• Doctoral Degrees
• Supervisory Committee
• Plan of Study
• Transfer of Credit
• Time Limitation
• Residence Requirements
• Language Requirements
• Examinations
• IRB, IBC, and/or IACUC Approval
• Dissertation
• Filing the Dissertation

Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.)

The D.M.A. is the terminal professional practical degree in music, designed for performers and conductors wishing to acquire the highest performance abilities.

Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P)

The Doctor of Nursing Practice degree is a clinical doctorate offered for post baccalaureate nurses with specialization as a Family Nurse Practioner. An individually-tailored program of study for the DNP is also available for the certified advanced practice nurse with a master's degree.

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) is available in Institutional Analysis and Occupational and Adult Education. The degree requires extensive field service involving qualitative and/or quantitative research, leading to a dissertation that will apply a theory at an institution.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

The Doctor of Philosophy degree is awarded in recognition of high scholarly attainment as evidenced by a period of successful advanced study, the satisfactory completion of prescribed examinations, and the development of an acceptable dissertation covering some significant aspect of a major field of learning.

The supervisory committee should be formed not later than the term immediately after the major adviser is identified for the student, and members should be identified before the plan of study is formulated so all committee members have a chance to contribute to the plan of study.

The supervisory committee will have at least four members. The members consist of

1. The major adviser, who must be a full or associate member of the graduate faculty. The student selects the adviser with approval of the program administrator and the Dean of the Graduate School. The major adviser-student relationship must be a mutually acceptable one. The major adviser will act as the chair of the student's supervisory committee and will be in charge of the Plan of Study. The remaining members of the committee must be agreed upon by the student, the major adviser, and the Dean of the Graduate School.
2. A second member, who must be a full or associate member of the graduate faculty.
3. A third member, who could be either a faculty member or a qualified off-campus expert in the field. If this committee member is not a full or associate member of the graduate faculty, the approval of the Dean of the Graduate School is required. Approval by the dean requires a recommendation from the program administrator accompanied by rationale and a curriculum vitae.
4. The Graduate School appointee, who must be a full member of the NDSU graduate faculty from outside the student's program. This appointment is made by the graduate dean, but suggestions as to whom the appointee might be are welcome.
   
   The role of the Graduate School appointee is to ensure that the student's Plan of Study follows Graduate School guidelines and that other Graduate School policies are observed. The Graduate School appointee also ensures that the expectations for the student's performance are reasonable and that interactions with the supervisory committee are conducted on a professional basis.

NOTE: Other qualified individuals may participate as committee members following approval by the Graduate Dean upon a recommendation accompanied by rationale and curriculum vitae by the appropriate program administrator and academic dean.

The supervisory committee agreed upon by the major adviser and student, and approved by the program administrator and the academic dean shall be recommended to the Dean of the Graduate School for final approval.

Each committee member shall have an equal vote in committee decisions. The committee is to assist the student in the preparation of a plan of study and to advise him or her during the period of graduate work. The supervisory committee is encouraged to convene at least once per semester and meet at least once per year to review the progress of the student.

The plan of study will be prepared by the student and the major adviser. It shall be approved by the supervisory committee, program administrator, academic dean, and Dean of the Graduate School.

The plan of study should be submitted to the Graduate School for approval not later than the term immediately after the supervisory committee is formed and must be filed in the Graduate School prior to scheduling the comprehensive/preliminary examination. Revisions in the program of study must be approved by the student, supervisory committee, program administrator, and Dean of the Graduate School. The graduate dean will officially notify the student, supervisory committee, program administrator, and the academic dean of all changes.

Each program has the responsibility of defining the requirements for a major in its disciplinary area. The total credits will be determined by each program but must not be less than 90 semester graduate credits, of which not less than 27 credits must be in courses approved for graduate credit numbered 601-689, 691, 700-789, and 791 (referred to as didactic courses). Of these 27 credits, not fewer than 15 credits must be in 700-level course work (700-789 & 791). A student matriculating with a master's degree, including a degree earned at an international institution, must earn not fewer than 60 graduate credits at NDSU. Of these credits, not fewer than 15 credits must be NDSU courses at the 700 level (700-789 & 791). For specific requirements, the student should consult the specific programs.

All graduate credits used to meet the requirements of a doctoral degree must be approved by the supervisory committee, the program administrator, the academic dean, and the Dean of the Graduate School.

The doctorate requires 27 credits of course work, and of these, no more than 12 may be transferred by the petition process. Course work which is transferred does not reduce the total requirement of 60 credits for students with a master's degree in the same discipline.

Courses listed in the Graduate Bulletin of the Tri-College University Leadership Administration Program are not considered transfer credits and can be included on programs of study without petition. All other Minnesota State University Moorhead graduate credits are subject to the minimums of transfer credits and to the policies given in the text.

All transfer credits

1. must ordinarily have been earned from a U.S. or Canadian institution accredited to offer graduate courses and degrees (Credits from international institutions are transferable only after examination by a committee from the student's program.)
2. must carry only grades of A or B
3. must have been earned within a 10-year period at the time of the final examination
4. must be clearly graduate level (a course listed as both graduate and/or undergraduate level will not be transferred)
5. must not be a continuing education, correspondence, extension, or workshop course
6. must not be internship, individual study, special problem, or research (disquisition) courses, or courses graded Pass/Fail or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
7. must not have been used to fulfill the requirements of a baccalaureate degree
8. must be verified by an official transcript
9. will not be used in calculation of the grade point average.

It is the responsibility of the student to provide official transcripts of graduate courses taken elsewhere to the Graduate School.

NOTE: The special problem credits in item 6 are equivalent to North Dakota State University 696/796 Special Topic credits.

Graduate credit for any course work that is more than 10 calendar years old at the time of the final examination cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements. The final examination must be retaken if the final six (6) copies of the approved dissertation are not delivered to the Graduate School within one (1) year of the date of the final examination or if any other degree requirements have not been completed within one (1) year of the date of the final examination.

If a period of time two (2) years or greater lapses before the final copies are submitted, the student must reapply to the Graduate School and must register for a minimum of two (2) credits. Degree date is based on the date when final copies are submitted to the Graduate School.

Graduate study for the Doctor of Philosophy degree normally requires a minimum of 3 years of full-time study beyond the baccalaureate degree. A student who has a master's degree or equivalent must devote at least one of the two remaining academic years of study in residence at North Dakota State University.

Each graduate program will determine whether it will require a language and, if so, the language or languages applicable to the candidate's field of study and the level of reading proficiency required. Low-level proficiency will measure the candidate's comprehension of material in the major field in the foreign language with unlimited use of linguistic reference sources (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, etc.); high-level proficiency will measure a similar reading comprehension with limited use of such reference sources.

All examinations will be administered under the supervision of the Department of Modern Languages, which will certify the proficiency in the specified foreign language by signing the Ph.D. program of study in the appropriate place. International students whose native language is not English may satisfy the language requirement in their native language, providing their graduate program approves. In these cases, the basis for proficiency will be the candidate's use of English, rather than the foreign language.

A comprehensive/preliminary examination will be required of each student after the greater portion of courses has been completed and any required language proficiency has been certified. This examination consists of a written part and an oral part. After passing the comprehensive/preliminary examination, the student will be formally admitted to candidacy for the Doctor of Philosophy degree. At least one academic semester must elapse between the comprehensive/preliminary examination and the final examination.

The final examination will be taken after the candidate has completed the course work and dissertation. This oral examination will be concerned primarily with the dissertation, but it may also cover material from course work, especially those courses fundamental to the dissertation.

Permission to schedule the comprehensive/preliminary and the final oral examinations must be requested. Permission to schedule the examination must be requested of the Graduate School by the student's major adviser using the Request to Schedule form. The request to schedule must be sent to the Graduate School at least two (2) weeks prior to the examination.

Care should be taken by the student to schedule the examination with all committee members. The notification by the Graduate School will confirm this scheduled examination.

The examining committee shall consist of the supervisory committee. The dissertation in a near final form must be given to the committee members at least 7 days prior to the final examination.

At the conclusion of each oral examination, the examining committee shall record, in writing, its approval or disapproval of the candidate and file its report with the Dean of the Graduate School. The committee's decision filed on the Report of the Final Examination signifies that the student has been examined with respect to the knowledge required in the major area and that all course work has been satisfactorily completed. This form should be filed in the Graduate School within 7 days.

A negative vote by more than one member of the student's committee will signify failure of either the comprehensive/preliminary examination or the final examination. Upon permission of a majority of the supervisory committee members, a candidate is allowed to take each examination twice. The supervisory committee will specify a period of time not less than 1 month that must elapse before the failed examination can be repeated. Exception to this time limit will be considered by the Dean of the Graduate School upon presentation of written justification from the chair of the supervisory committee in consultation with the committee members.

Should both attempts to pass an examination result in failure, the candidate may request to take the examination a third time. A request for a third examination requires the support of the supervisory committee and program administrator, and the approval of the Dean of the Graduate School after consultation with the Graduate Council.

Continuous enrollment is required until all degree requirements are completed, including submitting final copies.

To participate in commencement, the student must have passed the final examination.

Disquisitions which involve research using humans or animals as subjects or biohazard materials will not be approved by the Graduate School if such research has not been previously approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), or Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) as appropriate. Every effort should be made by advisers to see that students are aware of these University requirements.

NOTE: If a proposed graduate research project involves human, animal, or biohazard subjects, it must be submitted for review and approval by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and/or the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC). This process should be initiated by the student after his or her supervisory committee has approved the final research design because IRB, IBC, and/or IACUC approval must be obtained before the research project commences and cannot be granted retroactively. Please include a copy of the appropriate approval letters when the dissertation is submitted for editing.

The dissertation must show originality and demonstrate the student's capacity for independent research. It must embody results of research which constitute a definitive contribution to knowledge.

After the final examination, the student incorporates into the dissertation corrections suggested at the oral examination. The student, major adviser, and program administrator then sign the Checklist for Dissertations, Theses, and Papers; and one copy of the dissertation, printed on regular paper, is presented to the Graduate School for approval by a disquisition editor and the Dean of the Graduate School. This copy must be accompanied by a receipt from the Customer Account Services for the completion package. After approval, 6 final copies of the dissertation, on the required paper are to be presented, unbound, to the Graduate School. Two bound copies of the thesis or paper go to the university library. Three bound copies are for the student, the student's adviser, and the student's program. The sixth copy of the dissertation, accompanied by an additional copy of the title page and an additional copy of the Abstract signed by the major adviser, is sent to Bell & Howell for microfilming.

The student has 1 year from the date of the final examination to deliver the 6 final copies to the Graduate School and complete all other degree requirements. Should the disquisition not be deposited as specified or all other degree requirements not be completed, the student must repeat the final examination. If a period of time two years or greater lapses before the final copies are submitted, the student must reapply to the Graduate School and must register for a minimum of 2 credits. Degree date is based on the date when final copies are submitted to the Graduate School.