Culminating
Events:
Culminating event for the degree program
Dissertation
Dissertation Advising Committee Information
The Dissertation Advisory Committee consists of a minimum of three graduate faculty members. Two of these faculty members, including the chairperson, must be from the Counseling Psychology Program. The third member must be from one of the other programs of the College or the University. The Dissertation Advisory Committee oversees all aspects of the student’s dissertation, from the proposal to the oral defense. Complete details about the dissertation process are available in the College of Education Dissertation Handbook, available from the Psychological Studies in Education department office.
Dissertation Examining Committee Information
The Dissertation Examination Committee consists of the three members of the Advisory Committee, plus two additional faculty members. One of these must be from a program outside of Counseling Psychology. The Dissertation Examining Committee evaluates the student’s dissertation and the oral defense.
Advisor/Committee Information
A student may change an advisor or a member of the Advisory Committee by petitioning the Director of Doctoral Training of the Counseling Psychology Program.
Preliminary Exam Description
The Preliminary Examination in Counseling Psychology is designed to help students integrate the knowledge they have acquired across the diverse fields of study in the doctoral program. The examination will challenge students to analyze and respond to the difficult and complex problems such as they will face as counseling psychologists. The examination requires them to organize an array of knowledge, think cogently, and produce a publication-quality response.
Subject Areas/Major Components of the Preliminary Examination
The Preliminary Examination in Counseling Psychology consists of two take-home questions that are to be completed within a 30-day time period. The first question is one that all students complete. The second question is a specialty question that each student works with his/her advisor to develop. In most cases the specialty question covers an area of interest relevant to the student’s area of dissertation research. Each question is to be answered within a 20-page limit.
At what point in the program is the student expected to take the preliminary examination
Students take the Preliminary Examination at the end of their second year of the program, assuming that all courses taken to that point have been successfully completed.
Writing the Questions for the Preliminary Examination
A committee of three Counseling Psychology faculty members write the common or general question. The composition of the committee varies from year to year. The student’s advisor writes the student’s specialty question after consultation with the student.
Evaluating the Preliminary Examination
Each answer is evaluated by two faculty members who read and score each answer independently of each other. Each answer is graded on a pass-fail basis. If there is disagreement between the two raters, a third is asked to read the answer in question.
Criterion for Passing the Preliminary Examination.
The examination is passed when the answers to both questions have been passed and the results approved by the full faculty.
Administering, Scheduling, and Proctoring the Preliminary Examination
The Director of Doctoral Training supervises the distribution, collection, and scoring of the Preliminary Examination.
Dissertation/Monograph Philosophy
The doctoral dissertation is an original and scholarly research work that makes a significant contribution to counseling psychology. The majority of dissertations in our program are empirical, typically using statistical analysis as the means of examining the data that are gathered. Other types of scholarship; e.g., qualitative analysis, are acceptable also. It is expected that a dissertation be published in a refered journal.
Philosophy of the Proposal
The dissertation proposal demonstrates the student’s knowledge of and ability to conduct the proposed research. Minimally, the proposal should contain: a description of the context and background surrounding the particular research question, a survey and review of literature that shows the reader why the research is being proposed, a detailed methodological plan for conducting the investigation, and a timetable for completing the project. The Dissertation Advisory Committee must initially approve the proposal. Then the proposal must be approved by the Proposal Review Committee of the College of Education
Criterion for Passing the Dissertation and the Defense.
The dissertation must be approved by the Dissertation Advisory Committee before the oral exam takes place. Both the Advisory Committee and the Examining Committee will determine if the research has been carried out thoroughly and accurately according to standard research practices and if the conclusions drawn are reasonable and based firmly on the research conducted in the dissertation and the research in the field. The student is expected to use the knowledge acquired throughout the program to put the research forth as a contribution to the field.
Dissertation Defense Scheduling
A student will arrange for a date and time that is mutually convenient for all members of the Dissertation Examining Committee. Notification of the time and date must be submitted to the Associate Dean of the College of Education no less than three weeks prior to the oral defense.
Announcing the Dissertation Defense
The announcement of the date and time of the oral defense will be sent to the Graduate School by the Associate Dean of the College of Education no less than 10 days prior to the oral defense.
