2013–2014 The Bulletin - USS at Tufts - Tufts University

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences >
letter detailing the results of these negotiations
must be on file with the graduate office.
Tufts will not award the doctoral degree to
students whose dissertation research or writing was
performed at another institution, unless they were
under the direct supervision of a Tufts-based faculty
member. (See residence requirement restrictions
below.)
Credit for work at another institution taken
concurrently with studies in the graduate school,
including courses taken elsewhere during the
summer, must receive approval from the student’s
department prior to registration for such courses.
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the
School of Engineering approve all final transfers
of credit. Students who formally cross-register in
regular semesters with Boston College, Boston
University, and/or Brandeis University through the
consortium do not need prior approval. Also, the
number of courses taken through the consortium is
not subject to the limits on transferred credits as
stated above.
Residence Requirement
The minimum requirement is three academic years
of study and research completed with distinction, of
which at least one year of full-time study must be
spent in residence at Tufts. All work must be
completed within seven years. Employees of Tufts
University are not eligible for doctoral-level tuition
remission and would normally be unable to satisfy
the full-time study requirement. Petitions for
extension of time require approval of the Graduate
School of Arts and Sciences and the School of
Engineering. Graduate-level courses taken
elsewhere prior to matriculation may be counted to
a maximum of one year of credit toward the
residence requirements. One year of the residence
requirement is automatically satisfied by a master’s
degree obtained from an accredited college or
university.
Foreign Language
Some departments require demonstration of
proficiency in one or two approved foreign languages.
Consult departmental program descriptions for
specific requirements. The schedule for proficiency
exams is available from the graduate arts and
sciences dean’s office.
Qualifying Examinations
A student who has completed the major part of his
or her systematic study and has met the language
requirement (if any) will, subject to the approval
of the department or committee supervising the
program, take a qualifying examination. This
examination, which may be written, oral, or both,
is described in the statement of each department’s
program in this bulletin.
Dissertation
A major portion of work toward a doctoral degree
consists of the preparation of a dissertation chosen
with the approval of the department concerned
and written under its supervision. The dissertation
must demonstrate high attainment in a special
branch of knowledge, the original development of
an appropriate subject, and independent research.
The dissertation must be accepted by a faculty
committee. The examining committee for doctoral
candidates in Arts and Sciences should be composed
of four members—three from the department
with which the student has conducted his/her
research (or relevant disciplines at Tufts) and one
from outside the university. The School of Engineering
doctoral examining committees consist of a
minimum of four members with one member from
a different Tufts department and one member from
outside the university. Dissertations are deposited
in the Library of Congress through the University
Microfilms, Inc. system.
Recommendation for the Degree
Candidates for the doctoral degree must submit an
application to graduate and complete the graduate
exit survey. The candidate cannot be recommended
to the faculty for a degree unless the application to
graduate is completed, endorsed by the department,
and submitted to Student Services in Dowling
Hall. See the Graduate Student Handbook for
details.
Interdisciplinary Doctorate
The Interdisciplinary Doctorate (ID) was established
to accommodate students interested in
pursuing doctoral-level studies in areas that cannot
be accommodated in the other doctoral programs
within the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
and the School of Engineering. The admissions
committee considers applications from those who
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