"All but dissertation" (ABD) is a term identifying a stage in the process of obtaining a research doctorate, most commonly used in the United States.
In typical usage of the term, the ABD graduate student has completed the required preparatory coursework and passed the required preliminary, comprehensive, and doctoral qualifying examinations or PhD candidacy examination. After the graduate student has successfully passed this examination stage, they are referred to as a "PhD candidate."
The informal ABD designation indicates that graduate student has met all program requirements except for writing of the dissertation (or thesis) and the final defense at the end of a PhD program. Formal usage of the term "Ph.D. (ABD)" can be seen as unethical or deceptive.
Some universities, including Columbia, the CUNY Graduate Center, George Washington University, The New School, New York University and Yale regularly award a formal Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree for these achievements, while a number of campuses of the University of California award a Candidate of Philosophy.
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