Sample Timelines

The timelines below are examples of how a student might carry out his or her academic and research activities during the course of a degree. The links below are to spreadsheets that contain Gantt charts for each corresponding degree. Feel free to use and modify them to plan your own work.

Bachelor's Degree

This timeline is designed for a 4-year bachelors program with 4 years of classes, including a senior thesis or research project.

Bachelors Timeline.xlsx

Master's Degree

This timeline is designed for a 2-year masters program with 1 year of classes and 1 year of research. Graduation requirements included class credit hours, a final thesis, and a submission (ideally publication) to an academic conference.

Masters Timeline.xlsx

PhD (Doctoral) Degree

This timeline is designed for a 3-year PhD (doctoral) program with 1 semester of classes and 3 years of research. It assumes the student has already completed a masters degree or equivalent. Graduation requirements included class credit hours, multiple paper publications at conferences and journals, and a final thesis/dissertation.

PhD Timeline.xlsx