DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY----DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

CREDIT REQUIREMENTS

1. There is no specific number of credit hours required for the Ph.D. with the exception of dissertation credits. All candidates must have a minimum of 18 dissertation credits (899) for the degree. A student may register for a maximum of 9 dissertation credits per semester.

2. A minimum of one academic year as a full-time graduate student (9 credits per semester) in residence at the University is required. The residence year must consist of either a fall/spring or spring/fall sequence and the student must spend some portion of each week physically on campus.

3. Credits cannot be transferred from another institution for the Ph.D. Any requests for exceptions to the regulations, which are rare, must be made by the student's Graduate Program Director to the Graduate Dean, outlining the specific reasons for the request.

PH.D. DEGREE REQUIRED COURSES

All candidates must satisfy the course requirements for the Master's degree plus the following:

*Graduate students specializing in toxicology, physiology or molecular entomology may substitute a course for Evolutionary Biology with the approval of the Dissertation committee.

**Students who switch from a Master's program to a Ph.D. program, or who pursue the Master's/ Ph.D. degree are required to take a total of 8 seminars and 5 additional courses. Seminars taken for more than one credit count as a single seminar. Students planning on taking a seminar outside of the Department should review the content with their committee and obtain permission.

COURSE WAIVERS

Students who have taken one or more of the required entomology core courses at another university and wish to apply for waivers should pursue the waiver in the first year of the graduate program. The student must obtain a letter from the faculty member teaching the same course at the University of Massachusetts, or from a departmental member familiar with the area, stating that the student has satisfactorily mastered the course material. A syllabus, text name, exams, and other information from the previously taken course may be useful. The faculty member should forward the waiver memo to the Graduate Program Director who will signoff and place it within the student's file in the Main Office.

TEACHING REQUIREMENT

All Ph.D. candidates are required to teach a minimum of 2 hrs of lecture and 2 lab sessions at the University of Massachusetts. The student should obtain a letter from the faculty member involved, verifying that the student has completed the teaching requirement. Arrangements for fulfilling this requirement should be made through the faculty advisor. Students on teaching assistantships for 1 semester at UMass will have fulfilled this requirement. If the teaching requirement has been fulfilled by teaching elsewhere, the student must petition the faculty by memo for a waiver and provide documentation if it is requested.

Following deliberation and approval by the faculty, the Graduate Program Director will place a letter in the student's file indicating that the requirement has been fulfilled.

LANGUAGE OR SPECIAL SKILL REQUIREMENT

There is no foreign language requirement for the Ph.D. degree. The Dissertation Committee will encourage each candidate to acquire an appropriate additional skill in an unaligned field in lieu of a language, e.g., computer science, statistics, electron or scanning microscopy, economics, electronics, instrumentation, etc.

PRELIMINARY COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

1. Content

The preliminary comprehensive examination covers the student's knowledge of the basic principles of biology, chemistry, introductory entomology, and introductory statistics and in-depth comprehension of M.S. degree-required courses within the department (see Master's Degree Required Courses).

Biology is understood to include (but not be limited to) biochemistry, zoology, botany, genetics, the basis of classification of the major groups of animals, evolution, and cellular and organelle function. Students should ask the Graduate Program Director to identify a general biology textbook that would be appropriate to review. Entomology is understood to include insect biology at the level of the textbook by Romoser & Stoffolano, The Science of Entomology.

A student is expected to have familiarity with areas central to their research even if they have not yet completed the relevant courses. All students are expected to be familiar with the fundamentals of statistics, the working literature (e.g., journals), and leading scientists/authors in the biological sciences as well as in their own discipline.

Approximately ¼ of the exam will cover biology, ¼ general entomology, with the remainder of the exam allocated to cover specialized course work.

2. Timing and Scheduling

The examination will be scheduled by the Graduate Program Director (GPD) and must be taken by the end of the second semester. Failure to do so may result in suspension of financial support in weekly increments, usually following the end of the student's current appointment. Students without previous graduate training in entomology, students without a Master's degree, or students for whom English is not the primary language will be given one extra year to schedule their exam, unless they request to take it sooner.

Students will notify the Graduate Program Director of their intention to take the exam at least 8 weeks in advance of the exam to make sure faculty will be available as part of the Examining Committee.

The general division of topics and the faculty member responsible for each topic will be made available to the student and major advisor by memo one month prior to the exam.

One week prior to the exam the student will submit to the examination committee a list of all biology and entomology courses taken and the date and where completed, and list previous degrees and where taken.

Every effort will be made to schedule the exam before the last 3 weeks of the semester and no examination will be scheduled during final examination week, during intersession (including the period between the end of fall examination week and the beginning of intersession), or summer.

3. Examination Committee

The Examination Committee will be assigned by the Graduate Program Director. The committee will consist of four graduate faculty examiners and a graduate faculty moderater. The student's faculty advisor and members of the student's dissertation committee may be asked to serve on the Examination Committee.

If a member of the examining committee is unable to be present on the day of the exam, then the student may elect either to accept a substitute or to reschedule the exam.

4. Pass/Fail

Each member of the Examination Committee will vote by paper ballot on the student's performance only on their own questions. If all four members of the Examination Committee vote "pass," the student will successfully complete the requirement. In the case of one negative vote, the moderator's vote will be considered, in which case the student will still need four favorable votes (80% affirmation) to pass the examination. The Examination Committee may require additional coursework to strengthen the background of the student even if the student receives a "pass" from the Committee. If the student fails, the Examination Committee may terminate the student from the Ph.D. program or provide the student a single opportunity to retake the entire examination or portions of the examination within 6 months.

Once the exam is passed, the student must provide the names of the Dissertation Committee to the Graduate Program Director. The Graduate Program Director will then send a memorandum to the Graduate School requesting that the student's Dissertation Committee be appointed. (See earlier section: "Selection of a Graduate Committee" and following section: "Dissertation Committee").

Students who have passed the Ph.D. comprehensive exam may obtain a Master's degree "on the way" by application to the Graduate School. The student must have fulfilled the residence and course requirements for the Doctorate and the Master's degree. The successful completion of this examination qualifies the student to become a candidate in the Ph.D. program, and for the normal step increase in the assistantship (beginning upon expiration of the current assistantship).

GRANT PROPOSAL

1. Timing: The Grant Proposal requirement must be completed within one year following the date of the Preliminary Comprehensive Exam.

2. Rationale: The ability to write grant proposals of a quality that will enhance competitiveness for funding will impact the future success of the student. For this requirement, the members of the graduate faculty serve as a review panel of proposals and provide feedback as to where improvements could be made. Some students have submitted and received predoctoral and postdoctoral funding for proposals utilized to pass the requirement.

3. The Requirement:

Five credits under ENT 696 are taken Pass/Fail in the semester in which the grant proposal will be submitted. The proposal will be reviewed and graded (Pass/Fail) by a five member panel of graduate faculty appointed by the Graduate Program Director. Failure will result in the student's termination from the Ph.D. program, or at the discretion of the panel, the student may be allowed to resubmit a revised proposal.

While the student is required to be independent of the major advisor in the completion of this requirement, it is fair to discuss the research with fellow scientists, and it is advisable to have peers or friends proof the proposal for errors in spelling and grammar.

4. Format of the Proposal:

Two avenues may be taken to satisfy the Grant Proposal requirement. The proposal may follow the current guidelines for NSF, NIH or USDA Competitive Grants or it may follow the guidelines for an NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant.

NSF, NIH or USDA Competitive Grant
The topic of the proposal can be in the student's area of interest, but not dealing specifically with the Ph.D. dissertation, except as an extension or ancillary to the thesis topic.

a. It is the student's responsibility to secure the guidelines from appropriate web sites

b. The text (not including agency's documentation sheets and forms) of the proposal must be double-spaced and shall not exceed 30 typewritten pages. This total INCLUDES tables and figures and does NOT include references, Vitae, or the agency's forms. Text must be sized at 12 characters per inch, 1 inch margins

NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant
Consult your advisor for specifics on this option.

5. Process:

a. Three research proposal topics and a short synopsis of each topic should be submitted to the Graduate Program Director along with a "brief" summary of the student's dissertation research within 2 months of the completion of the preliminary comprehensive examination. Each proposal synopsis should be approximately one page long and should include a brief introduction, significance of the proposed research, and overall objectives.

The Graduate Program Director will circulate the research topics to all faculty, each of whom will indicate approval or disapproval in writing with a vote (approve or disapprove) on each topic within two weeks of receiving the topics. Topics will be rejected or accepted by a majority vote of the faculty. The Graduate Program Director will report the results to the student in writing.

b. The student will then submit a pre-proposal on one of the accepted topics. The "pre-proposal" is to be submitted to the Graduate Program Director WITHIN 4 MONTHS of passing the preliminary examination. This pre-proposal should be 4-5 single-spaced pages and follow other format restrictions of the full proposal. The pre-proposal should include the following sections: 1 page introduction to topic, 1 page rationale & significance, ½ page objectives, and 2-½ page materials and methods.

c. The Graduate Program Director will assign a review committee comprised of a Chair and four Members to review the pre-proposal. This panel will also review the full proposal. The Graduate Program Director will specify that committee members will return their pre-proposal review within 3 weeks to the assigned Chair of the Review Committee. From this point, the Chair of the Review committee is fully responsible for prompting members to complete their review and for assuring that both the pre-proposal and the full grant are reviewed on schedule.

d. The Chair of the Review Committee will organize a meeting with the student and the Review Committee within 3-4 weeks of original submission, at which time written comments by all members of the Review Committee will be collated and provided to both the student and the committee members. The function of the pre-proposal is to provide feedback to the student for writing a stronger proposal. It is the responsibility of each committee member to clearly identify areas of weakness. The committee will review suggestions and concerns with the student. The committee may request a rewrite of the pre-proposal and set a clear deadline for resubmission.

e. Once the review committee has accepted the pre-proposal, the full proposal can be written. The proposal must be completed and submitted to the Graduate Program Director within one year after the completion of the preliminary comprehensive examination. Failure to do so may result in suspension of financial support in weekly increments, usually following the end of the student's current appointment.

f. Six copies of the full proposal shall be submitted to the Graduate Program Director only during the fall and spring semesters. Proposals will be reviewed during intersession (including the period between the end of fall final examination week and the beginning of intersession) or summer break periods only under extenuating circumstances and with the approval of the faculty. Review Committees may agree to evaluate Dissertation Improvement Grants during the summer session. No proposals will be reviewed during final exam periods.

g. During the academic year (except during intersession) students have a right to expect the faculty to review the proposal within three weeks after submittal. However, the meeting to review the proposal may be delayed due to schedule conflicts among the committee, but it will be held as soon as practicable three weeks after submission of the grant.

6. Scoring:

The major criteria to be considered in evaluating the proposal are the following:

a. Justification of the importance of the research problem and the significance of the proposed findings.

b. Adequacy of the experimental design, feasibility and promise of the methods proposed.

c. Time period and resources requested.

d. Novelty or originality of the application.

e. Quality of writing, clarity and ability to focus on key issues.

Evaluation of grant proposals will be made by the committee of 5 faculty appointed by the Graduate Program Director. Each member of the panel must provide a written review of the proposal to the Chair of the Review Committee, specify Pass/Failure, and recommend rewriting if necessary. The Chair of the Review Committee will collect and evaluate the written reviews and schedule a meeting between the committee and the student. The reviews will be distributed to committee members and the student prior to the meeting. At the meeting, the panel will collectively discuss the overall quality of the proposal with the student, recommend required changes, if necessary, and set a firm time for resubmission of a rewrite.

The Chair of the Review Committee shall inform the Graduate Program Director in writing when the grant proposal has been passed by the majority of the committee members. A copy of the proposal and the written evaluations will be placed in the student's file by the Chair of the Review Committee. The Graduate Program Director will submit the appropriate grade (P/F) for ENT 696, for which the student has registered.

DISSERTATION COMMITTEE

1. The student should establish an unofficial Dissertation Committee by the second semester. The responsibility of the Dissertation Committee shall be to advise the student regarding coursework, supervise the dissertation project, and conduct the final "defense of dissertation" examination.

2. The committee must include at least three graduate faculty from the University of Massachusetts: the chairperson, at least one other member from the candidate's department/program, and one member from outside the candidate's department/program. Additional committee members from outside the University cannot count as an official outside member. To officially appoint a committee member from another institution, refer to the earlier section: "Selection of a Graduate Committee."

3. After the student has passed the preliminary comprehensive examination, the committee must be officially appointed. The student shall provide the Graduate Program Director with a memo outlining the make-up of the Dissertation Committee. The Graduate Program Director then recommends formation of the committee to the Graduate Dean, in writing (memo may be structured following Form D.3 appended to the University Graduate School Handbook).

4. It is the responsibility of the student and the student's faculty advisor to arrange meetings with all members of the Dissertation Committee to discuss the research problem before approving the dissertation prospectus. The student must arrange to have at least one committee meeting each year.

DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS

After passing the preliminary comprehensive examination, the candidate prepares a dissertation prospectus that describes the work to be done for the dissertation. The cover page should follow Form D.4, which is appended to the University Graduate Student Handbook. Once prepared, the original copy is signed by each member of the Dissertation Committee to indicate approval of the research topic and the plan of execution. It also must be signed by the Department Chair or the Graduate Program Director. The student delivers the original signed copy of the prospectus to the Graduate Records Office, 534 Goodell Building at least 7 months prior to the dissertation defense. A copy of the original should be submitted to the Graduate Program Director for placement in the Entomology Division Graduate files.

DISSERTATION

1. The dissertation shall pertain to a topic in the field of the candidate's major subject area, and must demonstrate that the candidate possesses the ability and imagination necessary to do independent thinking and research, and to present ideas clearly and in an organized form. The dissertation in its completed form will be judged on the ability of the candidate to review and evaluate the literature; to formulate a problem, design appropriate experiments, and work systematically toward a solution; and to summarize and analyze data and draw logical conclusions. The goal of the dissertation is to make a significant contribution of publishable quality to scientific knowledge.

2. Because of the time required for thorough review and necessary revision, the dissertation must be submitted to the Dissertation Committee no later than 1 month before the degree-granting deadlines established by the Graduate School:

April 30 -- May degree
August 31 -- September degree
January 15 -- February degree

3. The format of the dissertation may include pertinent sections including: Introduction, Literature Review, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Literature Cited, etc. Preparation of the dissertation in "publishable" manuscript form is frequently done but "Typing Guidelines for Theses and Dissertations" (available at the Office of Degree Requirements or www.umass.edu/gradschool/dissertationandthesis/index.html) still must be followed. An Abstract and Copyright page are both required.

4. The dissertation must be placed on available for inspection in the Departmental Office at least one week before the Dissertation Defense. To accomplish this, a draft of the dissertation must be submitted to the Chair's assistant (or if necessary, placed in the Chair's mailbox). At this point, the student must notify the faculty by memorandum that the dissertation is on display.

5. The final draft of the dissertation must have the unanimous approval of the Dissertation Committee and Department Chair before the Dissertation Defense is scheduled.

MONDAY DEPARTMENTAL SEMINAR REQUIREMENT

In the final year of their program, the student is required to present a seminar in the Monday afternoon Departmental Seminar series. The student should plan for this well in advance and alert the Chair of the Departmental Seminar that a slot must be made available for the student's presentation. The Monday afternoon seminar in no way satisfies the required Dissertation presentation that is made during the Dissertation Defense (see below).

DISSERTATION DEFENSE

1. When the final draft of the dissertation has been approved in substance by all members of the Dissertation Committee, the defense of the dissertation is held. The student and advisor develop a memo (addressed to the Graduate Dean and from the Graduate Program Director----follow Form D.5 appended to the University Graduate Student Handbook) that includes the name of the student, date/time/place of the examination, the Chair of the Dissertation Committee, and the title of the dissertation. The memorandum must reach the Office of Degree Requirements, 534 Goodell Building, a minimum of three weeks in advance of the Dissertation Defense because the event must be announced in the Campus Chronicle to allow anyone interested to attend. More advance time may be necessary during intersession and summer sessions. The student is completely responsible for seeing that this memo reaches the Graduate School within the three week deadline. The student is also responsible for reserving the room for the defense.

2. All members of the Dissertation Committee must attend the defense.

3. The Chair of the Dissertation Committee will moderate the defense. The defense includes an initial 40-45 minute formal presentation of the Dissertation research, to which the entire department as well as all University Graduate Faculty are invited to attend. The presentation is followed by an examination by the Dissertation Committee that is not necessarily limited to the dissertation topic. Faculty members may remain and observe the exam. All others will be asked to leave before the examination begins.

4. Only members of the Dissertation Committee cast votes. Determination of Pass or Fail will be by secret ballot. A unanimous vote of the Dissertation Committee is required for the student to pass the final examination. Two negative votes cast by members of the Dissertation Committee constitutes failure. In the event of 1 negative vote, the degree will be withheld pending action of the Graduate Council.

5. Following the defense, the Graduate Program Director will coordinate with the student and advisor to submit a memorandum to the Graduate Dean stating the defense results, following the format provided by Form D.6 (appended to the University Graduate Student Handbook).

SUBMISSION OF DISSERTATION TO GRADUATE SCHOOL & DEPARTMENT ARCHIVES

1. The original and 1 copy of the dissertation on acid-free paper are deposited in the Office of Degree Requirements, 534 Goodell Building. Both must be unbound in springback binders. The student may need to pay a binding fee.

2. Both submitted copies of the Dissertation must include original signatures of the Dissertation Committee members and the Department Chair. Use black ink, NO felt pens or other non-waterproof inks.

3. The candidate must also submit a hard-bound copy of the Dissertation to the Department Chair for the department's files within 3 months after completing the defense. This copy should be bound in black with gold lettering. A list of binderies is available at the Office of Degree Requirements, 534 Goodell Building. If a student fails to provide the required copy, the department will reproduce the library copy and have it bound, with all costs charged to the student's faculty advisor.

FORMS AND FEES REQUIRED TO COMPLETE PROGRAM

1. The student must complete the green "Doctoral Degree Eligibility Form" (available at the Office of Degree Requirements, 534 Goodell Building) and have it signed by the Department Chair and the Graduate Program Director. The form must be submitted to the Office of Degree Requirements by the specified deadline date.

2. There are a number of further materials that must be submitted to the Office of Degree Requirements. This includes one extra copy of the abstract, title page and signature page; a "Doctoral Dissertation Microfilming and Copyright Agreement Form; a "Survey of Earned Doctorate Form." The required Commencement fee, a Career Services fee, a Binding fee and a Microfilming fee must be paid. An Optional Copyright fee can also be paid.

CHECK LIST FOR DOCTORAL DEGREE
(Also consult Form D.7, Check List for Doctoral Degree, appended to the University Graduate Student Handbook)

.NOTE: The candidate must be "active to graduate," taking credits or paying the continuation fee (program fee) every semester before graduation. The Records Office at the Graduate School should be contacted about procedures and fees necessary to retain or resecure active status if the candidate is neither taking course credits nor paying the program fee. No fee is needed to maintain active status over the summer.