Course of Study for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Four Levels of the DPhil Degree Process

There are four levels in the DPhil degree process: (a) Admission to graduate studies, (b) matriculation for a degree program, (c) candidacy for a degree, and (d) degree validation.  The Academic Affairs Council supervises the process from admission to candidacy; the Graduate Research Council supervises the process from candidacy to graduation.

A student is matriculated to the Doctor of Philosophy program after foundational studies are assessed, and any deficiencies are removed.  Students must matriculate for the DPhil to participate in Cores 3, 4, 5 and 6.  The following requirements must be fulfilled for matriculation to doctoral studies: (a) A total of 32 graduate semester hours at the master’s level including 30 cohesive hours in support of the Oxford course of study. (b) Attendance at the Program Orientation Workshop which is Core 1.  (c) Completion of assignments related to Program Orientation Workshop and Core 2. (d) Possession of basic computer skills, unless exempted by the American Disabilities Act. (e) Control of an E-mail address or regular access to a fax machine.

Once matriculation is attained in the DPhil program, a student remains at the matriculation level until the completion of all course requirements.  When all requirements are completed, the Academic Affairs Council advances the student to candidacy.  

Candidates for the DPhil must achieve degree validation to participate in Core 7.  Core sessions are offered during three academic terms.  Normally, students will divide their participation into one core session per term until all sessions are completed in sequence.  Students must complete all course work connected with the previous core before attending a successive core.  Core 7 participation is part of the Graduate Colloquy.

The DPhil program is divided into two parts: the course of study and the dissertation process.  The course of study has three stages: first third (Cores 1, 2); middle third (Cores 3, 4); and upper third (Cores 5, 6).  The dissertation process (Core 7) has four stages: proposal development under the Graduate Research Council, the proposal defense, the writing and defense of the dissertation under the Graduate Research Council, and the degree validation stage that verifies the error-free copy of the dissertation and authorizes the candidate’s degree.  The dissertation stage is divided into 20 steps with advisors, readers, and faculty supervision at each step.

An extensive course syllabus with bibliography is provided for each course.  Tutorial guidance generally includes an overview of the subject and an introduction to the sources of knowledge in the field and is presented by lecture with informed participation by the students.  Tutorial guidance is followed by specific developmental and research assignments under the guidance of the faculty.  Faculty directed research in prescribed sources and available resources constitutes an essential part of the course of study.  The educational goal is to excite and direct the self-activity of learners who are engaged in personal research and study. 

First Third Course of Study (Cores 1 and 2)

The first third begins with the Program Orientation Workshop (Core 1) and introduces the program, explains the curriculum, orients the applicant to the academic performance expectation, assesses strengths and weaknesses, and generally assists the applicant in determining suitability of the program for meeting his or her educational needs.  An applicant becomes an admitted student after the Program Orientation Workshop (POW) when all admissions assessments are made and the student signs a financial contract.

Table 2.  Core Schedules

The curriculum requires advance preparation for each stage in the course of study so the student can be an informed participant in class.  Each stage has advance assignments required for participation in residency core sessions and post-class assignments to be completed after core sessions.

Middle Third Course of Study (Cores 3 and 4)

The middle third of the program requires assessment for matriculation.  Matriculation denotes eligibility to continue toward a degree.  Core 3 is considered a matriculation workshop.  Once attained, a student remains at the matriculation level until completion of the course of study requirements, and qualifying interviews.  

Table 3.  Core Schedules

The following requirements are fulfilled before a student is matriculated:

1. Adequate completion of the Program Orientation Workshop and the academic assignments related to Cores 1 and 2.
2. Completion of a master’s degree with (30) cohesive graduate hours in support of the OGS Program of Study.
3. Demonstration of certain basic professional academic skills unless exempted by the American Disabilities Act and so documented.  Basic skills include the word processing, editing, and printing functions of a standard computer program.
4. A personal e-mail address or access to a Fax machine.

Reading and Research Seminars are offered annually at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.  Upon recommendation from OGS, a student is issued a Reader Card for research in the Bodleian Library and dependent libraries.  The educational experience in the UK includes academic seminars presented by University of Oxford professors.  The seminars provide information on contemporary issues facing society.  The OGS course Morality and the Law, is taught during this seminar in the United Kingdom.  The OGS Director of Lifelong Learning coordinates the academic seminars.

The Reading and Research Seminars offered at the University of Oxford are part of the required seminars for the DPhil.  A student whose health or handicap prevents travel to England may complete alternate sessions on campus in Tennessee.  

The DPhil program requires a trip to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.  The Library of Congress experience and the Bodleian trip serve as opportunities to develop research skills for lifelong scholarship.

Upper Third Course of Study (Cores 5 and 6)

Table 4.  Core Schedules

Candidacy

Candidacy means that a student has completed all course work.  A student must:

1. Demonstrate ability to use the English language with clarity in both speech and writing.
2. Evidence specialized competence in general research methodology.
3. Manifest proficiency in statistics for completion of a dissertation.
4. Complete all core requirements.
5. Complete a qualifying interview.
6. Demonstrate competency to gather data and synthesize findings that lead to new knowledge about a significant problem or issues in a field of knowledge.
7. Demonstrate subject matter mastery of literature related to a dissertation area.
8. Demonstrate competency in critical inquiry of unsolved or unresolved problems.

During candidacy the student is supervised by the Graduate Research Council for a major research project and dissertation.  The Graduate Research Council guides a candidate in developing a research proposal.  When the proposal is satisfactorily defended, the student is authorized to proceed with gathering and analyzing data and writing a dissertation.  The sequenced tasks that guide a research project and development of a dissertation are listed in Table 6.

Table 5.  Core 7 (Graduate Colloquy) Courses