Texas A&M University-Commerce

Requirements for the Doctoral Degree

1. Degree Plan. Upon acceptance into a doctoral program, a student will receive from the Office of Graduate Studies and Research a degree plan form and copies of all transcripts. The student should contact the major and minor departments for advisor assignments. The degree plan will then be completed with the major and minor advisors and forwarded to the Office of Graduate Studies and Research for approval no later than the first semester of enrollment as a doctoral student. An official copy of the degree plan will then be sent to the student.

2. Course Requirements. A minimum of 90 semester hours beyond the baccalaureate degree or 60 semester hours beyond the master’s degree is required for the doctoral degree. At least 45 hours of graduate course credit must be earned from A&MCommerce. All courses applied toward a doctoral degree must be 500-level or higher. No more than twelve graduate credit hours beyond the master’s degree taken prior to admission to a doctoral program, can be applied toward a doctoral degree.

a. Major. A major requires at least 36 semester hours excluding dissertation hours (718); however, a specific program may require additional semester hours for a major. (Specific program requirements are listed under each departmental section of this catalog.)
b. Minor. Students selecting the 60 hours beyond the master’s degree option are not required to have a minor. A minor consisting of a minimum of 30 semester hours is required in all 90-hour programs except counseling, psychology and English programs. The minor requirement can be fulfilled by one of the following options:
(1) A comprehensive minor with all course work in one academic area. A committee member will be assigned from the academic area and will determine the courses to be taken and be involved in evaluating the written and oral qualifying examinations, the dissertation, and the dissertation defense.
(2) A split minor is two academic areas with at least twelve hours in each area (a 12-18 or 15-15 format). Committee members will be assigned from both academic areas and they will determine the courses to be taken and be involved in the written and oral qualifying examinations, the dissertation, and the dissertation defense.
(3) In rare cases an interdisciplinary studies minor, consisting of at least nine hours in each of three academic areas may be approved. Committee members will be assigned from each of the academic areas, and will be involved in the written and oral qualifying examination, the dissertation proposal, and the dissertation defense.

Regardless of the option chosen the following conditions will apply: assignment of minor advisors rests with the head of the minor department or departments; all courses applied to the minor areas must be approved by the head of the appropriate minor department; at least one committee member must be from outside the student’s major department; transfer courses applied toward a minor must be in academic areas taught at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
c. Other Requirements:
(1) Credit for no less than nine semester hours and not more than twelve semester hours of dissertation (718).
(2) Electives and other course requirements as indicated under each departmental section of this catalog.
(3) Research Tools. (see No. 10)
Specific program requirements are listed under each departmental section of this catalog.

3. Transfer of Credit. Credit for work taken from other regionally accredited graduate schools in the United States is granted in accordance with an evaluation by the Graduate School and upon approval by the student’s advisory committee. Transfer courses applied to a doctoral degree must be in a graduate academic area taught by Texas A&M University-Commerce. Time limitations on transfer courses are the same as for A&M-Commerce courses. Transfer credit will be granted for only those courses in which the student received a grade of “B” or better. Only grades earned at A&M-Commerce will be calculated into the student’s grade point average.

4. Correspondence Courses. Credit earned by correspondence will not apply toward a doctoral degree.

5. Individual Studies. Registration in an individual studies (589 or 689), research, or similar course shall imply an expected level of effort on the part of the student comparable to that associated with an organized class with the same credit value. No more than twelve graduate semester hours (including master’s credit) of individual studies courses may be applied to a doctoral degree. Individual Studies course credit cannot be used toward fulfilling the residency requirement.

6. Grades. A grade point average of 3.00 or better on all graduate work completed at this university and in the student’s major, as well as an overall grade point average of 3.00 or better on all graduate courses completed, is required for graduation. If a course is retaken, the last grade will be counted toward graduation and computation of the overall grade point average. No grade of “C” or below will count toward a doctoral degree. A course in which an “F” is received is considered a course completed. Only geader¢earned at A&M-Commerce will be calculated with student’s grade point average.

7. Academic Probation and Suspension from Degree Programs .A student who fails to achieve and maintain an overall 3.00 graduate grade point average during any semester of enrollment will be placed on academic probation. A student who fails to achieve a 3.00 overall graduate grade point average by the end of the next semester of enrollment will be placed on academic suspension for a minimum of two semesters (two summer terms count as one semester). After the academic suspension is served, the student may be allowed to re-enroll only upon the recommendation of the major department and with the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. Failure to achieve an overall 3.00 graduate grade point average during any subsequent semester of enrollment will result in dismissal, and the student will not be allowed to pursue further study toward the doctoral degree at this institution. No course with a grade of “C” or lower will count toward a doctoral degree. A student receiving a grade of “C” or lower in a third graduate course will be disenrolled and will not be allowed to pursue further doctoral study at this institution. This provision applies to all courses taken and all duplicated courses are applicable. Courses taken from other institutions will not be transferable if taken during a period of suspension from Texas A&M University-Commerce. Students on academic suspension from another institution will not be admitted to A&MCommerce until their specific period of suspension expires.
A student who fails to meet the professional expectations of the field for which they are preparing may be suspended from further study in that program by the department administering that program.
A graduate student who has not been enrolled for a period of at least six years may petition the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research to have previous graduate grades eliminated from the calculation of the official grade point average. No courses eliminated from such calculation could be used toward a graduate degree.

8. Residency.After admission to a doctoral degree program, each student is required to engage in activities that fulfill departmental residency requirements. The departmental residency plan specifies requirements in the following areas:
a. involvement in events that broaden intellectual growth,
b. use of academic support resources,
c. faculty-student interactions that promote scholarship, mentoring, and opportunities
for evaluation,
d. involvement with cognate disciplines and research scholars in those disciplines, and
e. engagement in meaningful peer interactions.
Please check with the major department for specific requirements. Successful completion of residency is conferred by approval of the department.

9. Doctoral Tuition and Fees. Due to legislative changes, doctoral students who have completed over 99 doctoral hours will be charged non-resident tuition and fees. This includes dissertation (718) hours.

10. Research Tools. Candidates for the doctoral degree must possess proficiency in the use of the research skills necessary to successfully complete the doctoral dissertation. It is desirable for students to demonstrate these proficiencies early in their program; however, students must demonstrate such proficiency prior to taking the qualifying examinations.

a. Research tool requirements for the Doctor of Education (EdD) and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the College of Education can be met by successfully completing one course from each of the following four levels with a grade of “B” or better:

Level I: 695 Doctoral Research Seminar
Level II: Psy 612 Psychological and Educational Statistics or Soc 576 Data Analysis in Social Research; or Kine 617 Statistical Procedures in Health and Physical Education.
Level III: Coun 613 Advanced Statistical Techniques or Psy 681 Intermediate Statistics
Level IV: EdAd 698 Ethnography of Education Organizations or SHEd 696 Advanced Research Methodology: Program Evaluation or Psy 610 Non-Parametric Statistics or Psy 670 Multivariate Analysis All research tool courses must be taken in sequence (i.e., Level I should be taken before Level II).
These courses are to be approved, in advance of their offering, by the Graduate Council. The second level research tool (Introductory Statistics) may be satisfied by the successful completion of a proficiency examination over these courses. Contact the Office of Graduate Studies and Research for proficiency examination information. These requirements are to be viewed as minimal requirements. Consequently, a department may require additional research tools courses either for all of their students or as a requirement for an individual student based upon that student’s need.

b. The requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in English program is one of the following:
(1) One foreign language
(a) 18 semester hours of appropriate college-level classes, or
(b) score at the 50 percentile or higher on the Graduate Student Foreign
Language Test (GSFLT)
(2) Two foreign languages
(a) score at the 25th percentile or higher on the GSFLT, or
(b) pass the Foreign Language Proficiency Examination (FLPE) given by the Department of Literature and Languages.

Submission of a proficiency report form to the Office of Graduate Studies and Research is required for Option B. Foreign language exams are administered the first Monday in November and April. Students must register with the Department of Literature and Languages at least two weeks before the exam.

11. Qualifying Examinations. Doctoral students take written and oral qualifying examinations upon the completion of approximately two full years of study. The examinations must be taken and passed a minimum of eight months before the degree is conferred. The qualifying examinations are designed to test the student’s knowledge in the major and minor fields and are administered under the direction of an advisory committee consisting of representatives from the major and minor departments.
Application for taking qualifying examinations, along with a current Texas A&M University-Commerce transcript, must be submitted to the major department at least three weeks prior to the examinations.
An applicant who does not pass the qualifying examinations may be suspended from the doctoral program, or upon the recommendation of the advisory committee and approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, may be permitted to repeat the examinations.

12. Admission to Candidacy for Doctoral Degree. After the qualifying examinations have been satisfactorily completed and all requirements have been verified by the Graduate School, the student will be admitted to candidacy.
Notification of admission to candidacy will be made by the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. After a student has been admitted to candidacy and all course work (except 718 Dissertation) has been completed, the student may qualify for reduced tuition. The degree can be conferred no sooner than eight months after admission to candidacy.

13. Time Limitation for Degree. All degree requirements beyond the master’s must be completed within ten calendar years from the date of admission to the doctoral program. However, no course work beyond the master’s degree which is over ten years old at the time the doctoral degree is to be conferred can be used toward the doctoral degree.

14. Dissertation. A candidate must present a dissertation which is acceptable to the student’s advisory committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. To be acceptable, the dissertation must give evidence that the candidate has pursued a program of research, the results of which reveal superior academic competence and a significant contribution to knowledge.
a. Advisory committee. TThe student should check with the head of the major department concerning the membership of the dissertation committee. The committee will consist of a minimum of three faculty members from the student’s major and minor areas of study (at least one committee member must be from outside the student’s major department).
b. Proposal. The student should secure from the Office of Graduate Studies and Research the following forms: (1) Dissertation Proposal (including human subject policy information) and (2) Schedule for the Presentation of the Dissertation Proposal. The student will work with the members of the advisory committee in developing the dissertation proposal. That proposal will be presented to the advisory committee and a Graduate Council representative in a session that will be open to all graduate faculty members. The Dean of Graduate Studies and Research must be informed of this session by the 25th of the month prior to the month the session is scheduled. The Dissertation Proposal form must be presented to the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research and approved at least one semester prior to graduation.
c. Human Subjects Protection. In preparing your dissertation proposal you should be aware that any research which involves human subjects must be in compliance with University Rule A15.02 Human Subjects Protection. If your research involves human subjects you must have written approval from your department and the University Institutional Review Board prior to contacting your research subjects. Failure to gain appropriate approval before interacting with research subjects could result in denial of your proposal and have possible legal ramifications for you; therefore it is highly recommended that you obtain IRB approval prior to the presentation of your proposal.
d. Dissertation Credit. After admission to candidacy, the student is required to enroll in at least three hours of 718 each fall and spring semester until the dissertation is completed and approved by the advisory committee and the Graduate School. Enrollment during the summer term is not required unless the student is using the counsel of the major advisor and/or University facilities. Students who fail to enroll for dissertation during a fall or spring semester after admission to candidacy will be prohibited from enrolling until the tuition has been paid for those semesters.
e. Scheduling the final examination/dissertation defense. The form, Schedule for the Final Examination/Dissertation defense, must be filed in the Office of Graduate Studies and Research by the 25th of the month prior to the month the examination is to be held. The Final Examination/Defense Report will then be forwarded to the committee chairperson for recording the results.
f. Final Examination/Dissertation Defense. The student will defend the completed dissertation and respond to any questions related to his/her program of study before the advisory committee in a session open to all graduate faculty members. A Graduate Council representative will attend the examination to help assure that general graduate standards related to format and quality are upheld. Students must be in good academic standing with the Office of Graduate Studies and Research to be eligible to take the final examination.
g. Submission of Dissertation. Registration in the dissertation course (718) is required the semester that the dissertation is submitted.
(1) Initial submission. One copy of the dissertation in its final form must be submitted to the Graduate School by the deadline indicated in the schedule of classes or the Graduate Catalog for that particular semester (this deadline is approximately five weeks prior to commencement). Accompanying this copy will be the following:
(a) Final Examination/Dissertation Defense Report,
(b) Receipt showing payment of the doctoral fees, plus fees for copyright,
binding and mailing the dissertation. (Payment is to be made to the
Business Office, cashier’s window, Administration Building.),
(c) four signature pages on 100 percent cotton bond, 20 lb. paper, with each page signed by the committee members and dean of the college,
(d) Survey of Earned Doctorates; Agreement Form (copyright); one extra
copy of the abstract and title page.
(e) the Graduate School forms.
(2) Final Submission. The candidate will be contacted to pick upon the manuscript and have final copies made on 100 percent cotton bond, 20 lb. paper. The Office of Graduate Studies and Research requires five final copies (four copies on the 100 percent cotton bond, at least 20 lb. paper, and one copy on regular paper) of the dissertation. Four copies will be bound and distributed to the student’s major department, major advisor, the library and the student. Final approval of the dissertation rests with the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research.

15. Catalog Privileges. A student is entitled to use the degree provisions of any catalog in effect between the semester the student is admitted to the doctoral degree program and the semester the student’s degree is conferred, provided the catalog used is not more than ten years old at the time the degree is conferred.

16. Filing for Graduation. The candidate must file for graduation in the Registrar’s Office by the deadline indicated in the schedule of classes or the Graduate Catalog for that particular semester. A student must be in good standing with the Graduate School in order to complete graduation requirements.

17. Commencement. The degree is conferred at the commencement following the fulfillment of all requirements. The candidate is expected to be present. Permission from the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research must be obtained if circumstances prevent a candidate from attending commencement.

18. Use of Courses Taken in Non-Degree Status. No more than 12 hours taken in certification or non-degree status can be applied to a doctoral degree.

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