Program Requirements for Doctor
of Philosophy
In order to
promote student progress and assure the fair distribution of
limited university resources, a number of time limits apply to graduate
study. These are
important, so be sure you are familiar with them.
- All graduate course work counted toward the Ph.
D. must be completed within seven years of admission (five years, for
students under the 1999-2001 and later catalogs.)
- Financial aid for doctoral students
(assistantships, fee waivers, etc.) can be granted for a maximum of six
semesters beyond the master's degree.
- All degree requirements must be completed
within five years of the time you complete the qualifying examinations
(usually taken after all course work has been completed.)
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Doctoral study is
as much a socialization process as it is an
intellectual enterprise. In order to adopt the values, canons, and
norms of a community of
scholars, it is essential for students to engage in sustained contact
with other
individuals who hold them, articulate them, and modify them. Because of
the unique nature
of program purposes and the ways in which scholarly activity is
conducted, alternative
models must be adopted to assure that the social dimensions of doctoral
study receive
adequate attention.
In some
instances, individual students or a small group of students working
under a
faculty member's mentorship is appropriate. In many other cases,
because students admitted
into doctoral study often already have considerable professional
experience and have
professional goals similar to their doctoral student colleagues, their
cohort is one of
the most important sources of learning. In such cases, cohorts provide
social and personal
support as well as practical help, such as accessing and sharing
literature, sharing class
notes when an absence cannot be avoided, and assisting in the
refinement of research
questions and approaches.
Doctoral students
in the department must be assured that the social and mentorship
configuration of their program responds to the demands of the
profession and the nature of
scholarly enterprise in their field.
Residency
Structures:
Doctoral study is much more than an aggregation of courses
satisfactorily completed plus a
dissertation. Courses, or alternative structures, have their own
identity and value but
there must be a continuity of experience for students that connects
them. Further, the
nature and value of scholarship and collegial work are learned in a
scholarly community
where they are experienced. Doctoral study is a process that requires
deep personal
commitment. Therefore, doctoral study must assure adequate time for
students to be
integrated into an inquiry- oriented community.
In order to
achieve these goals, the department requires students to spend a
substantial portion of their programs in full-time study at the
University. Doctoral
students must spend at least two consecutive semesters of full-time
residency on the Tampa
Campus. Full time residency requires enrollment in a minimum of nine
semester hours each
semester. It is understood that students should be engaged in no more
than half-time
employment outside of the Ph. D. program during the residency period.
Students must
declare semesters of residency at the outset of their programs.
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After you are
admitted, you will meet with the Coordinator of Graduate
Studies in the department or your assigned advisor to begin planning
your program of
studies. You will be helped to choose a major professor, who must be a
fully credentialed
member of the Graduate Faculty. (The list of credentialed faculty is
available from the
COE Graduate Advising Office, EDU 311.)
Major
Professor:
The major professor is your advocate, your academic mentor, and a
representative of the
University. As Chair of your Doctoral committee, the major professor is
the executive and
accountable officer of that group. Your MP has the responsibility and
authority to make
final decisions on academic, logistical, technical, and interpersonal
issues that may
surface during the life of the committee. The MP is responsible for
negotiating the
replacement of a committee member if, in the joint opinion of the MP
and the student, the
member's continued participation is counter-productive to the
completion of the
degree. The Major Professor can, upon the request of the student, be
changed by the
Associate Dean for Programs.
The duties of the
MP include assisting in organizing the Doctoral committee, convening
and chairing the committee, supervising the design and evaluation of
the qualifying
examination, supervising the dissertation preparation, and conducting
the affairs of the
committee consistent with college and university policy.
Doctoral
Committee:
The doctoral committee is the student's principal link to the graduate
school. Your
committee has the dual task of assisting you in the completion of your
program and
assuring that you meet standards of excellence established by the
institution.
The committee is
comprised of four members in addition to your Major Professor. Members
must be credentialed as Full or Associate members of the Graduate
Faculty. At least two
members must be from outside of your major department (or program area)
and may come from
other colleges within USF. At least one of these members should
represent a cognate area
in which you are interested. Generally, one member is selected from the
Department of
Social and Psychological Foundations of Education.
The
responsibility of committee members includes meeting with you as
necessary to
discuss your program and dissertation, participating in writing and
evaluating the
qualifying examination, participating in the preparation and defense of
the dissertation
proposal, and participating in the final defense of the dissertation.
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Consistent with
college and university guidelines, all Ph.D. programs in
Education have several common elements. Although there is some
variation among programs,
the general structure of a program is shown here.
SPECIALIZATION: 51 HOURS (48, for
students under the 1999-2001 and later catalogs.)
- Dissertation Hours 30 (24, for students under
the 1999-2001 and later catalogs.)
- Major Emphasis Hours 21
- Curriculum Studies 3
- EDG 7667 Anal of Cur & Ins or EDG 7692
Issues in Cur & Ins
*In
addition to the 3-4 hour statistics/research requirement, you must take
8
hours of statistics (6407 and 7408) and pass a research tool
examination (NOTE: The research tool examination is not required of
students under the 1999-2001 and later catalogs.) if statistics is used
as one of your research tools. (See "Tools of Research" below.)
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NOTE: The Tools
of Research requirement does not apply to students under the 1999-2001
and later catalogs.
Before being
admitted to candidacy, you must complete two research
"tools". This requirement helps assure that you have the research
skills
necessary to complete your dissertation. You may fulfill the tool
requirement by
completing two of the following:
- Pass a reading test in one foreign language.
(See section "Tools of Research" in the USF Graduate Catalog.)
- Pass a reading test in a second foreign
language.
- Earn a grade of "B" or better in EME 6930,
Programming Languages for Education, or a computer course designated by
the College of Engineering as a language. Different programming
languages (e.g. BASIC, Logo, Hyperscripting, Pascal) are taught in
different sections of EME 6930 and in different Engineering courses.
The student and his/her Doctoral Committee may decide which language is
more appropriate and notify the Coordinator of Graduate Advising,
either on the program of study when it is filed, or subsequently by
memo from the Major Professor. In the absence of such notification, the
Coordinator will accept only EME 6930: BASIC Tool as satisfying this
course requirement. The semester hours for this course will not be
counted in the total hours required for completion of the student's
program of study, but the grade will be computed into the student's
graduate GPA.
- Earn a "B" or better in EDF 6407 and EDF 7406,
and pass the statistics tool exam.
Early in your
studies, you and your Major Professor will design a
program of studies and submit it to your committee members for
approval. It will then be
forwarded to the Coordinator of Graduate Advising and, upon approval,
will be a contract
of sorts between you and the University. The program must be on file by
the end of the
second semester of your coursework, or before you have completed 15
hours -- whichever
comes first. Especially in the case of interdisciplinary programs, you
need to establish
your committee and form your program of studies as quickly as possible.
You must maintain
a GPA of 3.0. Grades below "C" will not be
accepted toward the degree, but will be included in the computation of
your overall
average.
You may transfer
up to eight (8) semester hours or three courses from
another graduate school. Transfer courses must be completed at an
accredited graduate
school with a grade of "B" or better. You may count twelve (12)
semester hours
of graduate credit earned at USF before your admission to the doctoral
program toward your
degree.
The purpose of
the exam is to evaluate your ability to apply and
synthesize the knowledge acquired during graduate study.
Eligibility:
You may take
the examination during the semester in which you complete all of your
coursework. After you complete the Application for Doctoral Qualifying
Exam and have it
approved by your major professor, you submit three copies of the
application form to the
Coordinator of Graduate Advising. The application must reach the
coordinator by the end of
the second week of the semester in which you plan to take the exam.
Examination
Options:
Two options exist for the IT student's examination. One is twelve hours
in length (spread over three
days) and integrates work in the specialization area, cognate area and
foundations area
(Note: There must be a foundations faculty member on your committee in
order to choose
this option.) The second is comprised of two subtests: an eight hour
portion covering the
specialization area and cognate and a four hour section provided and
evaluated by faculty
in the Psychological and Social Foundations area.
Admission
to Candidacy:
You will be formally admitted to candidacy for the degree when you have
completed the
qualifying examination, the tools of research and all planned
coursework.
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