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titleAdmission to Candidacy

In order to be admitted to doctoral candidacy, students must meet the following requirements at USF:

  • admission to a doctoral program
  • appointment of a Doctoral Committee,
  • attainment of an overall and degree program Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.00 at USF at the time of candidacy. (All “I” and “M” grades, including “IF” and “MF”, must be cleared before candidacy may be finalized.)
  • successful completion of a qualifying examination
  • certification by the Doctoral Committee that the above qualifications have been successfully completed.

The Admission to Candidacy form should be submitted for approval during the semester that the qualifying exams were completed, but no later than the semester following the successful completion of the exam. The form will be approved by the Dean of the College and forwarded to the Dean of the Office of Graduate Studies for final approval. Doctoral Candidacy is effective as of the day that the Office of Graduate Studies approves of the request and changes the student's status to 6C. For procedures and processing deadlines refer to the Office of Graduate Studies website at www.grad.usf.edu.

Once candidacy status is approved, students with approved candidacy are eligible to enroll in dissertation hours (7980) in the semester that immediately follows the last business day of the approval window. For example, students approved during the Fall approval window may enroll in the Spring. Students approved during the Spring approval window may enroll in the summer and students approved during the Summer approval window may enroll in the Fall. Students may NOT enroll in dissertation hours prior to being admitted to doctoral candidacy.

Each degree program has a required number of dissertation hours for completion of the degree. Concentrations may, with College approval, apply Directed Research hours toward the total number of dissertation hours required. Directed Research hours shall not exceed 50% of the dissertation hour requirement. No directed research hours will be converted to dissertation hours (i.e. a directed research course dropped and a dissertation course added) prior to or during the approval window. For more information refer to Enrollment Requirements in the Academic Policies section.



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titlePhD Dissertation

Dissertation requirements are for the academic degrees of PhD, DrPH and EdD The Dissertation must conform to the guidelines of the University. Refer to the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines, available on the web at www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.php for information about requirements, procedures, and deadlines.

Format
Consult the ETD FAQ on Formatting (www.grad.usf.edu/ETD-FAQ.php)

Directed Research
Directed Research hours taken with the (Co) Major Professor(s) prior to approval to doctoral candidacy by the Office of Graduate Studies may satisfy up to 50% of the dissertation hour requirement, with program approval.

Manuscript Processing Fee
USF Regulation USF4-0107, regulationspolicies.usf.edu/regulations/pdfs/regulation-usf4.0107.pdf. Students participating in the dissertation process are required to pay a processing fee. More information is available on the website at www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.php.

Doctoral Dissertation Defense
Upon acceptance into candidacy, the doctoral student forms a dissertation committee that is approved by the college. The candidate, major professor and the committee members should meet regularly (at least once per term) to review the candidate’s progress. Minutes of committee meetings including date, who was in attendance, and action items are maintained by the candidate. 

When the candidate, major professor and committee members agree that it is time to schedule the final defense of the dissertation, the candidate distributes the final dissertation draft at least 4 weeks before the final defense date. This time period allows the committee to thoroughly review the document and the student to make changes before the final defense. The final defense date must be at least one week prior to the final submission deadline to the Office of Graduate Studies.

After the Doctoral Dissertation Committee has determined that the final draft of the dissertation is suitable for presentation; the Committee will request the scheduling and announcement of the Dissertation Defense (also called Final Oral Examination or Oral Defense.) Check with the College and Program for college and program specific procedures for this process. A copy of the announcement should be sent to the Office of Graduate Studies, preferably two weeks in advance of the defense date. The announcement must also be posted in a public forum for a minimum of twenty-four hours to comply with statute requirements for a public meeting. The student and the Major Professor (or, if Co-Major Professors, at least one) must be physically present at the defense. The student must successfully defend the dissertation to be able to proceed and complete the final submission process.

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titleDissertation Defense Chair

The Doctoral Dissertation Defense (Final Oral Examination) shall be presided by

  • An external committee member from outside the Department, School, or equivalent, hosting the doctoral program, but may be within the academic discipline.

OR

  • A non-committee member (a.k.a. Outside Chair), (Refer to the individual Program's Degree Requirements in the Graduate Catalog for information).  If the Chair is from another institution, this individual must be approved for Affiliate Graduate Faculty status.

The Doctoral Dissertation Defense Chair’s role includes overseeing the proceedings as well as serving as the student’s advocate, by ensuring fairness of the process.  Faculty holding joint, courtesy, or adjunct appointments in the degree-granting academic unit (i.e. Department or equivalent) cannot serve as the Defense Chair.   

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