommittee must still meet with their faculty advisor regarding their progress - this should occur in April or May each year. The Pre-Candidacy Progress Review Verification Form must be completed by both the student and faculty advisor affirming that a meeting regarding their progress in the program has occurred. Recommended documents to bring to the meeting include the Academic Progress Report and an updated CV, as well as any other materials that will help in facilitating a conversation regarding student progress.

Doctoral Candidacy Review

The Graduate Council of the Academic Senate requires all doctoral students to complete an online Doctoral Candidacy Review (DCR) on an annual basis after they advance to candidacy until they complete their degree program. The Doctoral Candidacy Review is designed to assist you and your dissertation chair to stay on track with advising and other supportive activities to help facilitate the completion of doctoral work in a timely manner. 

In the School of Social Welfare, the DCR process is typically completed in April each year. It is your responsibility to initiate the review process by completing the online DCR form at least once a year while in candidacy. Your dissertation committee chair and other members of the committee are involved in completing the report, which is done online in CalCentral. The link for the “Doctoral Candidacy Review” academic e-form is listed in the Student Resources card on your CalCentral dashboard. 

The Academic Progress Report

The Academic Progress Report (APR) is a tool in CalCentral you can use to track and confirm progress of departmental and Graduate Division requirements. To run and print an APR, please see How Graduate Students View an Academic Progress Report (APR).