Candidacy Status

To become a candidate for the doctoral degree, each student admitted to doctoral study with Degree Status must gain formal approval of a planned program of study. Prior to the completing of 15 semester hours of course work toward the doctorate, the student, in consultation with his/her advisor, will develop a program of study and complete the application for candidacy. A copy of a similar application form is included in the Handbook for Doctoral Studies and must be submitted through WebCT. This application is submitted for approval by the student's advisor to the ISA and the Dean of the Graduate College. A student can apply toward a doctorate a combined maximum of 15 hours of transfer credit and a second or third master's, or specialist degree credit (maximum of 6 hours).

Initial Admission

Formal application to doctoral study should be made to the appropriate intensive study area office, where descriptive materials and application packets may be obtained. Admission to the program will be granted to those applicants who provide evidence of prior academic success; successful and appropriate professional experience; effective oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills; and professional and academic goals which may be effectively served by the degree program offered. Additional criteria may be established by an area of intensive study since some previous specialization work is presumed.

1. The applicant must hold a master's degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education.

2. Each applicant must submit official transcripts of all previous academic work to the Registrar's Office - Graduate Admissions. Applicants with a grade point average of less than 3.50 for all prior graduate work will not usually be considered for regular admission.

3. Examinations: The following is required of students enrolled in the Doctor of Education program:
Graduate Record Examination (GRE): Students applying for admission to the Ed.D. Degree program must have their verbal, analytical, and quantitative sections of the GRE forwarded directly to the Office of the Registrar in order to be considered for degree status admission. The GRE is required in the doctoral intensive study areas of Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Leadership, and Leisure, Youth and Human Services.

Comprehensive Examination

All candidates for the Doctor of Education Degree are required to take a comprehensive examination over coursework completed in the degree program. Successful completion of this examination qualifies a student to continue studies and work on the dissertation. The comprehensive examinations may consist of one of several approved by the student's Dissertation Committee under the leadership of the doctoral advisor. At this time the Educational Leadership Intensive Study area requires a written examination taken over three half days.

Dissertation

The candidate must satisfy the predissertation research experience before proceeding with dissertation research. The advisor is responsible for determining when this requirement has been met. Each candidate will present a formal proposal for a dissertation to his/her doctoral committee. This presentation will be open to the University community. The dissertation, the culminating experience in the doctoral program, is intended to involve the application of existing knowledge and/or the results of the individual's research to an educational problem or situation. A final oral examination over the dissertation will be conducted by the doctoral committee; consistent with University traditions, and will be open to the University community.

Transfer Credit

Usually, a maximum of twelve (12) to fifteen (15) hours of credit from accredited graduate institutions may be applied toward meeting minimum credit hour requirements of the Doctor of Education degree (subject to the Recency of Credit regulation). Work taken at the University of Northern Iowa prior to formal admission, but not previously applied to any other degree program, is considered transfer credit.

Recency of Credits

Courses taken more than seven years prior to the granting of candidacy status cannot be used to meet degree requirements.

Residency

The residency requirement will be satisfied by completing the Professional Common Core (15 credit hours) on campus.

Maximum Academic Load Allowed

The maximum graduate load during an academic year semester is fifteen (15) hours per semester; for the 12-week summer session nine (9) hours is the normal maximum; and for shorter pre-and post- sessions, the maximum graduate load is normally calculated at one semester hour per week of course contact work.