Program Requirements for Ph.D.

Overview

The doctoral program in Forest Science is intended for persons seeking careers in teaching and research. The program emphasizes a strong research specialization while maintaining an understanding and appreciation of broader management and resource-use issues. The thesis and associated research play a dual role by enabling the student to develop in-depth knowledge of specific technical areas, while at the same time gaining experience in conceptualizing, planning, conducting, and reporting a major research project.

Applying for Admission

Applicants for the Ph.D. degree must meet requirements of the Graduate School in addition to those of the Department. Students are encouraged to complete a Master's degree before entering the program, but this requirement may be waived in some circumstances (see Proceeding Directly to the Ph.D.).

Graduate Advisory Committee Composition

The Ph.D. graduate advisory committee is composed of a major professor, a minor professor (if a minor is declared), a Graduate Council Representative, and two or more faculty members from the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, for a total of five or more members.

Degree Requirements for Ph.D.

For Ph.D. students, the program must include at least 36 credits of regular course work. Blanket courses (those with a "0" as the middle digit of the course number) cannot be counted toward this 36-credit requirement. At least 108 graduate credits are required, including 36 thesis credits and the 36 credits of regular course work. No more than 15 blanket course credits, other than thesis and seminar, may be included toward the 108 credits. A minor is optional in Ph.D. programs, and more than one minor may be declared. If a minor is declared, it must consist of at least 18 credits (15 credits for an integrated minor).

Both the M.S. and Ph.D. programs offer course work and thesis research in several areas of specialization. The courses listed in these specializations are offered as a suggested curriculum and may be amended by the student's graduate advisory committee.

Areas of Specialization:

Competency Requirements

The department requires few specific courses for completion of a degree. Instead, it requires competency in several areas, which may be achieved through a variety of means. It is the responsibility of the student, major professor, and graduate advisory committee to see that a student's program leads to satisfactory competence in the required areas.

For all students, the committee members who are Forest Ecosystems and Society faculty determine whether the departmental requirements - including all competency requirements - have been met. This determination is made by the Graduate Program Coordinator at the preliminary oral examination for Ph.D. students. This responsibility requires active evaluation of the student's needs by the major professor and graduate advisory committee early in the student's tenure in the department. The department provides a Competency Requirement form, and the graduate advisory committee determines whether competencies have been fulfilled.

Thesis

Students pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Forest Science are expected to conduct creative and scientifically sound research leading to a defensible thesis and scientific publications. This entails careful articulation and testing of well conceived and clearly stated hypotheses. M.S. and Ph.D. candidates work under the direction of their major professor and other qualified faculty members. However, Ph.D. candidates are expected to be more independent, and capable of conceiving and directing original research with a lesser amount of guidance. Collaboration on projects or experiments of mutual interest and significance is expected. For Ph.D. candidates, the thesis is the capstone of the student's graduate program and should represent the student's best effort.

Students and their major professors, in cooperation with the student's graduate advisory committee, select appropriate topics for thesis research. By the fifth term of residency for Ph.D. students, a thesis research plan must be filed with the department. This plan, which may be completed as part of FS 521, Natural Resource Research Planning, should include clear objectives (for testing specific hypotheses) and a design and methods section appropriate for the planned analysis. The major professor reviews and may aid in the design of the plan. Approval from the student's committee, as well as from a departmental statistical consultant, is recommended. The plan may be subsequently amended, based upon experience gained through research and further education.

The Forest Ecosystems and Society faculty encourages graduate students to prepare their theses in a style suitable for submission to a journal. For some theses, this may result in more than one manuscript. If the manuscript form is used, the thesis must include separate Introduction and Conclusions chapters. The student's committee may require that additional material be incorporated into a Literature Review or Appendices.

Examinations

Examinations are used to determine whether a student meets University and departmental requirements. These examinations are (a) the departmental written preliminary examination, (b) the oral preliminary examination, and (c) the final examination.

A Ph.D. student must pass the comprehensive written and oral preliminary examinations before advancing to candidacy. The graduate advisory committee shares responsibility for ensuring that all university and departmental rules and standards are met, but the major professor is responsible for determining when the student is adequately prepared for formal examinations.

For both the oral preliminary examination and the final examination, more than one negative vote from the graduate advisory committee means that the student has failed the exam. When a student fails, the committee may recommend permitting or not permitting re-examination. No more than two re-examinations are allowed by the Graduate School, although the department may allow fewer than two re-examinations.