Historically, reaching this stage takes anywhere from two to four years. According to official university policy, however, the Department cannot support a student unless he/she has obtained candidacy (i.e. passed his/her proposal) by the completion of the seventh semester. There are two steps in the proposal process. The first step is to present the proposal to the thesis committee and any interested faculty. The second step is the public presentation of the proposal. Failing a public thesis proposal is rare. The department will grant a MS degree after passing the C exam or the thesis proposal, with the formation and approval of a thesis committee of at least three faculty, with two faculty from the Department.