Process for completion of Ph.D. Degree

(in addition to the coursework)

I.  DOCTORAL PROGRAM COMMITTEE

During the first or second year of the program, the Director of Graduate Studies will both supervise and assist the student in planning his/her graduate program or appoint an academic advisor.  Thereafter, each Ph.D. student should form his/her committee no later than the end of the second year of the program.  By the sixth semester at the University at Buffalo (UB), a student should identify the focus of his/her interests and establish a Doctoral Program Committee.  To form a committee, a student needs to ask three eligible faculty members who have expertise in his/her field of study to serve on his/her committee. The major professor (also called a dissertation director or an advisor) must be selected from the core faculty members in the Department of Global Gender Studies.   The major professor acts as the chair of the Ph.D. committee. The other committee members should be faculty in the Department of Global Gender Studies or faculty affiliated with the department. All three members must be members of the University at Buffalo Graduate Faculty

II. COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (also known as preliminary or qualifying examination)

The Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination consists of two parts: 1) written essays on questions developed by the student in consultation with his/her committee members and the initial dissertation proposal, 2) oral defense of the written essays, where the student demonstrates he/she is in dialogue with the broad array of literature in the field and problems discussed in the exam questions. The goal of the exam is that the student develops a comprehensive, broad knowledge of the field(s) on which his/her dissertation will focus on.  The student should also demonstrate the ability to make interconnections with other fields of study. In consultation with the chair and the committee, the exam must cover critical analysis, current and canonical theories, and methodology as they relate to the student's concentration. 

Guidelines for the oral defense: The oral exam is developed from the written exam and typically lasts two hours.  The exam committee may want to follow up on issues raised in the written essays or discuss readings mentioned in the essays but not discussed at length. The oral exam also permits the student to elaborate on points that he/she feels may need more attention than was possible in the written essay.  In addition to reviewing the student's answers and discussing responses, the committee may suggest refinements and give feedback toward the dissertation. The student must pass the comprehensive exam to become a Ph.D. candidate. Failure to pass the comprehensive exam will result in the student being dismissed from the Ph.D. program and the student will receive a terminal Master degree.

III.  APPLICATION TO CANDIDACY (ATC)

Normally, the student should file the Application to Candidacy after he/she has completed all of his/her formal course work, usually after six semesters of full-time enrollment. In all cases, the student must file the Application to Candidacy before he/she begins writing the dissertation. 

IV.   DISSERTATION PROPOSAL

Students should write a dissertation proposal which must be approved by the student's dissertation committee.  The proposal must be an integral part of the comprehensive examination. All three members of the committee must sign the Dissertation Proposal Approval Form certifying their approval of the dissertation proposal.

Students may enroll for up to a maximum of 6 credits of WS 620 Supervised Research only after successful completion of the comprehensive exam. 

V.  DISSERTATION 

Students must enroll in WS 710 Dissertation Supervision while writing the dissertation. 
A dissertation is expected to be a significant and original contribution to the student's field. It should contribute to academic knowledge and be based on empirical research. The department encourages graduate students to present part of their dissertation findings at a national or regional conference prior to the oral defense of their doctoral dissertation and/or prepare part of the dissertation as a publishable paper and submit it to a peer-reviewed journal in their field of study.  

VI.  ORAL DEFENSE OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

The Ph.D. Degree is not completed, or conferred, until the dissertation is approved by the committee and successfully defended. When approaching the completion of his/her dissertation, the student is required to schedule a dissertation defense in consultation with the committee. The candidate's major professor and committee must attend this oral defense.  The student must inform the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Global Gender Studies at least two weeks in advance of the scheduled defense so that the department can post a public announcement of the defense.

VII.  TIMELINE TO DEGREE

A student is required to complete the Ph.D. degree within seven years.

VIII.  FINAL REQUIRED FORMS

Please download and review the Doctoral Candidate Check Sheet for Graduation, for the University at Buffalo's Graduate School in Microsoft Word format.

Additional rules to remember

  1. You must maintain continuous registration until the degree is conferred.
  2. You must fulfill a minimum residency requirement of one year (24 credit hours), which must include two semesters of continuous full-time study in residence under the auspices of UB.
  3. Only course work that has been taken within ten years before the date of your admission into UB's Global Gender Studies Ph.D. program can count toward the Ph.D. degree.  You may petition the Graduate School to accept older course work if you can provide compelling evidence  (e.g., a record of ongoing teaching, research and publishing in the field) that the course work is still current in the field and current in your mind.
  4. You may not transfer credits from any course in which you earned a grade lower than a B.

Academic Review / Probation

The Graduate School's policy on academic review and probation states that any graduate student who:

  1. receives a grade of "U", "F", or "D" in any course required for completion of a degree program (e.g., seminar or research course, practicum, student teaching course, internships, field course, or similar application course of thesis), or
  2. falls below the minimum academic requirements
  3. indicates a lack of ability as determined by the program faculty
    will receive an immediate academic review by his or her graduate program faculty. 

Upon completion of the academic review, the graduate program faculty may place the student on academic probation.

In accordance with this policy, the Global Gender Studies Graduate Director will review each graduate student's transcripts at the beginning of each semester.  Any student whose work falls into the categories above, who has two or more outstanding incompletes, and/or who is failing to make demonstrable progress toward the degree will be reviewed.  If serious cause for concern about the student's record is found, that student will be placed on academic probation.  Notice of probation will be made in writing and will indicate the terms of the probation and its removal.  If the terms are not met, the student may be terminated from our graduate program.

For a complete list of Graduate School Policies and Procedures, visit the Graduate School's website (http://www.grad.buffalo.edu/)