Graduate School Academic Regulations
Doctoral Degree
Degrees higher than the baccalaureate are granted at the University of Mississippi because of special attainments achieved by degree candidates. Prospective students should understand clearly that a graduate degree is not awarded upon the basis of a collection of course credits, or the passing of certain prescribed examinations, or the submission of a thesis or dissertation. In other words, the student cannot expect to receive a higher degree because of successfully completing the individual parts of the degree program. Course schedules, examinations, and other requirements explained in this catalog are to be regarded as minimums; and any student may be required to satisfy whatever additional requirements academic advisers deem appropriate.
To receive a higher degree from the University of Mississippi, the student must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the graduate faculty of the department, school, or college of the student and to the faculty of the university that the student has attained through intelligence, scholarship, industry, and personal qualities the high level of professional and academic competence that the faculty of each department expects of a person holding the degree being sought. The determination of fitness to qualify for the degree rests solely upon the estimate that the faculty makes of the student’s right to the degree. (See also “Operational Procedures” section and see the School of Law and School of Pharmacy sections for information about the J.D. and Pharm.D. degrees.)
Requirements for All Doctoral Programs
In addition to the above “General Requirements for All Advanced Degrees” and those requirements listed below, additional program requirements may be found in the description of individual graduate degree programs in the Academic Structure.
Course and Degree Credit Requirements
The aim of the doctoral program is to afford instruction and guidance leading to the mastery of a major field. Specific course requirements as deemed necessary are stipulated by the student’s advisory committee. In certain instances, a student may be required to take courses in a minor field. For students required to take a minor, a specific program will be formulated. To fulfill the degree credit requirement, the student must have completed (a) three years (54 hours) of study beyond the bachelor’s degree; (b) a minimum of two years (36 hours) of graduate study at the University of Mississippi; and (c) a minimum of one year (18 hours) of graduate work in continuous residence.
Where course work (excluding dissertation hours) is required for the degree, at least one-half, up to 30 hours, must be completed at the University of Mississippi. Exceptions to this policy are described within Policy #10000383 (Academic Regulations for Graduate Students).
Certain nontraditional graduate programs have been approved for delivery at off-campus sites, including centers at Tupelo and Jackson. Course work taken at these sites can fulfill the above requirements.
Preliminary Examination
At or near the beginning of the student’s work beyond the bachelor’s or master’s degree, the department or school may require a preliminary examination to determine the student’s qualifications to undertake a program leading to the doctorate and to assist the student’s adviser in planning the student’s program.
Time Limit
All required formal course work and the comprehensive exam should be completed within four calendar years of initial enrollment into degree seeking (provisional or full-standing) status, whether a student begins the doctoral program following completion of a bachelor’s or a master’s degree. After passing the comprehensive exam, a student becomes a candidate for the doctoral degree and must complete all remaining requirements, including the written dissertation and its defense, within five calendar years. If a candidate does not complete all requirements within this time, then the Graduate School will change the student’s status to nondegree seeking.
The Graduate School may grant a one-year extension to this time limit for serious, nonacademic circumstances (e.g., military duty, pregnancy, illness, or problems within the student’s immediate family).
Additionally, a student may petition his or her academic program for a limited extension for a reason unrelated to personal circumstances. If an academic program grants an extension, it may also impose additional requirements, which may include passing another comprehensive examination, more course work, and/or other appropriate remedies. Any extension plan accepted by the candidate and the academic program must be approved by the Graduate School.
Comprehensive Examinations and Admission to Candidacy
All doctoral students must successfully complete a comprehensive examination. Upon completion of this examination, the student is admitted to candidacy.
The purpose of this examination is to establish that the student has satisfactorily mastered the body of academic material appropriate to the degree. Though academic programs have broad latitude in the design of comprehensive examinations, the following guidelines should be followed. The examination may be either a single test or a set of tests. The examination must be written; however, departments may require that part of the examination be oral. The examination may be constructed and evaluated by the student’s dissertation advisory committee or by a separate committee. To sit for the examination, a student must be in full-standing status, must have satisfied any foreign language requirement, must have a graduate grade-point average of 3.0 or above, and must not have an outstanding I grade. If a graduate program has an extra departmental concentration area of more than 12 hours, a component of the comprehensive examination must include testing over this concentration area, and this testing must be done by faculty in the second department. Upon completion of all components of a comprehensive examination and notification to the Graduate School, the student is considered to be a candidate for the degree. In general, this status signifies that the individual has completed all or nearly all of the program course work and has entered the formal dissertation (or doctoral essay) stage of the program. Ordinarily, the comprehensive examination should be completed before the dissertation prospectus is defended.
In any situation in which a student wishes to appeal the results of his or her comprehensive examination, he or she may appeal, following procedures in the Graduate Student Appeal Process.
Continuous Enrollment
Upon admission to candidacy, a doctoral student is expected to maintain continuous enrollment. Minimum enrollment to fulfill this requirement is 3 hours of graduate-level course work for fall, spring, or summer terms, with enrollment for at least two of these three periods being required for any 12-month period. (Note that the minimum enrollment during the summer would be 1 hour if the enrollment is not to satisfy the continuous enrollment policy.)
Penalty Clause
The penalty for failure to maintain continuous enrollment, following admission to candidacy, is a fee equal to the tuition charge that would be necessary to have maintained continuous enrollment for the most recent 12-month period.
Dissertation Formatting, Digital Archiving, and Binding
A written dissertation must conform to the regulations governing the style, format, abstract and other matters found on the website of the Graduate School. In addition, each student must include a statement outlining how they used Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the completion of the dissertation (students who did not use AI in any form in completing the dissertation should include that in their statement). The statement shall document the specific uses and contributions from AI. A digital version of the dissertation must be uploaded to ProQuest or another platform accepted by the Graduate School for approval by the Graduate School after the final examination for the doctorate has been accepted and before the beginning of the regular examination period for the semester in which the candidate plans to graduate. The University does not allow a permanent embargo of dissertations due to its status as a state institution.
Doctor of Philosophy Degree
Dissertation Prospectus
A Dissertation Prospectus Committee will be appointed by the chair of the department to which the student has been admitted. The chair of this committee must be a full member of the graduate faculty. A minimum of two additional members of the department and one member external to the discipline comprise a committee, all of whom must be associate or full members of the graduate faculty.
Unless the program specifies otherwise within their policies, the chair of the dissertation prospectus committee shall review and provide guidance on the dissertation prospectus prior to the student’s submission of the dissertation prospectus to the other members of the committee. Generally, the chair will approve the student to submit the dissertation prospectus to other members of the committee and the prospectus defense may only occur after the chair has approved for the student to send the dissertation prospectus to the committee. The student may also consult with others on the project when expertise of other committee members may be required earlier in the review process. Departments that wish to use a different process of approving the dissertation prospectus to be sent to the committee must specify such in their handbook. In the absence of other documentation, the Graduate School policy shall direct the process. Unless otherwise specified, faculty will complete the review of a dissertation prospectus draft within 2 weeks. Programs may establish other timelines for faculty to return dissertation prospectus with suggestions, corrections, or edits to students. In such cases, those timelines must be included in the program handbook. Graduate students should understand that it is common to require review of multiple drafts and should anticipate that the revision process may require multiple rounds of such review. In addition, the 2-week timeline only applies when faculty are on contract and the institution is open for business. In instances where the chair or committee member requires more time to review the thesis than the 2 weeks established here or the timeline established in the program handbook, such information must be communicated to the student as early as possible and typically in writing.
The dissertation prospectus must be defended in oral examination and, in its final approved form, submitted to the Graduate School. The form of the dissertation prospectus will be determined by the committee. The dissertation prospectus oral defense and completion of the dissertation defense cannot occur during the same full term (fall, spring, full summer), and there must be a minimum of four calendar months between these events.
Dissertation
A minimum enrollment of 18 hours of dissertation credit is required of every Ph.D. student. Ph.D. students must prepare a written dissertation and successfully pass a final dissertation defense/examination.
Unless the program specifies otherwise within their policies, the chair of the final dissertation committee shall review and provide guidance on the final dissertation prior to the student’s submission of the final dissertation to the other members of the committee. Generally, the chair will approve the student to submit the final dissertation to other members of the committee. However, the student may also consult with others on the project when expertise of other committee members may be required earlier in the review process. Departments that wish to use a different process of approving the final dissertation to be sent to the committee must specify such in their handbook. In the absence of other documentation, the Graduate School policy shall direct the process. Unless otherwise specified, faculty will complete the review of a final dissertation draft within 2 weeks. Programs may establish other timelines for faculty to return final dissertation drafts with suggestions, corrections, or edits to students. In such cases, those timelines must be included in the program handbook. Graduate students should understand that it is common to require review of multiple drafts and should anticipate that the revision process may require multiple rounds of such review prior to the final oral examination. In addition, the 2-week timeline only applies when faculty are on contract and the institution is open for business. In instances where the chair or committee member requires more time to review the final dissertation draft than the 2 weeks established here or the timeline established in the program handbook, such information must be communicated to the student as early as possible and typically in writing.
Final Oral Examination
Every candidate for the Ph.D. degree must successfully pass a final oral examination (defense of dissertation). This final examination must include an oral component and must be administered by the student’s dissertation committee, as administered by the student’s dissertation committee and scheduled by the Graduate School. The committee shall direct the examination primarily to the defense of the dissertation, though it may include material from the student’s major and/or minor fields. The chair and committee members must approve the student to schedule the final oral examination. In no instance should the meeting occur prior to review of the dissertation by the chair and committee. Departments may require in addition a written examination, but the oral examination must be conducted. The oral examination may be given only after the dissertation is in final form (that is, ready for submission to the Graduate School except for corrections required by the examining committee at the oral examination). Graduate students should anticipate that they may need to make additional edits following the final oral exam (i.e., the committee and chair may request corrections at the final examination and may require further revisions until such corrections are made to their satisfaction). The dean of the Graduate School will not schedule oral examinations during the regular university examination periods at the end of enrollment periods or when the university is officially closed.
Doctor Of Arts Degree
The Doctor of Arts degree programs have been designed to prepare teachers who possess a comprehensive knowledge of their academic area of interest and an ability to perform effectively in the classroom. Unlike the Doctor of Philosophy degree in which the primary emphasis is placed upon research, the Doctor of Arts degree program places stress upon the breadth of the candidate’s knowledge and the attainment of teaching skills.
General Requirements
The general requirements for the Doctor of Arts degree include the completion of the master’s degree or its equivalent in the candidate’s subject matter area before admission to the program, the completion of 60 hours of course work or the equivalent with a grade-point average of 3.0 or above, the writing of a doctoral essay or thesis, the passing of a comprehensive examination, and the completion of an internship supervised by members of the graduate faculty in the area of concentration.
Doctoral Essay
Departments giving the Doctor of Arts degree have the option of making comprehensive the final examination for the degree or of requiring the student to defend a thesis or doctoral essay in an additional final oral examination. The doctoral essay or thesis for the Doctor of Arts degree must conform to the regulations governing style set forth in A Manual of Thesis and Dissertation Preparation, available in the Graduate School. An electronic version of the essay must be uploaded to ProQuest for approval by the Graduate School after the final examination for the doctorate has been accepted and before the beginning of the regular examination period for the semester in which the candidate plans to graduate.
Final Oral Examination
Unless required by their departments, Doctor of Arts students are exempt from the requirement of a final examination. If requested to do so, the dean of the Graduate School will appoint an examining committee for a final oral examination.
Doctor Of Education Degree
Dissertation Prospectus
A Dissertation Prospectus Committee will be appointed by the chair of the department to which the student has been admitted. The chair of this committee must be a full member of the graduate faculty. A minimum of two additional members of the department and one member external to the discipline comprise a committee, all of whom must be associate or full members of the graduate faculty.
Unless the program specifies otherwise within their policies, the chair of the dissertation prospectus committee shall review and provide guidance on the dissertation prospectus prior to the student’s submission of the dissertation prospectus to the other members of the committee. Generally, the chair will approve the student to submit the dissertation prospectus to other members of the committee and the prospectus defense may only occur after the chair has approved for the student to send the dissertation prospectus to the committee. The student may also consult with others on the project when expertise of other committee members may be required earlier in the review process. Departments that wish to use a different process of approving the dissertation prospectus to be sent to the committee must specify such in their handbook. In the absence of other documentation, the Graduate School policy shall direct the process. Unless otherwise specified, faculty will complete the review of a dissertation prospectus draft within 2 weeks. Programs may establish other timelines for faculty to return dissertation prospectus with suggestions, corrections, or edits to students. In such cases, those timelines must be included in the program handbook. Graduate students should understand that it is common to require review of multiple drafts and should anticipate that the revision process may require multiple rounds of such review. In addition, the 2-week timeline only applies when faculty are on contract and the institution is open for business. In instances where the chair or committee member requires more time to review the thesis than the 2 weeks established here or the timeline established in the program handbook, such information must be communicated to the student as early as possible and typically in writing.
The dissertation prospectus must be defended in oral examination and, in its final approved form, submitted to the Graduate School. The form of the dissertation prospectus will be determined by the committee. The dissertation prospectus oral defense and completion of the dissertation defense cannot occur during the same full term (fall, spring, full summer), and there must be a minimum of four calendar months between these events.
Dissertation
A minimum enrollment of 15 hours of dissertation credit is required of every Ed.D. student. The dissertation must conform to the regulations governing the style, format, abstract and other matters found on the website of the Graduate School. In addition, each student must include a statement outlining how they used Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the completion of the dissertation (students who did not use AI in any form in completing the dissertation should include that in their statement). The statement shall document the specific uses and contributions from AI. A digital version of the dissertation must be uploaded to ProQuest or another platform accepted by the Graduate School after the final examination for the doctorate has been accepted and before the beginning of the regular examination period for the semester in which the candidate plans to graduate. The University does not allow a permanent embargo of dissertations due to its status as a state institution.
Unless the program specifies otherwise within their policies, the chair of the final dissertation committee shall review and provide guidance on the final dissertation prior to the student’s submission of the final dissertation to the other members of the committee. Generally, the chair will approve the student to submit the final dissertation to other members of the committee. However, the student may also consult with others on the project when expertise of other committee members may be required earlier in the review process. Departments that wish to use a different process of approving the final dissertation to be sent to the committee must specify such in their handbook. In the absence of other documentation, the Graduate School policy shall direct the process. Unless otherwise specified, faculty will complete the review of a final dissertation draft within 2 weeks. Programs may establish other timelines for faculty to return final dissertation drafts with suggestions, corrections, or edits to students. In such cases, those timelines must be included in the program handbook. Graduate students should understand that it is common to require review of multiple drafts and should anticipate that the revision process may require multiple rounds of such review prior to the final oral examination. In addition, the 2-week timeline only applies when faculty are on contract and the institution is open for business. In instances where the chair or committee member requires more time to review the final dissertation draft than the 2 weeks established here or the timeline established in the program handbook, such information must be communicated to the student as early as possible and typically in writing.
Final Oral Examination
Every candidate for the Ed.D. degree must successfully pass a final oral examination (defense of dissertation). This final examination must include an oral component and must be administered by the student’s dissertation committee and scheduled by the Graduate School. The committee shall direct the examination primarily to the defense of the dissertation, though it may include material from the student’s major and/or minor fields. The chair and committee members must approve the student to schedule the final oral examination. In no instance should the meeting occur prior to review of the dissertation by the chair and committee. Departments may require in addition a written examination, but the oral examination must be conducted. The oral examination may be given only after the dissertation is in final form (that is, ready for submission to the Graduate School except for corrections required by the examining committee at the oral examination). Graduate students should anticipate that they may need to make additional edits following the final oral exam (i.e., the committee and chair may request corrections at the final examination and may require further revisions until such corrections are made to their satisfaction). The dean of the Graduate School will not schedule oral examinations during the regular university examination periods at the end of enrollment periods or when the university is officially closed.