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Doctoral Program (PhD)
Policies
Procedures for Extensions, Reinstatements and Reapplication
Preliminary Examination Procedure
Candidacy Examination
Procedures for Extensions, Reinstatements and Reapplication
University of Cincinnati (UC) Policy for Extensions
Under extenuating circumstances, students may petition the Senior Assistant University Dean for Advanced Studies, through their program office, for extension of the time limit for attaining their degree prior to expiration of the allotted time.
UC College of Nursing Procedure for Extensions
In order for an extension to be allowed the student must first speak with their doctoral advisor to make sure that they are still within the appropriate time frame (i.e., eligible to request an extension). If the doctoral advisor agrees that the circumstances warrant an extension and the student is still within the allotted time frame the request goes forward. The procedure is as follows:
- Student submit a written request for an extension to their doctoral advisor. This request must describe the extenuating circumstances leading to the request and a plan for completing the program.
- The student and doctoral advisor meet and review the student’s request, proposed plan of study, and timeline to completion of requirements. At this meeting, the program of study and completion timeline will be revised as necessary.
- The student and doctoral advisor submit the student’s written request, the revised plan of study, and the proposed timeline for completion of requirements, with the advisor’s signature, to the Director of the Doctoral Program and to the Associate Dean responsible for the Doctoral Program.
- The Director and the Associate Dean submit a written letter of support or non-support for the extension.
- The student completes and submits the Graduate Petition for Extension/Reinstatement Form (obtained from the graduate student website-- www.grad.uc.edu) with the required signatures, the written request for extension, the revised program of study and timeline to completion, and all supporting and non-supporting letters to the Assistant University Dean for Graduate Studies.
University of Cincinnati Policy for Reinstatements
Students who have not been registered for at least one graduate credit hour in their program in an academic year (previous 4 quarters, including summer quarter) are automatically rendered inactive and are required to petition the Senior Assistant University Dean for Advanced Studies, through their program, for reinstatement if they wish to continue in their program. Only students on inactive status for three academic years or less may petition for reinstatement. Students who have been on inactive status for more than three consecutive academic years (12 quarters, including summer quarters) must petition for readmission both to the University Graduate College and to their program.
Students who have not completed their requirements by their time-to-candidacy or time-to-degree limit and have neglected to request an extension before reaching the limit are put on inactive status regardless of their record of registration in each academic year. These students are required to apply for reinstatement and for an extension of their time to degree/time to candidacy time limit if they wish to continue in their graduate program.
UC College of Nursing Procedure for Reinstatements
To apply for reinstatement the student must:
- Submit a written request to their doctoral advisor explaining why no courses have been taken in the previous four quarters (or more).
- Meet with their doctoral advisor and review the student’s written request, proposed plan of study, and timeline to completion of requirements. At this meeting, the program of study and completion timeline will be revised as necessary.
- Submit the student’s written request, the revised plan of study, and the proposed timeline for completion of requirements, with the advisor’s signature, to the Director of the Doctoral Program and the Associate Dean responsible for the Doctoral Program. The Director and Associate Dean will each submit a written letter of support or non-support.
- Complete and submit the Graduate Petition for Extension/Reinstatement Form (obtained from the graduate student website www.grad.uc.edu) with the required signatures, the written request for reinstatement, the revised program of study and timeline to completion, and all supporting and non-supporting letters to Assistant University Dean for Advanced Studies.
Petitions for reinstatement must be received in the Office of the Senior Assistant University Dean for Advanced Studies no later than three weeks prior to graduation in order for the student to be certified for graduation in that quarter. Petitions received in that three-week window immediately preceding graduation will not be approved in time for graduation that same quarter and will be held for review in the subsequent quarter and approvals will be granted in time for the next graduation.
Students who interrupt their graduate studies by withdrawing from the University either officially or by failing to register within an entire academic year (four quarters), will be held responsible for the graduate program requirements in force and published at the time they re-enter the program. A student who has been officially reinstated must follow the stipulations provided above to maintain his or her graduate student status. The status of a part-time student’s interrupted program is determined by his or her program.
University of Cincinnati Policy for Reapplication
Students who have been inactive for more than three consecutive years (12 quarters) are not eligible for reinstatement and must reapply for admission to the University. Re-application does not change the student’s original entry date. Time to degree will be calculated from his or her first entry date.
UC College of Nursing Procedure for Reapplication
In order to reapply the student must submit a completed reapplication form (available at www.grad.uc.edu, “Forms”) with the $40 reapplication fee to the UC Graduate College and the appropriate reapplication forms to the College of Nursing Graduate Office. The reapplication process is an opportunity for careful consideration by the Director of the Doctoral Program and Associate Dean responsible for the Doctoral Program; points of consideration include the applicants’ current progress and length of time between his or her admission into the program and plan for completion of remaining requirements. This consideration may result in denial of admission or readmission with conditions. The Doctoral Program Director and Associate Dean will determine and assign appropriate new requirements or conditions and will petition the Senior Assistant University Dean for Advanced studies for approval of the applicant’s request for readmission.
If readmission is approved, the student is assessed a readmission fee equivalent to in-state tuition for three graduate credits. The $40 reapplication fee will be applied to the readmission fee. Readmitted students must meet conditions that rectify any prior unacceptable grades (such as F, I/F, or NG) before continuing to earn credits and meeting further requirements.
Procedures Task Force; accepted 04/24/2005; Doctoral Program Committee
Preliminary Examination Procedure
Purpose
The preliminary examination, taken after completion of first year courses*, provides a mechanism to determine if students have an understanding and ability to synthesize the content of the foundational* courses in inquiry, research, and statistics.
The College of Nursing Preliminary Examination Panel
- Function
The panel is responsible for:
- Examination development, scheduling, administration and evaluation.
- Orientation of doctoral students to the general content, purpose and procedures of the examination.
- Communicating results to students, advisors, PhD Director and the Graduate Advisor in the Office of Student Affairs.
- Reporting the pass/fail grade to the University Office of the Registrar - Student Records.
- Scheduling, developing, administering, evaluating, and communicating any examination re-takes.
- Maintaining a test bank of examination questions.
- Ensuring that advisors have access to practice questions to use in mentoring advisees in preparing for the examination.
- Providing feedback to the PhD Program Committee about the examination processes.
- Membership
Each Preliminary Examination Panel will consist of three (3) faculty who have taught foundational courses within the past three years. In addition, the Panel may invite faculty experts from nursing or other disciplines in forming the examination questions.
The Director of the Doctoral Program will request volunteers from faculty to serve on the Panel to administer and evaluate examination responses. If more than three eligible faculty members volunteer, a vote of the PhD Committee members will be held. The Chair of the committee will be elected by its members annually.
Members of the Panel will serve for a two year term. Unexpected vacancies on the Panel will be filled by volunteers from the Doctoral Program Committee to complete the unexpired term(s) of the vacant position(s).
Process
- A student will be eligible to take the preliminary examination six (6) weeks following completion of the foundational courses*. This schedule will allow time for review and synthesis of course content.
- An orientation for students will be scheduled by the Preliminary Examination Panel during finals week of Spring Quarter. Students will be given two practice questions at this time.
- The preliminary examination will consist of not more four (4) questions to which the student must respond. The questions will ask for synthesis of material covered in the foundational* courses.
- The preliminary examination questions will be given to the candidates, who will then have fourteen (14) days to provide written responses to the panel. Written responses will be in the form of a Word document with appropriate citations and a reference list.
- The examination panel will have 3 to 5 working days to read the preliminary examination.
- The examination panel will evaluate the preliminary examinations based on: degree of analytical thinking, logic of argument, organization of content, clarity of expression, depth of knowledge, language and citation use. The GRE criteria are used to score each of the above areas (see attached documents).
- After the panel has read the preliminary examination, the candidate will meet with the Preliminary Examination Panel for an oral defense of his or her responses to the questions.
- The quality of the response as a whole (written and oral responses) determines whether a clear pass is awarded for each question on the examination.
- A simple majority of the members eligible to vote will constitute a decision of pass or no pass for each question (written and oral responses).
- The preliminary examination panel will inform the student the results of the preliminary examination within two hours of the oral defense. Written confirmation of the results will be sent to the student by registered mail, and to the student’s advisor, the director of the doctoral component of the graduate program and the Senior Associate Dean within two days of the student’s oral defense.
- Students who successfully complete the Preliminary Examination may begin the second level courses in the following quarter.
- Students, who do not successfully pass the preliminary examination on the first attempt, may retake the examination one time.
- If the student did not successfully pass the preliminary examination, the chair of the examination panel, in consultation with the student, will schedule the retake of the examination.
- A student who does not pass will be re-examined on the questions not passed.
- The names of students who do not pass the examination after two attempts are forwarded to the Student Affairs Council for a recommendation of dismissal from the PhD Program.
*Foundational courses include:
29NURS940: Nursing Inquiry I
29NURS941: Nursing Inquiry II
29NURS942: Nursing Inquiry III
29NURS948: Qualitative Research Methods
29NURS973: Quantitative Research Methods
29NURS950: Pro Seminar I
29NURS949: Pro Seminar II
29NURS951: Pro Seminar II
Multivariate Statistics Sequence
Accepted June 14, 2005; Revised Winter/08
Candidacy Examination
Purpose
The purpose of the doctoral candidacy examination is to demonstrate the student’s ability to synthesize scientific knowledge and use appropriate methods for undertaking independent research.
Doctoral Candidacy Examination
he doctoral candidacy examination will be administered by the student’s doctoral dissertation committee. The examination will be in the form of an oral defense of the student’s dissertation proposal, in an open forum.
Requirements for taking the Doctoral Candidacy Examination
- Good academic standing
- Successful completion of required coursework, including at least 15 hours of coursework in an area of concentration, and nine hours of elective coursework.
- Successful completion of the preliminary examination
- Formation of a doctoral dissertation committee (approved by UC Graduate Studies)
- Written approval by chair of the doctoral dissertation committee (Form D)
- Fulfillment of the residency requirement.
The doctoral candidacy examination will be held at the discretion of the doctoral dissertation committee, but not more than five (5) years after initial admission to the doctoral component of the graduate program. All members of the dissertation committee will participate in the examination. The decision to pass or not pass a student on the candidacy examination will be made by a majority vote of the doctoral dissertation committee members. In case of a tie decision to pass/not pass, the dissertation chair will break the tie vote.
The student may repeat the candidacy examination. If a student is not successful, s/he may, but is not required to, reassemble a new dissertation committee for the second candidacy examination.
The decision of the dissertation committee to pass the student on the candidacy examination does not constitute an acceptance of the dissertation proposal.
On completion of the doctoral candidacy examination, the chair of the doctoral dissertation committee will submit to the director of the doctoral component of the graduate program the recommendation for admission to candidacy form
(Effective for students entering September, 2004)
Accepted June 6, 2005
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