Doctor of Philosophy Degree

The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

1. The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is the highest earned degree conferred by nearly all universities. It attests to high attainment in scholarship and in research and is conferred only for work of distinction which displays marked powers of originality.
2. Departmental or program requirements for the degree vary considerably, but in no department is the degree awarded solely for study over a prescribed period of time or for merely meeting the minimum requirements summarized below.
3. To be eligible to receive the Ph.D. degree a student must:
   1. Complete the specified general degree requirements.
   2. Demonstrate completion of the equivalent of six full semesters of graduate study and research beyond the bachelor’s degree.
   3. Complete an acceptable dissertation after being admitted to candidacy for the degree.
   4. Satisfy the general and specific departmental or program requirements for the degree.

Admission to the Doctoral Program

1. A student becomes an applicant for the doctorate upon admission to the Graduate School and upon acceptance to pursue the degree by a department or program offering a doctoral program.
2. Tenured University of Louisiana at Lafayette faculty above the rank of instructor may not be admitted into the University of Louisiana at Lafayette doctoral programs.

Grade, Credit, and Time Requirements

1. A PhD degree requires completion of a minimum of 66 graduate credit hours, including a minimum of 24 credit hours of dissertation research and dissertation (699) and at least 39 credit hours of coursework beyond the baccalaureate degree; the remaining 3 credit  hours required varies by program. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the graduate advisor to determine the acceptability of previous coursework. In alignment with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools requirements,  A PhD degree requires completion of a minimum of 66 graduate credit hours, including a minimum of 24 credit hours of dissertation research and dissertation (699) and at least 39 credit hours of coursework beyond the baccalaureate degree; the remaining 3 credit hours required varies by program.
2. Each degree candidate must present acceptable grades in the coursework specified for the curriculum. Grades must average B or better, both overall and in the major field. No more than one course in which a grade of C has been earned may be applied toward the fulfillment of degree requirements.
3. At least one-half of the minimum credit hours of coursework required of each degree candidate (not including dissertation credit) must be in courses limited to graduate students. In some instances (for example, mathematics) the student may be required to earn a higher percentage of credit hours in courses at the 500 and 600 levels.
4. Upon satisfactory completion of the dissertation, a minimum of 24 credit hours of dissertation credit will be applied toward the completion of degree requirements.
5. All degree requirements must be completed within six calendar years following advancement to candidacy in a Ph.D. program. Advancement to candidacy is defined as successful completion of the general comprehensive examination and, if required by the department, language requirement and a prospectus.
6. A maximum of 12 credit hours of graduate credit for application toward the Ph.D. degree may be earned in courses in the sequences 497-498, 597-598, and 697-698 or in other individual or special studies courses.

Residence Requirement

The minimum residence requirement shall be two semesters of full-time consecutive graduate study, not including summer sessions. The student should consult the department or program to determine whether there are additional residence requirements.

Advisory Committee

Each department or program sets policies regarding the establishment of advisory committees for students.

Preliminary Examination

To aid in the planning of the student’s program of study, departments or programs require an interpretive examination or evaluation procedure of the student for the primary purpose of determining weaknesses and strengths in the student’s preparation. This examination may be given during the student’s first semester. The examination is usually waived in the case of students who have earned the master’s degree in the same department or program.

General Comprehensive Examination

1. A general comprehensive examination covering all areas of study undertaken by the student is required of each applicant for the doctorate. The examination must include a written portion and may include an oral portion at the discretion of the major department or program.
2. The applicant should schedule the general comprehensive examination at the time specified by the department or program. The structure and composition of the examining committee is at the discretion of the department or program. A comprehensive examination committee is generally comprised of three to five members, at least two must be members of the UL Lafayette Graduate Faculty. In all cases, the committee must be chaired by a member of the Graduate Faculty. The UL Lafayette Graduate Faculty members shall constitute a simple majority of the committee.
3. Satisfactory completion of the general comprehensive examination requirement shall be determined by vote of the examining committee, with no more than one member dissenting, unless the degree-granting department or program has specified in writing a different standard.
4. A candidate who fails the examination must register in the Graduate School for at least one additional semester or summer session before being given a second examination. No candidate will be permitted a third examination.

Admission to  Candidacy

1. Admission to candidacy for the Doctor of Philosophy degree is recognition of a stage in advancement toward the degree.
2. Immediately after satisfactory completion of the general comprehensive examination and language requirement, the student shall make application for admission to candidacy on the form available in the Graduate School office. Departmental regulations stipulate whether a prospectus is required. If it is required, the appropriate form must be signed by the student, the committee members, and the chairman of the department or program. A copy must be on file in the Graduate School.
3. Each application for admission to candidacy must be approved by the Graduate Dean. No person whose proficiency in English (or French, in Francophone studies) is unsatisfactory will be admitted to candidacy.

Dissertation

1. Each candidate for the doctoral degree is required to complete a dissertation concerned with a well-defined problem lending itself to a study of reasonable scope. The dissertation should represent a significant contribution to learning in the discipline concerned.
2. A student actively engaged in work on a dissertation, as determined by the student’s major professor, must be officially enrolled for dissertation credit, whether the student is on or off campus. Dissertation credit will be scheduled and recorded as agreed upon by student and major professor in light of the anticipated time and effort to be devoted to the dissertation project.
3. The dissertation must be prepared according to the requirements specified in the publication, Guidelines for the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations.
4. Prior to the final examination, the candidate must submit a copy or copies of the dissertation to the dissertation committee, in the form specified by the committee and according to a schedule set by the committee, to permit review by committee members.
5. The dissertation is officially accepted upon unanimous vote of the dissertation committee, unless the degree-granting department or program has specified in writing a different standard.
6. One perfect copy of the dissertation in final, finished format must be presented to the Graduate School office for the official approval of the Graduate Dean by the date designated in the schedule of classes. The required copy must conform to the requirements specified in the publication, Guidelines for the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations. Students are reminded that “perfect copy” refers to both content and format. Theses not meeting these guidelines will be returned. Failure to meet deadlines may delay graduation.
7. When the final copy of the thesis is presented to the Graduate School for the Dean’s approval, the student must submit one original certificates of approval signed by each member of the committee, to be signed later by the Dean of the Graduate School and incorporated into the final copy of the thesis. Original signatures in black ink are required on the approval sheet; copies of the approval sheet with duplicated signatures are not acceptable.
8. In instances where the Dean of the Graduate School is an official member of a student’s dissertation committee, the approval sheet of the dissertation will contain the name, rank, and signature of the Chair of the Graduate Council in the space normally provided for the Dean of the Graduate School. In such instances, the Dean will sign only as a member of the dissertation committee.
9. A dissertation abstract, not to exceed 350 words, must accompany the required copy of the dissertation. Two additional copies of the abstract must be furnished to the Graduate School office when the dissertation is presented.
10. Each candidate must pay a binding charge of $15.00 per copy for the required copy of the dissertation presented to the Graduate School office. In cases where special binding expenses are incurred, the student may be required to pay additional charges. The Graduate School office makes the arrangements for binding. The final copy of the dissertation will be provided to the Dupre Library. Additional copies are to be prepared as specified by the candidate’s department, or as desired by the candidate for personal use, at a binding charge of $15.00 per copy. Additional copies of the dissertation are not required to be printed on archival quality paper, as specified in the Guidelines for the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations, but are required to include original certificates of approval with committee members’ signatures.
11. In addition, all doctoral students must submit a PDF of the final version of the dissertation to Proquest/UMI ETD Administrator. All submissions must be published under the “Open Access” option through ProQuest/UMI Dissertations Publishing and students must pay the $95.00 publishing fee. If the “Traditional Publishing” option is selected, then the student will be required to resubmit their dissertation under the “Open Access” option. If the “Embargo” option is selected, the student must have already obtained permission for an embargo from the Graduate School. Students who select the embargo option without securing permission will be required to resubmit their dissertation with the “Embargo” option deselected. Students that request, for whatever reason, an embargo on the release of their work must still submit to ProQuest/UMI Dissertations Publishing. If the embargo request is approved by the Graduate School, then their dissertation will be stored within the ProQuest/UMI database until the schedule lift date of the embargo.
12. The doctoral student is encouraged but not required to have the dissertation registered with the Library of Congress. Proquest/UMI Dissertations Publishing provides a copyright filing service for an additional fee.

Dissertation Committee

1. The dissertation committee is responsible for supervising the preparation of the student’s dissertation, for scheduling and administering the final examinations, and for forwarding the Final Report to the Dean of the Graduate School. At such time as the student’s advisory committee requests, the Dean of the Graduate School will approve, upon departmental or program recommendation, a dissertation committee.
2. A doctoral dissertation committee is generally comprised of three to five members, at least three members of which must be members of the UL Lafayette Graduate Faculty. The UL Lafayette Graduate Faculty members shall always constitute a simple majority of the committee membership regardless of the number of total committee members. All members of a dissertation committee at UL Lafayette shall be voting members of said committee with the privilege of signing the approval page of the dissertation. Only graduate faculty members at UL Lafayette may serve as chair and/or co-chair of a dissertation committee. This includes adjunct faculty who are members of the UL Lafayette Graduate Faculty. Committee members from outside the UL Lafayette faculty may serve as outside members of the dissertation committee with the privilege of voting and signing the dissertation approval page. These members shall be chosen based upon their qualifications by the dissertation committee.
   
   In addition, the committee must include adequate representation from the candidate’s major field, and secondary field (if any). A minimum of two members in addition to the chair must participate in the defense of dissertation. The Dean of the Graduate School may appoint an outside observer to represent the Graduate Faculty, according to the Outside Observers  policies.

Final Examination

1. The final examination is an oral exercise concerned with the dissertation, but it may be extended to other areas at the discretion of the committee. There shall be prior announcement of the name of the candidate, the field, the title of the dissertation, and the date, time, and place of the final examination. All members of the University faculty may attend as observers.
2. The final examination is scheduled only after completion of the dissertation in a form acceptable to the dissertation committee and after all other requirements for the doctorate have been satisfied. For a student to graduate at the end of a semester, the final examination must be completed by the date designated in the schedule of classes. Satisfactory performance on the examination completes all academic requirements for the degree.

Doctor of Philosophy Check-List

1. Took Graduate Record Examination prior to first semester of study.
2. Prepared outline of curriculum with department head or advisor.
3. Passed departmental preliminary examination.
4. Had a dissertation committee approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.
5. Completed courses listed in outline of curriculum.
6. Completed foreign language requirements.
7. Satisfactorily completed the general comprehensive examination.
8. If applicable, presented acceptable dissertation prospectus to dissertation committee.
9. Admitted to candidacy immediately after satisfactory completion of the general comprehensive examination.
10. Completed and returned the Graduation Check-List to the Graduate School by end of the first week of last semester of graduate work.
11. Submitted Application for Degree and paid diploma fee by the end of the first week of the last semester of study.
12. Completed residence requirements.
13. Presented dissertation in a form and according to a schedule acceptable to the dissertation committee before taking the final examination.
14. Satisfactorily completed the final examination.
15. Maintained a 3.0 average overall and in major field, with no more than one C in a course to be applied toward the fulfillment of degree requirements, and with the prescribed number of credit hours earned in courses at the 500 and 600 levels.
16. Turned in, or made arrangements for turning in, to the Graduate School office the approved four copies of the dissertation in perfect, finished form, each with an approval sheet with original signatures in black ink and a dissertation abstract, and two extra copies of the abstract, and paid dissertation binding charge of $15.00 per copy.
17. Paid appropriate fees for the services provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. See the Graduate School Office for the current fee amounts.
18. Attended graduation exercises, unless excused in advance in writing by the Dean of the Graduate School.