Ph.D. in Learning & Technology: Program Completion

1. Residence Credit Requirement
   
   A minimum of 50 percent of the total credits required to complete the doctoral degree not including transferred and dissertation credits must be earned at UNLV after admission to the doctoral degree program.
   


2. Publication Requirement
   
   Each student must satisfy a scholarly paper requirement by the time he or she has completed 36 credits (Review I). The student must be primarily responsible for carrying out and reporting a study under the supervision of a program faculty member. The requirement may be fulfilled in one of two ways. First, the study may involve the collection and analysis of some empirical data (for example, a pilot study) resulting in a scholarly paper that is submitted to either a professional journal or as a proposal to an annual conference of a national organization. Second, the paper may consist of a literature review that is submitted for publication in a quality, peer-reviewed journal or submitted for presentation at a national conference. Prior to beginning, projects must be approved by a supervising faculty member. Once completed, students must submit to the program coordinator(s): (a) a copy of the paper, (b) a submission acknowledgement, and (c) a completed Review I form from the supervising faculty member.
   


3. Preliminary Examination
   
   Each student must take the preliminary examination (Review II) in the last semester of coursework outlined in his/her program of study. This second formal assessment is an examination that will focus on areas of knowledge that are most relevant to the student's dissertation topic. The student and his/her committee will determine the content of this examination. In general, the format will focus on in-depth reading and writing directly related to the student's dissertation topic rather than on the student's mastery of preciously learned core information.
   


4. Dissertation Proposals and Defenses
   
   After successfully completing Review I and Review II, students can then submit a dissertation proposal to their doctoral committee and submit the accompanying "Dissertation Prospectus" form to the Graduate College. The doctoral committee will meet and determine whether to accept or reject the prospectus. A prospectus can be accepted provisionally given that the student follows the committee's suggestions in the dissertation. Upon completion of the full dissertation, a defense will be scheduled. This defense will be scheduled and conducted in accordance with the Graduate College's policies for thesis and dissertation completion. It is the student's responsibility to file the required "Notification of Oral or Written Examination" form with the Graduate College in a timely manner.

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