Doctoral students must complete: 1) a 6-hour theory core; 2) 15 hours of required and elective research methods courses; 3) 24-hours in their major areas of study, including at least one independent research course; and, 4) 12-hours of dissertation work. Students coming into the program without previous course work in communication studies must complete additional requirements. Details and explanations of these and other requirements for the doctoral degree may be found in the department’s handbook for graduate students, which is available online at the Web address: http://www.usm.edu/communication-studies.
The student takes rigorous written and oral comprehensive examinations and submits and defends a scholarly dissertation pertaining to the area he or she elects to emphasize (see section on General Requirements and Regulations ). A 3.0 GPA is required for graduation.
Residency
Students must meet the residency requirements specified in this Bulletin.
Responsible Conduct of Research Training
All faculty holding Regular or Associate graduate faculty status, must complete RCR training modules required by the Graduate School and their departments. All graduate students must complete the RCR training modules required by the Graduate School and their departments the first semester they are enrolled in graduate school. The RCR policy and training information are found on the Graduate School web page – www.usm.edu/graduateschool. Contact the Dean of the Graduate School if you have any questions regarding the policy of training information.
Plan of Study. Students must submit their signed, official Plan of Study Form to the Graduate School by the end of the second semester they are enrolled. The Plan of Study Forms are available at www.usm.edu/graduateschool/planofstudy.php - click on the “Plans of Study” link.
Continuous Enrollment Requirement: Students must meet the requirement specified in the front section of this Bulletin.
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