Graduate Catalog: 2012-2013 - Alabama A&M University

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS FOR THEDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHYAll students accepted into the Ph.D. program aregranted a provisional admission until they pass thequalifying examination. Candidates who have somedeficiencies in their background but who meet thegeneral requirements of the department and theGraduate School for admission must completeadditional coursework recommended by theDepartmental Graduate Studies Committee with aminimum GPA of 3.00, at which time they shall beallowed to take the qualifying exam. Deficiencycoursework does not count toward the degreerequirements. Upon the successful completion ofall deficiency coursework and the qualifying exam,regular admission will be granted. Acomprehensive examination must be completedwithin five years of the student's initial enrollmentand after completing at least 80 percent of thecoursework and completion of languagerequirements. A dissertation proposal will becompleted with the guidance of the advisorycommittee. Admission to candidacy is an indicationof completion of all coursework, successful passingof written and oral comprehensive examinations,and having filed an approved dissertation proposalwith the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.Candidacy marks the achievement in which thestudent's major attention is to focus on thedissertation efforts. Each Ph.D. student mustcomplete the following program requirements:1. A total of 28 credit hours (minimum GPA of3.00) beyond the Master's level at the 600 levelor above, including 9 semester hours or more atthe 700 level, are required. An additional twocredit hours of FAS 797 Seminar are requiredof all doctoral students.2. A reading knowledge of at least one foreignlanguage in which there exists a significantbody of literature relevant to the major field ofstudy or at least 3 semester hours of a scientificcomputer programming language. The foreignlanguage requirement is satisfied by a grade of"B" or better in a 200-level or higher languagecourse.3. A meaningful teaching experience in which thePh.D. student works under the supervision of afaculty member in the regular conduct of theorganization, delivery and evaluation of acourse is required.4. Successful completion of written and oralcomprehensive examinations after completingat least 80 percent of the prescribed coursework.5. Completion of a doctoral dissertation involvinga minimum of 12 semester hours of dissertationresearch on a topic determined through thecollaborative efforts of the major advisor andthe graduate student advisory committee. Theeffort must be scholarly and make a significantcontribution to the field of study.6. A final oral examination is required and mustbe taken at least two weeks prior to graduation.The examination will be concerned primarilywith the candidate's dissertation but mayinclude other aspects of the student's graduatework.Program Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree Sem.Required Program*HoursNRE 530 Principles of Experimentation 3FAS 657 Analytical Techniques &3InstrumentationFAS 797 Seminar 2FAS 799 Research for Ph.D. 12NRE 502 Scientific Writing 3Area Concentration Hours 23Total 46PH.D. students must take at least 23 credit hoursfrom this section, including 9 hours or more atthe 700 levelArea Content CoursesFAS 605 Special Problems 2-3FAS 611 Food Toxicology 3FAS 615 Food Enzymes 3FAS 617 Food Flavors and Pigments 3FAS 632 Monogastric Nutrition and 3MetabolismFAS 640 Product Development and3ResearchFAS 642 Minerals and Vitamins in3Foods and NutritionFAS 644 Proteins in Foods and3NutritionFAS 646 Carbohydrates and Lipids in 3Foods and NutritionFAS 654 Food Microbiological3TechniquesFAS 657 Analytical Techniques and 3InstrumentationForeign language or computer programminglanguage requirement (200 level or higher), and NRE502 Scientific Writing (3 hrs) on recommendation ofgraduate advisor also required.60