A minimum of 90 semester hours of graduate work is necessary to complete the PhD degree subject to the following guidelines.
All acceptable previously accumulated graduate credit hours, up to a maximum of 30 semester hours of academic (not clinically-based practicum hours), may count toward the minimum 90 hours.
An additional 60 credit hours may be taken to fulfill the 90 credit hour requirement. These hours will be accrued through a combination of coursework taken in the Major and Minor Areas of Study (which include pre-dissertation credit hours), statistics, and a dissertation project.
Students will designate a Major Area of Study and at least one Minor Area of Study. Although a doctoral student may take clinically-oriented academic coursework relevant to their Program of Study, none of the required 60 hours may be accumulated through clinical practicum experiences.
The Major Area of Study will represent the student’s central focus of academic study. At least 21 credit hours must be taken in the major.
The Minor Area of Study will represent a cognate area that complements the major area of study. At least 17 credit hours must be taken in the minor.
Directed studies may be used to fulfill the student’s required credit hours for the major and minor areas of study, as these directed studies may form the basis of the student’s program of study.
No more than 9 hours of HSLS 8940 and 8941 directed study credit may be applied to the pre-dissertation project.
Each PhD student is encouraged to enroll in at least two PhD seminars as part of their program of study (typically 6 credit hours)
A minimum of two graduate courses in a statistics sequence is required (typically 6 credit hours). The two-course sequence in psychology is highly recommended, decisions regarding specific acceptable courses rest with the Academic Guidance Committee.
A maximum of 16 dissertation hours is allowed as part of the 90 semester-hour requirement.
