Program Requirements

Degree Requirements

As an overview, below are the Ph.D. degree requirements. However, more information must be viewed within the Ph.D. Student Handbook.

1. Download the Requirements Checklist.
2. All requirements, including outside minor statistics, required course work, Professional Seminar (ProSem), and first-year project will be explained to incoming students at orientation. All incoming students beginning the program are required to attend.
3. A first-year project is required of all doctoral students. The completed project is to be presented at the required ProSem at the end of the first calendar year or within the second year. A completed manuscript submitted for publication must serve as a project in-lieu-of thesis for those doctoral students entering the program who have not completed a master’s thesis.
4. All requirements, including outside minor, statistics, presentation of first-year project at Professional Seminar, required course work within the department, and removal of grades of Incomplete must be completed prior to taking preliminary examinations.
5. Students should expect to take preliminary examinations about 28 months (two calendar years plus one semester or equivalent) after beginning the doctoral work.
6. A prospectus for the dissertation should be completed and approved by the dissertation committee of the student no later than two semesters after the semester in which the preliminary examination was taken.
7. The dissertation can be either an original single piece of research or a collection of cumulative first-author publications that are thematically linked. The exact form is to be determined by the student’s dissertation committee and must conform to Graduate School rules.
8. The Graduate School requires that you take your final oral examination and deposit your dissertation within five years of passing preliminary examinations.
9. It is expected that the doctoral degree should be awarded within 3-5 years after entering the program with a master’s degree.

The Faculty of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders views the doctoral degree as a scholarly academic research degree. In addition to the general University regulations for the doctoral degree stipulated in the Graduate School catalog, the following doctoral regulations are specific to the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Within the Ph.D. Student Handbook, you will find the other critical information about this program, including:

• Advising
• First-Year Project
• Required Coursework details
• Ph.D. Minor
• Preliminary Exam (“Prelim”)
• Prospectus
• Final Oral Examination of Dissertation Project
• Appeals: Doctoral-Degree Program
• Special Committee Doctoral Programs

Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree is obtained after successful completion of the following requirements: Master’s thesis or equivalent research project, course work within the department as specified in a plan of study, outside-the-department minor, statistics requirement, and a preliminary examination.