• The time limit is seven (7) years to complete all program requirements, including 1) the minimum 60-65 credits of coursework, depending on the program and 2) an original defendable, approved and publishable dissertation. University policy allows the possibility to extend the seven-year limit (up to a maximum of two additional years) through an appeals process to students demonstrating additional time is warranted. Extensions are not guaranteed and will be decided at the sole discretion of GCU.
• Most students will need to take additional credits beyond the minimum 60-65 credits to complete the dissertation requirement, and will need to take Research Continuation courses, which are three-credit courses charged at the current doctoral per credit tuition rate.
• Doctoral programs require completion of a minimum of 60-65 credits, depending on the program, which will take a minimum of 39-45 months. Students who have not received final approval of a dissertation at the completion of those credits must enroll in Research Continuation courses until they have completed an approved dissertation. Research Continuation courses are three-credit courses, charged at the same per-credit tuition rate as all other doctoral courses. Research Continuation courses, if necessary, will add to the cost and time to complete this program. Between Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2024, 2,341 students graduated from GCU’s doctoral programs. Those students took an average of 6.2 years to complete all program requirements and required on average 11.2 Research Continuation courses to complete their dissertation. These program graduates paid an average of $52,855 in tuition and fees, including continuation courses, over the duration of their program. The maximum number of credits eligible for Title IV funding that a student can take in their initially enrolled program version, assuming they earn passing grades and otherwise remain eligible to receive Title IV funding, is between 90 and 95. As of Dec. 31, 2024, the number of students who did not finish within the maximum number of attempted credits for all GCU doctoral programs is 299, or 1.1% of all students who started in any GCU dissertation-based doctoral program since the college’s inception. See below for specific doctoral program data.
• The following table provides a breakdown of how long it took the graduates discussed above to complete doctoral programs.

This program requires completion of a minimum of 60 credits, which will take a minimum of 39 months. Students who have not received final approval of a dissertation at the completion of those credits must enroll in Research Continuation courses until they have completed an approved dissertation. Research Continuation courses are three-credit courses, charged at the same per-credit tuition rate as all other doctoral courses. Research Continuation courses, if necessary, will add to the cost and time to complete this program. Between Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2024, 159 students graduated from this program. Those students took an average of six years to complete all program requirements and required on average 10.3 Research Continuation courses to complete their dissertation. These program graduates paid an average of $53,160 in tuition and fees, including continuation courses, over the duration of their program. The maximum number of credits eligible for Title IV funding that a student can take in their initially enrolled program version, assuming they earn passing grades and otherwise remain eligible to receive Title IV funding, is 90. As of Dec. 31, 2024, the number of students who did not finish within the maximum number of attempted credits is 13, or 0.7% of all students who started the Doctor of Business Administration program since the program’s inception.

This program requires completion of a minimum of 60 credits, which will take a minimum of 39 months. Students who have not received final approval of a dissertation at the completion of those credits must enroll in Research Continuation courses until they have completed an approved dissertation. Research Continuation courses are three-credit courses, charged at the same per-credit tuition rate as all other doctoral courses. Research Continuation courses, if necessary, will add to the cost and time to complete this program. Between Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2024, 52 students graduated from this program. Those students took an average of 4.5 years to complete all program requirements and required on average 4.5 Research Continuation courses to complete their dissertation. These program graduates paid an average of $48,670 in tuition and fees, including continuation courses, over the duration of their program. The maximum number of credits eligible for Title IV funding that a student can take in their initially enrolled program version, assuming they earn passing grades and otherwise remain eligible to receive Title IV funding, is 90. As of Dec. 31, 2024, this program had fewer than 10 students who did not finish within that number of credits. Therefore, the following data is for all students who enrolled in any GCU dissertation-based doctoral program before Dec. 31, 2024. The number of students who did not finish within the maximum number of attempted credits for all GCU doctoral programs is 299, or 1.1% of all students who started in any GCU dissertation-based doctoral program since the college’s inception.

• Learners should familiarize themselves with the Doctoral Dispositions located in the University Policy Handbook, specifically in communication with faculty, dissertation committee, administrative staff, academic advisors and fellow learners. These will be upheld through graduation. 
• GCU will assign a chair and methodologist in the Dissertation I course in their program. 
• Learners are responsible for selecting a qualified content expert to serve as their third committee member. Learners must work with their SSCs to add the content expert to their dissertation committees. 
• The chair and committee provide academic guidance to doctoral candidates, but it is not their role to coauthor a dissertation or determine how to conduct or interpret research.
• Changes to the dissertation committee may be needed due to faculty personal, work or health-related reasons. The longer a learner is in the program, or out of enrollment, the more likely the committee will require changes.
• Learners must convince their doctoral chair and committee that they are an expert in their field through the proposal, dissertation and defense. Please see the Milestone Guide in the University Policy Handbook Appendix A. 
• Learners must submit dissertation topics that are aligned to their degree major. If the dissertation committee and corresponding program chair determine a study is not aligned with the major of the learner’s degree, the learner must adjust the dissertation topic to align with their major degree. This will add additional time to the learner’s dissertation journey. Below are the broad topics for the major degrees:
  • General Psychology in the PhD program
  • Leadership in the EdD Organizational Leadership program
  • Adult Instruction in the EdD Teaching and Learning program 
  • Management in the DBA program
  • Health Administration in the Doctor of Health Administration program
  • Counseling Practice, Counselor Education, Clinical Supervision or Advocacy/Leadership within the counseling field in the Counselor Education PhD program

This program requires completion of a minimum of 60 credits, which will take a minimum of 39 months. Students who have not received final approval of a dissertation at the completion of those credits must enroll in Research Continuation courses until they have completed an approved dissertation. Research Continuation courses are three-credit courses, charged at the same per-credit tuition rate as all other doctoral courses. Research Continuation courses, if necessary, will add to the cost and time to complete this program. Between Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2024, 1,226 students graduated from this program. Those students took an average of 6.5 years to complete all program requirements and required on average 12.4 Research Continuation courses to complete their dissertation. These program graduates paid an average of $53,796 in tuition and fees, including continuation courses, over the duration of their program. The maximum number of credits eligible for Title IV funding that a student can take in their initially enrolled program version, assuming they earn passing grades and otherwise remain eligible to receive Title IV funding, is 90. As of Dec. 31, 2024, the number of students who did not finish within the maximum number of attempted credits is 184, or 1.1% of all students who started the EdD in Organizational Leadership program since the program’s inception.

This program requires completion of a minimum of 65 credits, which will take a minimum of 45 months. Students who have not received final approval of a dissertation at the completion of those credits must enroll in Research Continuation courses until they have completed an approved dissertation. Research Continuation courses are three-credit courses, charged at the same per-credit tuition rate as all other doctoral courses. Research Continuation courses, if necessary, will add to the cost and time to complete this program. This program had fewer than 10 graduates over the last five years. Therefore, GCU is providing data for all students who completed any GCU dissertation-based doctoral program between Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2024. Over that time 2,341 students took an average of 6.2 years to complete all program requirements and required on average 11.2 Research Continuation courses to complete their dissertation. These program graduates paid an average of $52,855 in tuition and fees, including continuation courses, over the duration of their program. The maximum number of credits eligible for Title IV funding that a student can take in their initially enrolled program version, assuming they earn passing grades and otherwise remain eligible to receive Title IV funding, is between 90 and 95. As of Dec. 31, 2024, this program had fewer than 10 students who did not finish within that number of credits. Therefore, the following data is for all students who enrolled in any GCU dissertation-based doctoral program before Dec. 31, 2024. The number of students who did not finish within the maximum number of attempted credits for all GCU doctoral programs is 299, or 1.1% of all students who started in any GCU dissertation-based doctoral program since the college’s inception.

This program requires completion of a minimum of 60 credits, which will take a minimum of 39 months. Students who have not received final approval of a dissertation at the completion of those credits must enroll in Research Continuation courses until they have completed an approved dissertation. Research Continuation courses are three-credit courses, charged at the same per-credit tuition rate as all other doctoral courses. Research Continuation courses, if necessary, will add to the cost and time to complete this program. This program had fewer than 10 graduates over the last five years. Therefore, GCU is providing data for all students who completed any GCU dissertation-based doctoral program between Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2024. Over that time, 2,341 students graduated from GCU’s doctoral programs. Over that time students took an average of 6.2 years to complete all program requirements and required on average 11.2 Research Continuation courses to complete their dissertation. These program graduates paid an average of $52,855 in tuition and fees, including continuation courses, over the duration of their program. The maximum number of credits eligible for Title IV funding that a student can take in their initially enrolled program version, assuming they earn passing grades and otherwise remain eligible to receive Title IV funding, is between 90 and 95. As of Dec. 31, 2024, this program had fewer than 10 students who did not finish within that number of credits. Therefore, the following data is for all students who enrolled in any GCU dissertation-based doctoral program before Dec. 31, 2024. The number of students who did not finish within the maximum number of attempted credits for all GCU doctoral programs is 299, or 1.1% of all students who started in any GCU dissertation-based doctoral program since the college’s inception.

This program requires completion of a minimum of 60 credits, which will take a minimum of 39 months. Students who have not received final approval of a dissertation at the completion of those credits must enroll in Research Continuation courses until they have completed an approved dissertation. Research Continuation courses are three-credit courses, charged at the same per-credit tuition rate as all other doctoral courses. Research Continuation courses, if necessary, will add to the cost and time to complete this program. Between Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2024, 897 students graduated from this program. Those students took average of six years to complete all program requirements and required on average 10.2 Research Continuation courses to complete their dissertation. These program graduates paid an average of $51,836 in tuition and fees, including continuation courses, over the duration of their program. The maximum number of credits eligible for Title IV funding that a student can take in their initially enrolled program version, assuming they earn passing grades and otherwise remain eligible to receive Title IV funding, is 90. As of Dec. 31, 2024, the number of students who did not finish within the maximum number of attempted credits is 93, or 1.2% of all students who started the PhD in General Psychology program since the program’s inception.