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Degree Requirements

PhD candidates must complete the following:

  • Minimum of 48 credit hours of pre-qualifying course work

  • Enrollment in at least five credit hours of course work per semester
  • At least one term of research experience (10-20 hours per week)
  • Prequalifying residency requirement: Students must complete the minimum 45 credit hours of course work within five years of entry into the doctoral program.
  • Two consecutive full-time terms for the dissertation research residency
  • Written and oral examinations to qualify as a candidate for the PhD degree
  • Dissertation and final examination

Research Assistantship

The purpose of a research assistantship is not only to provide support for faculty conducting research but also to provide an opportunity for you to receive coaching and mentoring in research. Research assistants learn valuable skills in developing research. Faculty mentors work with their research assistants on research projects to develop or refine research skills. Listed below are some ideas that may be helpful.

  • Literature searches using a variety of indexes
  • Retrieval of library materials
  • Internet searches
  • Processing of subject incentives
  • Data cleaning, entry and analysis
  • Development of memos, letters, etc., for project correspondence
  • Development of tables reporting study data/findings
  • Drafting project reports
  • Maintaining project files
  • Participation in data collection activities such as phone interviews, surveys, focus groups, etc.
  • Participation in development of Institutional Review Board proposals
  • Participation in proposal, abstract and/or manuscript development
  • Phone calls related to project activities
  • Photocopying of project materials
  • Preparation of data collection instruments (surveys, questionnaires, etc.)
  • Preparation of slides and graphics using PowerPoint
  • Subject recruitment and tracking
  • Using spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft Excel
  • Using data analysis packages such as NVivo, SAS, SPSS