Dissertation, 12 hours
Required of all students. After completing all course requirements, students must enroll in 12 semester credit hours of PHIL 6950 . Doctoral students must maintain continuous enrollment in this course to remain matriculated
Upon completion of course work and qualifying exams, students are required to submit a dissertation proposal to the dissertation director and committee members. The student defends the proposal to the director and committee; the proposal must be signed and approved before the student can begin the dissertation.
The dissertation should be a work of original scholarship. The dissertation defense takes place before the director and the committee and is open to the public.
Qualifying Examination
Satisfying the Toulouse Graduate School Requirement for Qualifying Examination and Admission to Candidacy.
The purpose of the Qualifying Exam is for the PhD student in philosophy to develop mastery of the philosophical materials (broadly construed) at the foundations of their research interests. The Qualifying Exam also serves the purpose of providing the student with mentorship and guidance in the development of their dissertation prospectus.
Consistent with the Toulouse Graduate School Requirement for Qualifying Examination and Admission to Candidacy, this Qualifying Exam will require the student to demonstrate competency in the areas of philosophy that they choose in consultation with their Exam Committee.
Students are eligible for the Qualifying Exam following the completion of course work. Their last 3 required credit hours will be used for a PHIL 6900 Special Problems: Qualifying Exam course, which serves as the mechanism through which study for the Exam will occur during that semester. The Exam will be administered at or near the end of the semester during a ten-day window. The Exam is graded independently from the 6900 course, so the Exam can extend past the semester grade deadline without necessitating an “I” (Incomplete) for the course. Keep in mind that funded students are not eligible for a pay raise until they have passed the Exam. Also, students are not eligible for PHIL 6950 Dissertation hours until they have passed the exam.
Students are required to assemble a willing Exam Committee (hereafter ‘Committee’ in this section). Committees shall consist of three faculty members of the department, all serving equally as co-chairs. Students will enroll in the 6950 course with one of the Committee members – to be determined by the Committee. Students are required to consult frequently with all members of the Committee as they prepare for the exams.
In consultation with the Committee, students will designate a set of texts (and other materials) over which they will be examined. The primary purpose of this list is to ensure mastery of materials deemed essential to situating and grounding their research interests. The set of texts (and other materials) shall be formed by the end of the semester prior to the exam.
The Qualifying Exam consists of three essays based on the designated texts and administered by the Committee. The Exam will be administered as take-home essays to be completed across a ten-day period. Students, working in consultation with the Committee, will submit three to five draft questions for the Committee’s consideration at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the examination period. The Committee has the final determination of the wording of the three questions and will send the final questions to the student the morning of the first day of the examination period. The student will answer each of the three exam questions with a 2,500 to 3,500-word essay during the ten-day examination period. Individual Committees will determine the details of the exams and ensure that the student is well-informed about scheduling, content, and process. The Exam should be completed by the end of May (for Spring) and mid-January (for Fall).
The Committee as a whole is responsible for evaluating the exams. All members of the Committee will read the essays, marking them Pass or Fail. Should at least two members judge any of the essays to be failing, the Committee may permit the student to retake those essay(s) once. Such permission is at the discretion of the Committee; should the Committee not grant it, or should a student fail a second time, the student can utilize the appeals process detailed below. Students have one full long semester to re-write exam essays.
Evaluation, Grading and Appeals
The Committee will grade the student’s examination with a Pass/Fail grade in a timely manner.
Pass
The Qualifying Exam satisfactorily meets the Graduate School’s Qualifying Exam Requirement. Students must pass all three exams.
Fail
The Qualifying Exam does not satisfactorily meet the Graduate School’s Qualifying Exam Requirement.
A pass grade on all three essays is required to move the student to ABD status as a doctoral candidate.
One Fail grade per exam is permissible. Students may retake each essay one time.
Appealing the Fail Grade
In the event of a second Fail grade, the student may appeal the grade. An appeals committee comprised of the Qualifying Exam Committee, Director of Graduate Studies, and the Department Chair will confer to determine the merits of the appeal. If the appeal is upheld, the examination will be re-graded by the Executive Committee. If any members of the Executive Committee are also on the Qualifying Exam Committee, the exam will be graded by members of the Tenure and Promotion Committee who are not on the Qualifying Exam Committee.
A Fail grade after the appeal and second grading will result in dismissal from the program for unsatisfactory progress.
Return to: