Course Requirements

The candidate must earn a minimum of 42 semester credit hours (SCH) of graduate credit beyond the master's degree or a minimum of 72 SCH beyond the bachelor's degree.  The quantity and the content of coursework to be completed by each candidate is arranged individually by the advisory committee, subject to the approval of the academic component leader and the Graduate School.  In some cases, a student may need to complete additional semester credit hours in order to meet individual requirements determined by the advisory committee.

Degree Audits

Dance, Molecular Biology, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and the 72-SCH Sociology program all have active degree audits. The Student Planning System provides full degree audit plan for these programs, identifying recommended courses fulfilling the degree requirements.

All other doctoral programs require a degree plan to be submitted to the Graduate School office no later than the completion of 18 semester credit hours.  The student and their advisor will plan out the degree plan together.  The financial aid shells provide information about courses available for the degree but do not function as a degree audit.  Paper degree plans allow for greater flexibility in the choice of courses, to fit the student's professional goals.