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Doctoral Residency Requirement
Ph.D. Residency
To satisfy the residency requirement, Ph.D. students should enroll in a minimum of nine academic credit hours for two consecutive semesters (excluding summers), excluding internships and dissertation credits. No more than three credits per semester may be taken as independent study during the residency. Students may earn internship or dissertation credit during their residency period by enrolling for more than the minimum nine course credit hours. Internships and dissertation credits do not count toward residency. Students in the residency phase of the Ph.D. program are full-time students, and as such are expected to participate in a variety of professional socialization experiences, such as conference proposal preparation, making presentations during seminars and symposia, and writing for publication.
Optional Ph.D. Residency (EPPL students only)
To satisfy the residency requirement, EPPL Ph.D. students may choose to enroll in a minimum of six academic credit hours for two consecutive semesters (excluding summers), excluding internships and dissertation credits, and in addition are required to submit a proposal to a professional conference or submit a scholarly journal article as part of their scholarly preparation. Independent study courses do not count toward fulfilling the credits for residency. Students may earn independent study, internship, or dissertation credit during their residency period by enrolling for more than the minimum six course credit hours. Internship, independent study, and dissertation credits do not count toward residency. Students in the residency phase of the Ph.D. program are expected to participate in a variety of professional socialization experiences.
Doctoral Committees
Doctoral committee make up is different by department. See Educational Policy, Planning & Leadership (EPPL) or School Psychology & Counselor Education (SPACE) for committee details.
Doctoral Comprehensive Exams
The purpose of the comprehensive examination process is threefold. The first emphasis is placed on the student’s ability to produce an independent integration and synthesis across the graduate course work and topic areas in the program of study. The second emphasis is to assess the student’s ability to interrelate theory, research and practice in the program of study. Third, the comprehensive exam is an opportunity to assess the readiness of the student to continue the doctoral program to completion, with an emphasis on appropriate knowledge, scholarly writing and organizational skills. The Office of Academic Programs schedules the comprehensive examination. The comprehensive exam process is different by department.
Comprehensive exams are required for elevation to doctoral candidacy. For department specific information regarding comprehensive exams, see Educational Policy, Planning & Leadership (EPPL) or School Psychology & Counselor Education (SPACE) .
Doctoral Candidacy
In order to achieve the status of “Doctoral Candidate,” doctoral students must complete three requirements:
1. Satisfy the Residency requirement of the degree program
2. Pass Comprehensive Exam
3. Successfully complete all required program coursework except for EDUC 800/EPPL801
Continuous Enrollment
Upon successful defense of a dissertation proposal, students must enroll in dissertation credit hours (EDUC 800 Dissertation or EPPL 801 Dissertation Study depending on degree program) during each fall and spring semester until graduation. If students expect to work with their chairs or other committee members during a summer semester, they should enroll in EDUC 800/EPPL 801 as appropriate during the summer semester, after securing the approval of their chair. Although students may have taken the minimum number of dissertation credits required for their program, continuous enrollment in EDUC 800 or EPPL 801 must be maintained once the dissertation proposal has been approved until they have successfully completed and defended their dissertation.
Students may formally request a leave of absence from the program by following the appropriate School of Education protocol. Failure to maintain continuous enrollment will result in withdrawal from a program and require a petition to request reinstatement.
Dissertation
The dissertation requirement is intended to prepare graduates to design, conduct, and interpret research on significant educational issues and problems. All doctoral level research should enhance understanding of the educational process and/or inform educational policy and practice.
Dissertation research for the Ed.D. degree must build upon prior scholarship and theory and apply research findings in a manner that will illuminate and enhance educational policy and practice.
Dissertation research for the Ph.D. degree should advance scholarship in the field of education by making an original contribution to educational knowledge and theory in a manner that has the potential to impact educational practice. It is anticipated that Ph.D. dissertations will lead to publications in relevant journals or other publication outlets.
All dissertations will be judged on their overall contribution to knowledge including the study’s clarity, application of theory and prior and/or related research, and relevance to educational policy and practice.
Proposal
The dissertation proposal must be a substantive, carefully crafted scholarly document. The proposal will contain a statement of the problem to be investigated, a conceptual framework, a review of related literature, and a description of the study’s methodology. Some research methodologies employ different proposal formats and require different emphases among the areas included in the proposal. In all cases, a dissertation proposal should provide a clear, systematic, and conceptually sound overview of the proposed study that explains in detail why and how the study will be conducted.
Proposal Defense
The purpose of the proposal defense is to assess the merits of the proposed research and the ability of the doctoral candidate to conduct this research in a scholarly manner. The proposal must be defended in a formal meeting to be attended by all members of the Committee. A unanimous vote of committee members at the time of the proposal defense is required for approval of the proposal. If unanimous approval is not given at this defense, the Chair will make recommendations to remedy any deficiencies. A second proposal defense will be scheduled by the Chair and the student.
Defense
The purpose of the dissertation defense is to assess the merits of the doctoral research and the ability of the doctoral candidate to interpret the scholarship within the context of the educational system and the larger society. The dissertation must be defended in a public forum. All members of the Comprehensive/Doctoral Committee must attend the defense and the defense should be open to all members of the university community and invited guests. A unanimous vote of committee members is required for approval of the dissertation at the defense. If unanimous approval is not given at this defense, the Chair will make recommendations to remedy any deficiencies. A second dissertation defense will be scheduled by the Chair and the student. The Comprehensive/Doctoral Committee chair will notify the educational community of the time, date, and location of the scheduled defense at least ten days prior to the event.
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