Ph.D. Program Path Design Elements: Requirements and Policies
Selection of Supervisory Committee
Three professors will serve on the dissertation committee. Two of those professors must be from the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership and Policy, although one of the two may be any MSU graduate faculty. The Department Chair and the Higher Education Programs Coordinator will assist students in selecting a dissertation committee advisor/chair and two additional committee members. It is possible for students to include a committee member from another higher education institution. If it is determined that there is a need to select an individual from outside the University, this individual must submit both a letter of agreement and a curriculum vita to the chair of the department for approval. This individual cannot serve as chair of the committee nor receive compensation from the University. All professors who serve on dissertation committees must be professors as designated by the University Graduate Council and must have departmental approval.
Comprehensive Qualifying Examination
The Comprehensive Qualifying Examination is an independent writing project required of all Ph.D. in Higher Education students. However, the department allows for a range of options to constitute the comprehensive qualifying examination. The examination is taken once the student has completed at least seventy-five (75) percent of all course work (54 hours), including at least four of the courses required in the research core. The examination covers the general area of higher education, the candidate’s area of concentration, and a question designed to assess the student’s ability to construct a research design or proposal. The structure and content of the examination is related closely to the research topic for the dissertation. Thus, there is an assumption that students have read the literature widely and that students will use their critical thinking and writing skills optimally to produce the desired outcomes for the examination.
The following are specific guidelines and must be adhered to:
- Each well-researched and documented essay must be at least 15-20 pages, double-spaced. Reference sections must contain a minimum of twenty (20) citations as appropriate to the substance of the dissertation.
- Each publishable quality essay must be accompanied by an Executive Summary.
- The examinee must prepare an outline of each essay’s content and include this information in the table of contents preceding each essay.
- The essays should follow current APA publication style.
- For style and formatting directions and information, the examinee will be provided Departmental examination instructions as part of the comps package.
- The time period for completing the “Comprehensive Qualifying Examination” is six calendar weeks. Expectations for conduct are included in the School of Graduate Studies Handbook for Dissertation and Theses, “Responsible Academic Conduct and Ethical Research.” The presentation of three acceptable publishable quality research papers is followed by an oral examination. Scheduling an oral examination is the responsibility of the student’s dissertation chair in consultation with other members of the supervisory committee and the scheduled date must be confirmed with the Department.
Internship
Upon entrance to the Higher Education program, the student who has limited or no experience in higher education may be required to take the internship course (RDHE 885 ). Participation in the internship must occur before candidacy is conferred. The purpose of the internship is to provide the student with professional and/or research competencies that were identified as incomplete at the time of admittance to the program.
Internship Course: RDHE 789 - Field Research in Higher Education (3 credits)
Institutional Review Board Approval
Students must seek and obtain approval of the Morgan State University’s Institutional Review Board even in cases where the research may be exempt. The necessary forms can be obtained from the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research.
Preparation and Defense of Dissertation Proposal
After successfully completing the required Comprehensive Qualifying Examination, students must prepare and defend a proposal for the dissertation. Whatever methodological form the dissertation may take, it must be done on the basis of a thorough review of the literature. Typically, this will mean three chapters addressing the nature, background and scope of the problem, research questions, and hypotheses (for quantitative research); a literature review; and a methodological design, covering the specific research methods, subjects, instruments, and data interpretation. Once the proposal has the approval of the student’s supervisory committee and the department chair, a publicly announced oral defense of the proposal is conducted.
Advancement to Candidacy
Upon successful defense of the comps and the dissertation proposal students may be advanced to candidacy for the degree and are considered doctoral candidates.
Preparation and Defense of Dissertation
The Ph.D. dissertation must demonstrate conclusively the ability of the student to conceive, design, conduct, and interpret independent, original, and creative research. It must attempt to describe significant original contributions to the advancement of knowledge and must demonstrate the student’s ability to organize, analyze and interpret data. In most instances, a dissertation includes a chapter concerning the nature, background, and scope of the problem, along with a clear statement of purpose of the research, research questions, and hypotheses (for quantitative research); a provision for a comprehensive review of pertinent literature; a description of the methodology used in the study; results obtained; and a final chapter containing a critical interpretation of conclusions in relation to the findings of other researchers. The completed dissertation project should be worthy of publication. Responsibility for writing and editing of the dissertation rests with the student, under the guidance of the chair of the student’s supervisory committee. General guidelines for formatting and submitting dissertations are detailed in the School of Graduate Studies, Handbook for Dissertations and Theses, which may be downloaded from the School of Graduate Studies’ website. Students must also have a working knowledge of the most recent version of the APA publication style manual. The final defense of the dissertation is an oral exam conducted publicly during which the student presents the dissertation research to the supervisory committee. The presentation must be of highest academic quality. It is the responsibility of the chair of the supervisory committee to submit a letter to the department chair and the School of Graduate Studies affirming the successful defense of the dissertation, including a completed, and up-to-date plan of study. Finally, the student must complete the administrative process for proper submission of the dissertation to the Graduate School.
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