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Chapter 5 Doctoral Degree Regulation - Completing the Degree

Chapter 5 Doctoral Degree Regulations

COMPLETING THE DEGREE

Program of Study

Before admission to candidacy, the student’s proposed program of study is under the direction of the Graduate Program Committee in the major program area through an appropriate program advisor, if designated, and the Graduate Advisor of Record. Upon admission to candidacy and the formation of the student’s dissertation committee, the program of study comes under the purview of the Dissertation Committee, which reviews the proposed program of study and recommends to the Graduate Program Committee any additional course requirements. The final program of study, as approved by the Graduate Program Committee, is then recommended to the Office of Graduate Studies for approval. Approval of the final program of study by the Office of Graduate Studies is a degree requirement. All completed coursework included in the final program of study must have been taken within the preceding eight years. No course for which a grade of less than "C" was earned can be applied to the doctoral degree.

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Qualifying Examination

All students seeking a doctoral degree must pass a qualifying examination. The Qualifying Examination for the doctoral degree is taken upon completion of coursework in the final approved program of study. This examination consists of questions to test the candidate’s knowledge and command of the major field. An examination covering support work is not a Universitywide requirement, but it may be required at the discretion of the Graduate Program Committee or the Dissertation Committee.

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Registration during Examination Semester(s)

Students must be registered during any semester or term in which they are taking required examinations.

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Dissertation Committee

Upon admission to candidacy and in consultation with the Graduate Advisor of Record, the student selects his or her supervising professor with that professor’s consent. The supervising professor, who chairs the Dissertation Committee, must be a member of the UTSA graduate faculty. Additional members of the Dissertation Committee are recommended by the supervising professor, in consultation with the student, to the Graduate Program Committee. Upon recommendation of the Graduate Program Committee, the Office of Graduate Studies appoints the Dissertation Committee. The committee must consist of at least four members, including the supervising professor, who consults with other members of the committee as work proceeds.

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In addition to recommending the student’s final program of study to the Graduate Program Committee and supervising the research and writing of the dissertation, the Dissertation Committee certifies to the Office of Graduate Studies that all degree requirements have been fulfilled.

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Progress Review

If the doctoral degree is not completed within three years from the date of passing the Qualifying Examination, the Graduate Program Committee will review the student’s progress at the end of the three-year period and annually thereafter. The committee may recommend that the student meet new requirements that have been adopted in the interim or take additional courses; it may also recommend that the student’s candidacy be extended one or two semesters, or that it be terminated.

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Recommendations of the Graduate Program Committee are forwarded to the Office of Graduate Studies.

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Doctoral Dissertation

A dissertation is required of every candidate and must be an original contribution to scholarship, based on independent investigation in the major area. It must be approved by the Dissertation Committee. Registration for the dissertation must be for a period of more than one semester. During each semester or term that a student receives advice and/or assistance from a faculty member or supervision by the Dissertation Committee or uses University resources, he or she is required to enroll in the appropriate dissertation course.

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Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

A satisfactory final oral examination is required for the approval of a dissertation. After the Dissertation Committee makes a decision, which must be unanimous, to accept a dissertation for examination, the supervising professor notifies the Office of Graduate Studies at least two weeks in advance of the date of the final oral examination.

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The examination covers the dissertation and the general field of the dissertation, and other parts of the student’s program as determined by the committee. All members of the Dissertation Committee must be satisfied that the student has

  1. completed the work assigned by the committee.
  2. passed all examinations required by the program’s Graduate Program Committee, including the final oral examination.
  3. completed a dissertation that is an independent investigation in the major field, and that itself constitutes a contribution to knowledge.
  4. submitted an abstract for publication in Dissertation Abstracts International that meets with the approval of the committee.
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Once this is complete, the Dissertation Committee members sign the approval sheets for the doctoral dissertation and make an official recommendation to the Office of Graduate Studies that the doctoral degree be awarded. Approval must be unanimous.

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Submission and Publication of Dissertation

When the student has successfully defended the dissertation, he or she must arrange for its publication, usually by microfilm reproduction of the complete dissertation. Three unbound copies, including the original of the dissertation, must be forwarded to the Office of Graduate Studies. The copies are transmitted to the library and sent to UMI for reproduction and binding. The student is required to pay $55 publishing and $10 (per copy) binding fees. Other forms of publication of the dissertation may be accepted to fulfill the publication requirement. A proposal for an alternative to microfilm reproduction must be approved by the Office of Graduate Studies.

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Publication by microfilm does not preclude subsequent publication of the dissertation, in whole or in part, as a monograph or in a journal. Registration of copyright at the author’s expense may be arranged, if desired and appropriate, by completing a form available from the Office of Graduate Studies. In order to protect patent or other rights, the student or supervising professor may request that the Office of Graduate Studies delay publication for one year. This request must be supported by a written recommendation by the student’s supervising professor.

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