ABD Waiver Program Transition (Effective Fall 2025)
Beginning Fall 2025, the ABD Waiver Program will be limited to a maximum of two academic semesters. Students whose first ABD waiver semester is Fall 2025 or later will be eligible for up to two semesters of waivers. Students who began receiving ABD waivers in Spring 2025 or earlier may retain eligibility for up to five semesters under the previous program.
ABD Waiver Program
The “All But Dissertation” (ABD) Waiver Program offers waivers for advanced doctoral students funded from extramural grants. The ABD Waiver program is designed to provide a tangible incentive for students to complete their courses and take their preliminary exam as well as to decrease the time-to-degree by offering a set period of two (2) academic semesters, not including summer.
An ABD Waiver form (from the Graduate School Forms page) must be submitted in myWSU via Graduate Research Management (GRM) at least two weeks prior to the first day of the semester for the ABD waiver (8/1 for Fall or 12/10 for Spring).
To qualify for an ABD waiver, the student must:
- Qualify for and be funded (≥.50 FTE) from competitive extramural grants via a graduate research assistantship
- Complete all graded coursework on their Program of Study
- Complete their preliminary exam prior to the assistantship start date for the semester that the ABD waiver is requested
- Not be on a degree extension
After students qualify, they will be eligible to receive an ABD tuition waiver for the operating and building fee for up to two academic semesters. The non-resident (NR) tuition waiver may be claimed if eligible. The ABD tuition waiver must be claimed in the Graduate Waiver field of the assistantship staffing event in Workday.