The Ph.D. degree is granted in recognition of exceptional attainment in a specific field as demonstrated by passing coursework, the successful completion of required examinations and the successful defense of a dissertation based on original research that makes a significant contribution to the knowledge base of the student’s field of study.
All Ph.D. students (regardless of state residency classification) who exceed 99 hours of Ph.D. coursework will be required to pay out-of-state tuition. Ph.D. coursework is any coursework taken by a student seeking a Ph.D. degree after the completion of an initial 30 semester hours of graduate credit (typically master’s level work, regardless of whether the hours are taken as part of a master’s degree, as a non-degree seeking student, certificate work, or as part of the Ph.D. program). (See Texas Education Code Sec. 61.046 (l))
This rule applies to all students admitted to a Ph.D. program at UT Tyler. This tuition structure applies to Texas residents as well as out-of-state residents and international students who were eligible to be charged tuition at the resident rate because of scholarship, fellowship awards, or employment as Graduate Assistants.
All Ph.D. programs consist, at minimum, of a coherent set of courses and other educational experiences, a Proficiency Examination, a dissertation, and a Final Oral Defense. Students must satisfy not only their departmental requirements, but also any additional requirements specified by The Graduate School.
Admissions
Typically, the University of Texas at Tyler admits students to its Ph.D. programs under the Full Admission criteria. The requirements for admission are stated in the section for each program elsewhere in the catalog.
Transfer of Graduate Credit
Transfer of graduate credit from an accredited institution is limited to a total of no more than 12 semester hours. The Clinical Psychology Ph.D. may accept up to 15 semester hours of transfer credit. Individual Ph.D. programs may adopt more restrictive limits. Hours transferred into a Ph.D. program should represent credit earned after the award of the master’s degree. Exceptions to the number of hours transferred may be requested by the program to the Dean of the Graduate School. Only credit with a grade of “B” or better may be transferred. Credit earned more than six calendar years before admission to the program will not be accepted for transfer.
The program will determine what courses, if any, are accepted for transfer. The Ph.D. student may be examined on all transferred courses at the time of the Ph.D. proficiency examinations.
Transfer work does count toward the 99-Hour Rule for tuition purposes. See above for state law regarding the 99-Hour Rule.
University Requirements for Ph.D. Degree
- Satisfactory completion of all coursework required by the plan of study.
- Satisfactory completion of the Proficiency Examination.
- Completion of the required residency requirements before Candidacy is awarded.
- Graduate cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0.
- Satisfactory completion of the Oral Dissertation Defense.
- Submission of an electronic version of the approved dissertation including the dissertation abstract and a copy of Human Subjects or Animal Subjects approval form (if required).
- Completion of Ph.D. degree requirements within five years after being admitted to candidacy.
- Follow the steps to apply for graduation on the Registrar’s Office website: uttyler.edu/registrar/graduation/applying-for-graduation.
Grading Policies
See general graduate policies.
Repeating a Course
Ph.D. students may repeat a 5000- or 6000-level course if the original grade earned was a C, D, F and if allowed by the program. The course may be repeated only once and the original grade continues to be included in the computation of the grade point average. There is no grade replacement in a Ph.D. level program. Individual programs may prohibit repeating a course or may have limits on the number of times a student may repeat courses.
Academic Good Standing for Ph.D. Students
Each Ph.D. program has its own standards for academic good standing. Refer to those sections of the catalog.
Dissertation Process
Dissertation Proposal
Each Ph.D. program will determine when the dissertation proposal must be approved relative to taking Proficiency Examinations (i.e., before, after, or concurrently).
Ph.D. Proficiency Examination
All Ph.D. students are required to pass a Proficiency Examination in the major field before writing the dissertation. Each Ph.D. program will determine whether the Proficiency Examination is written and/or oral.
The proficiency examination is typically taken after the student has completed a significant portion, if not all, of the program’s coursework. However, a student may not be advanced to candidacy or register for dissertation hours until all coursework is completed, and all portions of the Proficiency Examination have been passed satisfactorily.
The student must be in good academic standing and registered for a minimum of three credit hours in the semester in which any portion of the examination or a re-examination is taken.
Examination Committee
The Proficiency Examination Committee is composed of members of the program's Ph.D. faculty.
Format
While The Graduate School does not dictate the format for the Proficiency Examination, it is expected that the examination will be appropriately rigorous. Also, the policies and rules for the form, timing, scheduling, sequence, and conduct of the proficiency examination must be uniform for all students in the program and available in written form (handbook, etc.) to all students.
Proficiency Examination
The student is considered to have satisfactorily completed the Proficiency Examination when the members of the Proficiency Examination committee have determined that a candidate has met the criteria established for satisfactory performance.
A student who fails the proficiency examination twice is not allowed an additional examination and is automatically dismissed from the university.
Appeal
A student may appeal the outcome of a Proficiency Examination by submitting a written petition to the director of the Ph.D. program within 10 work-days of being notified of the outcome of the examination. The path of the appeal process is from the director of the Ph.D. program to the department chairperson to the dean of the college and to the Dean of the Graduate School. The decision of the Dean of the Graduate School shall be final.
Application for Candidacy
When a student has completed all required coursework, has satisfactorily completed all portions of the proficiency exam, and is in good academic standing, and the report is submitted to The Graduate School, the student is admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree.
Dissertation
The dissertation is an independent scholarly contribution to knowledge in the student’s area of specialization. By researching, writing, and defending a dissertation, the student demonstrates a high level of knowledge in the chosen field and the ability to conduct independent research.
The Graduate School has established guidelines for dissertations. These are available at uttyler.edu/graduate/thesis-dissertation/thesis-students.php.
Individual Ph.D. programs may also offer guidelines with requirements beyond those established by The Graduate School.
All Ph. D. candidates are required to complete and defend a dissertation. The university requires a minimum of nine hours of dissertation credit. However, most Ph. D. programs require more hours.
Ph.D. candidates are required to register for a minimum of one credit of dissertation during fall and spring semesters until the dissertation is accepted by The Graduate School. (See, Enrollment Requirements)
Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval
Federal regulations and University policy require that all investigations using animal or human beings as subjects of research be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board before such investigations may begin. Data based on the use of animals or human beings as subjects cannot be collected for any dissertation without prior review and approval in accordance with university procedures.
Dissertation Committee
The dissertation committee is established early in the research process and must be approved by The Graduate School—using the Appointment of Dissertation Committee form. Once the committee has been approved, the student is allowed to register for dissertation hours.
The dissertation committee is composed of a dissertation advisor, who chairs the committee, and at least two other Graduate Research Faculty members. The advisor must be qualified to chair dissertations and be from the department from which the degree is sought. At least one more of the committee members must be from the department in which the degree is being sought and hold the required Graduate Research Status.
Candidates are encouraged to include scholars from outside the program to serve as members of dissertation committees. The outside members may be selected from among Graduate Research Faculty from other academic programs or from other institutions where scholarly work is conducted. All members of a dissertation committee must possess the appropriate graduate faculty qualifications for their role on a committee.
Candidates are also encouraged to select a member of the UT Tyler Graduate Faculty, external to the program, to provide mentoring/guidelines during the proposal development and dissertation defense process. Mentors are not voting members of the committee.
To avoid both the fact and the appearance of conflict of interest, family members, spouses, ex-spouses, significant others, or members otherwise related by blood or marriage or residing in the same household may not simultaneously serve on the same committee.
The role of the dissertation committee is to mentor the student’s research and writing and approve the dissertation following an oral defense. Ph.D. students are required to consult with members of the dissertation committee throughout the progress of the research. Some programs may require Ph.D. candidates to submit an annual progress report to the dissertation committee.
Defense of Dissertation Proposal
The dissertation proposal is developed in consultation with the dissertation chair and input as needed from committee members. Following approval of the dissertation chair, the proposal is distributed to the dissertation committee prior to proposal defense. The dissertation proposal defense is held in closed session with the committee and requires a majority of committee votes for a decision. The committee may recommend acceptance, revisions, or rejection. The committee may determine a second defense is needed following revision. The proposal must be approved by the committee prior to submitting it for review and approval to the Institutional Review Board.
Oral Defense
The dissertation chair is responsible for determining that the dissertation draft is appropriate in form and content for committee evaluation. If substantial revisions are necessary, they should be completed before the oral defense is scheduled.
The Request to Schedule Oral Defense form signed by the Dissertation Committee Chairperson must be submitted to and approved by The Graduate School no later than 10 working days before the date of the oral defense.
The oral defense is open to the public. However, once the defense is completed, the student and visitors must leave the room while the Committee discusses the students’ performance and votes on the outcome. The student is invited back into the room to receive the Committee’s decision.
The student is considered to have completed the oral defense successfully only when the majority of the Committee votes in the affirmative. Each committee member indicates his/her vote by signing the Final Oral Defense Report form. The committee may require alterations and corrections, but these should constitute relatively minor changes agreed to by the majority of the committee members. The dissertation chairperson is responsible for verifying that the changes required by the committee have been made.
If the examination is judged unsatisfactory by a majority of the voting members, the Committee must decide whether the student will be permitted to do a second oral defense. If a second examination is required, the committee must be the same as the original one unless a substitution is approved by the Graduate School Dean. A student who fails the oral defense twice is not allowed an additional examination and the student is automatically dismissed from the program and candidacy revoked.
The final decision of the examining committee is referred to The Graduate School using the Oral Defense Report form, which must be submitted to gradforms@uttyler.edu no later than 5 business days following the oral defense.
Format Review
After successfully defending the dissertation and making any changes requested by the committee, the student must submit an electronic draft of the complete dissertation along with a signature page signed by the entire committee to The Graduate School for format review. Review of the draft for format requirements will take approximately two weeks. After final formatting approval, students will receive a signed Dissertation Approval Form and Electronic Dissertation Submission Form, as well as information on author rights and instructions for submitting the thesis/dissertation in electronic format to the Robert R. Muntz Library's digital repository, Scholar Works.
The Graduate School has created a checklist to guide candidates through the final steps of the dissertation defense and approval process. The checklist is available at uttyler.edu/graduate/thesis-dissertation/thesis-students.php.
Dissertations are regarded as publications and will be made available to the public once they are approved and submitted to The Graduate School.