Doctoral Degree Requirements

General Requirements

An applicant must possess at least a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university for admission to a doctoral degree program. No specific number or sequence of courses constitutes a doctoral program or assures attainment of the degree. A formal degree program generally consists of a combination of courses, seminars, and individual study. In some programs research and a dissertation are required.

Enrollment

A doctoral student may meet the degree requirements of the graduate school and department by full-time study or a combination of full- and part-time study.

The Graduate School requires that a doctoral student register for a minimum of one graduate credit during each fall and spring semester from matriculation to graduation. Individual departments may exceed this minimum requirement. A doctoral student should consult with their academic program.

"Full-time study" is defined as a minimum of nine semester credits during the academic year and a minimum of two credits in the combined summer session. Furthermore, “full-time enrollment” shall be defined as one or more graduate hours for students satisfying one of the following conditions:

  • Doctoral students in their final semester of study having completed all degree requirements except dissertation;
  • International graduate students participating in curricular practical training (CPT) and/or academic training (AT) opportunities of thirty or more hours per week with approval from the International Center;
  • Doctoral students in accreditation-mandated internships of thirty or more hours per week with approval from the academic program; or
  • Doctoral students who have completed all course credit requirements and research credit requirements and who are only working toward completion of the research project.

Time Limit

All doctoral requirements must be completed within ten years of starting coursework at The University of Akron or elsewhere. Extension of up to one year may be granted in unusual circumstances by the Dean of the Graduate School upon written request by the student and recommendation by the adviser, department chair, and college dean.

Credits

A doctorate is conferred in recognition of high attainment and productive scholarship in a specialized field of learning as evidenced by the satisfactory completion of a prescribed program of study. This may include research; the preparation of a dissertation based on independent research; and the successful passing of examinations covering the specific field of study. Consistent with ODHE policy, doctoral degrees generally require the successful completion of at least 90 semester credit hours of work beyond the bachelor’s degree or at least 60 semester credit hours beyond the master’s degree. A minimum of fifty per cent of the total graduate credits required for the doctoral degree must be completed at The University of Akron. Workshop credit must be relevant to the degree program, recommended by the student’s adviser and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.

No graduate credit may be received for 500-numbered courses previously taken at the 400-numbered course level as an undergraduate without advance approval from the Dean of the Graduate School.

Transfer Credits

Up to fifty per cent of the total graduate credits required in a doctoral program may be transferred from an accredited college or university, including The University of Akron. All transfer credit must be at the "A" or "B" level in graduate courses. The courses must be relevant to the student's academic program as determined by the student's academic department and fall within the ten-year limit. A University of Akron student must receive prior approval from their academic program for transfer courses taken elsewhere to meet the requirements for the doctoral degree.

A student admitted with a master's degree or equivalent will have work evaluated in relation to the student's program to determine transfer credit. Up to 30 semester credits are transferable from a master's degree. A block transfer of credit does not apply toward the student's ten-year time limit for degree completion.

A student seeking transfer credits must have full admission at The University of Akron. Transfer credits from other institutions shall not be computed as part of the student’s University of Akron grade point average.

Language Requirements

There is no university-wide foreign language requirement for the doctoral degree. The student is required to demonstrate the skills required by their degree program.

Optional Department Requirements

Optional department requirements. Each department may determine requirements for a doctoral student regarding entrance examinations, qualifying examinations, preliminary or comprehensive examinations and course sequences.

Dissertation and Oral Defense (if required)

The ability to do independent research and demonstrate competence in scholarly exposition must be demonstrated by the preparation of a dissertation on some topic related to the major subject. It should represent a significant contribution to knowledge, be presented in a scholarly manner, reveal the candidate's ability to do independent research and indicate experience in research techniques.

A doctoral dissertation committee supervises and approves the dissertation and administers an oral examination based upon the dissertation and related areas of study. The dissertation and oral examination must be approved by the committee before the dissertation is submitted to the Graduate School. A final online submission of the dissertation is due in the graduate school at least three weeks prior to commencement. A manual titled “Guidelines for Preparing a Thesis or Dissertation” is available online and the dissertation must conform to these instructions.

Graduation

Students must file an online application for graduation with the Office of the University Registrar after completion of one-half of the credits required for their degree program or by the following dates:

  • April 1 for Spring Commencement
  • July 1 for Summer Commencement
  • November 1 for Fall Commencement

Students wanting to attend the commencement ceremony must visit the Office of the University Registrar website to respond to the ceremony.

To be cleared for graduation, a candidate must have completed the academic program requirements with a minimum cumulative graduate grade-point average of 3.00; submitted an approved dissertation and passed an oral examination, if required; filed an online application for graduation with the Office of the University Registrar; settled any and all outstanding financial obligations with the University; and met any other applicable department and University requirements.