Home
Human Bioenergetics Doctoral Program Degree Requirements

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree Requirements

All course and degree requirements must meet Graduate School requirements for awarding of the Ph.D. degree.

Core Course Requirements:
The core course requirements consist of 18 course credits plus a minimum of 12 credits of dissertation research to equal 30 credits total that are required in the core curriculum.

Cognate Area Requirements:
A minimum of 12 credits are required in didactic/regular course (numbered 500-780) electives, plus a minimum of 6 credits in the statistics cognate, to equal a total of at least 18 credits (cognate course electives are determined by the individual student adviser, the student’s doctoral committee and the individual student.)

Total Minimum Credits Required for Degree (72 credits):

A minimum of 48 credits (30 credits of core requirements, plus 6 credits of statistics cognate, plus 12 credits of elective cognate area), plus up to a maximum of 30 (or more if CSU Master’s degree) credits submitted from the Master’s degree in partial fulfillment of the doctoral degree should equal a minimum total of 72 credits. If fewer than 30 credits are accepted by the department for the Master’s degree and this is insufficient to meet the 72 minimum credits overall, the remaining credits must be taken to reach a minimum of 72 credits for the doctoral degree. Additional courses may be required by a graduate committee to address deficits in a given applicant’s training/academic preparation. In addition, the credit totals for a given program of study may be well above the minimum credit expectations detailed above and below.

Teaching Requirement:
As part of a comprehensive doctoral training program, students are required to teach 10 contact hours in a single undergraduate "regular" course in a single semester, with a minimum of 5 contact hours with the teaching mentor. The Ph.D. Teaching Requirement Planning Form must be completed by the student in consultation with the adviser and the course instructor, and signed by the adviser and course instructor, assistant department head and department head. This form is due January 1 for the upcoming fall semester, August 1 for the following spring semester, and October 1 for the subsequent summer session. A teaching mentor will be assigned (this will usually be the adviser or course instructor) to monitor the teaching and provide assistance to assure quality classroom experiences for students in courses taught by Ph.D. candidates. The student registers for Supervised College Teaching (HES 784V) for one credit when engaged in this teaching requirement. These credits for supervised teaching do not count toward the minimum number of credits toward graduation and are NOT included on the "Program of Study" (GS 6 form). This requirement for graduation is cleared by the Department Head and Graduate Program Director on the GS25B form signed at the end of the last semester.

The faculty instructor, or their designee, using the departmental peer evaluation form, must evaluate the doctoral student who teaches in this regard at least twice during the course. Students within the course should be permitted to complete a Student Course Survey specifically for the graduate student teaching in the course. All evaluations must be forwarded to the Department Head. In the case of poor performance, the adviser in consultation with the Department Head should execute a remedial plan, before the student can teach again.

Required Examinations

All graduate program exams are governed by the Graduate School rules, regulations and appeal processes as stated in the Graduate and Professional Bulletin.

1. Preliminary (Candidacy) Examination:
Note: The GS6 form, Program of Study, must have been filed prior to the initiation of the Preliminary/Candidacy exam. The Preliminary/Candidacy exam cannot be taken if the GS6 form is not on file at the Graduate School. The Student must be in good standing with the Graduate School with a GPA of at least 3.00. The intention to hold a Ph.D. preliminary examination must be publicized two weeks prior to the event by the adviser. This information should go to the Graduate School, the Department Head, and the Graduate Program Director.

No later than the end of the semester following completion of core and a minimum of 6 credits of cognate area coursework (and at least two terms before the final examination), Ph.D. candidates will be required to complete a comprehensive knowledge examination. The student’s graduate committee, in consultation with the graduate student, will determine the timing of this examination and its content. Course instructors may be solicited to submit questions to the committee. The exam consists of two parts: written and oral. The written exam will be completed over a two-day period and submitted to the student’s graduate committee. The written is considered "closed book" with any necessary resources or references provided by the committee. The oral defense (typically two hours in length) of the examination will take place no later than two weeks after the written exam and is administered by the student’s graduate committee. Students who fail to successfully complete the written or oral component of the comprehensive exam will, at the discretion of the student’s graduate committee, be given no more than one attempt to retake the examination. A Ph.D. candidate must successfully pass the preliminary exam before being eligible for further progress in the program. The result of the preliminary/candidacy exam is reported to the Graduate School on the "Report of Preliminary Examination" (GS 16) and establishes the student’s official candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. The Department Head signs this form. The Student and Adviser are responsible for filing this form with the Graduate School within two business days following completion of the exam.

2. Dissertation Proposal Defense:
Typically, no later than two semesters following the successful completion of the preliminary examination, students will complete a defense of their dissertation proposal under the direction of the student’s graduate committee. The dissertation proposal per se will be comprised of a written proposal, the format of which is determined by the student’s graduate committee; but usually in the form of a grant proposal. A public presentation of the dissertation proposal (time and date scheduled through the Graduate Program Director at least two weeks prior) is followed by defense of the proposal held by the doctoral committee. The written proposal will be provided to the committee no later than two weeks prior to the date of the defense of the proposal. The student’s graduate committee will examine both the written and oral examination to determine if the student has an adequate proposal to proceed on to their dissertation research. The results of the dissertation proposal defense will be communicated to the departmental Graduate Program Director in a memo from the student’s dissertation adviser within two business days following the completion of the exam.

3. Dissertation Defense:
The dissertation defense will be scheduled upon satisfactory completion of data collection and analysis as determined by the student’s graduate committee in consultation with the student. The student’s graduate committee conducts the defense. The defense must be publicized across the University at least two weeks prior to the date of the defense. The date and time of the public presentation must be scheduled through the Graduate Program Director at least two weeks prior. The dissertation defense is public and is an oral presentation followed by the examination of the student’s dissertation that is carried out by the student’s graduate committee. The student’s adviser will determine whether those in attendance outside of the committee should be allowed to ask questions of the candidate during the oral examination. Generally, after the oral portion of the exam during the examination of the dissertation per se, those in attendance outside of the graduate committee will not be permitted to ask questions unless by invitation of the adviser. The results of the dissertation defense are reported to the Graduate School on the "Report of Final Exam Results" (GS 24). The Student and Adviser are responsible for filing this form with the Graduate School within two business days following completion of the exam.

The Dissertation:
Dissertation research must represent "original inquiry" and constitute a body of work that represents a progression of research studies that address a significant problem, and that investigate the underlying mechanisms/issues involved. "Negative result" and "descriptive" studies are generally not acceptable for a dissertation, unless such findings constitute a significant contribution to the understanding of the problem addressed, add significantly to the body of knowledge, or serve as preliminary studies that have lead to more substantial research projects within the dissertation.

Guidelines for the format of the dissertation are available on the Graduate School website (Thesis Manual). You are strongly encouraged to review these guidelines prior to writing the dissertation and to refer to them as you prepare your dissertation. Note that while alternative overall formats for the dissertation are permitted (multi-part and two volumes), there are basic formatting requirements required. Multi-part dissertations may be best when the dissertation represents several manuscripts for publication. The Graduate Program Director can assist when alternative formats are considered. Preparation of at least one manuscript from the dissertation for submission to a peer-reviewed journal is required. This manuscript requirement is cleared by the Department Head and Graduate Program Director by signing the GS 25B form completed as part of the completion of all requirements for the degree.

Grant Writing Experience:
As part of the doctoral training, a grant writing experience will be included. This may be in the form of a formal course, or as directed by the graduate student’s adviser and committee. The experience is evaluated within the course when included within a formal course, or with independent study credits when directed by the adviser. To document completion of the grant writing experience, the Adviser completes the “Grant Writing Experience Completion” form and submits it to the Graduate Program Director.

Final Disposition of the Dissertation:
In addition to meeting the distribution of the dissertation as required by the Graduate School to meet University requirements, the student must provide a final, electronic copy (Portable Document Format, PDF) of the dissertation to the department via presentation to the Department Head. This copy must contain a signed signature page. The same electronic copy of the dissertation must be provided to the student’s adviser and to all members of the student’s graduate committee in recognition of their service. An electronic archival file must be submitted to the library.

Exit Interview with Department Head:
All graduate students must schedule an exit interview with the Department Head following the successful defense of their dissertation and prior to graduation. Students complete a survey on their graduate experience prior to the exit interview. Students bring the Graduate School form "Departmental Requirements Clearance Form" (GS 25B) for signature.

Publication of Dissertation:
In partial fulfillment of the Ph.D. degree, each Ph.D. candidate must publish a minimum of one journal manuscript based on the dissertation research in a quality journal (as determined by the student’s graduate committee). As the lead time for a manuscript to be accepted for publication can be up to a year, the student’s graduate committee may permit a manuscript submission at the time of completion of the degree as fulfillment of this requirement to publish. The requirement to publish the dissertation research is cleared for graduation via Department Head signature on the GS25B form at the end of the final semester.

Additional Expectations:
In expectation of a quality doctoral experience, Ph.D. candidates should have presented their work in abstract form at an appropriate number of national meetings and published at least one peer-reviewed manuscript prior to graduation (as principal or as co-author). It is in the interest of the Ph.D. candidate to have a body of work that has been peer-reviewed and accepted by the discipline via publications to reflect their academic and scientific ability upon awarding of the degree. Additionally, evidence of successful grant writing and submission will greatly enhance the student’s credentials.