The doctor of philosophy degree is a research degree. It is awarded in recognition of demonstrated mastery of subject matter in a chosen field of study and demonstrated competence in the conduct of an individual research investigation that represents a significant contribution to the cumulative knowledge of the field. The program of study and research will be planned and supervised by an advisory committee. Each candidate’s course work and research topic must be approved by the advisory committee as meeting the standards generally associated with the doctoral degree.
The doctoral student must comply with the requirements on this page, the requirements of their program, and complete any necessary forms to document their progress with the Graduate School. Individual programs may have higher standards, and students are expected to know their program’s requirements.
Modern Language Requirement—There is no University-wide language requirement for doctoral degrees. Individual programs may require a foreign language. Each program is responsible for establishing standards and examination procedures where a foreign language is required. Doctoral students should consult with their advisory committee concerning program regulations.
Preliminary Program of Study—Initially the advisory committee will meet with the student and prepare a program of course study and research work that will lead to the doctoral degree.
Proficiency Examinations—Exams may be scheduled as necessary by the program to assist in planning students' study programs or to determine the advisability of students continuing in the doctoral program.
Residency Requirements
- A minimum of two-thirds of the required non-research course-work credits required for the degree must be taken through Michigan Tech. PhD students must take at least 20 credits beyond the masters or 50 credits beyond the bachelors through Michigan Tech.
- Research credits used to satisfy degree requirements must be taken through Michigan Tech and must be supervised by a member of Michigan Tech graduate faculty.
- Some graduate degree programs may have other specific requirements.
Courses which meet the "at Michigan Tech" requirement are defined as courses listed in the course catalog and taught by Michigan Tech faculty either on campus, at field locations, or through distance learning.
Graduate School Credit Requirements
Individual programs may have additional requirements.
Minimum requirements
- Thirty credits beyond the bachelor’s degree for a master’s degree.
- Thirty credits beyond the master’s degree are required for a PhD.
- Programs determine the distribution of credits, and may require more than the minimum.
Unallowed credits
- Courses numbered below 3000
- Audited courses
- Continuous enrollment courses (ex: UN5951, UN5953)
- Non-research pass/fail courses
- Credits used to earn another degree (see exceptions below)
Exceptions
- Maximum of 12 credits at the 3000 and 4000 level may be used with program approval.
- Peace Corps Master’s International students may use 2 credits of language courses below the 3000 level.
- Research credits are the only non-graded classes that may be counted toward a degree.
- One-third of the non-research credits may be transferred as long as they were not used to earn another degree.
- One-third of the graduate credits earned at Michigan Tech may be reused to earn an additional master's degree in accordance with Graduate School policy.
GPA Requirements
Students must be in good standing to earn a graduate degree.
Time Limits
All work for the master’s degree must be completed within five calendar years of the first enrollment in the degree program or earliest course listed on the degree schedule, whichever is earliest. All work for the PhD must be completed within eight calendar years of the first enrollment in the degree program or earliest course listed on the degree schedule, whichever is earliest. Requests for extension must be made by the advisor to the Graduate School.
Advisor
Initially the advisor may be the graduate program director, but as soon as possible, and no later than the end of the second semester in residence, a permanent advisor should be chosen. This Michigan Tech graduate faculty member advises the student on course selection and, if applicable, supervises the research experience. The primary advisor, or a co-advisor must hold a regular or adjunct appointment in the student's administrative home department or school.
- While one co-advisor may be from outside the student's administrative home department, it is recommended but not required that this co-advisor not fill the role of sole external member on the student's committee.
- Before recommending a sole advisor who holds an adjunct appointment in the student's administrative home department or school, the appropriate graduate program director should ensure that this person is sufficiently familiar with the department/school standards for research and with applicable university policies/procedures and that this person can maintain adequate contact with the student.
The advisor is an important factor in the graduate student’s timely and successful completion of the program of study. All graduate students must have an advisor.
Advisory Committee
The advisor and committee, consisting of at least two members of the graduate faculty in addition to the advisor, will be recommended by the advisor and the chair/graduate program director of the major department, school, or program and approved by the Graduate School and filed on the Advisor and Committee Recommendation form. This committee, with the addition of a fourth, external member, will often become the Examining Committee (see “Oral Examination” below). If co-advisors are chosen and one co-advisor is from outside the student's home department, it is recommended but not required that an additional external member be chosen.
Comprehensive Examination
A comprehensive examination will be given to determine the general knowledge appropriate to the student’s program and the student’s ability to use this knowledge. This examination will be a written examination, although it may be oral in part if recommended by the advisory committee, but it must be given no later than five years after enrollment and two terms before the final oral defense. It is recommended that the comprehensive exam be given after about two years of doctoral study and following completion of all course work required by the advisory committee. The examination will be given after the applicant has completed any modern language requirement and at least two terms prior to scheduling the final oral examination.
The examination will be prepared and administered by the program with the cooperation of the advisory committee. Satisfactory performance on the comprehensive examination will be regarded as an indication that no additional formal course work is needed, although the student may take additional course work. Any member of the graduate faculty may attend the oral examination as an observer.
Dissertation
The research study undertaken as part of the doctoral degree program will be presented in the form of a dissertation that can be made a permanent acquisition of the library, along with an abstract. There is no word length requirement for the abstract, but students are advised that many databases will truncate the abstract at 350 words. Any classified or proprietary material that cannot be made available to the public is not acceptable as a dissertation. Completing the dissertation includes approval of the dissertation proposal, preparing the dissertation according to guidelines, and filing the completed (and successfully defended) dissertation.
The dissertation will be written and prepared under the supervision of the chair of the advisory committee according to discipline-specific writing requirements. A completed draft of the dissertation must be approved by the advisory committee chair two weeks prior to the final examination.
Oral Examination
At a public final oral examination, primarily concerning the research and doctoral dissertation, the candidate should justify the validity of the methods and conclusions contained in the dissertation and should be familiar with the import of the particular investigations reported in the dissertation relative to the larger body of existing knowledge. The examination may be given any time after a period of two academic terms following the successful completion of the comprehensive examination and upon completion of the dissertation in a satisfactory form. The student’s examination results must be reported to the Graduate School on the Report on Oral Exam form (D8).
The examining committee will be appointed by the Graduate School in consultation with the department chair. The committee will consist of at least four members of the graduate faculty. At least one of these will be from outside the student's administrative home department or school. The primary advisor, or a co-advisor who serves as chair of the committee, must be from the student's home department or school. While one co-advisor may be from outside the student's administrative home department, it is recommended but not required that this co-advisor not fill the role of sole external member on the student's committee. For interdisciplinary and non-departmental programs, the outside examiner may not be affiliated with the interdisciplinary or non-departmental program. A person external to Michigan Tech may be appointed as an ad hoc member of the Graduate Faculty to serve as the outside examiner. Persons who are not members of the Graduate Faculty may not serve as voting members of doctoral examination committees.
The examination will be scheduled by filing the Pre-defense form with the Graduate School, in consultation with the chair of the advisory committee. The date of the examination must be at least two weeks following the approval of the completed draft of the dissertation by the advisory committee. Copies of the completed draft must be distributed to any new members of the examining committee at least two weeks prior to the scheduled examination date.