Admission: Students may be admitted to a Doctor of Philosophy program if they hold a bachelor's or a master's degree, or equivalent, from an approved academic institution. Admission is contingent upon recommendation by a department, approval by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, and the availability of: suitable supervision; suitable courses of study; and adequate library, laboratory and other facilities. Students are considered as provisional candidates until they have successfully completed their candidacy examination (see (5) below).

Residence Requirements: See §203.6.

Language Requirement: A department may require a student to demonstrate a knowledge of one or more languages in addition to English. Where this is the case, the student must satisfy the language requirement before being allowed to take the candidacy examination. See also §203.7.

Supervisory Committee: The student's program shall be under the direction of a supervisory committee of at least three faculty members who shall normally be full-time and be appointed by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research upon the recommendation of the department. The chair of the committee shall be the faculty member under whose supervision the student is carrying out the research. Where appropriate, one or more members of the committee may be chosen from a department other than that in which the research is being carried out. The committee shall arrange for the necessary examinations and for adjudication of the thesis. See also §203.10.

Candidacy Examination: Students in doctoral programs are required to pass a candidacy examination in subjects relevant to their general field of research. The candidacy exam is an oral examination; some departments may also require that students take comprehensive written examinations prior to the candidacy exam.

The candidacy examination is normally held within two years of the commencement of the program at a time when most, if not all, of the required coursework is completed and the thesis started or well defined. The candidacy examination must be passed no less than six months prior to taking the final oral examination.

The candidacy examination is arranged by the supervisor (or other officially designated staff member), and not the student, ensuring that it is scheduled and held in accordance with Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research regulations.

The candidacy shall be chaired by a faculty member who is not the supervisor but is a member of the student's home department. Each department shall establish a mechanism by which individuals are assigned this responsibility. The chair is responsible for moderating the discussion and directing questions and may participate in the questioning. If the chair is not a member of the committee, the chair does not vote or sign the thesis. It is the chair's responsibility to ensure that departmental and Faculty regulations relating to candidacy examinations are followed.

Each department is responsible for establishing detailed examination procedures for the candidacy examination. These procedures should be made available to staff and students in the department and to the Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.

Students must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the examining committee that they possess: (a) an adequate knowledge of the discipline and of the subject matter relevant to the thesis; and (b) the ability to pursue and complete original research at an advanced level. During the candidacy examination only minor attention should be given to the work done on the thesis.

This examination shall be under the direction of the supervisory committee to which two other full-time members of the teaching staff have been added. At least one member of the examining committee shall be a person from a department other than that in which the research is being carried out. It is the responsibility of the department to nominate the committee members and forward their names to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research for approval at least three weeks in advance of the candidacy examination. The Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, (or the Dean's designate) may participate fully in the examination. Persons other than the examiners may attend only with the permission of the Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, or the chair of the committee. Visitors may not participate in the committee's discussion concerning its decision on the student's performance.

If the student successfully completes the candidacy examination, the department is responsible for sending to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research for approval a completed report of candidacy examination.

If the student is not successful in the examination, the department will inform the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in writing (copy to the student) of the outcome of the examination and the departmental recommendations for the student's program. Three outcomes are possible: 1) Pass; 2) Conditional Pass; and 3) Fail. Adjournment is not an option. Consult the Graduate Program Manual for more details, including options available in the event of a failed candidacy examination.

Thesis Requirement: Candidates shall present their research results in a thesis which satisfies the requirements of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research as set out in the Regulations and Guide for the Preparation of Theses. The material must be of sufficient merit to meet the standards of reputable scholarly publications.

Final Examining Committee: Before the thesis is forwarded to the external examiner, PhD supervisory committee members shall each declare in writing to the supervisor either that the thesis is of adequate substance to warrant that the student proceed to the final examination or that the thesis is unsatisfactory and that the student should not be allowed to proceed to the final oral examination.

Each doctoral thesis shall be reviewed, and the final oral examination conducted, by an examining committee which includes the supervisory committee and at least two other examiners. At least five examiners shall be in attendance at the examination. Because the external examiner is normally not present at the examination, at least one of these five examining committee members must have an arm's length relationship with the candidate. One member of the examining committee shall be from a department other than that in which the student is registered. In addition there must be an external examiner from outside the University of Alberta who is a recognized authority in the student's disciplinary area and an experienced supervisor of doctoral students. The proposed external examiner must be in a position to review the thesis objectively and to provide a critical analysis of the work and the presentation. It is therefore essential that the external examiner not have a current or previous association with the student, the supervisor, or the department which would hinder this type of objective analysis. For example, a proposed examiner who has recently been associated with the student as a research collaborator or co-author would not be eligible. A proposed external examiner must not have had recent association with the doctoral candidate's supervisor (as a former student, supervisor, or close collaborator, for instance). A proposed external examiner should not normally be nominated more frequently than once every two years. External examiners are nominated by the department and approved and invited by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. Supervisors who are in doubt about the eligibility of a potential external examiner are urged to call the Associate Dean in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research to review the case before approaching the external. It is the responsibility of the department to recommend the committee members and forward their names to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research for approval at least three weeks in advance of the final oral examination, however, the request for the external examiner shall normally be submitted for Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research approval at least two months prior to the examination. The external examiner shall receive the thesis from the department at least four weeks before the examination.

The Department must notify the examiners of the examination date and should supply them with a copy of the thesis at least three weeks in advance (four weeks for the external), so that they may have adequate time to appraise the thesis.

The final oral examination shall be chaired by a faculty member who is not the supervisor but is a member of the student's home department. Each department shall establish a mechanism by which individuals are assigned this responsibility. The chair is responsible for moderating the discussion and directing questions and may participate in the questioning. If the chair is not a member of the committee, the chair does not vote or sign the thesis. It is the chair's responsibility to ensure that departmental and Faculty regulations relating to final oral examinations are followed.

Final Oral Examination: A final oral examination, based largely on the thesis, shall be conducted by the examining committee. The final oral examination is arranged by the supervisor (or other officially designated staff member), and not the student, who ensures that it is scheduled and held in accordance with Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research regulations.

Each department is required to establish detailed examination procedures for final oral examinations. These procedures should be made available to staff and students in the department and to the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.

Members of the staff of the student's major department, as well as members of the Council of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (or their alternates), have the right to attend but should so notify the chair of the examining committee. Other persons may attend with special permission of the Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, or the chair of the examining committee.

The Dean (or the Dean's designate) of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, may participate fully in the examination. Persons who are not members of the examining committee (a) may participate in the questioning only by permission of the chair of the committee, and (b) are not permitted to participate in the discussion of the student's performance and must withdraw before such discussion commences.

If a final oral examination is adjourned, the examining committee shall decide upon a date for reconvening the examination and shall inform the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research and the student in writing. The final date set for reconvening shall be no later than six months from the date of the examination. A final decision of the examining committee must be made within six months of the initial examination.

Immediately after the examination, the departments should advise the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research of the examining committee's decision on a Report of Completion of Final Oral Examination form.

Several years of successful teaching and an MEd degree or its equivalent are prerequisites for admission into the EdD program.

The program emphasizes breadth in educational theory, practice and research rather than intensive specialization in a particular area.

The student's program may make provision for supervised field experience.

The minimum period of continuous residence is 12 months of full-time study at the University of Alberta, unless otherwise noted in the departmental listing in §205.