Time Limit
The doctoral degree must be completed within ten years of the date of admission. Within this time frame, a doctoral candidate is expected to make regular and consistent progress, which is subject to periodic review. Extensions may be granted by the Program Chair and document via the exception form. Denied extensions can be appealed to the
Academic Policies Committee.
Enrollment Requirements and Leave of Absence
It is expected that doctoral students will be continuously registered until the completion of their degrees. When unforeseen circumstances require a student to temporarily withdraw from his or her doctoral studies, the student must submit a Request for a Leave of Absence form in the first quarter of becoming inactive (see the
Doctoral Handbook). A leave of absence may be approved for up to one year. Please note that doctoral candidates who are granted a leave of absence must still complete the program within the original eight-year time limit.
Doctoral candidates who have been inactive for four consecutive quarters and are not on an approved leave will be considered withdrawn from the doctoral program. Students who wish to be reinstated must file a re-entry form to the Office of the Registrar and receive approval from the Program Chair (documented on the exception form initiated by the advisor).
Transfer of Credit
Transfer credit for 12 semester hours of post-master’s coursework from NLU or other institutions offering graduate degrees is approved on a case-by-case basis by the chairs of the doctoral programs. Approval for transfer credit beyond 12 semester hours may be obtained through petition to the Academic Policies Committee. Credit for courses taken more than six years prior to the time the student was admitted to the doctoral program must also be approved through petition to the Academic Policies Committee.
Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) Credits
The doctoral program requirements may be reduced by a maximum of 33 semester hours when a student has completed an Ed.S. degree and, as part of that program, has completed course or internship requirements that are also Ed.D. requirements. For doctoral candidates completing Ed.S. degrees at institutions other than NLU, the reduction must not exceed 18 semester hours.
Eligible students should petition the chair of the doctoral program to which they have been admitted. Requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine the number of semester hours by which the doctoral program requirements may be reduced. Final approval for the program reduction must be obtained from the doctoral program chair and submitted to the registrar's office.
Grade Policies/Credits
Programs will monitor student academic progress at the end of each term. Any student who receives one or more grades of “C” or lower in any program, research or doctoral core courses in any one term will be placed on probation in coordination with NLU's Academic Advising Center. Doctoral students on probation, their respective program chairs, their dissertation committee chairs, and their Graduate Academic Advisor will receive official probation notification from the NCE Doctoral Office. Students will then be provided appropriate resources, academic counseling and information pertaining to recovery from probation. Probation continues until the student completes all doctoral coursework. A student who receives one or more grades of “C” or lower in two terms will be evaluated as a candidate for withdrawal from the program. If the student has already registered for the next term, the student will be charged tuition in accordance with published University policy. Students may appeal such decisions to the individual program chair and then to the Academic Policies Committee following the University Policy on Academic Appeals. Students must have a grade point average of 3.0 or higher to fulfill their degree requirements. Courses in which the student has received grades of “D” or lower will not apply toward the degree.
A student who accumulates one or more in-progress/incomplete (“I”) grade for two consecutive terms will not be allowed to register for a subsequent term until in-progress course requirements are completed and the “I” grades are updated. When the “I” grades for at least one quarter are updated to letter grades and posted, the student should contact his or her program chair to have the registration hold lifted. “I” grades are issued following the In-Progress Grade Policy.
Comprehensive Qualifying Examinations
In most programs, a doctoral student must successfully complete a comprehensive examination prior to beginning formal work on his or her dissertation. Each of the doctoral programs determines the format and scope of the comprehensive exam. Students must register for CCD 697 Comprehensive/Qualifying Doctoral Exam Continuation for each term in which they have no other registration, but have not yet passed their comprehensive exams. At least two faculty members and the program chair (or designee) of the respective program evaluate the exam. The program chair notifies the student in writing concerning the results of the exam. The program chair will inform the Office of the NCE Dean and the student’s advisor of the final outcome. Once a student has passed the comprehensive examination he or she is eligible to register for ESR 604 Dissertation Proposal Seminar and CCD 699 Dissertation. If a student fails the comprehensive examination, the student will not be allowed to proceed to dissertation.
Doctoral Core, Research and Dissertation
Substitutions for the doctoral core, research and dissertation courses must be approved by the program chair. In instances where a course is replaced, transfer credit or substitution of other approved coursework must be used to attain the minimum number of hours for the degree.
Dissertation Requirements
Doctoral students should demonstrate the competencies associated with a traditional dissertation including:
- The ability to analyze, synthesize, interpret and discuss the implications of existing literature on a well-defined question
- The ability to formulate, pose and justify a researchable problem or issue
- The ability to develop an appropriate research design and methodology
- The ability to interpret, analyze, synthesize and discuss the assumptions, contributions and limitations of existing as well as one’s own research
Continuous registration is required until the written dissertation is complete. Students who have been inactive for three consecutive quarters and are not on an approved leave will be considered withdrawn from the doctoral program. Students who wish to be reinstated must file a re-entry form with the Office of Admissions and Records and submit a written petition to the Academic Policies Committee stating the reason for their inactivity.
Dissertation Completion
Students planning to complete all doctoral requirements prior to the June, September, December, or April degree dates must adhere to the following time-line:
- Final dissertation hearing must take place no fewer than four weeks prior to the degree date
- Upon receipt of a completed Dissertation Signature Page, doctoral students submit an electronic copy of their dissertation to the Library via Digital Commons at NLU (Instructions are found here: http://libguides.nl.edu/dc/dissertations).
- Students obtain approval from the program chair to schedule the final hearing, submit the Form to Schedule Dissertation Approval Meeting, and submit a copy of the final document to the Director of Doctoral Program and the Dean’s Representative, no fewer than three weeks prior to the final hearing date
- Students should plan to complete a final draft of the dissertation and obtain approval for scheduling a final hearing no fewer than seven weeks prior to the degree date
- Students wishing to participate in June commencement or hooding ceremonies must have their final hearing on or before April 30
- Students who have their hearing after the April 30 deadline will be invited to participate in the June commencement or ceremony the following year
Doctoral Handbook
Additional procedures and policies regarding the doctoral programs are included in the Doctoral Handbook. Students are to consult both the University Course Catalog and the Doctoral Handbook to determine program requirements. The Handbook is available on the NCE website at
http://www.nl.edu/ncetools/nceintegrateddoctoralprograms/.