_____ Students must be enrolled in every semester to maintain membership and residency

Phase 1: Course work based on Plan of Study approved by Advisory Committee (Two to Four years)

1. _____ Courses that address research goals constitutes 20 semester hours (adjustments possible)
2. _____ Courses that address career goals constitutes 20 or more semester hours
3. _____ The plan of study also includes courses in clarified in Phase 2 (Seminar and Internship)

Phase 2: Preliminaries and Comprehensive examinations (One to Two semesters)

1. _____ Optional Internship courses (Educ 794), from 1 to 10 semester hours of credit AND
2. _____ The required capstone Seminar (Educ 790) constitutes 3 semester hours. The scope of study focuses on the extent to which the respective student is ready for comprehensive examination. This means reflection of one's self regarding professional passion and reflection of the past history, present expectations of leaders in that respective field of study, and whether adequate preparation has been made for future issues of selected domain. The seminar requires a Capstone paper that addresses these issues that will be graded by the advisory committee as the first part of the written examinations.
3. _____ Written examination, prepared by core program faculty, will consist of the following:
   1. _____ Capstone Paper Requirement submitted with completed Graduate School form entitled: Request to Schedule Examination
   2. _____ Exam on diagnostics addressing courses taken for the research goals (2 to 3 hours)
   3. _____ Academic Exam addressing courses taken for the career goals (2 to 3 hours)
   4. _____ Practical take-home exercise based on professional passion for obtaining the degree
4. _____ Oral examinations will be held for a period that could last from three to five hours. The questions will focus on the four Written Exams listed above in Phase 2, #3 as to whether the student is qualified to be a candidate for the doctorate degree (A Graduate School Form is used to verify)
5. _____ Student becomes a candidate for the doctorate if he/she passes the examinations

Phase 3: Candidacy status preparing and writing the Doctorate Dissertation (One to many years)

1. _____ Presentation will be held for committee approval of the dissertation proposal. The advisory committee reviews Chapter 1 (Introduction), Chapter 2 (Literature Review), and Chapter 3 (Methodology and Procedures) as outlined and practiced in Educ 749 Research and Statistics. This proposal must be submitted to advisors three weeks prior to review date. Dissertation IRB can be applied for after this formal approval. This process also clarifies whether Ph.D. or Ed.D. is applicable to the doctorate being pursued.
2. _____ The student will defend the dissertation during an oral examination. The graduate school rules and procedures apply to this and other procedures mentioned on this page.