University of Oklahoma Health Science Center Doctoral Degree Programs e-mail the
After admission to the Graduate College, students become prospective candidates at the discretion of their Advisory Conference Committee. Full candidacy is granted only upon successful completion of the General Examination. Students who finish a master's degree cannot continue graduate study unless they are admitted into a doctoral program by the recommendation of a department and approval of the Graduate Dean. 4.2 DOCTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH DEGREE
(DrPH) 4.3 ACCELERATED DUAL DEGREE PROGRAM 4.4 SPECIALIZATION IN NEUROSCIENCE 4.5 M.D./Ph.D. DEGREE PROGRAM 4.6 INTERDISCIPLINARY DOCTORAL PROGRAM Because regular departmental programs usually require some course work in related areas, these programs must be defined so that they differ from conventional departmental programs. To this end, an interdisciplinary program is defined as one in which the candidate takes less than the normal number of courses required for a doctoral student in the disciplinary program but may require more didactic coursework than for the traditional doctoral degree. The procedures for candidacy and for earning a doctoral degree in an Interdisciplinary program are: (1) The candidate must apply and be admitted to a graduate program authorized by the State Regents to grant the doctoral degree. Admission to the graduate program does not necessarily imply subsequent acceptance into an interdisciplinary program. (2) To be admitted into the Interdisciplinary program, the candidate must submit a petition to the Graduate Dean consisting of: a statement justifying the need for investigation in the proposed area; a list of courses to be included in the program of study; how this program significantly differs from existing programs; a research proposal; and a statement about the program from the proposed members of the Advisory Committee. (3) The Graduate Dean, or a person designated by the Dean, is an ex-officio member of the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee. The Graduate Council must approve the rationale, courses, and members of the Advisory Committee. Any changes in an approved program must be authorized by the Graduate Dean. (4) The majority of the graduate's courses leading to the Interdisciplinary degree must be taken in departments or units authorized to offer the doctoral degree. Credit received for research for the doctoral dissertation may not be used to meet the preceding requirements. (5) For the Interdisciplinary program, the degree granted will bear the name of the program in which most of the candidate's courses are taken, for example, Physiology/ Interdisciplinary. (6) Subsequent procedures follow the rules of the Graduate College, except that the Advisory Committee is not constrained to follow the specific degree requirements of a particular department or unit.
4.7.1 Transfer Credit for Doctoral Programs (1) A maximum of 44 semester hours from individual courses and/or a completed degree may be applied toward a doctoral degree. Exceptions can be made for additional non-OU coursework taken by electronic media, following enrollment in an OUHSC doctoral program. (2) The coursework transferred must
represent valid graduate credit earned in graduate level courses from
an accredited college or university. (4) The credit must be applicable to the degree program. (5) Individual courses applied must not be more than six years old at the time of admission to the degree program. In special cases, credit more than six years old may be transferred if recommended and validated by the department and approved by the Graduate Dean. The departmental procedures to validate the student's current knowledge and competency must have the approval of the Graduate Dean. (6) A completed master's degree, all of which is to be used, may be applied toward a doctoral degree regardless of age, if approved by the department/program and the Graduate Dean. The total number of credit hours transferred toward the Ph.D. degree cannot exceed 44 semester hours. (7) Credit from a professional degree program such as the M.D., D.D.S., or D.V.M. degree may be applied toward a graduate degree as transfer credit, provided that such courses carry a grade of A, B, or S and have been approved for graduate credit by the academic institution of origin. (8) Graduate coursework completed in doctoral granting departments at the University of Oklahoma Norman Campus will be considered as residence credit, and upon approval of the department and the Graduate Dean, may be used without limitation as credit toward a doctoral degree. (9) Credit hours previously counted for one doctoral degree may not be applied toward a second doctoral degree. No more than six hours of transfer thesis research credit from a completed master's degree may be applied toward a doctoral degree. (10) Credit by correspondence or by advanced standing examination will not apply toward a graduate degree. (11) Graduate coursework taken in Tulsa from the University of Oklahoma is not considered transfer credit. OSU Tulsa consists of five cooperating universities that provide undergraduate and graduate level courses as well as some degree programs. Credit taken from the other cooperating universities through OSU Tulsa is considered transfer work and must comply with the transfer policies. (12) All transfer coursework must be approved by the department and by the Graduate Dean. Departments with transfer rules more stringent than those listed in this section have specified them in the departmental section of the bulletin. These more stringent rules take precedence over the general rules described in this section. 4.7.2 Grade Point Average Computation 4.7.3 Time Limits For Completing Doctoral Degree A doctoral candidate is normally expected to complete all the degree requirements within five years after admission to candidacy. Departments with shorter time limits have so indicated in the section of this Bulletin that refers specifically to their program. Extensions greater than one year need the approval of the Graduate Dean and will require that the department or program unit involved certify that the student's knowledge will be current and appropriate to the degree at the time the degree is awarded. The procedure to be used for this determination must be approved by the Graduate Dean. Individual graduate courses, not applied toward a previous graduate degree, taken at the University of Oklahoma or at another accredited university that is to be applied toward a doctoral degree must not be more than six years old at the time of admission or readmission to the Graduate College. No more than 23 credit hours (transfer credit and resident credit) applied toward a doctoral degree can be more than nine years old at the time of graduation for students entering with a master's degree or ten years old for students entering with a bachelor's degree. 4.7.4 Responsibilities of the Graduate Department or
Academic Unit Research proficiency is based in part on the development of attitudes and skills, which vary considerably from one field to another. The faculty for each program is responsible for requiring that their doctoral candidates demonstrate proficiency in those skills deemed necessary for successful research performance. For example, a faculty may require its students to demonstrate the ability to read, write, or speak one or more foreign languages; to employ statistics in analyzing data; or demonstrate computer competence. Each department or unit of the University offering the doctoral degree will decide the time and means of certifying prospective candidacy and will formally notify the Graduate College when a student has completed all the requirements to be nominated as a prospective candidate. The Graduate Dean will admit the student to candidacy. 4.8 THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (a) Advise, encourage, and act as an advocate for students from the first day a student is in the program. This should include regularly scheduled meetings with the student through the completion of the general examination and until the dissertation advisor is selected; (b) Design an appropriate curriculum for each student; (c) Work with the student to complete and file with the Graduate College a plan of study (Report of the Doctoral Advisory Conference). This report should be filed no later than the end of the student's first year in the program. The Committee should be sure that the student understands that the program may need to be modified or additional work may be necessary, depending on the choice of the dissertation advisor and dissertation topic; (d) Coordinate the administration of the General Examination at the appropriate time; (e) Perform an annual evaluation of each student's progress toward the degree and communicate the results of the evaluation to the student and the Graduate Dean; and (f) Help the students select an appropriate dissertation advisor. 4.9 THE GENERAL EXAMINATION The Department or program unit will develop clearly defined guidelines for the General Examination including: (a) When the examination will be administered within the student's outlined program; (b) The structure and format for the examination (must include a written portion); (c) The composition of the examination committee. If different from the Departmental Advisory Committee, the membership must be approved by the Graduate Dean; (d) The procedure for evaluating the examination; and (e) The procedure available for students to receive consultation and evaluation of their performance on the examination. The student must apply for the examination at least two weeks before it is to be held. The student completes the application on a form available in the Graduate College office and the student and members of the General Examination Committee sign the application. The application is then examined by the Graduate Dean and is approved if it is in order. Within one week following the completion of the General Examination, the chair of the General Examination Committee must submit to the Graduate Dean a written report signed by all members of the examination committee. The report indicates whether the student passed or failed the examination. If the student passed and upon recommendation of the examination committee, the Graduate Dean will admit the student to candidacy for the doctoral degree. If a student fails either the written or oral portion of the examination this is considered a failure and the Graduate Dean must be notified within 72 hours. A recommendation regarding dismissal or an option to be reexamined must be forwarded at this time. If the option is for re-examination, the student must make application to repeat the examination. The General Examination Committee may require the student to do further reading, course work, investigations, etc. The specific requirements must be stated and the proposed time for completion must be forwarded to the Graduate Dean. Failure of the General Examination for a second time will result in dismissal from the doctoral program. When permitted by departmental policy, students who do not hold the master's degree in the doctoral discipline may apply for the master's degree if they have passed the General Examination for the doctoral degree, have met the departmental requirements for the master’s degree, and have the recommendation of the major department. Upon approval by the Graduate Dean, the student will be awarded the appropriate master's degree. The request must be made no later than the next semester after passing the General Examination. The student must file an Admission to Candidacy form for the master's degree and pay the appropriate graduation fees. Transfer credit can only be applied once to a succeeding degree. Students who have failed the general examination and do not hold the master's degree in the doctoral discipline may apply to take the master's comprehensive examination if they have otherwise met all of the departmental requirements for the master's degree, and have the recommendation of the major department. Courses taken prior to failing the general examination for the second time may count for no more than 50 percent of the credit hours required for a master's degree in a different discipline at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Furthermore, the courses must have been taken within six years of the student's admission to the master's degree being sought. The student must be admitted to the master's degree program and have permission from that department and the Graduate Dean to include the courses. 4.9.1Enrollment Requirements During General Examination 4.10 THE DOCTORAL COMMITTEE (a) Guide the student in the selection of an appropriate dissertation topic and in the research design and methodology for the dissertation; (b) Approve the student's research plan or prospectus; (c) Advise and assist the student with specialty information necessary to design and complete the dissertation research project; (d) Perform an annual evaluation of the student's progress toward the degree and communicate the results of the evaluation to the student and the Graduate Dean; (e) Read and correct the drafts of the dissertation to insure that appropriate standards are met; and, (f) Administer the dissertation defense.
Aided by the dissertation advisor, the student should promptly select a dissertation topic. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that approval, if appropriate, has been granted from all regulatory offices, i.e., IRB, IACUC, etc. After the General Examination, most of the student's time will be devoted to research and writing the dissertation. The student must enroll in enough hours of Research for Doctor's Dissertation (course 6980) to satisfy the requirement of the major department and to meet the minimum 90-hour requirement of the Graduate College. 4.11.1Requirements for Enrolling in Dissertation Research The continuous enrollment requirement will be waived for a student who is not working on the dissertation but enrolled in full-time course work. However, if dissertation work is being done a student must enroll in 6980 regardless of the number of other hours of enrollment. Exceptions to the continuous enrollment requirement will be considered on an individual basis by petition to the Graduate Dean. The faculty advisor will determine the number of 6980 credit hours for each enrollment on the basis of the amount of faculty and University resources and services required by the individual student but each enrollment will be for two or more hours. A student working full-time on the dissertation and using University facilities must be enrolled as a full time student during regular semesters and the summer session (See Enrollment section for information on full-time enrollment requirements.) Such enrollments must be completed during the regular registration period. An enrollment of less than full time requires the signature of the student's major department chairperson as well as the faculty advisor. A graduate student, who does not comply with the above provisions, must enroll during the semester in which graduation is expected for the exact number of hours of 6980, which would have been completed with continuous enrollment. In addition, a late enrollment fee must be paid for each of those semesters. The Graduate College and the Office of Admissions and Records will determine the number of hours of 6980 in which the student must enroll in the final semester of the degree program. 4.11.2 Dissertation Reading Copy The Graduate Dean will direct the committee to read and determine whether the dissertation demonstrates the student's discipline. They may accept or reject it. If they reject it, the student will be given another opportunity to submit an acceptable dissertation to the committee and the Graduate College. If they accept it, they may require changes and corrections. When the dissertation is in an acceptable format to the Graduate College and a degree check indicates the student has completed all course work with acceptable grades, the student may schedule the final oral examination. 4.11.3 Final Oral Examination-Dissertation Defense The student must be enrolled in at least two hours the semester he/she is to take the final oral examination. Authority for the Defense of the Doctoral Dissertation and other forms are mailed to the student's major professor before the final oral exam. All members of the committee must sign the form and signify whether the examination was satisfactory or unsatisfactory. At least four members of the doctoral committee, including the major professor and outside member must be present to conduct the examination. Any changes in the doctoral committee must be approved by the Graduate Dean. The Graduate Dean may exercise a prerogative and appoint an observer for the Graduate College who would not be a voting member. The results of the dissertation defense must be reported to the Graduate College within 72 hours. A unanimous report from the doctoral committee is expected; however, on occasion some dissenting reports are received. If one member dissents, the dissent is recognized as a minority report. If two members of the doctoral committee dissent, a minority report must be filed and the Graduate Dean will investigate and make the final decision. If more than two members vote unsatisfactory, the defense is judged to be a failure. Only one attempt is granted in defending the dissertation. If the defense is determined to be unsatisfactory (failure), the decision is final and the defense cannot be repeated. Furthermore, the student will be dropped from the rolls of the Graduate College and candidacy for the doctoral degree will terminate. Nothing herein shall prohibit such a student from reapplying for admission to the Graduate College and if readmitted, pursuing a doctoral degree in some other major field so long as the student satisfies all necessary degree requirements under the rules and regulations of the admitting department, Graduate College and University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. 4.11.4 Depositing a Dissertation in the Library If a student fails to do this, the results of the defense will be set aside and the student must present to the Graduate College a new reading copy of the dissertation that received preliminary approval of the major professor. When the doctoral committee accepts this new reading copy, the student can then schedule the final oral examination, which shall constitute the defense of the dissertation. It is essential that all doctoral candidates make themselves responsible for the complete and accurate collation of their dissertations before turning them in to the Library. Students are also reminded that if they are utilizing copyrighted material in the dissertation, they must obtain permission from the holder of the copyright for such reproduction; without such permission, the author of the dissertation is liable to prosecution once the dissertation has been made a published document. 4.12 GRADUATION DEADLINES 4.13 DIPLOMA AND FEES |
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