203
Regulations of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research
203.17
Doctoral Degrees
203.17 Doctoral Degrees
The essential requirement for a doctoral degree is the planning and carrying out of research of high quality leading to an advance in knowledge in the student's field of study.
Program Requirements
A doctoral degree is awarded upon successful completion of a doctoral degree program. All departments are responsible for developing and publishing a clear statement of all program requirements to be completed by the student in addition to the thesis. These requirements will vary from department to department, but will likely include a number of required and optional course requirements, the academic integrity and ethics requirement, a candidacy examination requirement, and in some disciplines, written comprehensive examinations. All program requirements, other than the thesis, must be completed within three years of the commencement of a student's program. For students who change from a master's program to a doctoral program, without the need to complete the master's program as part of an acceleration or fast-track, the counting of time runs from the beginning of the student's second year in the master's program. For part-time doctoral students who change to a full-time doctoral program, or who remain as part-time doctoral students throughout the program, the department will determine the appropriate time period. The three-year rule does not apply to doctoral programs offered by the Departments of Educational Psychology, English and Film Studies, and Philosophy; nor to the doctoral program in Medical Sciences (Orthodontics) offered by the Department of Dentistry: students in these programs must consult the published department-specific regulations. For doctoral students in individualized interdisciplinary programs, the time limit for the completion of all program requirements, other than the thesis, must be specified in the individualized program proposal. For all doctoral programs, the time limit for completion remains six years.
203.17.1 The Degree of PhD
Admission: Students may be admitted to a doctoral program if they hold a bachelor's or a master's degree, or equivalent, from an approved academic institution. Admission is contingent upon approval of the department and the availability of: suitable supervision; suitable courses of study; and adequate library, laboratory and other facilities. Students are considered provisional candidates until they have successfully completed their candidacy examination (see (6) below).
Course Requirements: Doctoral degree students may only take undergraduate courses for credit to satisfy their graduate program requirements when all of the following conditions are satisfied. The courses must be:
• | necessary; |
• | not in the student’s field of specialization and/or major area of study; and |
• | approved by the department offering the graduate program. |
Residence Requirements: See §203.6 of the University Calendar.
Language Requirement: A department may require a student to demonstrate a knowledge of one or more languages in addition to English. Where this is the case, the student must satisfy the language requirement before being allowed to take the candidacy examination. See also §203.7 of the University Calendar.
203.17.2 Combined Program for the Degrees of MD and PhD
The MD/PhD combined program is intended for exceptional students who are seriously committed to a career in medical research. Highly qualified students wishing to pursue a career of teaching and research in either basic medical science or in clinical medicine may enrol in a program of approximately six years' duration leading to the acquisition of both an MD and a PhD degree from the University of Alberta. To be eligible for the combined program, students must already have been admitted to the MD program. Students are admitted to the combined program on the recommendation of the MD/PhD Committee.
Students entering the MD program from a preprofessional medical or a bachelor's program, and who are interested in applying to the MD/PhD program, should do so in their first year of medical school. For these students, admission into the program begins after completion of the second year of the MD program. Alternately, students who are transferring from a University of Alberta graduate program to the MD program are eligible to enrol immediately in the combined program. The most common route is for students to complete the first two years of the MD program, apply for and be admitted into the PhD program, and when the PhD is completed, return to the final two years of the MD program. Students pursuing the combined program will be assessed fees for both the MD and the PhD programs.
203.17.3 The Degree of DMus
The regulations pertaining to doctoral degrees also apply to the Doctor of Music degree; exceptions and special conditions are noted in §205.47 of the University Calendar.
203.17.4 The Degree of EdD
The degree of Doctor of Education attests proficiency in a program of graduate study in which the emphasis is upon preparation for competent professional performance. The general regulations for the EdD degree concerning admission, residence requirements, the candidacy examination and final oral examination (based largely on the thesis) are the same as those for doctoral degrees, with the following exceptions:
Several years of successful teaching and an MEd degree or its equivalent are prerequisites for admission into the EdD program; | |
The program emphasizes breadth in educational theory, practice and research rather than intensive specialization in a particular area; | |
The student's program may make provision for supervised field experience; | |
The minimum period of continuous residence is 12 months of full-time study at the University of Alberta, unless otherwise noted in the departmental listing in §205. |
