PHD RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT

Department of Educational Leadership and Policy

The PhD Residency requirement includes two components:

1) the Graduate School enrollment requirement; and the
2) Departmental “Immersion” requirement.

1. Enrollment Requirement:

The student must meet the graduate school residency requirement which is based on enrollment status. (It will be full-time enrollment—9 semester hours--for two consecutive semesters.)

2. Immersion Requirement:

The purpose of immersion is to help students understand the norms, roles, expectations and contextual issues of academia and/or their future work environments; to help students understand the norms and expectations regarding scholarly and intellectual work; and to develop the skills of independent scholarly inquiry. Immersion can occur in a number of ways, depending on the individual's personal preferences and career goals (see below). Students are expected to participate regularly in immersion activities throughout their doctoral study, not simply the year of full-time enrollment status.

Criteria for meeting the immersion requirement:

A. Scholarship and Research:

Examples of activities which would be considered substantive evidence of immersion are:

· Presentation at the GSE Graduate Student Research Fair

· Submission to and/or publication in scholarly journals

· Collaborative or independent research projects

· Working with faculty on scholarly interests and publications

· Attendance and/or presentation at departmental colloquia

· Advanced independent coursework/study beyond the minimum

· Non course-related student group work, e.g. book group

· Scholarly editorial work

· Policy Center involvement and projects

B. Professional Service and other Professional Contributions

Examples of activities which would be considered substantive evidence of immersion are:

· Attendance and/or presentation at local, regional or national conferences

· Service and/or leadership involvement in professional associations

· Community involvement related to professional goals

· Work experience, internships or assistantships related to career goals

· Participation on Student Advisory Committee (SAC) or other relevant student governance activities

· Committee and/or service work within the department, school or university

· Policy Center involvement

C. Teaching and Course Development activities, e.g.

· Teaching the doctoral "pro-seminar"

· Assisting faculty in course development & teaching

· Developing & facilitating special topic seminars, workshops, brown-bag seminars, orientations, or other auxiliary instructional opportunities for departmental students

*Please note that this list is not exhaustive. Students are encouraged to think of creative and personally meaningful ways to meet this requirement. However, the particular amount and type of immersion activities must be approved by the doctoral student's supervisory committee.

3. Procedures for planning and completing the immersion requirement.

During the admissions process, the Student Advisor or Admissions Committee should discuss with students the residency requirement, including both the Graduate School enrollment requirement and the departmental immersion requirement. Students must understand that although the department may not have a strict policy of reduced employment, Ph.D. students are strongly encouraged to reduce their employment for a significant portion of their degree program and MUST reduce their overall obligations (e.g. other service and leisure activities) to successfully complete the doctoral degree. The immersion requirement, though perhaps more flexible than employment restrictions, requires a high standard of commitment and investment in doctoral studies. Students whose work and personal responsibilities do not match well the curricular and/or residency expectations for the Ph.D. program may be advised to consider admission to a more appropriate degree program.

Students should consult with and seek guidance from their supervisory committee early in their programs. Specifically, during a student's doctoral planning meeting, the supervisory committee must review and approve the student's plan to meet the residency requirement. At the time of qualifying exams and/or proposal defense, the student's progress toward the enrollment and immersion requirements should be assessed. At the student's final oral defense, a final audit and approval of completed enrollment and immersion requirements must occur. Although the doctoral supervisory committee is expected to communicate its immersion expectations clearly, the burden of responsibility and proof is on the student. Students are encouraged to keep a record or journal of immersion activities early in their programs. The student must submit a portfolio to his/her supervisory committee detailing substantive evidence of how s/he is meeting the immersion requirement and how this relates to her/his future career goals. The student's supervisory committee decides whether or not s/he has met the "immersion" requirement and may request additional documentation and/or require additional immersion activities.