Ph.D. Program of Study
Prerequisites. A master's degree in a relevant field.
When admitted to the program you will be assigned a temporary advisor--you may continue to work with this person or select an another advisor when you get to know the faculty. One of the first projects, usually completed in the first or second semester, is to form a Program Advisory Committee and complete a Program of Study Form. This is your degree contract--it lays out the courses you must complete in order to graduate.
1) Copies of your Program of Study Form must be submitted to the department and to the graduate school. Any changes to the program of study must be made by completing the Course Substitution Form.
2) Your Program of Study Form must indicate how you will meet the University Residency Requirement.
3) Up to 21 hours of required course work may be transferred if credit meets conditions stated in the Doctoral Degrees section of the Graduate Catalog. Use the Transfer Graduate Credit Form.
4) All requirements must be completed within seven years. Credit earned in the six years preceding enrollment in the doctoral program may be applied. See the checklist pertaining to each degree for any exceptions. (Some programs may be eight years if certain conditions prevail. See Graduate Catalog.)
Degree Requirements. A minimum of 72 credit ours beyond the masters degree, comprising of 48 hours of coursework; 15 hours of research coursework; foundations requirement (up to 12 hours); a comprehensive examination; 24 hours of dissertation credit, and the University residency requirement.
Major. 24 hours of classes in the area of instructional leadership as approved by the student's program of study committee including three of the following core coures (AEL 664, AEL 667, AEL 669, AEL 681, AIL 601, AIL 602, AIL 690)
Courses. Doctoral level courses are chosen from the following list.
Optional Concentration. Students may obtain an optional concentration in 1) instructional technology or 2) social and cultural foundations by taking four AIL/CAT or four BEF courses.
Research. 15 hours of coursework in quantitative and/or qualitative research methods
College Foundations Requirements (12 hours). Students pursuing Ph.D. and Ed.D. degrees in the College of Education must satisfy the following foundations requirement: 12 hours of graduate coursework comprising (i) any BEF or BEP classes or (ii) any other non-research method courses outside of the student’s department. Foundations courses cannot come from the student’s major program. Approved by the program of study committee, these classes should introduce the student to theoretical discourses and bodies of knowledge that provide a depth and breadth of understanding necessary for fluency with research, theory, and scholarship foundational to their field of inquiry and dissertation research.
Comprehensive Examinations Procedures for Ph.D. students. Effective for students admitted 2005 or after. (Students admitted prior to 2005 are subject to the same guidelines with the exception that they may choose an on-site or a take home exam. See POS chair for details.)
Students must apply to take comprehensive exams in the first week of the semester. To do this complete the form and fax it to Edward Guy at 205-348-2161. You may check on its arrival by emailing Edward.
1. Students must have completed all course requirements and, if necessary, remove all grades of “I” from their academic record before signing up for exams. If students are in the last semester of course work, they may write their exams in the same semester.
2. The Program of Study committee has the responsibility for constructing an examination that reflects the individual needs of the doctoral student. The Program of Study committee will select appropriate questions. It will be the responsibility of the chair of the Program of Study committee to assemble and deliver the questions complied by the Program of Study Committee. The chair of the Program of Study committee will also coordinate the evaluating and reporting of the results of the exam.
3. The examination will be given once a semester--the exact date will be announced and published on our website during the first week of classes. The examination will comprise six take home questions, approximately eight pages in length, written in a two week period. Three questions will be taken from the program core, three from other coursework and electives. Students will then defend their response to the Program of Study Committee in an oral defense.
4. Each member of the Program of Study committee will independently evaluate the written and oral responses--and ranking the candidate performance as either (1) Strong Pass, (2) Average Pass, or (3) Fail. The committee as a whole will endeavor to reach a unanimous decision. However, if at least two of the committee's members agree on Fail, the candidate must re-take the comprehensive examinations the following semester. If the candidate fails a second time, they will be dropped from the program.
5. Students will be notified of the results of the examination within 4 to 6 weeks.
Dissertation (AEL 699, 24 hours). Continuous enrollment is required until the dissertation is complete. The number of hours will vary depending on work load of the student and professor on the document.
Doctoral Residency. The minimum period in which the doctoral degree can be earned is three full academic years of graduate study. The student must spend an academic year in continuous residence as a full-time student in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama (or, if specifically approved by the faculty concerned, one full summer consisting of two terms, preceded by or followed by one regular semester). This requirement can be satisfied only by enrolling in coursework; dissertation or thesis research cannot be used.
Consult the Graduate School Catalog for student policies.