Graduate Degree Requirements for the Ph.D.

(1) Admission to Ph.D. Program for M.S. Students - A student getting an M.S. in our department who wishes to enter our Ph.D. program (either prior to or at the time of completion of the M.S. degree) can do so with an appropriate recommendation from the student’s committee and approval by the Department Chairperson. The M.S. committee of the student must write a letter in support of the request, which all members of the committee must sign. If the M.S. committee does not think the student should enter the Ph.D. program, the letter should state this fact. Or, if there is a member of the M.S. committee who does not think the student should enter the Ph.D. program, the letter should reflect this fact. The committee letter along with their recommendation about continuation for the Ph.D. should be conveyed to the Chairperson in writing within a week of the thesis defense (if the M.S. is to be completed). The Department Chairperson will then make a decision regarding admission.

(2) Advisors - University of Virginia M.S. students continue to utilize their M.S. committee for course advice until a Ph.D. committee is formed. Students from other M.S. programs are assigned a temporary advisor as described earlier.

(3) Course Requirements - For the Doctor of Philosophy degree, a student must complete a minimum of 72 graduate credit hours including at least 54 credit hours in graduate courses other than Non-Topical Research (EVSC 8998-8999 or 9998-9999) and pay the tuition and fees associated with these courses. The 54 hours of coursework may be comprised of any combination of regularly scheduled courses or EVSC 9995: Research Problems. Part of the 54 hours will consist of the Core-Area Courses as described below. Students holding an M.S. from another graduate school, must complete at least 30 credit hours of graduate coursework other than non- topical research and pay the associated tuition and fees. Students who obtain their M.S. from the University of Virginia are normally allowed to count all graduate hours earned (except for Non-Topical Research) toward the Ph.D. In any event the M.S. plus Ph.D. hours must equal at least 54.

(4) Area Requirements - All Ph.D. students are required to fulfill the area requirements described in the M.S. program. Ph.D. candidates also must pass one additional 7000-level environmental sciences non-semniar course of 3-4 hours.

(5) Committee Formation - The directive committee can be formed by the student at any time after entry and must be approved by the Graduate School. The committee consists of at least four faculty: three from the department (including one member of the department outside the student’s area of specialization) and one Graduate Committee representative (from another department). Sometimes committee members (but not the Graduate School representative) may be chosen from other institutions (Note: this a graduate school rule that is sometimes interpreted differently by the Deans.) To change a committee member (or members), upon consultation with their major professor, the student must send a petition to the GARC outlining the reasons for the requested change.  Ideally this petition would be sent no later than at the start of the semester in which the defense is expected to take place.  This petition must be accompanied by the “Graduate Student Committee Changes” form.

The Graduate Committee representative (a.k.a. “Dean’s Representative”) is an overseer responsible for making certain that the dissertation content and evaluation process meet the general standards of the University of Virginia and Academia in general. (According to the GSAS Manual, their job is “to simply confirm that the student was treated fairly and that the rules of the GSAS were observed”).  The Dean’s Representative must be a University of Virginia faculty member.  At a minimum, the Dean’s Representative must be physically present at the dissertation defense; however, their participation is encouraged at any and all doctoral milestone events.

(6) Comprehensive Examination - Within four semesters of entering the Ph.D. program, all Ph.D. candidates take a Comprehensive Examination. This examination consists of a written examination created by the student’s committee (possibly in collaboration with other faculty members whose expertise is needed) administered over a 2-day period followed by an oral examination. The written examination is based in part on the student’s coursework and in part on the general background that the committee thinks is necessary to address specifically the proposed area of the dissertation research. The aim of the examination is to require students to review all prior coursework, to test their ability to synthesize and interpret information in the critical intellectual fashion expected of Ph.D. candidates, and to judge the aptitude of the candidate for carrying out original scientific research. Copies of the examination questions along with the candidate’s answers will be placed in the student’s department file. Oral examinations normally will be scheduled within two weeks of the written examination. Oral examinations are open to all faculty but they are not normally open to other students. The examinations will be held at a convenient time during the year for the committee and the student and preferably should not be held during regular examination periods. An announcement must be distributed at least one week prior to the oral examination. The results of the written and oral examination will be announced immediately following the oral exam. The results will be pass, conditional pass, or fail. A conditional pass is accepted to mean pass, providing the student subsequently demonstrates elimination of inadequacies by means stipulated by the committee. In the event of a failure, the committee may elect to allow a single repetition of the examination.

(7) Dissertation Proposal - This consists of a written document circulated to the student’s committee at least a week prior to the oral presentation. The latter is open to any student or faculty who wishes to attend. (See comments under M.S. thesis proposal.)

(8) Seminar - All candidates for the Ph.D. are required to deliver a Department-level seminar on the results of their thesis work sometime after their successful dissertation proposal defense and before the dissertation defense. The degree will not be conferred until this obligation is met.

(9) Dissertation Defense - (See comments under M.S. thesis defense.) This defense cannot be held within four months of presentation of the dissertation proposal. Because publication of research results is an important professional activity, conference of the Ph.D. will be approved by the department only after a manuscript arising from the thesis has been accepted as suitable for submission for publication by the committee at the time of the thesis defense. It is understood that the manuscript is to be submitted for publication as soon as possible.

Ideally, every reasonable effort should be made so that a graduate student’s entire committee be physically present for all student milestones (proposal defense, oral examination, master’s thesis defense, dissertation defense). However, faculty travel, sesquicentennial leaves, and other absences should not be a major deterrent to a student’s progress, especially given the increased availability of tele/video-conferencing facilities. Given the importance of the final defense, however, the faculty has developed the following policy:

1. the student’s major professor(s) must be physically present at all master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation defenses;
2. if committee members are not available because of sesquicentennial/sabbatical leave, they may participate via video or tele-conferencing, if such facilities are available;
3. in the event of extraordinary extenuating circumstances, the student or major professor must contact the Department Chair for advice on how to proceed.  Note that the Graduate School Representative (”Dean’s Representative) must be physically present at the dissertation defense.

NOTE: Questions or problems concerning application of the regulations to specific student programs should be directed to the GARC chairman or your advisor.