Completing the Doctoral Degree
The Doctoral Plan of Study
As noted previously, doctoral students must file their Plan of Study (POS) by the time they enroll in 50 percent of the credit hours required towards their degree program. The doctoral Plan of Study must be approved by the student's supervisory committee, head of the academic unit, and the Graduate College dean.
Minimum Credit Hour Requirements
A minimum of 84 credit hours of graduate work is required for the doctoral degree at ASU; 12 (and only 12) of these hours must be 799 Dissertation course credits if the student is completing a dissertation. Students may apply up to 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree toward their doctoral Plan of Study with approval of the degree program and the Graduate College dean.
Maximum Time Limit
Doctoral students must complete all program requirements within a ten-year period. The ten-year period starts with the semester and year of admission to the doctoral program. Graduate courses taken prior to admission that are included on the Plan of Study must have been completed within three years of the semester and year of admission to the program (previously awarded master's degrees used on the Plan of Study are exempt).In addition, the student must defend the dissertation within five years after passing the comprehensive examinations. Therefore, the maximum time limit is the shortest of the following:
- Time period since initial enrollment (10 year time limit).
- Time after passing the comprehensive exams (5 year time limit).
Any exceptions must be approved by the supervisory committee and the Graduate College dean and ordinarily involves repeating the comprehensive examinations. The Graduate College may withdraw students who are unable to complete all degree requirements and graduate within the allowed maximum time limits.
Completing the Doctoral Degree
Dissertation Supervisory Committee
Upon the recommendation of the head of the academic unit, the Graduate College dean appoints the student's dissertation committee. The committee must be composed of at least three members, including either a chair or co-chairs. Doctoral programs may have additional requirements for committee composition. This committee serves as the intellectual guide for the student and must approve the research/scholarly focus and substance of the dissertation. The members of the dissertation committee have the necessary knowledge and skills to advise the student during the formulation of the research topic and during the completion of the research and the dissertation.Dissertation chairs and co-chairs must be approved by the Graduate College dean and each degree program maintains the list of faculty approved by the Graduate College to do so. Generally, most resident faculty at ASU may serve on dissertation committees with the proviso that they have appropriate expertise in the discipline.
All Ph.D. programs have a Graduate Faculty. The Graduate College maintains a web page (graduate.asu.edu/gradfaculty) of faculty approved to serve as Ph.D. committee members. The Graduate Faculty in a Ph.D. program may also include highly qualified individuals from outside the university who have been approved to serve on committees. Each Ph.D. program maintains the list of faculty approved by the Graduate College to chair or co-chair Ph.D. dissertations. Ph.D. students are urged to communicate with their Ph.D. program to be clear on eligibility of faculty to chair committees.
The final committee membership must be appointed by the Graduate College dean before the student may apply for the comprehensive examinations, defend the dissertation prospectus, and register for 799 Dissertation course credits (if applicable).
Comprehensive Examinations
When students have essentially completed the course work in an approved Plan of Study, they should request permission to take the comprehensive examinations. These written and oral examinations are designed to test the student's mastery of the field of specialization. Doctoral comprehensive examinations are administered by a committee consisting of a minimum of three members.Foreign language requirements, if applicable, must be fulfilled before taking the comprehensive examinations. Students are required to register for at least one semester hour of credit that appears on the POS or one hour of appropriate graduate-level credit (such as 795 Continuing Registration) during the semester or summer session in which they take their comprehensive examinations.
Failure in the comprehensive examinations is considered final unless the supervisory committee and the head of the academic unit recommend, and the Graduate College dean approves a re-examination. Only one re-examination is permitted. A petition for re-examination, endorsed by the members of the student's supervisory committee and the head of the academic unit, must be approved by the Graduate College dean before a student can take the second examination. Re-examination may be administered no sooner than three months and no later than one year from the date of the original examination. The Graduate College may withdraw a student from his/her degree program if the student's petition for re-examination is not approved, or if the student fails to successfully pass the retake of the comprehensive exam.
Doctoral Prospectus Defense
All doctoral degree programs that require students to complete a dissertation must require students to complete a dissertation proposal/prospectus and submit the results to the Graduate College. Failure of the doctoral dissertation prospectus defense is considered final unless the supervisory committee and the head of the academic unit recommend, and the Graduate College dean approves a second proposal defense. If a petition is approved, the student must submit the new prospectus by the end of six months (the six months start from the date that the first doctoral dissertation proposal defense was held). If the academic unit does not grant the student permission to retake the proposal defense, or if the student fails to pass the retake of the proposal defense, the Graduate College may withdraw the student from the degree program.
Candidacy
Doctoral students (with specific degree program exceptions approved by the Graduate College dean) achieve candidacy status in a letter from the University Registrar upon:
- Passing the foreign language examination, if applicable.
- Passing the comprehensive examinations.
- Successfully defending the dissertation prospectus, if applicable.
Doctoral students who have been advanced to candidacy are required to maintain continuous enrollment until all degree requirements have been completed and graduated. See Continuous Enrollment.
Doctoral Dissertations and the Doctoral Defense
The written doctoral dissertation is based on an original and substantial scholarly work that constitutes a significant contribution to knowledge in the student's discipline. The dissertation research must be conducted during the time of the student's doctoral studies at ASU, under guidance of ASU Graduate Faculty, and in accordance with Graduate College policies and procedures. The composition of the dissertation is defined by the degree program with the approval of the Graduate College dean.
The dissertation research experience culminates in a final oral exam, commonly known as the "dissertation defense." A final public dissertation defense is required. Each student must be enrolled for at least one semester hour of credit that appears on the Plan of Study or one hour of appropriate graduate-level credit (such as 795 Continuing Registration) during the semester (including summer session) in which the student defends the dissertation.Revisions to the dissertation are normal and must be completed in a timely manner. If the student is unable to complete revisions to the dissertation and meet the ASU Bookstore deadline for the semester in which the defense is held, the student must complete the revisions, remain registered, and present the finished document to the ASU Bookstore within one year of the defense. Failure to do so will require the re-submission of the document for format review and may result in re-defense of the dissertation to ensure currency of the work.