All Graduate Degrees
The following items are University-wide graduate degree requirements. Responsibility for knowing and following the academic rules and regulations, including requirements for graduation, rests with the student. Faculty advisors assist students in planning their academic programs but are not expected to relieve the students of their responsibility. Students should consult the specific information provided in each major departmental section of this catalog for any additional requirements related to the major.
Application for Advanced Degree
To initiate the process for degree conferral, candidates must submit an “Application for Advanced Degree” to the Graduate College. The application deadlines are February 15 for spring candidates, January 15 for winter candidates, May 15 for summer candidates, and September 15 for fall candidates. The application must be signed by the candidate’s advisor and department chair and/or graduate program director. There is an application fee of $50 for master’s degree candidates and a $95 fee for doctoral degree candidates. Payment is required when the application is submitted. Upon completion of the audit, the Office of Graduate and Professional Education notifies students in writing when they have met all degree requirements.
Copyright Regulations
The University reserves the right to duplicate a thesis/dissertation/education leadership portfolio for distribution to other libraries or for the use of individual scholars. However, the University will not publish a thesis/dissertation/education leadership portfolio for general distribution without the written consent of the author. If copyrighting is desired, it may be arranged when the thesis/dissertation/education leadership portfolio is submitted to the Graduate College. Published works are eligible for copyright protection in the United States if the work is first published in the United States.
Facility of Expression in English
Candidates for the degree must have acquired the ability to express themselves clearly and forcefully in English, both orally and in writing. The major departments have the responsibility of determining whether candidates have met this requirement.
Graduate Grade Point Average
Students must have a minimum overall cumulative grade point average of 3.0 to be eligible for the degree. In addition, the grades in courses specifically required for the degree program must average at least 3.0. All graduate-numbered courses taken with graduate student classification at the University of Delaware are applied to the cumulative index. Credit hours and courses for which the grade is below “C-” do not count toward the degree even though the grade is applied to the index. Candidates should see that all final grades have been submitted by their instructors. Temporary grades of “S” (Satisfactory) are assigned for 868 (Research) and 869 (Master’s Thesis) and 969 (Doctoral Dissertation) until a final letter grade is submitted upon the completion of the thesis or dissertation.
Thesis and Dissertation Due Dates
Master’s theses are due in the Office of Graduate and Professional Education six weeks prior to the date of degree conferral. Dissertations are due in the Graduate College seven weeks prior to the date of degree conferral. For exact due dates, see the calendar distributed by the Graduate College.
Time Limits for the Completion of Degree Requirements
Time limits for the completion of degree requirements begin with the date of matriculation. The University time limit is ten consecutive semesters to complete the degree requirements for students entering a master’s degree program. Students completing the requirements for the master’s degree who are subsequently granted permission to continue toward the doctoral degree are given an additional ten consecutive semesters. Students entering a doctoral program with a master’s degree are given ten consecutive semesters to complete the requirements. Students entering a doctoral program without a master’s degree are given fourteen consecutive semesters to complete the requirements. Students who change their degree plan and have transferred from one degree program to another degree program are given ten consecutive semesters from the beginning of the first year in the latest program.
Extension of the Time Limit
An extension of time limit may be granted for documented circumstances. Requests for time extensions must be made in writing and approved by the student’s advisory committee and the chair of the department’s graduate committee. The department will forward the request to the Graduate College. The Graduate College will determine the student’s eligibility for a time extension and will notify the student in writing of its decision to grant an extension of time.
Master’s Degrees
In addition to the general requirements for all graduate degrees, the following regulations apply to all master’s degree programs. Departments may have additional regulations beyond those stated below.
Credit Hour Requirements
The minimum number of credits required for the master’s degree with thesis is 24 semester hours plus six hours of thesis (869). The minimum number of credits for the master’s degree without a thesis is 30 semester hours. The student in a non-thesis program is usually required to pass a comprehensive examination or some other culminating requirement. Requirement of a foreign language is decided by each department as there is not a University-wide language requirement for the master’s degree. A maximum of nine graduate credit hours may be transferred from another institution to the degree. Candidates for the degree must have regular status.
The Master’s Thesis
The master’s thesis must reflect the ability to conduct scholarly research and to report the results in a manner worthy of publication. The following items are to be submitted to the Graduate College: (1) Three original sets of the signature pages showing approval of the thesis; (2) Three copies of the abstract; (3) The thesis as a PDF file. When a thesis is required, it must be approved by (a) the chair of the committee in charge of the candidate’s degree program or the advisor, (b) the chair of the department of major concentration or the chair of the committee in charge of an area of study, (c) the Dean of the student’s College, and (d) the Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education and Dean of the Graduate College.
Master’s Thesis Committees
A program of study is planned for each candidate in consultation with an advisor and/or an advisory committee. Each department determines the number of faculty that are required to serve on a thesis committee. The professor in charge of the thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee should have established a record of publication and/or scholarship in the field of the thesis and shall be a full-time member of the faculty of the University. The definition of faculty shall include professional staff who hold secondary faculty appointments within the department or faculty with joint appointments in the master’s student’s unit. Faculty who have retired or resigned from the University may continue to chair committees of students whose work began under their direction prior to their retirement or departure from the University. Individuals who do not meet the above stated definition given for faculty status may co-chair the thesis committee provided that the other co-chair meets the definition for faculty status.
Doctor Of Philosophy
The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is conferred in recognition of breadth of scholarly attainment and of demonstrated power to investigate problems independently and effectively, rather than for the completion of definite courses of study through a stated period of time. In addition to the general requirements for advanced degrees, doctoral candidates must observe the following university requirements.
Admission to Doctoral Candidacy
Upon the recommendation of the doctoral student’s advisory committee and the chair of the student’s major department, students may be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. The stipulations for admission to doctoral candidacy are that the student has (1) had a program of study approved, (2) completed one academic year of full-time graduate study in residence at the University, (3) fulfilled the foreign language requirement, if any, (4) passed the program’s qualifying examination(s), (5) shown the ability to do research, and (6) had a research project accepted by the advisory committee with human/animal subjects approval (if appropriate for the research).
When a student has met the requirements for admission to candidacy as explained in this section, the department should submit a Recommendation for Candidacy for Doctoral Degree form to the Graduate College. The student’s classification will change to post-candidacy upon admission to candidacy status.
The deadline for admission to candidacy for the fall semester is August 31. The deadline for admission to candidacy for the spring semester is January 31. The deadline for admission to candidacy for the summer is April 30. Responsibility for seeing that admission to candidacy is secured at the proper time rests with the student.
Registration Requirements Prior to Doctoral Candidacy
Course registration requirements are determined by the student’s approved program of study. Once the student has registered for all course requirements in a program of study but has not yet met all of the stipulations for passing into candidacy, the student must maintain registration during the fall and spring semesters in course(s) or in three to twelve credits of Pre-Candidacy Study (964). Pre-Candidacy Study (964) is graded pass/fail. If the student registered in Pre-Candidacy Study is admitted to candidacy before the end of the free drop/add period of the next semester, the registration in Pre-Candidacy Study (964) for the preceding semester may be changed to the course, Doctoral Dissertation (969). Students who are are holding a graduate assistantship or tuition scholarship must be registered for a minimum of six graduate credits, and those holding a fellowship must be registered for a minimum of nine graduate credits.
Registration Requirements after Admission to Candidacy
Once a student has met all of the stipulations for candidacy and becomes classified in candidacy, the student is required to register in nine credits of Doctoral Dissertation (969). Students may not register for Doctoral Dissertation (969) until admitted to candidacy. Registration in Doctoral Dissertation (969) and Doctoral Sustaining (999) is restricted to students with candidacy. Once the student has registered in nine credits of Doctoral Dissertation, the student is required to maintain matriculation in the doctoral program by registering in Doctoral Sustaining (999) in subsequent semesters until the degree is awarded. All students must be registered in the term in which the degree is officially awarded. Sustaining registration is required in summer or winter session only if the degree is awarded at the conclusion of the summer or winter session.
Course and Residency Requirements
At least three academic years of graduate academic work are normally required for the Ph.D. degree. At least one continuous academic year must be devoted exclusively to full-time study (nine credit hours per semester) in the major field in residence at the University of Delaware. This residency requirement may be fulfilled using a fall and spring semester combination or a spring and fall semester combination, but summer or winter sessions do not meet the qualification. Course credit earned in a master’s program at the University of Delaware may be applied toward the doctoral degree if the candidate is receiving both degrees from the University in the same major field.
The Doctoral Dissertation
The dissertation is expected to reflect the results of original and significant research written in a scholarly and literate manner worthy of publication. The dissertation defense must be completed prior to the submission date and the certification of a successful defense must be submitted to the Graduate College. The dissertation must be approved by the chair of the student’s advisory committee, the Dean of the student’s College, the chair of the student’s major department, and the Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education/Dean of the Graduate College. The dissertation is to be signed by the professor in charge of the dissertation and all members of the dissertation committee. The following items are to be submitted to the Graduate College: (1) Three original sets of the signature pages showing approval of the dissertation/education leadership portfolio; (2) Three copies of the abstract; (3) The dissertation/education leadership portfolio as a PDF file; (4) Certification of Doctoral Defense; (5) Survey of Earned Doctorates.
Dissertation Awards
The University recognizes excellence of dissertations by awarding six prizes each year to candidates for the degree. Committees of senior faculty make the selection for these prizes: the Wilbur Owen Sypherd Prize in the Humanities, the George Herbert Ryden Prize in the Social Sciences, the Allan P. Colburn Prize in the Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, the Theodore Wolf Prize in the Physical and Life Sciences, the Dan Rich Prize for Making a Difference for Delawareans, and the Graduate College Award for Interdisciplinary Research.
Doctoral Committees
Each dissertation/education leadership portfolio committee shall consist of not less than four members approved through appropriate departmental procedures:
- At least two members shall represent the primary area of study, one of whom shall be the committee’s chairperson, and a faculty member in the program in which the student is matriculated. The chairperson should have an established record of publication and/or scholarship in the field of the dissertation/executive position paper and shall be a full-time member of the faculty of the University; the definition of faculty shall include professional staff who hold secondary faculty appointments. Faculty who have retired or resigned from the University may chair committees of students whose work began under their direction prior to their retirement or departure from the University. An advisor who is not employed full time by the University of Delaware may serve as co-chair of the committee provided that the other co-chair meets the conditions stated above.
- One member shall represent the secondary area of study (where appropriate). If the student does not have a secondary area of study, then this member must be drawn from an area in the department outside of the primary area of study and must be a faculty member in the program in which the student is matriculated. In either case, the member must be a full-time member of the faculty.
- At least one external member chosen from a different academic unit or from outside the University of Delaware shall be a member of the committee. The external member(s) should normally be expected to have an established record of publication and/or scholarship in the field of the dissertation/executive position paper. Students are encouraged to seek the external member from outside the University in order to broaden the perspectives of the committee. Faculty with joint or secondary appointments in the doctoral candidate’s unit may be considered as either internal or external committee members at the discretion of the program.
In general, doctoral committees should strive to achieve consensus concerning the student’s performance and quality of work. In the case of dissenting votes, the majority opinion rules and a majority vote in favor is needed for a successful defense.
Examination - Pre-Candidacy
Doctoral students must prove to their advisory committee that they have acquired a comprehensive grasp of their major and minor fields of study through a qualifying examination (written, oral, or both) before they are admitted to formal candidacy.
Examination - Post-Candidacy Defense
Upon completion of the dissertation, a final oral examination must be passed, consisting of a defense of the dissertation and a test of the candidate’s mastery of the fields covered in the program. The final oral examination is conducted by the student’s advisory committee, together with other examiners approved by the departmental faculty. To permit adequate time for the examiners to review the dissertation, all copies of the tentatively completed dissertation (subject to revisions required by the examining committee) must be deposited in the departmental office at least two weeks before the date of the final oral examination. A department may increase this period if a particular dissertation requires longer study or if the number of dissertations presented makes it impractical to review them thoroughly in a two-week interval. The department shall submit certification of a successful defense to the Graduate College.
Modern Foreign Language Requirement
There is no University-wide language requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The need for proficiency in another language will be determined in accordance with the standards set by the student’s major department. Candidates should complete the language requirement as soon as possible after admission to doctoral standing. The language requirement must be met prior to admission to candidacy.
Secondary Areas
In some programs, studies that add to the student’s fundamental knowledge and develop a research point of view must be pursued in at least one related subject. This may be a separate branch of the field in which the major work is done.
Survey of Earned Doctorates
The Survey of Earned Doctorates form must be completed by all candidates for the doctoral degree. This form is provided by the Graduate College.
Doctor Of Education
The degree of Doctor of Education is conferred in recognition of distinguished achievement in the field of educational leadership. Specific course requirements include 42 hours of doctoral study and 12 hours of development of a leadership portfolio. A student may transfer a maximum of nine hours of graduate work (post-master’s) for which a grade of B- or better was earned from an accredited institution of higher learning. Students have five years to complete the degree, with extensions granted only for extraordinary circumstances. A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 must be maintained in the courses. Students must complete and defend a proposal for their leadership portfolio, and later defend in open session the completed portfolio. Each student has a committee with an advisor/chair and three additional members, one of whom must be from outside the College of Education and Human Development.
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