Residence (See Residence Requirements.)

Students who enter the doctoral degree programs with baccalaureate degrees must spend two academic years in resident study. Students who hold master's degrees when they enter doctoral degree programs must spend one academic year in resident study. One academic year may include two adjacent regular semesters or one regular semester and one adjacent 10-week summer semester.

To satisfy the residence requirement, the student must complete a minimum of 9 credit hours per semester or 10-week summer semester for the required period. Those students who enter doctoral degree programs with baccalaureate degrees may fulfill residence requirements in excess of one academic year (18 credit hours) by registration during summer sessions or by completion of a less-than-full course load (in this context a full course load is considered 9 credit hours per semester). Full-time staff members of the University or of closely affiliated organizations stationed at the campus may fulfill total residence requirements by the completion of less-than-full course loads. Employees should submit verification of their employment at the time they submit their degree plan. See Registration.

For students who have completed a master's degree, a minimum of 64 hours is required on the degree plan for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. For students who have completed a baccalaureate degree but not a master's degree, a minimum of 96 credit hours is required on the degree plan for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Time Limit

All requirements for doctoral degrees (except for Mays Business School) must be completed within a period of ten consecutive calendar years for the degree to be granted. For Mays Business School time limit, see the next page. A course will be considered valid until 10 years after the end of the semester in which it is taken. Graduate credit for course work more than ten calendar years old at the time of the final oral examination may not be used to satisfy degree requirements.

Final corrected copies of the dissertation or record of study must be accepted by the thesis clerk no later than one year after the final examination or within the 10-year time limit, whichever occurs first. Failure to do so will result in the degree not being awarded.

The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy--Mays Business School

Work leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Mays Business School is designed to give a candidate thorough and comprehensive knowledge of his or her professional field and training in methods of research. Mays exceptions to the University requirements include: a) all requirements for the doctoral degree must be completed within a period of five consecutive calendar years for the degree to be granted; b) a course will be considered valid until four years after the end of the semester in which it is taken and credit for course work more than four calendar years old at the time of the final oral examination may not be used to satisfy degree requirements; and c) final corrected copies of the dissertation or record of study must be accepted by the thesis clerk no later than one year after the final examination or within the five year time limit, whichever occurs first. Failure to do so will result in the degree not being awarded.

99-Hour Cap on Doctoral Degrees

In Texas, public colleges and universities are funded by the state according to the number of students enrolled. In accordance with legislation passed by the Texas Legislature, the number of hours for which state universities may receive subvention funding at the doctoral rate for any individual is limited. Texas A&M and other universities will not receive subvention for hours in excess of the limit.

The law affected Texas A&M for the first time in the fall semester of 1994 with a limit of 130 hours. The most recent action by the Legislature in spring of 1997 reduced that limit to 100 hours. This change in state funding became effective in September 1999. However, when the Legislature passed the "cap," it considered the potential loss of funding and voted to allow institutions of higher education to charge the equivalent of nonresident tuition to resident doctoral students who have enrolled in 100 or more semester credit hours of doctoral course work.

The Board of Regents of The Texas A&M University System has approved a plan for implementing a new tuition structure for students pursuing doctoral degrees at Texas A&M University. The plan approved for Texas A&M University will phase in the tuition increase over a period of four years in order to minimize the possible negative effects for students who are nearing the completion of their doctoral work, and, perhaps, have enrolled in 100 or more semester credit hours of doctoral course work. Please note that the tuition increases will apply to Texas residents as well as students from other states and countries who currently are charged tuition at the resident rate.

In the past, GATs, GANTs and GARs with appointments of 20 or more hours and recipients of competitive fellowships who receive more than $1,000 per semester, have been allowed to pay resident tuition. For the year 2000 and beyond, any graduate student accruing more than the specified credit hours outlined in the Board of Regents Plan is charged nonresident tuition.

The level of subvention funding is affected both by the level of the course and by the status of the student taking the course. It has been the policy of the state to pay the subvention. For example, a doctoral student enrolling in a course that is offered by a department that grants only a masters degree the course would be funded at the masters level. It is important to note that the course does not count towards the 99-hour cap. Courses are classified as undergraduate, master's, doctoral, professional or other according to the highest degrees for which they may be used to satisfy the requirements. The courses classified as "master's" apply only to the master's degree, and they comprise a limited subset of all 600-level courses. The category labeled "professional" includes primarily courses which are offered in the medical or veterinary medicine programs. The category labeled "other" refers to courses such as those offered by the English Language Institute, which cannot be applied to any degree and for which Texas A&M University receives no subvention funding.

Table 1 shows the various course and student classifications. Only doctoral courses taken while in G8 status (the entry in bold) are eligible for doctoral subvention. Therefore, these are the hours subject to limitation. Courses taken in G7 status do not apply even if they are used to satisfy requirements for a doctorate. The level for each course taken is determined by the classification of the student on the twelfth class day of the fall or spring (fourth class day for summer term) semester in which the course is taken, and the university receives subvention based upon this reporting day data. On the class reporting day, the level of each of a student's courses for the given semester becomes fixed and cannot be changed at a later date.

Student's Advisory Committee

After receiving admission to graduate studies and enrolling, the student will consult with the head of his or her major or administrative department concerning appoint-ment of the chair of the advisory committee. The student's advisory committee will consist of no fewer than four members of the graduate faculty representative of the student's several fields of study and research, where the chair or co-chair must be from the student's department, and at least one or more of the members must be from a department other than the student's major department.

The chair, in consultation with the student, will select the remainder of the advisory committee. Only graduate faculty members located on the campuses at College Station, Galveston, Texas A&M University-Temple Campus or Institute of Biosciences and Technology-Houston may serve as chair of a student's advisory committee. Other Texas A&M University graduate faculty members, including the Texas A&M University System graduate faculty, may serve as co-chair with an individual located at College Station or Galveston.

The committee members' signatures on the degree plan indicate their willingness to accept the responsibility for guiding and directing the entire academic program of the student and for initiating all academic actions concerning the student. Although individual committee members may be replaced by petition for valid reasons, a committee cannot resign en masse. The chair of the committee, who usually has immediate supervision of the student's research and dissertation or record of study, has the responsibility for calling all meetings of the committee. The duties of the committee include responsibility for the proposed degree plan, the research proposal, the preliminary examination, the dissertation or record of study and the final examination. In addition, the committee as a group and as individual members is responsible for counseling the student on academic matters, and, in the case of academic deficiency, initiating recommendations to the Office of Graduate Studies.

Degree Plan

The student's advisory committee will evaluate the student's previous education and degree objectives. The committee, in consultation with the student, will develop a proposed degree plan and outline a research problem which, when completed, as indicated by the dissertation (or its equivalent for the degree of Doctor of Education or the degree of Doctor of Engineering), will constitute the basic requirements for the degree. The degree plan must be filed with the Office of Graduate Studies following the deadline imposed by the student's college, and no later than 90 days prior to the preliminary examination. No exceptions are allowed.

The proposed degree plan will be submitted on standard forms (the accepted degree plan format appears on the website at vpr.tamu.edu) with endorsements by the student's advisory committee, the head of the major department (and chair of the intercollegiate faculty, if appropriate), for the approval of the Office of Graduate Studies. For students who have completed a master's degree, or a DVM or MD at a U.S. institution, a minimum of 64 hours is required on the degree plan for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Failure to complete the requirements for the DVM or MD invalidates this 64-hour degree plan and necessitates petitioning to convert to a 96-hour degree plan for the PhD for students who have completed a baccalaureate degree but not a master's degree or a U.S. DVM or MD, a minimum of 96 hours is required on the degree plan for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. A field of study may be primarily in one department or in a combination of departments. All degree plans must carry a reasonable amount of 691 (Research).

Additional course work may be added by petition to the approved degree plan by the student's advisory committee if it is deemed necessary to correct deficiencies in the student's academic preparation.

Selected courses offered by The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center--College of Medicine may be used for graduate credit. For a listing of these courses, the student should see the head of his or her major department, the dean of the appropriate college or the Office of Graduate Studies. Approval to enroll in any professional course (900-level) should be obtained from the head of the department in which the course will be offered before including such a course on a degree plan.

No credit may be obtained by correspondence study, by extension or for any course of fewer than three weeks duration.

Transfer of Credit

Courses for which transfer credits are sought must have been completed with a grade of B or greater and must be approved by the student's advisory committee and the Office of Graduate Studies. These courses must not have been used previously for another degree. Except for officially approved joint degree programs with other Texas A&M University System institutions, credit for thesis or dissertation research or the equivalent is not transferable. Credit for "internship" course work in any form is not transferable. Courses taken in residence at an accredited U.S. institution or approved international institution with a final grade of B or greater will be considered for transfer credit if, at the time the courses were completed, the student was in degree-seeking status at Texas A&M University or at the institution at which the courses were taken, and if the courses would be accepted for credit toward a similar degree for students in degree-seeking status at the host institution. Credit for course work taken by extension is not transferable. Course work in which no formal grades are given or in which grades other than letter grades (A, B, C, etc.) are given (for example, CR, P, S, U, H, etc.) is not accepted for transfer credit. Credit for course work submitted for transfer from any college or university must be shown in semester credit hours, or equated to semester credit hours. Courses completed at other institutions are not included in computing the GPR. An official transcript from the university at which transfer courses are taken must be sent directly to the Office of Admissions and Records.

Languages

All students are required to possess a competent command of English. For English language proficiency requirements, see the Admissions section of this catalog. The doctoral (PhD) foreign language requirement at Texas A&M University is a departmental option, to be administered and monitored by the individual departments of academic instruction.

Examinations

The student's major department and his or her advisory committee may require qualifying, cumulative or other types of examinations at any time deemed desirable. These examinations are entirely at the discretion of the department and the student's advisory committee.

The preliminary examination is required. The preliminary examination for doctoral students shall be given no earlier than a date at which the student is within approximately 6 credit hours of completion of the formal course work on the degree plan (i.e., all course work on the degree plan except 681, 684, 690, 691 and 692 courses) or no later than the end of the semester following the completion of the formal course work on the degree plan. The Office of Graduate Studies must receive preliminary examination results at least 14 weeks prior to the final examination date. The examination shall be both oral and written unless otherwise recommended by the student's advisory committee and approved by the Office of Graduate Studies. The written part of the examination will cover all fields of study included in the student's degree plan. Each member of the advisory committee is responsible for administering a written examination in his or her particular field, unless he or she chooses to waive participation in this part of the examination. Two or more members of the advisory committee may give a joint written examination. One or more members may require a student to take a departmental or intercollegiate faculty examination to supplement or replace a written examination. Each written examination must be completed and reported as satisfactory to the chair of the advisory committee before the oral portion of the examination may be held. In case any written examination is reported unsatisfactory, the entire advisory committee must agree (1) to proceed with the oral portion of the preliminary examination, or (2) to adopt another course of action regarding the unsatisfactory written examination. Either procedure is subject to the approval of the Office of Graduate Studies.

Prior to scheduling the preliminary examination with the other committee members, the committee chair will review with the student eligibility criteria, using the Preliminary Examination Checklist to ensure the student is ready for the examination. The following list of eligibility requirements applies.

Once all requirements are met, departments may announce the schedule of both the written and oral parts of the examination. Both the oral and the written portions of the preliminary examination must be administered on the campus at College Station, unless otherwise authorized by the Office of Graduate Studies.

Credit for the preliminary examination is not transferable. If a departmental or intercollegiate faculty examination is used as part of the written portion of the preliminary examination, it must be the last examination offered prior to the date scheduled for the preliminary examination. In the schedule of the written portion, all members of the student's advisory committee are to be included.

Through the preliminary examination, the student's advisory committee should satisfy itself that the student has demonstrated the following qualifications:

In case a student is required to take, as a part of the written portion of a preliminary examination, an examination administered by a department or intercollegiate faculty, the department or intercollegiate faculty must:

The chair of the student's advisory committee is responsible for making all written examinations available to the members of the advisory committee at or before the oral portion of the examination. A positive vote by all members of the graduate committee with at most one dissention is required to pass a student on his or her exam. A department can have a stricter requirement provided there is consistency within all degree programs within a department.

The chair of the advisory committee will report promptly, using the Report of Doctoral Preliminary Examination form, with the signatures of all committee members, and the Preliminary Examination Checklist, to the Office of Graduate Studies the results of the preliminary examination. An examination which is not completed and reported as satisfactory to the Office of Graduate Studies within 10 working days of the scheduled examination date will be recorded as a failure.

After passing the required preliminary oral and written examinations for the doctoral degree, the student must complete all remaining requirements for the degree within four calendar years. Otherwise, the student will be required to repeat the preliminary examination.

Upon approval of the student's advisory committee, with no more than one member dissenting, and the approval by the Office of Graduate Studies, a student who has failed the preliminary examination may be given one re-examination, when adequate time has been given to permit the student to address the inadequacies emerging from the first examination (normally six months). The student and the advisory committee should jointly negotiate a mutually acceptable date for this purpose.

A student must be registered at Texas A&M University for a minimum of one semester credit hour in the semester or summer term in which they will appear for the preliminary examination.

For the Doctor of Philosophy specific to Mays Business School, please visit the website maysbschool.tamu.edu/phd.

Steps for Completing the Preliminary Examination

Admission to Candidacy

To be admitted to candidacy for a doctoral degree, a student must have: (1) completed all formal course work on the degree plan with the exception of any remaining 681, 684, 690 and 691, (2) a 3.0 Graduate GPR and a Degree Plan GPR of at least 3.0 with no grade lower than C in any course on the degree plan, (3) passed the preliminary examination (written and oral portions), (4) submitted an approved dissertation proposal, (5) met the residence requirements. The final examination will not be authorized for any doctoral student who has not been admitted to candidacy.

Continuous Registration

Students in a program leading to a doctor of philosophy who have completed all course work on their degree plans other than 691 (Research) are required to be in continuous registration until all requirements for the degree have been completed (see Continuous Registration Requirements).

Research Proposal

The general field of research to be used for the dissertation should be agreed on by the student and the advisory committee at their first meeting, as a basis for selecting the proper courses to support the proposed research.

As soon thereafter as the research project can be outlined in reasonable detail, the dissertation research proposal should be completed. The research proposal should be approved at a meeting of the student's advisory committee, at which time the feasibility of the proposed research and the adequacy of available facilities should be reviewed. The approved proposal, signed by all members of the student's advisory committee, the head of the student's major department (and chair of the intercollegiate faculty, if appropriate), must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies at least 14 weeks prior to the scheduling of the final examination.

There are compliance issues that must be addressed if graduate students are performing research involving human subjects, animals, infectious biohazards and recombinant DNA. Students involved in these types of research must check with the Research Compliance Division, Office of the Vice President for Research at (979) 845-8585 in order to ensure that they have met all compliance responsibilities. Additional information can also be obtained on the website researchcompliance.tamu.edu.

Dissertation

The ability to perform independent research must be demonstrated by the dissertation, which must be the original work of the candidate. Whereas acceptance of the dissertation is based primarily on its scholarly merit, it must also exhibit creditable literary workmanship. The format of the dissertation must be acceptable to the Office of Graduate Studies. Guidelines for the preparation of the thesis are available in the Thesis Manual which is available online at thesis.tamu.edu/thesismanual.php.

After successful defense and approval by the student's advisory committee and the head of the student's major department (and chair of the intercollegiate faculty, if appropriate), students must submit their dissertation to the Thesis Office.Students must submit their thesis in electronic format as a single PDF file. The PDF file must be uploaded to the Thesis Office website, thesis.tamu.edu. Additionally, a signed approval page must be brought or mailed to the Thesis Office. Both the PDF file and the signed approval page are required by deadline day.

Deadline dates for submitting are announced each semester or summer term in the Office of Graduate Studies Calendar (see Time Limit statement). These dates also can be accessed via the website ogs.tamu.edu/OGS/CurrentForms.htm.

Before a student can be "cleared" by the Thesis Office, a processing fee must be paid at the Fiscal Department. This processing fee includes a charge for microfilming services through UMI. After commencement, dissertations are microfilmed, digitally stored and made available through the Texas A&M Libraries.

A dissertation that, because of excessive corrections, is deemed unacceptable by the Thesis Office will be returned to the student's department head. The manuscript must be resubmitted as a new document, and the entire review process must begin anew. All original submittal deadlines must be met during the resubmittal process in order to graduate.

Application for Degree

Graduate degrees are conferred at the close of each regular semester and 10-week summer semester. Candidates for advanced degrees who expect to complete their work at the end of a given semester must apply for graduation by submitting the electronic application for degree to the Office of the Registrar and by paying the required graduation fee at the Fiscal Department no later than the Friday of the second week of the fall or spring semester or the Friday of the first week of the first summer term. The electronic application for degree can be accessed via the website degreeapp.tamu.edu. Graduate students in interdisciplinary programs should attend the ceremony of their home academic department.

Final Examination/Dissertation Defense

The candidate for the doctoral degree must pass a final examination by deadline dates announced in the "Office of Graduate Studies Calendar" each semester or summer term. No student may be given a final examination unless his or her current official cumulative and degree plan GPRs are 3.000 or better and he or she has been admitted to candidacy. There must be no unabsolved grades of D, F, or U for any course listed on the degree plan. To absolve a deficient grade, a student must have repeated the course and have achieved a grade of C or better. A student must have completed all course work on his or her degree plan with the exception of any remaining 691 (Research) or 692 (Professional Study) hours. Doctoral students in counseling psychology or school psychology may have 684 Professional Internship on the degree plan that is remaining for which he or she must be registered. The preliminary examination results and research proposal must have been submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies 14 weeks prior to the date of the defense. The request for permission to hold and announce the final examination must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies a minimum of 10 working days in advance of the scheduled date. Examinations/Defenses that are not completed and reported as satisfactory to the Office of Graduate Studies within 10 working days of the scheduled examination/defense date will be recorded as failures.

The student's advisory committee, as finally constituted, will conduct this examination. The final examination is not to be administered until the dissertation or record of study is available in substantially final form to the student's advisory committee, and all concerned have had adequate time to review the document. Additionally, all English Language Proficiency requirements must be satisfied prior to scheduling the examination. Whereas the final examination may cover the broad field of the candidate's training, it is presumed that the major portion of the time will be devoted to the dissertation and closely allied topics. Persons other than members of the graduate faculty may, with mutual consent of the candidate and the major professor, be invited to attend a final examination for an advanced degree. A positive vote by all members of the graduate committee with at most one dissension is required to pass a student on his or her exam. A department can have a stricter requirement provided there is consistency within all degree programs within a department. Upon completion of the questioning of the candidate, all visitors must excuse themselves from the proceedings.

The advisory committee will submit its recommendations on the appropriate form to the Office of Graduate Studies regarding acceptability of the candidate for the doctoral degree. Students must be registered in the University in the semester or summer term in which the final examination is taken.

The final examination for the doctoral degree must be administered on the campus at College Station, unless otherwise authorized by the Office of Graduate Studies.

Steps to Fulfill Doctoral Degree Requirements