*The Graduate School reserves the right to change any provision or requirement at any time in order to fulfill its educational mission and exercise its educational responsibility. Refer to the website for master's and doctoral degree program checklists and the academic forms.

The general requirements for advanced degrees are set out below. Special divisional (i.e., college and school) and departmental requirements are given in the sections dealing with the respective divisions and departments. Each student must assume full responsibility for understanding both the general and special requirements of the division and department in which he or she pursues his or her major work.

4.9.1 Master's Degrees

4.9.2 Educational Specialist Degrees

4.9.3 Doctoral Degrees

4.9.1 MASTER'S DEGREES

Program Requirements

Two plans are offered for the master's degree:

Plan I. Candidates for the master's degree under Plan I must earn a minimum of 24 semester hours of credit in coursework and write a thesis (a minimum of 6 semester hours of thesis research required).

 

Plan II. Candidates for the master's degree under Plan II must earn a minimum of 30 semester hours of credit and complete a culminating or “capstone” experience as described under the Comprehensive Examinations section below.

Both plans require a minimum of 18 semester hours in the major subject. With the approval of the major department, the remainder of the coursework may be completed in either the major or a related field.

In some divisions and in many departments of the University, candidates are required to do their work under Plan I. Candidates working under Plan II may be required to participate successfully in seminar or problem courses that will give them an acquaintance with the methods of research and an appreciation of the place and function of original investigation in the field.

Residency Requirements

A student's program at the master's level must provide sufficient association with the resident faculty to permit individual evaluation of the student's capabilities and achievements.

Transfer of Credit

Courses of full graduate-level credit earned in a regionally accredited institution where a student was enrolled in the graduate school may be submitted for review for inclusion in a degree program. Evaluation of credit for transfer will not be made until after the student has enrolled in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama. Acceptance of credit requires the approval of the student's advisory committee and the dean of the Graduate School. Credit will not be accepted for transfer from any institution at which the student failed to achieve a "B" average on all graduate work attempted.

A student initiates in the Office of the Graduate School the request for evaluation of graduate credit obtained at another institution. It is also the student's responsibility to assure that an official transcript of the credit concerned is received by the Graduate School well in advance of the final semester and typically before or at the time of advancement to candidacy.

With the approval of the student's department and the dean of the Graduate School, the greater of 12 hours or 25 percent of the required coursework for a graduate degree may be transferred from another institution. All credit toward the master's degree, including transfer credit, must have been earned during the six years (18 fall, spring, and summer semesters) immediately preceding the date on which the degree is to be awarded.

In some cases, foreign educational credentials may not meet the Graduate School 's criteria for transfer of credit. It may be necessary for students in this situation to secure an evaluation of their credentials from World Education Services Inc. (WES), an external foreign credential evaluation service. Additional information on their services can be found at their website http://www.wes.org.

400-Level Courses

A maximum of 6 semester hours of 400-level course credit may be accepted for a master's degree program, but only if a form for approval of 400-level coursework for graduate credit is completed and approved by the Graduate School prior to the semester in which the 400-level coursework will be taken.

Time Limit

All requirements for the master's degree must be completed during the six years (18 fall, spring, and summer semesters) immediately preceding the date on which the degree is to be awarded.

Admission to Candidacy

Admission to the Graduate School does not imply admission of a student to candidacy for a degree. Admission to candidacy is contingent upon the recommendation of the student's department and the approval of the graduate dean, after the student has met the formal requirements for candidacy listed below and demonstrated sufficient preparation to pursue the graduate study and research required for the degree sought.

The application for admission to candidacy for the master's degree should be filed after 12 semester hours of graduate credit have been earned at The University of Alabama. It must be approved by the time of registration for the semester in which requirements for the degree are completed. Approval will depend on (a) the quality of the applicant's graduate work prior to the time the application is made (see "Scholastic Requirements" ); (b) the removal of any special conditions; and (c) the certification of the major department or school that the student is well qualified to continue work toward a degree. Application forms will be supplied by the Graduate School office.

Thesis

A thesis evidencing research capacity, independent thought, and the ability to interpret materials is required of all master's degree candidates who pursue Plan I. The subject chosen must be in the major field and must be approved by the graduate committee of the major department or school and by the head of the student's major department or division.

The University does not permit article-style theses to be presented for the master's degree.

The thesis committee must consist of at least three members appointed by the dean of the Graduate School. A form appointing a thesis committee is available at the Graduate School 's website. All members of a thesis committee must be members of the Graduate Faculty. One member must be from outside the student's major department.

The candidate must give members of the examining committee a minimum of two weeks to read the thesis before the date of the final oral examination.  The oral examination is required of all students completing a thesis and requires all members of the thesis committee to be in attendance unless there are extraordinary circumstances warranting approval of the graduate dean prior to the defense meeting.

A completed copy of the thesis must be submitted to the major department at least eight weeks before the date the candidate expects to receive the degree. At least six weeks before graduation, two copies of the thesis, approved by the thesis committee and the head of the major department or division, must be submitted to the Graduate School office, along with an abstract not exceeding 350 words and a receipt for the binding fee. Theses must comply with the regulations set out in A Student Guide to Preparing Theses and Dissertations, available on the Graduate School 's website. Approval of the thesis by the graduate dean is necessary before graduation.

The thesis should be completed, if possible, while the student is in residence at the University. To request permission to complete a thesis in absentia, the student must, before leaving the University, submit a satisfactory outline of the thesis, as well as evidence that adequate facilities are available where the work will be done, to the head of the major department or school.

Protection of Human Subjects for Research

Scientific research involving human subjects has produced substantial benefits for society, but it also has posed troubling ethical questions. The mission of the University's Institutional Review Board for Protection of Human Subjects is to ensure that research involving human subjects is conducted ethically. University and federal policies require that review and approval to use human subjects in research precede the research. In the case of thesis research that involves the use of human subjects, the principal investigator is responsible for contacting the college Human Research Review Committee to obtain approval for the planned research. The request form for IRB approval can be seen at http:/osp.ua.edu/IRB.html.

Comprehensive Examinations

In addition to the regular course examinations, a final comprehensive examination representing a "culminating" or "capstone" experience for a degree is required of all candidates for the master's degree (except for those candidates pursuing the master of accountancy, the master of business administration, the master of library and information studies, the master of social work, and the master of tax accounting). The comprehensive examination is a culminating experience in which the student is expected to integrate prior learning. Each department, with approval of the Graduate Council, determines the most appropriate format. The various exams may consist of one or more of the following: 

1. a written and/or oral examination based on the content of the degree program;

2. a thesis and final oral defense;

3. a course requiring interpretation and integration of information from previous courses;

4. a research paper, a "policy and practice" paper, or equivalent experience;

5. a public performance or exhibition along with a contextualizing paper; and/or

6. a practicum or internship.

If the comprehensive exam requirement is met with option 1 and/or 2 (above), then the examining committee for comprehensive examinations must consist of at least three members of the graduate faculty appointed by the dean of the Graduate School. The examination must be given at least six weeks before the date of graduation (two weeks before for Plan II) and reported promptly to the dean of the Graduate School on appropriate forms. A final report, on forms available from the Graduate School (http://graduate.ua.edu/forms/msexamfrm.pdf) should be submitted to the Graduate School when all examinations are completed. A student may take the final oral or written examination only twice.

Application for Graduation

Each candidate for a master's degree must apply for graduation through the Office of the Graduate School no later than the registration period for the semester or the first session of the summer term in which requirements for the degree are to be completed. The form "Application for Degree" is available on the Web, is required for this purpose, and must be completed in duplicate.

Second Master's Degree

Six semester hours of eligible credit from one master's degree at The University of Alabama may be applied to the requirements for a second master's degree, but only if the department of the second master’s agrees to the courses in the plan of study. Any hours from the previous master’s degree must have been earned during the six years (18 fall, spring, and summer semesters) immediately preceding the date on which the second degree is to be awarded.

4.9.2 EDUCATIONAL SPECIALIST DEGREES

The educational specialist degree (Ed.S.) is offered in some departments of the College of Education that offer doctoral degrees. Students interested in the Ed.S. degree should contact the department involved regarding availability of the degree.

The Ed.S. degree normally is granted at the end of the sixth year of collegiate study and falls in time between the master's degree and the doctorate. However, it is not necessarily viewed as intermediate between the master's and doctoral degrees. In the College of Education, some Ed.S. degrees lead to a teaching certification for P–12 education fields. In some teaching fields, the purpose of the degree is to prepare undergraduate-college teachers, especially those who will be employed in junior colleges, small private and state colleges, and the group of colleges labeled as "developing" institutions. The primary goals of the Ed.S. degree are teaching and acquiring professional proficiency.

Because the purposes of the Ed.S. degree may differ from those of either the Ed.D. or Ph.D., credit earned in an Ed.S. program is not automatically transferable to a doctoral program. Instead, if a holder of an Ed.S. degree enters a doctoral program at a later date, the doctoral advisory committee will decide how much of the credit earned in the Ed.S. program will be counted toward the doctorate.

Program Requirements

The Ed.S. degree requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of study beyond the master's degree. (Students completing an Ed.S. program who also expect to receive an Alabama Class AA certificate for service in the public schools must complete a minimum of 33 semester hours and achieve a minimum 3.25 grade point average on all work attempted.) Generally, the following requirements will hold for the degree:

1. If a student enters a program with a master's degree in the same field, a minimum of 12 additional semester hours in the field must be taken. (A minimum total of 36 graduate semester hours in the field is required for graduation.) Some departments may require more than these minimums.

2. If a student enters a program with a master's degree in a field different from the one in which he or she plans to study, sufficient work in the Ed.S. major field must be taken so that the total graduate semester hours in the field is at least 36. Some departments require more than this minimum.

3. Since one of the goals of the Ed.S. degree is to prepare undergraduate-college teachers, certain courses in higher education may be necessary, if required by the major department. A faculty advisor in the program in higher education administration will advise students on the appropriate courses to complete this requirement.

4. Candidates for the Ed.S. degree will be required to complete all coursework at the 500 and 600 levels.

Residency Requirement

A student's program at the Ed.S. level must provide sufficient association with the resident faculty to permit individual evaluation of the student's capabilities and achievements.

Transfer of Credit

The greater of 9 semester hours or 25 percent of appropriate post-master's-degree credit, earned through a regionally accredited institution approved to offer graduate programs beyond the master's level in the field of study where the credits were earned, may be transferred to apply toward an Ed.S. degree.

Previous and appropriate post-master's-degree credit earned at The University of Alabama before a student applies for admission to the Ed.S. program can be applied toward the Ed.S. degree, provided it meets the program requirements of the particular department and the time limitation stated below.

A student in his or her last semester of work toward the master's degree who does not need a full load to complete the course requirements of his or her master's program may register for work toward the Ed.S. degree, in the amount needed to complete full registration loads.

In some cases, foreign educational credentials may not meet the Graduate School 's criteria for transfer of credit. It may be necessary for students in this situation to secure an evaluation of their credentials from World Education Services Inc., (WES), an external foreign credential evaluation service. Additional information on their services can be found at their website www.wes.org.

Time Limit

All requirements for the Ed.S. degree must be completed during the six years (18 fall, spring, and summer semesters) immediately preceding the date on which the degree is to be awarded.

Plan of Study

Each department or program participating in the Ed.S. degree has established a framework of requirements for the degree that indicates the general structure of its program. At or before initial registration, each student will develop a formal plan of study for the degree, designating all courses he or she plans to take in the program. In reaching decisions, the student should consult with the program director. The student will file a completed plan with the program director who, upon approving the plan, will distribute copies to the Graduate School and to the student, retaining one copy for departmental files.

A plan of study may be amended at any time using appropriate forms and following the procedure described above. Until formal approval of an amended plan of study is made, the original or current modification of the plan will be in effect.

Admission to Candidacy

Requirements for admission to candidacy for the Ed.S. degree are the same as those for the master's degree in the same area. A student should note any foreign language requirement. Application forms and instructions for applying for admission to candidacy may be obtained from the Graduate School office and on the Web. A plan of study must be filed in the Graduate School prior to admission to candidacy.

Examinations

In addition to the regular course examinations, a final comprehensive examination will be required. The examination may be written or oral or both, at the discretion of the major department, and can be changed at any time. No candidate is eligible for the final examination until approved by the appropriate program director. A student may take the final oral or written examination only twice.

The examination will be prepared and conducted by a committee of at least three people, including the program director in the major area of study and a designee (or two or more people from the major area of study, designated by the program director) and the program director (or a designee) from the minor field of study, if one has been included in a program. No candidate will be judged to have completed the examination(s) satisfactorily who has not satisfied the major department. Committees will be appointed by the dean of the Graduate School on request of the major program director.

If a candidate receives failing marks in both the minor area of study and the professional education field, the candidate will be judged to have failed the examination. If a candidate fails either the minor examination or the professional education examination, the committee as a whole will reach a decision about the satisfactory or unsatisfactory nature of the candidate's performance on the examination. If a candidate does not have a minor field, the committee members will meet and will reach a decision in the event the student fails the professional education examination.

All written examinations will be kept on file by the program directors for one year following the date of the examination, and students will have the right to confer with their program directors regarding the strengths and weaknesses shown on the examinations.

Application for Graduation

Each candidate for an educational specialist degree must apply for the degree through the Office of the Graduate School no later than the registration period of the semester or the first term of the summer session in which requirements for the degree are to be completed. The form "Application for Degree" is required for this purpose and must be completed in duplicate.

4.9.3 DOCTORAL DEGREES

The University offers two types of doctorates. One is for students who intend to become researchers in a given field. The other is for students who intend to become highly skilled practitioners, but not researchers.

The doctor of philosophy degree is regarded as the researcher's degree. Program requirements may include the acquisition of special skills that would be useful in conducting scholarly investigation—traditionally, a working knowledge of one or more foreign languages or, currently, a number of alternatives approved by departments. Ph.D. candidates are expected to demonstrate their potential for careers as publishing scholars by writing and defending a dissertation of publishable quality.

When departmental requirements are more stringent than those of the Graduate School, the department may terminate a student's doctoral admission when unsatisfactory progress toward completion of the degree requirements is evident.

Admission

Admission is limited to those whose scholastic records show distinct promise of success in doctoral study. Admission to the Graduate School and the earning of a master's degree from The University of Alabama do not guarantee acceptance into a doctoral program. A student obtaining the master's degree at the University must submit to the dean of the Graduate School written permission from the department head or division dean to be eligible to work toward the doctoral degree. Students in doubt about their acceptance into doctoral programs should consult with departmental advisors and the Graduate School.

Residency Requirements

A substantial period of residence must be included in a doctoral program to provide significant faculty-student interaction, opportunities for student exposure to and engagement with cognate disciplines and research scholars working in those disciplines, and significant face-to-face peer interaction among graduate students.  It should provide the opportunity for a mentor-apprentice relationship between faculty and students as well as adequate time for in-depth and direct faculty evaluation of students.  Thus, the intent of the residency requirement is to ensure that doctoral students contribute to and benefit from the complete spectrum of educational, professional, and enrichment opportunities provided on the campus of The University of Alabama.

The minimum period in which the doctoral degree can be earned is three full academic years of graduate study after completion of a baccalaureate degree.  Instructors, fellows, and assistants who teach more than 3 hours should expect to spend more than the minimum period in residence.

Transfer of Credit

Acceptable graduate credit, earned in a regionally accredited institution in which the student was enrolled in the graduate school, may be transferred and applied to the requirements for a doctoral degree. Only credit that was earned during the six-year period (18 fall, spring, and summer semesters) preceding admission to the doctoral program may be considered for transfer.  Revalidation (recertification) of credits more than 18 semesters old at the time of admission to a doctoral program is not an option.

Consideration of credit does not guarantee its transfer. Evaluation of credit for transfer will not be made until after the student has enrolled in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama. Credit will not be accepted from any institution at which the student failed to achieve a "B" average on all graduate work attempted. A student initiates at the Office of the Graduate School the request for evaluation of graduate credit obtained at another institution. The student must also ensure that the Office of the Graduate School has an official (not faxed or copied) transcript of the credit involved.  Students should be aware that planning to transfer a course in the final semester will typically delay commencement by a semester if the UA Graduate Registrar does not receive official notice of completion of the course by at least two weeks prior to commencement.

With the approval of the student's department and the dean of the Graduate School, up to one-half of the required coursework (exclusive of dissertation research hours) for a doctoral degree may be transferred from another institution.

In some cases, foreign educational credentials may not meet the Graduate School's criteria for transfer of credit. It may be necessary for students in this situation to secure an evaluation of their credentials from World Education Services Inc. (WES), an external foreign credential evaluation service. Additional information on their services can be found at their website www.wes.org.

Time Limits

All requirements for the doctoral degree must be completed within the seven-year period (21 fall, spring, and summer semesters) following admission to the doctoral program, with the following specific exceptions: psychology, modern languages and classics, and English (eight years if entering the doctoral program with a baccalaureate, not master's, degree), and eight years from the time of first registration in Ph.D. courses for students dually enrolled in the Ph.D. program in political science and the JD program.

Previous graduate credit may be applied to the doctoral degree if the credit was earned during the six-year period prior to admission to the doctoral program. Such credit must be identified clearly on the “Outline of Ph.D. Program ("Plan of Study”) form and requires Graduate School approval. The form is available at the "Web Forms" icon on the Graduate School's home page, http://graduate.ua.edu. Only those students graduating within the time limit for their doctoral program may apply previous graduate credit to the doctoral degree if the credit was earned during the six-year period prior to admission to the doctoral program.

Time Limits Extension Request

Under compelling circumstances beyond the student's control, a student may petition for a one-semester extension to the seven-year time limit (or eight-year time limit for the selected programs noted above). If the one-semester extension is recommended by the department head and college dean (if required by the college dean), and subsequently approved by the graduate dean, the extension will not require the student to validate any out-of-date UA or transfer courses previously approved for the plan of study.

If a student fails to complete all degree requirements within the time limit for the student’s doctoral program or within a one-semester extension approved as noted above, the student will be dropped from the doctoral program. To complete a doctoral degree, the student must reapply for admission. Graduate Council policies do not provide the option to revalidate either UA or transfer courses completed more than six years prior to the date of admission. A readmitted student therefore would be able to apply to the new admission only those courses approved by the department and Graduate School and completed within the prior 6 years (18 fall, spring, and summer semesters).

Repeating Courses When Given an Extension

When requests are made for extensions of the doctoral time limits, and it is deemed that an out-of-date course is integral to the degree program, the college dean may request permission of the Graduate School for such a course to be repeated. In this case, both grades shall be used in calculation of the GPA.

Plan of Study

Early in the graduate program, each student must confer with the appropriate departmental adviser or major professor to select courses, discuss when doctoral residency will be completed, discuss research interests, and so forth.  Then a Plan of Study must be prepared and submitted to the Graduate School.

The Plan of Study (for the Ph.D. and DMA) is available at the Graduate School 's home page (http://graduate.ua.edu) at the "Graduate Forms" icon.  The Plan of Study must be submitted no later than the semester during which the student will complete 30 semester hours of UA and/or transfer credit toward the doctoral degree.  Otherwise, a “hold” may be placed on future registrations. 

An amended Plan of Study (if needed) must be submitted to the Graduate School when the student submits the Application for Admission to Candidacy for the Doctoral Degree and (if needed) when the student submits the Application for Degree.

Preliminary or Comprehensive Examination

A preliminary or comprehensive qualifying examination is required of all doctoral candidates. This examination is given after (a) any foreign language/research skill requirements are met (for Ph.D. students only); (b) two full years of graduate study are completed; and (c) the supervisory committee deems the student to have adequate preparation in the major and minor fields of study.

The examination is conducted by the student's supervisory committee or other committee established in the program area. Since one of the purposes of the preliminary examination is to determine the student's research competence, the examination should be completed at least nine months before the degree is to be awarded. The preliminary or comprehensive qualifying examination may be taken only twice.

Admission to Candidacy

The requirements for advancing to candidacy include passing the qualifying (major or preliminary) examination; receiving departmental approval of the dissertation subject (although some departments require the defense of a dissertation proposal and/or writing one or more preliminary sections of the dissertation as well); and having the committee recommend the student for candidacy. 

The student completes and submits the “Application for Admission to Candidacy for the Doctoral Degree” form, available at the web forms icon of the Graduate School ’s homepage. 

Continuous Registration

Once a student has met the requirements for admission to candidacy for a doctoral degree, the student (except for those in the D.M.A. program) must pursue completion of the dissertation without interruption by enrolling each semester for at least 3 hours of dissertation research. This is true whether or not the student has submitted an Application for Admission to Candidacy (http://graduate.ua.edu/forms/formidx.html). A Ph.D. student must have completed a minimum of 24 hours of such work upon completion of the dissertation. The amount of dissertation research for which a student enrolls in any given semester should be commensurate with the progress a student is expected to make on the dissertation, as well as reflective of the extent to which University facilities and faculty time are invested in the proposed activities.

Dissertation

A dissertation showing ability to conduct independent research and skill in organization and presentation must be prepared on a topic in the major field. It must constitute an original contribution to knowledge. The subject of the dissertation must be approved by the dissertation committee of the major department or division and by the dean of the Graduate School.

A dissertation committee, with the director of the dissertation as its chairperson, supervises the preparation of the dissertation. The committee shall have not fewer than five members, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School. The graduate dean’s approval of the proposed dissertation committee is expected to be obtained before significant progress is made on the dissertation.  The form for "Appointment/Change of a Doctoral Committee" is available at the "Web Forms" icon of the Graduate School 's home page at http://graduate.ua.edu. All members of a dissertation committee must be members of the Graduate Faculty. The committee chair must be a full member of the graduate faculty, as described in the Catalog’s section on “Qualifications of the Graduate Faculty. One member must be from outside the student's major department. Unless there are extraordinary circumstances meriting approval by the graduate dean beforehand, all members of the dissertation committee must attend the final oral defense of the dissertation.

The dissertation must comply with the regulations in A Student Guide to Preparing Theses and Dissertations. The Guide may be obtained from the Graduate School 's website. Deadlines and other information useful to doctoral students are also contained in the Guide.

The Catalog section on "Continuous Registration" states that once a student qualifies for doctoral candidacy, the student must enroll each semester for at least 3 hours of dissertation (699) research. If certain conditions are met for the student's final semester, however, the student may qualify to enroll for fewer than 3 hours of 699 dissertation research, but only in that final semester. (see table below)

Final Semester Dissertation (699) Minimum Registration Hours for Doctoral Students

* A “completed” dissertation is one that has been successfully defended, signed by all committee members and the department chairperson, and carefully edited before being submitted to the Graduate School.  All three conditions must be met to be considered “completed.”

**University Academic Calendar available at:  http://registrar.ua.edu/calendar/

Article-Style Dissertations. This approach is intended primarily for those doctoral students whose final, completed dissertation will consist of a number of journal-style manuscripts or articles. It is an option available only to students in certain fields. A complete list of these fields is available from the Graduate School and at the Graduate School 's website.

Article-style dissertations must be based upon research completed while the student is enrolled at The University of Alabama. For each article used, the student must be the first author, or equivalent, as defined by the discipline.

As with traditional dissertations, the article-style dissertation must be the student's original idea. It must be a unified work and include a sequence of articles of publishable quality around a cohesive theme, with a comprehensive review of literature demonstrating an in-depth understanding of the unifying framework.

There will be introductory material to describe the studies, show how they are related, and explain their significance. There will be connecting language to bridge each study to the next, as well as a summary making clear the importance of the studies, integrating the major findings, and discussing the implications for the overall topic. These components do not have to be separate sections or chapters. They may be parts of the manuscripts or may be accomplished in an abstract.

All parts of both traditional and article-style dissertations must conform to the provisions set forth in A Student Guide to Preparing Theses and Dissertations, except when the circumstances of a specific project or discipline’s style manual require deviation. Students considering the article-style approach should contact the Graduate School before beginning their work if they have questions concerning specific problems or deviations from traditional procedure.

All doctoral candidates must give members of the dissertation committee a minimum of two weeks to read the dissertation before the date of the final oral examination. After successful defense of the dissertation, and at least six weeks before graduation, the candidate must deposit in the Office of the Graduate School two copies of the dissertation (reproduced in an acceptable manner on 100-percent rag bond paper) approved by the head of the major department or division and the members of the dissertation committee. The dissertation must be accompanied by a receipt for the binding fee.

The student must also deposit with the dean of the Graduate School two copies of an abstract of the dissertation, consisting of not more than 350 words, approved by the head of the major department or division and the chairperson of the dissertation committee. The abstract must include not only background information and a description of the conduct of the study, but also major results and conclusions.  Approval of the dissertation by the graduate dean is necessary before graduation.

Candidates must satisfy publication requirements by having their dissertations microfilmed by University Microfilms Inc. of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and by publishing the abstract in University Microfilms's Dissertation Abstracts International. The charge for these services is paid to the Office of Student Receivables, and a receipt for payment must be delivered to the Graduate School. A copyright may be obtained through University Microfilms for a nominal fee.

Protection of Human Subjects for Research

Scientific research involving human subjects has produced substantial benefits for society, but it also has posed troubling ethical questions. The mission of the University's Institutional Review Board for Protection of Human Subjects is to ensure that research involving human subjects is conducted ethically. University and federal policies require that review and approval to use human subjects in research precede the research. In the case of dissertation research that involves the use of human subjects, the principal investigator is responsible for contacting the college Human Research Review Committee to obtain approval for the planned research.

The request form for IRB approval can be seen at http://irb.ua.edu/forms.html.

Final Examinations

When the dissertation has been completed, the candidate will be given a final oral examination by a committee of not fewer than five members, one of whom must be from outside the student's major department or, for students in the College of Education, outside the student's area (not program), and appointed by the dean of the Graduate School. This examination will focus primarily on the candidate's research work, as embodied in the dissertation, and the field in which the dissertation lies, but it may encompass the complete program for the degree. The results of the examination must be reported to the Office of the Graduate School at least six weeks before the commencement at which the degree is to be conferred.

Application for Graduation

Each candidate for a doctoral degree must apply for the degree through the Office of the Graduate School no later than the registration period of the semester or the first term of the summer session in which requirements for the degree are to be completed. The form "Application for Degree" is available on the Graduate School's website, is required for this purpose, and must be completed in duplicate.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

The doctor of philosophy degree is regarded as a research degree and is granted on the basis of scholarly proficiency, distinctive achievement in a special field, and capacity for independent, original investigation. The first two criteria will be tested in coursework and a comprehensive examination, the last in a dissertation that must present clearly and effectively the results of substantial research. A combination of these accomplishments, rather than the mere accumulation of residence and course credits, is the essential consideration in awarding the Ph.D. degree.

The following are specific requirements pertaining only to the Ph.D. degree:

Field of specialization. A defined field of specialization is required of all candidates for the doctor of philosophy degree. A minimum of 48 semester hours of course credit is required. Candidates should consult their departments or the appropriate section of this Catalog for additional requirements. The doctoral course as a whole must be unified, and all its parts must contribute to an organized program of study and research. In addition, a student must complete a minimum of 24 hours of dissertation research.

Research skill/language requirements. There is no University-wide foreign language/research skill requirement for doctoral students; each college or department offering the Ph.D. degree may set its own requirements. This policy reaffirms the importance of research skills and foreign languages in the highest academic degree granted by American universities, but it also recognizes that the departments offering the degrees are in the best position to determine the number and nature of such requirements in the interests of their students. For further information about Ph.D. foreign language/research skill requirements, students may contact their departments or the Graduate School office.

Interdisciplinary Studies

The doctor of philosophy degree is also offered in interdisciplinary studies. This degree program is administered by the Graduate School. In addition to the general requirements for the Ph.D. degree, the program of study and the supervisory committee for the prospective interdisciplinary degree candidate must be approved by the dean of the Graduate School before the student is admitted to the program. Specific regulations governing the Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies are described at http://graduate.ua.edu/academics/ids.html

Doctor of Education Degree

A minimum of two years of graduate study beyond the master's degree is required for the completion of the Ed.D. program. The student is required to complete 60 semester hours in approved graduate courses beyond the master's degree, or 90 semester hours of approved graduate courses, and to defend a dissertation. Specific regulations governing the Ed.D. program are described in the "College of Education" section of this Catalog.

Doctor of Musical Arts Degree

The D.M.A. degree requires a minimum of 46 semester hours beyond the master of music degree, plus recitals and other examinations as appropriate. Specific requirements for each major area are outlined in the "College of Arts and Sciences" section of this Catalog.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA GRADUATE CATALOG

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Last Update: July, 2008