Each doctoral student enrolled in the Rackham Graduate School must accumulate a minimum number of fee credits in order to be recommended for Candidacy, and to receive the doctoral degree. The student's progress toward this minimum is measured by the total number of course hours that the student has elected in Rackham and has paid for. Since tuition is assessed for no more than nine credit hours in a full term (five in a half term), no more than nine credits may be counted toward the Rackham Fee Total (RFT) in a full term, (five in a half term), regardless of the number of hours elected.

Specific details of the Rackham Fee Total policy are as follows:

• Each doctoral student enrolled in a Rackham graduate program must accumulate at least 68 fee credits overall, consisting of course and dissertation work.  At least 36 fee hours must be accumulated prior to admission to doctoral candidacy.
• Each doctoral student who enters Rackham with a relevant master's degree from an accredited American or foreign institution will have his or her minimum requirement reduced by 18 fee credit hours. Thus, the minimum fee requirement for such students is reduced to 50 fee credit hours. Relevancy is determined by the department and is contingent upon receipt of an official transcript from the degree granting institution.
• Each doctoral student who completes a Rackham master's degree will earn credits toward program (CTP). These credit hours may be counted toward the Rackham Fee Total.
• Undergraduate and visited courses taken as a Rackham student will generate RFTs, but transferred credits and free courses elected with the Candidacy enrollment will not.
• An eight-hour registration for the term of the oral defense is required; this registration will count toward the Rackham Fee Total.
• A deficiency in fee hours at the time of admission to Candidacy or at the time of completion of the doctoral degree requirements may be made up by payment at the student's current rate per credit hour without actual enrollment.

Residency. 
The Rackham School of Graduate Studies sets the residency rules for tuition (see Rackham handbook for details).