Degree Requirements

Summary of Degree Requirements

All Ph.D. students must complete a minimum of 60 doctoral-level hours for the degree of which 48 hours are course work, and 12 hours are dissertation effective Fall 2024. The 48 hours include 18 hours of core courses, 12 hours of courses in the major, three hours of dissertation proposal development (ED 7341), nine hours of required research coursework, and six hours of doctoral level (7000) elective courses. Some of these courses have prerequisites, and students who lack the appropriate prerequisites must complete them before enrolling in those courses.

After completing the required course work in the core and major, the student must defend their dissertation proposal. This will serve as their comprehensive exam. The student must complete all coursework (including electives), and pass their dissertation proposal in order to be advanced to candidacy. Once the student has advanced to candidacy, the student must also complete a minimum of 12 hours of doctoral dissertation credit. In order to graduate, the student must also complete and defend the Ph.D. dissertation.

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