Doctoral Requirements

A doctoral student must complete a program of study prepared in consultation with his or her doctoral adviser and outlined on an approved Doctoral Program Planning Form. The program normally requires 45 credit hours of course work beyond the baccalaureate degree (or 24 credit hours beyond the master’s degree in most cases) plus 12 credit hours of dissertation work. The student must also pass a doctoral qualifying examination and submit and successfully defend a dissertation.

The doctoral qualifying examination normally consists of both written and oral tests and is administered after the student has completed 30 to 36 credit hours of graduate study. Each faculty member on a doctoral candidate's committee may submit questions for the written examination. The doctoral committee, as a whole, gives the oral examination.

The dissertation must represent an original research contribution showing high attainment and clear ability to do independent research. A public defense of the dissertation (the final oral examination) is administered after the student has completed all other formal requirements for the Ph.D. degree and has submitted a completed doctoral dissertation.