General Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Qualified students will be received as applicants for candidacy for the Doctor of Philosophy degree with a major in departments which are adequately equipped with staff, library and laboratory facilities to furnish the necessary training and opportunities for original research.

Screening Procedures

A screening examination or other procedure designated by the department or program is to be administered before the student has taken more than 24 units (including research courses). Passing this procedure is prerequisite to continuation in the doctoral program. Students who fail the screening procedure will be advised that they are not recommended to continue in the Ph.D. program and that any additional work may not be counted toward the degree. Failure to undertake the screening procedure before completion of 24 units of course work may jeopardize additional units. It is the student's responsibility to obtain the Report on Ph.D. Screening Procedures form in the Student Services Office of the Graduate School, Grace Ford Salvatori Hall 315, or in the student's home department, and return the completed form to the Graduate School within one month after the departmental screening. A faculty member will be appointed to serve as the student's advisor until an approved guidance committee is established.

Course Requirements

The subject or field of concentration is called a major. The major is usually a departmental major, although several interdepartmental majors have been authorized.

Undergraduate prerequisite and graduate course work will be required in accordance with the regulations of the major department or program and the recommendation of the student's guidance committee. Consult the appropriate departmental section of this catalogue for specific course requirements.

Guidance Committee

The student's program of studies is under the direction of a guidance committee. Admission to graduate standing is prerequisite to establishing a guidance committee. The guidance committee should be established within the department at least two semesters prior to taking the qualifying examination. The Request to Take the Qualifying Examination, obtained in the Student Services Office of the Graduate School, is the means by which the guidance committee is formally established. This form should be filed with the Graduate School the semester prior to taking the qualifying examination.

The guidance committee is composed of at least five members; a minimum of three, including at least one tenured member, must be from the student's home department and one must be a faculty member from outside the student's home department. In the case of schools which are organized into several departments (e.g., business, education, music), but for which a single Ph.D. program is authorized, the outside member must be from outside the school. The Dean of Graduate Studies is ex officio a member of all guidance committees.

Normally, all members of the guidance-dissertation committee must be regular officers of instruction of the rank of assistant professor or above in departments offering the Ph.D. degree at USC. In exceptional cases, faculty in departments or schools not offering the Ph.D. degree; research, adjunct, and emeritus faculty; and faculty from other universities may be acceptable as members of guidance committees. Such exceptions must be approved on an individual basis by the Dean of Graduate Studies prior to the establishment of the committee. Approval will be based on the special expertise and academic relevance afforded the individual student's research. A current curriculum vitae of the proposed member must be submitted to the Graduate School with a letter from the student's committee chair citing the particular academic merits of the requested appointment. Such a member must meet the standards of academic training and research experience expected of faculty members serving on such committees. A specially approved member may serve as co-chair of the committee but usually may not serve as the outside member representing the Dean of Graduate Studies. Exceptions may be made if the specially approved member has an appointment at USC and has served on at least two doctoral committees.

The committee member from outside the department is defined as a person from a discipline different from that of the student's department and whose own department affiliation is different from that of the student. A faculty member who holds a joint appointment in the student's department may only serve as an outside member when the primary appointment is in an outside department or school. The outside member serves as the representative of the Dean of Graduate Studies. As such, the outside member determines if the qualifying examination and dissertation processes are conducted at a level that warrants awarding the Ph.D. degree. The outside member also ensures that the student is justly and fairly treated by a committee and department. Finally, it is hoped that the outside member will contribute to the student's preparation as a scholar.

The guidance committee has the responsibility for supervising the student's program of studies and preparation for the qualifying examination, and the administration and evaluation of the written and oral parts of the qualifying examination. The committee continues to serve until the qualifying examination has been passed, the dissertation topic approved, and the student is admitted to candidacy.

Changes in Guidance Committees

The Graduate School provides a Request for Change of Committee form which must be completed whenever a change is made in the guidance committee. All such changes must be made in advance of the qualifying examinations. Informal substitutions for either the written or oral parts of the qualifying examination are not permitted. Changes in the guidance committee are not permitted between the written and oral portions of the examination. The examinations must be scheduled at times when it is possible for all members of the committee, including the outside member, to participate. Changes made without the prior approval of the Graduate School are not recognized and may result in the invalidation of the examination.

A student may not change committee members after failing the qualifying examination the first time. The student must be reexamined by the same faculty on the same subject matter. If a faculty member is unable to serve on the committee (for example, due to serious illness, retirement, or transfer to another institution), the Graduate School must be notified in writing in advance of the rescheduled exam in order to approve the change. The faculty replacement must be approved by the Graduate School, and the student must file a Request for Change of Committee form well in advance of the exam.

Produced by the USC Division of Student Affairs, Office of University Publications, May 1, 1995
univpub@stuaff.usc.edu