The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is awarded upon the successful completion of a minimum of (30) hours (accredited units) of advanced courses including a dissertation, after obtaining a master’s degree. The study for a doctorate degree is possible through a Course/ Dissertation mode: of minimally twelve hours of graduate courses of directed studies, symposia, and seminars, as called for by student’s academic interests and specific specializations, plus a dissertation.
6.2.1 Committee Roles and Responsibilities
A Dissertation Advisory Committee will be formed for each student by the College Program Director (FORM G09). The committee will consist of at least three members with a faculty member as the main academic advisor/supervisor and Chair. The Chair of the Committee must have research and graduate student advising experience and should be an Associate or full Professor. One member of the committee must be from outside the university. The Committee will assist the student in the formulation and approval of the Dissertation Proposal (see FORM G10 Structure of Thesis/Dissertation Research Proposal) and later advise the student in the execution of the research, the Dissertation write-up, and help the student to prepare for the oral defense.
A faculty member can be an advisor or co-advisor for a maximum of four Doctoral dissertations simultaneously. The number can be raised to five following the recommendations of the Department Council concerned and the approval of the College Council, and the Graduate School. For calculating faculty members teaching loads, the supervision of a doctoral dissertation will be counted as one credit hour, whether the faculty member is the sole advisor or the major advisor.