October 30, 2019

quick reference guide APPLIED HEALTH SCIENCES PROGRAM

COLLEGE OF ALLIED HEALTH SCI ENCES PROGR AM

Quick Reference Guide

• This document provides basic information to help students and faculty navigate the PhD program in Applied Health Sciences at the College of Allied Health Sciences. • The majority of the information were gathered from the School of Graduate Studies PhD Guide, university and CAHS catalogs and the CAHS and Graduate School websites. • This document is updated periodically. It is best to have the interested student or faculty contact me if they want a copy of it.

Table of Contents THE CURRICULUM AT A GLANCE .................................................................................................................. 1 ROLE OF THE MAJOR ADVISOR ..................................................................................................................... 2 ADVISORY COMMITTEE ................................................................................................................................. 3

ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE ........................................................................................................................ 3 COMMITTEE STRUCTURE .......................................................................................................................... 3

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION COMMITTEE ............................................................................................ 4 RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMITTEE .................................................................................................... 4

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION ................................................................................................................. 5 DISSERTATION PROPOSAL............................................................................................................................. 6 ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY .......................................................................................................................... 7 DISSERTATION ............................................................................................................................................... 8

ORAL DEFENSE .......................................................................................................................................... 8 PROCEDURES FOR ORAL DEFENSE ............................................................................................................ 8

GRADUATION .............................................................................................................................................. 12

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THE CURRICULUM AT A GLANCE ______________________________________________________________________________

9 Minimum number of semesters to graduate

2 Minimum number of semesters after entering into candidacy (or

the equivalent of 18 credits). This policy is to avoid a situation whereby a student graduates within 1 semester after candidacy

9 Maximum number of transferred credits • Transferred credits may either be counted as extra hours or substituted for elective credits • If substituted, must still complete at least 72 hours and 9 semesters in the program

7 Maximum number of consecutive calendar years from the date of

enrollment to finish all coursework and oral defense • Is the 7-year limit extended if I have leave of absence? No

• Is the 7-year limit extended if the student is enrolled in a joint degree? The 7-

year limit does not include the semesters of enrollment in the other program • Can petition to extend the 7-year limit? Yes

54 Credits before taking the Comprehensive Exam comprising • 27 Core credits • 15 Concentration credits • 12 Elective credits

2.8 Cumulative GPA to graduate

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ROLE OF THE MAJOR ADVISOR ______________________________________________________________________________

Selected within the 1st semester

Cannot be the student's work employer/supervisor

Also serves as the chair of the student’s Advisory Committee

Holds primary faculty appointment in the CAHS

Must also have Graduate School appointment

If Major Advisor holds an Adjunct Graduate Faculty Appointment, a Co-Major Advisor must be appointed

o Co-Major Advisor must be a regular (full-time) graduate faculty member

Works with the student to file the Report of Research Progress and Advisory Committee Meetings Form for every semester that the student signs up for the Investigation of a Problem or Thesis/Dissertation credit hours

Works with the Advisory Committee for the good of the student

Helps the student with the Comprehensive Exam, Dissertation Proposal, Dissertation research, Dissertation document and Oral Defense

o Ensures that committee members do their due diligence

o Protects the student from being caught in a crossfire if committee members have disagreements

• Major Advisor serves as chair of

the Advisory Committee.

• Cannot be the student's work

supervisor

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ADVISORY COMMITTEE ______________________________________________________________________________

ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE Meets with the student for the first

time within the 2nd semester

Thereafter, meets with the student at least once a year

Approves the student's coursework for the PhD program within the 2nd semester

Also serves in the student's Comprehensive Exam and Dissertation committees

o Helps the student prepare for the Comprehensive Exam, Dissertation Proposal and Oral Defense of the Dissertation

COMMITTEE STRUCTURE 5 members including Major Advisor as the chair

o Must be approved by the Dean

o Co-Major Advisor is allowed

If the Advisor is not from CAHS, a CAHS faculty must serve as Co-Advisor

o 4 of 5 members must hold graduate appointment in Graduate School

o 1 - 2 members may be from outside the student's major department or program

If a member leaves the institution:

o Cannot continue as member of the committee

o Exceptions may be granted if the committee member requests and receives adjunct graduate faculty status

o Based on the estimated time to dissertation defense, the Dean will consider continuing the individual on the committee as a consultant but for no longer than six months

o Another faculty member must fill the position vacated by the departing faculty as soon as possible even if the departing faculty is a consultant

o If departing member is the Major Advisor, and oral defense is imminent, the program director, chair and Dean will consult to make satisfactory arrangements

o If oral defense is not imminent, a new Advisor must be appointed

The Advisory Committee helps

the student prepare for the

Comprehensive Exam,

Dissertation Proposal and Oral

Defense.

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COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION COMMITTEE ______________________________________________________________________________

Typically comprises members of the Advisory Committee

o Major Advisor cannot be the chair

o The chair may be a member of the Advisory Committee or an individual with no real or perceived conflict of interest regarding the student’s performance and the outcome of the examination

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMITTEE Administers the Comprehensive Exam

Ensures that all procedures of the examination are conducted within the policies and guidelines of The Graduate School

Defines the examination’s scope for the student and prepares the examination. Refer to the next section for details

Creates the exam. Refer to the next section for details

Writes a letter to the student explaining in detail how the student will be graded

Obtains approval for the format and scheduling of the exam 2 weeks prior

o Exam and format must be attached to the approval form

o Student cannot preview the exam

Emails the student, Education Program Specialist and Program Director whether the student passed the Written component of the Comps within 1 week

Conducts the Oral component within 2 weeks after notification

Submits the results of the Comps exam to Education Program Specialist and Program Director within 2 days after Oral

Can the program director chair the Comps Exam committee? Yes.

Major Advisor cannot be chair of

the Comprehensive Exam

committee.

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COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION ______________________________________________________________________________

Must be taken within four semesters of completion of the program’s core course requirements and no later than the end of the seventh (7th) semester of full time, year-round study

The Graduate School must approve the exam at least 2 weeks in advance

o The exam questions and format must be attached to the approval form

The Chair of the Comps exam must inform the student in writing explaining the written exam format and how it will be graded

Students who matriculated in Summer 2016 or earlier may choose to take the Comps

exam in the form of a research proposal o The proposal must be the student’s independent work product, not excerpts from

the Major Advisor’s grant proposals, manuscripts, etc o The Major Advisor may provide minor input in the form of suggestions on content

and organization, but should not directly edit or revise the document o The guidelines for the format and grading of the Comps Exam comprising the 1)

written research proposal and 2) oral components can be found in Appendix A of this document

Start preparing for the

Comprehensive Examination in

the first year.

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DISSERTATION PROPOSAL ______________________________________________________________________________

Scheduled after the Comprehensive Exam, typically within a few weeks

Working professionals must do their dissertation proposal separate from their employment responsibilities

Using data from the work that the student routinely carries out in their job and turning it into their dissertation is not allowed

o This amounts to double dipping and goes against the spirit and guiding principal of doctoral training

o May however, compile data or run statistics obtained from their work as preliminary/pilot data (subject to IRB approval) as the rationale for their dissertation

Unlike the Comps Exam, there is no oral defense of the dissertation proposal. However, an oral presentation is highly recommended

o The presentation is not an "oral defense" the way the term is traditionally understood with regards to the formal PhD doctoral defense

o Instead, the tone and mindset of the committee members should be one of conference or discussion, mainly to seek clarification and provide the student with feedback to improve the dissertation proposal

o Committee members are expected to read the proposal before attending the student's presentation

o Questions may be given to the student ahead of time to enable the student to better prepare for the presentation

Start preparing for the

Dissertation Proposal in the first

year.

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ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY ______________________________________________________________________________

Must have met all requirements for entry to candidacy including approval of dissertation proposal

Must take 9300 Dissertation credits during candidacy until dissertation requirements are met

• Start formatting your

dissertation after admission to

candidacy.

• Work with your committee to

determine which style you

should format the dissertation.

• Refer to the Other Documents

section in Appendix D for the

format and style options

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DISSERTATION ______________________________________________________________________________

ORAL DEFENSE Dissertation research and oral defense

must be completed within three years of admission to candidacy

Must obtain approval of the dissertation

Conduct the oral defense 2 weeks after submission of the dissertation

Must include 1-2 readers who will have voting rights

Follow the guidelines for conducting the dissertation oral defense

Major Advisor chairs the oral defense

o Makes sure (ahead of time) that student has met all program requirements up to this point

o Circulate the evaluation form and the procedures described below to the committee and reader(s) ahead of time

o Remind committee members ahead of time

To be appropriately attired for the occasion as a show of respect to the dignity and decorum of the oral defense proceedings, as well as honor the student's rite-of-passage ritual as they transition from being a doctoral candidate to a doctoral graduate

To be present for the entire oral defense lasting 3.5 to 4 hours

PROCEDURES FOR ORAL DEFENSE

1. The oral defense will be announced publicly 2. Dissertation committee (including the readers) will be chaired by Major Advisor

2.1. All committee members and reader(s) must attend the public and private components of the exam 2.2. Committee members & reader(s) should read the dissertation ahead of time 2.3. Should come prepared to take notes

PROCEDURES FOR THE PUBLIC COMPONENT OF THE ORAL DEFENSE 3. Major Advisor will welcome the candidate and guests (including members of the public), thank the committee and reader(s) and introduce the committee members and candidate

3.1. Introduce the candidate’s background and course of study 3.2. Briefly explain the public and private components of the oral exam

The Dissertation Committee

must include 1-2 readers who

will have voting rights.

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4. Candidate will make a 40-45 minute public presentation of the dissertation, generally uninterrupted

4.1. Presentation will be in the standard format of a scientific research seminar utilizing appropriate visual aids

5. Following the presentation, the Major Advisor will open the floor to questions from the general audience

5.1. Advisor will moderate the question/answer session to allow for as many questions as are feasible 5.2. Prevent excessive follow-up on questions for which the candidate is unable to provide a satisfactory answer 5.3. Committee members may take note of such questions and reopen discussion during the committee’s rounds of questioning if the topic/subject is deemed essential to the defense 5.4. This public presentation & question session should last no more than 1-hour

5.4.1. Advisor will end the questions at the appropriate time and thank the candidate for the presentation (applause) 5.4.2. Announce that the public session is adjourned, and that the committee will begin its private examination of the candidate after a 10-15 minutes break

PROCEDURES FOR THE PRIVATE COMPONENT OF THE ORAL DEFENSE 6. If presentation has been held in a large venue, the candidate and committee may adjourn to a smaller room for the remainder of the proceedings

6.1. Room should be equipped for the student to show their presentation, including a white board

7. Committee including reader(s) should prepare several questions in advance 7.1. Questions should relate to dissertation and generate discussion from candidate to defend statements, graphs, tables, statistics, techniques, and conclusions 7.2. Advisor will moderate the session

7.2.1. Two or three rounds of questioning are expected 7.2.2. In each round, a member has 10 minute to ask questions 7.2.3. Candidate can seek clarification of any question

7.2.3.1. Advisor may help to clarify questions 7.2.4. Session should last no more than 90 minutes

8. Candidate is permitted a reasonable time to gather his/her thoughts before answering questions

8.1. Candidate is permitted any time to leave the room to attend to personal functions

9. Following consensus that questioning by the committee is complete, candidate will be asked to leave the room 10. The closed committee meeting will be called to order by the advisor

10.1. Advisor will provide the committee with the candidate’s background and course of study (similar to the introduction earlier) and attest to the completion of all program requirements up to this point

11. Advisor will conduct a 45-minute discussion of the candidate’s performance 11.1. Each committee member and reader(s) should discuss the performance and the dissertation in the following terms:

A. Pass (Includes Minor Revisions) B. Pass (Pending Major Revisions) C. Fail

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11.2. A formal vote will be taken and a plurality will be taken as to the consensus of the committee

11.2.1. If Pass with Minor Revisions, major advisor will assume responsibility for seeing that the revisions are in place before the final dissertation is submitted electronically to The Graduate School

11.2.1.1. Committee members will additionally vote (by ballot) (readers not included) whether the student passed with distinction based on overall performance 11.2.1.2. If Distinction, the dean will indicate in the student’s record that the student passed with distinction

11.2.2. If Pass with Major Revisions, Advisor will work with The Graduate School to appoint a committee of at least two to supervise the revisions and a deadline for completion of the revisions

12. The candidate will be invited into the room by the committee chair and informed of the consensus of the examining committee

Summary of Timeline of Oral Defense o Introduction of committee members and candidate 5 minutes o Presentation of Dissertation 45 minutes o Questions by public 15 minutes o Break 15 minutes o Questions by committee 90 minutes o Closed committee meeting 45 minutes o Total 215 minutes

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• IN ORDER TO AVOID A GAP

SEMESTER, SCHEDULE THE

COMPREHENSIVE EXAM AND

DISSERTATION PROPOSAL WITHIN

SEVERAL WEEKS OF EACH OTHER.

• THIS MEANS THE STUDENT

SHOULD HAVE A FINISHED DRAFT

OF THE PROPOSAL WHEN THE

DECISION IS MADE TO SCHEDULE

THE COMPS.

• THERE IS A 3-YEAR LIMIT TO

FINISH THE DISSERTATION UPON

ENTERING CANDIDACY.

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GRADUATION ______________________________________________________________________________

If oral defense is Pass with Minor Revisions

o Must file for graduation at the end of the semester

o Final approved revised dissertation and ALL final paperwork must be submitted to Graduate School two weeks prior to the end of the semester/graduation

If the oral defense is Pass with Major Revisions or Fail

o Must enroll for the following semester

o Must form a subcommittee

o Subcommittee will establish a list of necessary revisions and timeline for completion that are required to be fulfilled to the satisfaction of the subcommittee

Apply for graduation no later

than the middle of the

semester.