Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree

In addition to the particular rules of the various departments as stated in their sections of this catalog, the following general rules apply to all Doctor of Philosophy programs.

The award of a Doctor of Philosophy degree indicates that a student has attained mastery of a field and has demonstrated the capacity to perform independent scholarly research and to appreciate the importance of that research within the broad context of his or her discipline. Accordingly, no specific minimum number of credit hours has been established for Ph.D. programs. However, it has been customary to consider the equivalent of three years of full-time graduate study as minimal.

Application for the Doctorate

To become an applicant for the doctorate, the student must be admitted to the Graduate School (see previous sections on Admission to the Graduate School and Admission Statuses) and be accepted by the department of specialization. Only students with exceptional scholarship and originality are accepted for work towards the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and departments are expected to have more restrictive criteria for admission to this program than those for admission to a master's degree program.

The degree is not awarded solely upon completion of a curriculum of prescribed courses, even though the student has done superior work in them; rather, it is awarded in recognition of creative scholarship as demonstrated by a substantial contribution in the candidate's chosen field. Only students who offer promise of meeting this high standard will be accepted by a department to begin work toward this degree. The prospective student should consult in person with the department in which he/she wishes to major.

Program of Study

Each applicant for the doctorate is expected to take such courses as may be required for the advancement of scholarship in general and for training in his/her field of specialization. The major professor shall design a program of study to fit the needs of the individual student subject to approval by the department's graduate program committee and/or department chair. This program may be modified at any time upon the recommendation of the major professor and approval of the department head and the graduate dean. The program will consist of a major field and such minor fields as the major professor and the department head may agree upon.

All courses offered by the University, at any level and in any school, shall be accessible to the doctoral student, subject to approval by the instructors. The student is expected to receive high marks in these courses; grades lower than "B" will usually be regarded as evidence of poor scholarship and may bar the student from admission to candidacy.

Residency

In order that the student may be assured of an opportunity to utilize the educational facilities properly and to participate in the intellectual life and research atmosphere of the University, at least two years of study must be spent at the University of Louisville and at least one must be spent in full-time residency.

To be considered in full-time residency for one year, a student must be registered for a minimum of 18 credit hours in a twelve month period.

Foreign Language Requirement

Foreign language proficiency is no longer a general requirement of the Graduate School. However, certain departments may have established such requirements, which will be specified in their sections of this Catalog.

Qualifying Examination and Candidacy

The applicant for a Doctor of Philosophy degree must pass a qualifying examination, oral or written, or both. Its purpose is to verify that the student has sufficient understanding of and competence in his/her field to become a candidate for the degree. This examination may be referred to by some departments as the preliminary, comprehensive, or candidacy examination.

To be eligible for this examination, the student must have satisfactorily completed the major portion of the prescribed course work and must have met the foreign language requirement, according to departmental policy. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of departmental policy on the consequences of failure of all or part of the examination. A student who fails the examination may not be allowed to retake it more than once.

A doctoral degree student must have been admitted to candidacy not later than the end of the ninth month prior to the awarding of the degree, that is:

• August graduation-November 30 of preceding year
• December graduation-March 31 of same year
• May graduation-August 31 of preceding year

Although the prescribed course work may have been completed, the candidate must maintain an active registration status until the degree is awarded (see previous section on General Academics Policies and Requirements, subsection Maintaining Candidacy).

Time Limitation

The candidate must complete all other requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy within four calendar years after passing the qualifying examination. In exceptional cases, the Dean of the Graduate School is empowered to grant limited extensions of this four-year period.

Dissertation

A dissertation is required of all candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. It is to be a scholarly achievement in research, and should demonstrate a thorough understanding of research techniques in the field of inquiry and the ability to conduct independent research.

The dissertation is to be submitted in completed form to the head of the major department at least thirty days before the end of the term in which the candidate expects to be graduated, and the candidate is not eligible for final examination until the dissertation has been approved.

The dissertation shall be read by a reading committee, chaired by the major professor, and appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School upon the advice of the head of the major department. This committee shall consist of not fewer that three members, and must include one representative of an allied department. The dissertation must be approved by the committee and the head of the major department.

One unbound copy of the dissertation, signed by dissertation committee, must be deposited with the Office of the Graduate School before graduation. Graduate students completing a dissertation in a Ph.D. program offered through the J. B. Speed School of Engineering are required to submit additional copies. Students should contact the dean of that school for specific information.

Standards for the Preparation of Thesis and Dissertations is available on the Graduate School website (graduate.louisville.edu/pubs/theses-dis-sertations/). Alternate standards must be approved if in conflict with this standard.

Final Oral Examination

This examination is to be a defense of the dissertation and a demonstration of the candidate's mastery of his/her field. The examination will be given by a committee of Graduate Faculty members appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School upon recommendation of the head of the major department. The Committee will consist of five or more members representing the major department and at least one allied department. The major professor shall be chair and must be a Senior Member of the Graduate Faculty. The remaining Committee members must be Members of the Graduate Faculty.

The Graduate Dean's Office shall notify all members of the Graduate Faculty at least one week in advance that they are invited to participate in the examination, but only members of the committee may vote. At the discretion of the major department, a portion of the examination may be written.

The examination must be taken at least fourteen days before the end of the semester in which the degree is to be granted. To be passed in this examination, the student may not receive more than one abstention or dissenting vote.

Requirements for the Master's Degree

The departmental announcements in this catalog should be consulted in all instances; however, the following rules apply to all master's degree programs.

Course Credit

A minimum total of 30 semester hours of graduate credit is required for the master's degree. At least 15 semester hours must be in courses of the major subject area, and the remaining hours in the program distributed as recommended and approved by the major department. At least one-half of the credits counted toward the degree (exclusive of thesis, practicum and internships) must be in courses open to graduate students only (600 level or above). A grade average of 3.0 or better must be maintained.

Time Limitation

There is a time limit imposed, stipulating that credit earned more than six years prior to the completion of the degree may not be counted toward meeting its requirements. This time period may be extended upon recommendation of the student's department head and the approval of the Dean of the Graduate School.

Maintaining Candidacy

Refer to previous section entitled, General Academic Policies and Requirements, see subsection entitled Maintaining Candidacy.

Thesis

Students completing degree programs that include a thesis must submit the thesis to their major professor at least thirty days in advance of graduation (guidelines may be found at gradu-ate.louisville.edu/student_info/theses.html).

Acceptance of the thesis shall be at the discretion of a special reading committee composed of the major professor and two other persons of professorial rank recommended by the department and appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School. One person so appointed shall be from a different department, and all three must be members of the Graduate Faculty. The major professor must be a Senior Member of the Graduate Faculty. The committee shall complete its review of the thesis at least one week prior to the final oral examination.

One unbound copy of the accepted thesis, signed by the committee members, must be deposited with the Office of the Graduate School (see Schedule of Courses for due date). Graduate students completing a thesis in an M.S. program offered through the J. B. Speed School of Engineering are required to submit additional copies. Students should contact the office of the dean of that school for specific information.

The thesis normally carries 6 semester hours of graduate credit, which is in addition to the 15hour minimum taken within the major department. In certain departments, a professional paper may be required in lieu of a thesis. For procedures in these instances, consult the head of the department.

Final Oral Examination

The final oral examination shall be conducted by a committee of Graduate Faculty members recommended by the head of the major department and appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School in the same manner as the thesis reading committee.

The examination must cover the materials presented in the thesis or professional paper and may include the content of courses taken or other matters pertinent to the candidate's admis-sibility to the master's degree. At the discretion of the major department, a portion of this examination may be written. The recommendation for the degree shall be determined by a simple majority of the committee members.

Recommendation shall be made to the graduate dean at least one week prior to graduation.

In the event of an unfavorable vote, the committee may refuse the candidate's admissibility to the master's degree, or it may recommend another examination with or without additional work.

Application for Degree

Degrees are awarded in August, December, and May. Candidates who expect to receive degrees on a particular award date must complete the application for degree on ULink before the deadline specified in the University calendar (see Schedule of Courses).

The University holds two commencement ceremonies each year. For specific information regarding the ceremonies, apparel, dates, etc. please visit the Commencement web-site: louisville.edu/commencement/

Each student who is required to submit a dissertation or thesis to fulfill degree requirements must follow the guidelines approved by the Graduate School. These guidelines The Preparation of a Dissertation and The Preparation of a Thesis may found on the Graduate School website grad-uate.louisville.edu/pubs/theses-dissertations/. Prior to submission of the final copy of a dissertation/thesis, students must contact the Graduate School to schedule a review of the document.

Microfilming and Copyrighting

The University of Louisville, by action of its graduate faculty, requires that all theses and dissertations be microfilmed. Copyrighting the paper is an optional choice for its author. Candidates for advanced degrees that require theses or dissertations must submit agreements for microfilming and copyright applications on the appropriate forms supplied by the Graduate School Office. A completed application, one extra copy of the abstract, and one extra copy of the title page must accompany the unbound copies of each dissertation or thesis. The extra copies of the abstract and title page are used by UMI/Pro-quest. in its abstracting journals. A limitation of 350 words is set on the abstracts for doctoral dissertations and 150 words for theses for master's degrees.