Joint Doctor of Philosophy Degree Requirements

A joint Ph.D. program can be approved in the Graduate Council at the request of two cooperating programs, providing the following requirements are met:

1. Students will apply for admission to a single doctoral program of their choice.
2. Following residence on campus for at least one semester, a student interested in a joint degree will apply for admission to the second program, provided that the Graduate Council has approved the specific joint degree program.
3. If the student is admitted to the second program, the original admitting program will still be credited for that student and the transcript will read "Program 1" for the original admitting department, and "Program 2" for the second program.
4. When the student is accepted into the second program, the statute of limitations will automatically be extended by two years.
5. The requirements of the Graduate School and all requirements of both graduate programs must be met, including passing preliminary comprehensive examinations in both programs.
6. Only one dissertation and one dissertation defense are required. There must be at least one member of the dissertation committee from each program and the outside member must be from outside both programs.
7. A joint degree means one Ph.D. in Programs 1 and 2, not two separate Ph.D. degrees. Such joint degrees will not establish any new degrees and are not new programs. The spirit of the joint doctoral degree is to foster cooperation among degree-granting units. Each program involved in any given joint degree retains, through its Graduate Program Director, full responsibility for ensuring that joint degree students fulfill all course and examination requirements relevant to its own program. A joint Ph.D. degree will be awarded only when all requirements have been met for both graduate programs.

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