A student working toward a doctoral degree is expected to be registered for graduate work at NC State for at least six (6) semesters beyond the Bachelor's degree. The University has basic residence requirements, as defined below, but the academic schools/colleges have the prerogative of establishing more restrictive requirements within the respective schools/colleges. Residence credit is determined by the number of semester hours of graduate work carried during a regular semester.
| Semester Credits (Hours) | Residence Credits |
| 9 or more | 1 |
| 6-8 | 2/3 |
| less than 6 (including registration in 590, 690 series) |
1/3 |
At least two residence credits are necessary in continuous residence (registration in consecutive semesters) as a graduate student at the University, but failure to take courses in the summer does not break continuity.
Summer Residency
Summer course work, however, can be used in partial fulfillment of this requirement. A single summer session is equal to one-half of the corresponding amount for a regular semester. For example, six semester hours carried during a summer session will earn one-third of a residence credit; less than six credit hours will earn one-sixth of a residence credit.