Handbook for Ph.D. in Education

Welcome to the School of Educational Studies of Claremont Graduate University. This Handbook is a general guide through the Ph.D. process and should supplement ongoing discussions with your faculty advisor about your individualized course of study.

The fact that each Ph.D. program is individually designed offers you the opportunity to structure an educational experience that is uniquely suited to your own research, career interests, and goals. This handbook describes the structure and elements of the Ph.D. program in Educational Studies in a way that should facilitate degree completion. You will find it much easier to work with your advisor if you read the handbook because it explains policies, procedures, and practices, contains sample forms, and provides tips on how to succeed in doctoral examinations, dissertation, and much more.

If you are one of our many students with full-time job responsibilities, developing a network of faculty and student colleagues can be a challenge. One of the benefits of our small, flexible Ph.D. program is the increased opportunity for students to work closely with Educational Studies faculty and staff. Education-sponsored opportunities to meet with other students and faculty members are provided each semester.

You are encouraged to work closely with your faculty advisor(s) and faculty committee. In addition, the School of Educational Studies staff members are eager to assist you through the course of your program of study. During the admissions process you met with Cece Gaddy, the administrative director, who may be reached at 909-621-8317. To make an appointment with a faculty member, call the program secretary, Janet Alonzo, at 909-621-8075. To schedule a qualifying exam, contact Teresa Wilborn, program coordinator at 909-607-3693. The education office FAX number is 909-621-8734.

In cases of emergency or special needs please inform your advisor and the administrative director so we can work with you to complete your degree.

If you have any question regarding any aspect of the program or contents of this handbook, please let us know.

The following are components of the Ph.D. program in Educational Studies. Sections describing these program components and the procedures that lead to fulfilling degree requirements follow. The Ph.D. program requires:

Coursework and the Role of Your Faculty Advisor

Upon admission to the program, you were assigned an initial faculty advisor on the basis of research interests described in your application statement. The initial advisor�s role is an informal one, and if, after a course or two, you find your interests more compatible with those of another faculty member, you may ask that person to serve as your advisor. If the faculty member agrees, notify the administrative director of the change.

Upon your admission, you will want to schedule a meeting with your advisor to become acquainted and select courses for your initial term of study. Before registering each term, you should consult with your advisor regarding course selection and progress in your program. You may accomplish this by an appointment or by e-mail.

After successful completion of 16 to 24 units, you should file a �program of study.� The faculty member with whom you have been working closely will become the chair of your program committee. The faculty member becomes your new �advisor� by signing the program forms as �chair.� If your chair is a different faculty member than your prior advisor, please notify the administrative director so this change may be noted in the education records.

When you file a dissertation proposal, the faculty member with whom you expect to work most closely on the dissertation project, often, but not always, the program committee chair, becomes the dissertation committee chair and assumes the role of �advisor.� Please notify the administrative director of any change in advisor.

In other words, the advisor-advisee relationship is negotiated between the student and a faculty member based on mutual research interests. The administrative director is a resource person for questions about program and institutional requirements.

Transdisciplinary Course

�Transdisciplinary� scholarship is an approach to knowledge, research, and problem solving that takes the core ideas, methods, concepts, and history of several disciplines and uses them to study a broad issue or problem. Such an approach requires scholars to position their knowledge on a broad intellectual map, a process that goes well beyond interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary scholarship. At CGU, we are committed to working together in this new and exciting way, and we want all of our Ph.D. students to join us in this experience. To that end, all incoming Ph.D. students entering Fall 2004 and beyond, will take one 4-unit Transdisciplinary Core Course, or �T-course,� during the first two years of their enrollment. The T-courses, focused on a particular them, will be taught by senior CGU faculty, and each incoming doctoral student will be a member of a small tutorial group of about 12 students from different disciplines who will study aspects of a topic. The Spring 2005 theme is �Poverty, Capital, and Ethics.�

Written Quals, Research Tools, and Oral Qualifying Examinations

The purpose of qualifying examinations is to provide a method in which you demonstrate expertise in four areas of study. It is important to work with your committee concerning the purpose or focus of the quals, i.e. if you wish to assume a faculty teaching role, the purpose may be to develop specific areas of expertise.

At least three faculty members agree to serve on the program committee. One faculty member may supervise two qualifying areas. The chair is a member of the education faculty. One member of the committee may be drawn from the wider CGU graduate faculty, which includes professors from the other CGU fields and elected members from the other Claremont Colleges. The other elected members are listed in the CGU catalog.

The qualifying examination requirement is a two-stage process including written exams followed by a meeting of the committee and the student (the oral examination), as described below.

Written Qualifying Examinations

Four written qualifying examinations are required. Faculty members and alumni agree it is important to work toward completing these written exams as you proceed through course work, rather than delaying until after coursework is completed. Qualifying topics may be triggered by course content, and taking courses with several faculty members early in your program allows you to be acquainted with, and learn the research interests of professors with whom you may arrange qualifying exams. The �quals� are usually papers, a literature review on your research interest, or take-home exams. Written evidence of conference presentations or publishable materials demonstrating expertise in an area of research may serve as quals with a supervising faculty member�s approval. The fourth qual is often directly related to the dissertation and can be the basis for the literature review in the dissertation.

Research Tools

Two research tools are required. Their purpose is to assure proficiency in research methodologies most likely to be used in the dissertation project. The tools may be completed through course work in quantitative or other research methods with a grade of B+ or better, providing competency in a second language relevant to your doctoral research, or by special arrangement with a faculty member who agrees to supervise a project in interviewing, questionnaire design, or another relevant research methodology. Research tool verification is not automatic. You or the program coordinator submits a form for signature to the supervising faculty member when a research tool requirement has been completed. Please also remember that your dissertation topic may require further work on a research method, even if you have received the approval for two tools.

Both research tools are to be completed and recorded (posted on your academic record) prior to scheduling the qualifying oral examination.

Oral Qualifying Examination

There are several prerequisites to the qualifying oral exam: (1) residency accomplished, (2) all program forms on file, (3) two research tools completed and filed, (4) four written qualifying papers/exams approved by faculty members and filed with the program coordinator.

The student or the student�s program committee chair initiates scheduling of the oral through the program coordinator. The qual oral is a discussion and examination of the work completed in your Ph.D. program to this point, as demonstrated by the written qualifying examinations.

The oral qualifying examination consists of a presentation by you of your findings, followed by a question period. The committee will examine you only on the content of your quals.

Residency

The CGU residency requirement is 24 units within a 24-month time period (six courses within two years). Students taking only one course a semester can meet the requirement by taking one course in each of two consecutive Summer Sessions.

Doctoral Study

After you have completed your coursework or during any semester when you are not registering for a course, you must register for Doctoral Study (ED 499). This is the category that continues your registration, library privileges, etc. It is not necessary to register for Doctoral Study in the summer. Students who do not register in a given semester (except summer) will be assumed to have terminated their studies at CGU.

Independent Research, Tutorial Reading, and Dissertation Research

A maximum of 8 units of the Ph.D. program may be accomplished through Dissertation Research (ED495), Tutorial Reading (ED497), and/or Independent Research (ED498). Exceptions to this policy require approval from your program committee chair and the Education faculty dean.

Most general forms you will need as a student at CGU are located at the Registrar�s web site:http://www.cgu.edu/pages/179.asp. The forms are in a PDF format and you may download the forms.

The forms required for �filing your program� for your doctoral program include:

Students should go through the process of filing a program early in their academic program. During the first three terms, or after completion of approximately 16-24 units of course work (4-6 courses), a program should be developed in consultation with your academic advisor. The program includes a list of coursework taken and proposed, four qualifying examination areas and qualifying committee faculty, transfer of credit, and research tools. The program plan is submitted to the program committee faculty members for signature and filing in the Educational Studies office. The purpose of this process is to describe your individualized plan to the committee and to obtain their agreement that it includes the necessary components to satisfactorily fulfill degree requirements. The program committee is comprised of the three or four faculty members who will supervise the written qualifying examinations. The program plan may be modified during the course of your study, but the initial plan provides structure for your program.

A packet of forms for filing your program is also available in the Educational Studies office (and are included in this Handbook) and includes the Program Outline Form, Transfer of Credit Form, The Research Tools Form, and the Qualifying Exam Authorization form. When consultation with faculty has clarified program committee membership, qualifying examinations, and research tools, the forms may be completed and submitted to the program coordinator to be routed for faculty signatures. The faculty members with whom qualifying examinations will be written serve as the members of your program supervisory committee, and their signatures on the Program Outline and related forms indicate their approval of your proposed plan of study and research. Because changes in your qualifying exam areas can easily be made it is better to file your program even when some qualifying areas are still unclear.

Program Outline Form

On this form list the courses (both completed and projected), which will fulfill the 72-unit minimum required to complete the Ph.D. A maximum of 24 semester units may be transferred from an M.A. or other graduate level work; transfer units are listed on the Transfer form. On the Program form you also indicate how you will fulfill the research tool requirements, in what calendar period the residency was/will be completed, and when you expect to schedule the qualifying oral exam.

If you obtained the M.A. at Claremont Graduate University, the 24 units of M.A. work you wish to include for the Ph.D. are listed on the Program Outline rather than on the Transfer of Credit form.

Transfer of Credit Form

On this form list up to 24 graduate semester units (36 quarter units), from your M.A. degree or other graduate work at another institution, most relevant to your Ph.D. program. The units are listed by course number and name, grade, and institution. Your advisor may request a catalog description of the courses listed.

Qualifying Exam Authorization Form

The supervising faculty members� signatures are required next to the descriptions of your intended quals. Their signatures on the form indicate their agreement with your plan to fulfill the requirement for four written qualifying exams.

You should consult with your advisor as you identify qualifying areas. Your selection of qualifying areas may help guide you in identify courses to include in your academic program. While qualifying exams emerge individually in terms of areas of expertise, it is important to think about career goals as well. For example, for faculty careers identifying quals that reflect relevant academic areas is advisable.

If you wish to change your plan for research tools or written qualifying exams after program approval, the program coordinator will facilitate obtaining your committee members� written approval to do so. Verbal approval from your program advisor is sufficient if you wish to make course substitutions.

Research Tool Forms

Two research tools are required. Their purpose is to assure proficiency in research methodologies most likely to be used in the dissertation project. Both research tools are to be completed and recorded (posted on your academic record) prior to scheduling the qualifying oral examination.

This section outlines the steps needed to get from passing your qualifying examination to a signed dissertation.

Dissertation Proposal

After passing your qualifying exams and satisfactorily competing all degree requirements, you prepare a proposal for your dissertation and defend it before your program committee. The proposal document describes what you plan to do.

A proposal is presented at a proposal committee meeting consisting of the dissertation committee. The proposal meeting is a separate meeting from your oral qualifying exam. You should work closely with your advisor to make sure that all appropriate Institutional Review Board requirements have been considered during your proposal development.

In preparing your proposal, you should work closely with your dissertation advisor. The next section contains detailed guidelines for developing your proposal, and describes the mechanics of:

As implied, you are required to defend your proposal before your dissertation committee. The defense usually consists of an oral presentation of your proposal, followed by a question period. Immediately upon the completion of your defense, your committee will meet and determine whether or not you passed.

Once your proposal is accepted, the proposal is in effect an agreement between you and the faculty. If you accomplish what you promised to do in your proposal to the satisfaction of the faculty, you will be ready to defend your dissertation.

Advancement to Candidacy

You are formally advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. after successfully completing your proposal defense and having the Advancement to Candidacy Form signed by your dissertation committee.

Selecting a Doctoral Committee

The committee that supervises your dissertation is the same as the committee present for your proposal defense. The following principles apply to both the proposal defense and your dissertation committee with the exception of the outside examiner. Outside examiners are not needed at the proposal stage.

The committee consists of your dissertation chair and at least two other faculty members. All three faculty dissertation committee members must belong to the graduate faculty at CGU.

The fourth and final member of the committee may be a visiting examiner. The visiting examiner is usually a Ph.D.-holding member of a college or university faculty other than CGU with some knowledge of the dissertation topic. The visiting examiner may also be a practitioner with a Ph.D. This person is invited, with the approval of the chair of the dissertation committee, to participate in the oral defense. You may offer suggestions to your dissertation chair about possible candidates for visiting examiner, who need not be identified until shortly before the defense is to be scheduled. You are asked to provide a copy of the most recent draft of the dissertation to your visiting examiner prior to the oral defense.

Preparing a Dissertation

Your dissertation proposal is your road map to writing your dissertation. You will typically have completed almost all of the literature review other than adding new papers and books that appear while you are writing. Your hypotheses will have been formed and your research methods defined. The work now is to accomplish what you proposed.

The key to finishing a dissertation is working on it actively at a steady pace. If at all possible, take time off from other activities and devote full-time to the dissertation.

Do not work in isolation. Keep in regular touch with your dissertation advisor, reporting on progress and letting your advisor know of any difficulties you encounter. Prepare yourself to encounter difficulties. Very few dissertations go exactly as planned. Your advisor can help you over the rough spots and will work with you if you need to redirect or refocus your efforts.

Prepare drafts outlining your findings as you go along. It is better to accumulate the dissertation in pieces rather than trying to do all the work and writing at once. Most people who try to do it all at the end, experience great difficulty finishing their work. Also, people tend to forget some of the details of what they have done and often cannot recreate it later. Having your advisor read draft material as you go along is an excellent way of communicating your work.

The need to communicate cannot be over-stressed. You are expected to be able to write your dissertation in clear, easy-to-read and easy-to-understand style. The faculty will not accept a poorly written dissertation, no matter how brilliant the content.

Final Oral Defense

The next to the last step in obtaining the degree is the final oral defense. Three weeks before you defend your dissertation you must file your �Final Oral Examination� form with the program coordinator. A 350-word abstract must accompany your form. The program coordinator will establish a date and time convenient for you and your committee, and reserve a room for your defense. The defense takes place in front of your doctoral committee and your outside examiner, if you have one. Like the proposal defense, it consists of a presentation by you of your findings, followed by a question period. The committee will examine you only on the content of your dissertation.

Immediately upon completing your defense, your doctoral committee will meet and determine whether or not you passed. The members of the committee will sign the �Final Oral Examination� form.

Be prepared to bring your dissertation signature page with you when you defend. Have your committee members sign several copies.

On occasion, as a result of your final oral defense, you may be told by your doctoral committee to make specific modifications in your dissertation. Usually, if such changes are requested, you will be passed conditional upon changes being made in the final copy of your dissertation.

Final Administrative Steps

Introduction

The dissertation process begins when you enter the doctoral program. It begins slowly as you start to find interesting topics for original research that can be accomplished within a reasonable time. It increases in intensity as you narrow the potential questions. Finally, you choose a specific topic and prepare your proposal. A successfully defended proposal is, in effect, a contract between you and your committee on the work you need to do to complete the doctoral dissertation. This section provides some helpful hints on writing the dissertation proposal. A number of books provide a guide to the dissertation. References appear at the end of this section.

A key concept is that all proposal elements should be linked�research question, design method, analysis, should be aligned so that if you do what you say you will be able to answer the question. This is true for qualitative and quantitative studies.

Finding a Question

As you complete your coursework, you will develop interests and a set of questions that could lead to a dissertation research project. The doctoral seminars will give you insight into researchable questions of interest in education. You will have been reading the literature in a number of topic areas. It is a good idea to build a bibliographic database early in your program and to maintain it as you continue.

Writing the Proposal

The dissertation proposal should fully describe the question(s) you will study, the theoretical context and methods of research you will use, and the possible outcomes you expect from the study. You prepare the proposal in consultation with your dissertation chair and with the other members of your dissertation committee.

Dissertation proposals vary in length. Typical lengths are from 20 to 50 double spaced pages plus references. The proposal must include sections on the research question, the theory of the hypotheses, and the research design and methodology. It will also include a bibliography and a timetable for completion of the dissertation. Discussion of each of these sections appears below.

The Research Question

The purpose of the introduction is to tell the committee the contribution of your dissertation. It contains a clear statement of the research questions, their theoretical and/or practical significance, and a full definition of key concepts underlying the questions.

Writing this first section of the proposal is the crux of the entire dissertation process. It takes a great deal of effort to refine a topic or an object of curiosity into a researchable question. You need to ask: What makes the issue a problem? Why is it important enough to be studied? In what form is the question researchable?

After stating the basic research question you should identify the goals of the proposed research. These goals may take the form of possible answers to your research question, along with the analytic and substantive steps that will be necessary to research those answers. For example, if you wish to demonstrate that �X� is true, what else will you have to prove or demonstrate along the way?

Your initial formulation of the research question in your proposal will not represent your final thoughts on the subject. The only practical approach, however, is to write while you are reading, incorporating additional insights into later drafts of the proposal and, after the proposal defense, into the dissertation itself.

Theory and Hypotheses

A review of the theoretical and empirical literature relevant to your research question comes next. The purpose of this review is to indicate what is known (and what you know) about your question. This literature review should not be simply a bibliographical listing, but rather an essay within the proposal that demonstrates how the dissertation builds upon prior studies, as well as pointing out how prior work relates to what the dissertation is about.

Research Design and Methodology

The next section of the proposal describes the research methods you intend to use. Research methods are the means used to answer the research questions you have set for yourself. They include such techniques as surveys, unstructured interviews, archival searches, mathematical and statistical analyses, design, and so on. You should also include an explicit discussion of your research design. Elements of research design include site or subject selection, whether the analysis will track changes over time, and what kinds of controls you impose on your object of study.

Many students face potential problems of access to relevant data or information. Far from attempting to gloss over these problems, you should face them fully with your committee at the proposal stage. This will help you work through or around particular obstacles; it may also enable you to formulate alternative plans of analysis should some problem prove to be insurmountable.

You can include some aspects of the methodology for your dissertation as appendices to the proposal. You should, for example, include copies of data collection instruments such as questionnaires, as well as lists of data sources, interview respondents, or cases to be studied.

The over all purpose of the methodology and design section is to give you a specific plan of research and to convince your committee that you can competently select, acquire, and analyze the information necessary to your thesis. It is often a good idea to choose one or two members of your committee for expertise in relevant methodologies that you plan to use. It also helps if this person also has familiarity with your topics.

Institutional Review Board

In the interests of protecting the rights and welfare of individuals recruited for, or participating in research conducted by faculty or students under the auspices of Claremont Graduate University, the University maintains the Institutional Review Board (IRB). CGU policy requires that research with human subjects, regardless of funding support be reviewed by the IRB for the protection of Human Subjects (new referred to as participants). The guidelines (45 CFR, Part 46) followed are those set down by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The IRB represents research, academic and community interests. Forms for review, the procedures to be followed, and relevant Federal guidelines, can be obtained from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Harper Hall 152. The Application for Review Form is also available in the Educational Studies Office, Harper 202.

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews all research projects involving human participants. Research means a systematic investigation to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. It includes research development, testing, and evaluation, but does not typically include class-related exercises or demonstrations. Human participants are living individuals alone, whom an investigator obtains data through intervention or interaction with the individual or identifiable private information from some other source (e.g. a third party, medical records, etc.)

It is important to work closely with your dissertation chair to make sure you follow the correct procedures for review of your research methodology by the CGU Institutional Review Board. The IRB meets every month. IRB forms and documents should be included with your proposal.

Other Elements of the Proposal

The proposal must include an abstract 350 words (required by the registrar), a list of discussion of potential outcomes of your research, a timetable for completion that includes a work plan with tasks and milestones leading to completion of the dissertation, and a properly formatted bibliography of all relevant literature. The American Psychological Association guidelines will serve as your bibliography format.

Defending the Proposal

The purpose of the proposal defense is to provide a final check on your proposal. The defense gives you a chance to demonstrate the significance of the work you intend to do, your knowledge of the relevant literature, and your ability to carry out the research. It provides an opportunity for your committee to review your proposal and to make suggestions for improving it. Successful review of your proposal is the last step leading to advancement to candidacy.

The mechanics of the defense. When your dissertation committee chair has given you tentative approval of your dissertation proposal and you have shared a draft of the proposal with other committee members, a meeting is scheduled to discuss your proposal with the committee. To initiate the meeting, submit a 350-word dissertation proposal abstract to the program coordinator, who will forward the institutional Advancement to Candidacy Form to the dean for approval to schedule the meeting. After the meeting, when the dissertation committee members have signed the form, it is sent to the dean for signature with the proposal abstract attached. The signed form is filed with the registrar, advancing you to candidacy with an approved dissertation proposal.

It is CGU policy that the oral defense of the dissertation not be scheduled sooner than six months after advancement to candidacy. This means you must allow six months between your proposal approval and the date of your dissertation defense.

The completed and approved proposal forms a contract between the student and the dissertation committee. This contract implies that it is your responsibility to complete the proposed work on the dissertation as defined by the written proposal in the time period defined by your work plan. Unexpected developments and findings do occur. They may suggest a need to deviate from the proposal. Any such changes must be thoroughly discussed and renegotiated with your committee well in advance of undertaking them. Failure to do so could result in problems and surprises in the final dissertation defense.

Suggested Reading

Davis, G.B., & Parker, C.A. (1979). Writing the doctoral dissertation. Woodbury, NY: Barron�s Educational Series, Inc.

Locke, L.F., Spirduso, W.W., & Silverman, S.J. (1987). Proposals that work: a guide for planning dissertations and grant proposals (2nd ed.) Newbury Park CA: Sage Publications.

There are a number of other books on proposal and dissertation writing in the Honnold Reference Library under the general call letters: LB2369.

You will want to create a calendar for the completion of your dissertation, based on important deadlines listed in the CGU Bulletin. Several steps are described below and are followed with general guidelines for completion of each step. Specific dates are listed in the Bulletin. General timelines are provided here.

The general guideline is to provide your chair with a preliminary draft four months prior to the month of your anticipated graduation. This allows your chair time to read your draft, make suggestions, and for you to respond to the required changes.

Your entire committee should receive a polished draft three months prior to your anticipated graduation. This allows time for your committee to review your dissertation and suggest changes.

Filing Your Intent to Graduate

You may complete the Intent to Receive a Degree form and submit it to the registrar without being positive you will complete degree requirements during a given semester. However, if you do NOT submit the form you may not be allowed to graduate and participate in commencement exercises. There is no fee for filing, and if completion takes another semester, a new Intent Form must be submitted to the registrar�s office, meeting appropriate guidelines, for the following semester. Intent Forms are available on the CGU website or from the Registrar.

Scheduling Final Oral Defense

The program coordinator, upon notification by your committee that the dissertation draft is approved for defense, schedules the dissertation defense, conducted by the dissertation committee joined by a visiting examiner, if appropriate. Your committee may request revisions to the final dissertation manuscript during the oral defense.

Conducting Final Oral Defense

The program coordinator upon notification by your committee that the dissertation draft is approved for defense schedules the dissertation defense, conducted by the dissertation committee joined by a visiting examiner, if appropriate. The final oral consists of an overview of the dissertation and time for questions. Your committee may request revisions to the final dissertation manuscript during the oral defense.

Exact dates of institutional requirements for January, May, and August graduations are listed in the current CGU Bulletin available on line or in the Educational Studies office.

The dates suggested below are not official dates and are provided only as examples.

January degree - To meet the deadline for a January degree, the dissertation committee chair should receive a full preliminary draft by September 15, and the entire committee should receive a draft no later than October 15.

Steps to Take	Last Day for Action
Preliminary Draft to Chair	September 15
Polished Draft to Committee	October 15
File Intent to Receive a Degree Form	October 4
Schedule Final Oral Defense	November 7
Conduct Final Oral Defense	November 14
Completing All Degree Requirements	November 21

May degree -To meet a May degree deadline, the chair of the committee should receive a full preliminary draft no later than January 15, and the entire committee should have a polished draft by February 15.

Steps to Take	Last Day for Action
Preliminary Draft to Chair	January 15
Polished Draft to Committee	February 15
File Intent to Receive a Degree Form	February 15
Schedule Final Oral Defense	March 15
Conduct Final Oral Defense	April 1
Completing All Degree Requirements	April 11

September degree -To meet a September deadline, the chair of the committee should receive a full preliminary draft no later than May 15, and the entire committee should receive a draft no later than June 14.

Steps to Take	Last Day for Action
Preliminary Draft to Chair	May 15
Polished Draft to Committee	June 7
File Intent to Receive a Degree Form	July 1
Schedule Final Oral Defense	July 8
Conduct Final Oral Defense	July 15
Completing All Degree Requirements	July 22

The document titled �Information Concerning the Preparation and Submission of Doctoral Dissertations� may be obtained from the registrar�s web site on the CGU website or from the Education office. These guidelines include a facsimile dissertation title page and signature page, which are to be reproduced to match the dissertation font style and paper. Bring these pages, produced in final form, to your final oral examination. If no revisions to the dissertation are required, you may obtain all the required signatures; if revisions are necessary, you may still obtain the signature of the visiting examiner. The publication style manual utilized in the School of Educational Studies is the APA Publications Manual. Many other schools at CGU utilize the Turabian style manual. Consult with your advisor as you proceed in constructing your dissertation to assure proper citation and referencing.

Dissertation Abstract

A 350- work abstract of the dissertation accompanies the CGU final oral form sent to the dean to request approval to schedule the dissertation defense. It may be rewritten before being formally submitted with your dissertation. The abstract becomes a part of the dissertation document.

Visiting Examiner

A visiting examiner may join, but is not required, at the dissertation defense. A visiting examiner is usually a Ph.D.-holding member of a college or university faculty other than CGU with some knowledge of the dissertation topic. The visiting examiner may also be a practitioner with a Ph.D. This person is invited, with the approval of the chair of the dissertation committee, to participate in the oral defense. You may offer suggestions to your dissertation chair about possible candidates for visiting examiner, who need not be identified until shortly before the defense is to be scheduled. You are asked to provide a copy of the most recent draft of the dissertation to the visiting examiner prior to the oral defense.

The process to identify research opportunities is fairly informal in the School of Educational Studies. At any given time, several faculty members will be conducting active ongoing research projects that may provide graduate student research opportunities. Most commonly these opportunities are supported by a grant received by the faculty member for a specific project over a specific number of years. The number of research opportunities will vary from year to year, depending on the number of funded projects, the stage of activity and needs of the research project. As you take courses with faculty and become aware of the on-going research needs, and you are interested in assisting, you should express your interest to the faculty member. The faculty member will also advertise or make a general announcement to the student community when a new opportunity arises.

The Teacher Education program offers several opportunities each year for Faculty Associates. Faculty Associates play an important role in the teaching and mentoring of the M.A. Teacher interns. Information about these opportunities may be acquired from the Director of Teacher Education.

Course schedules for each semester are available via our web page or in the education office. The Registrar�s office publishes the entire schedule along with important dates from their web page. Students download the registration forms via the registrar�s web page. (www.cgu.edu/Registrar) and complete the form for the Educational Studies office director to process. Please note that courses outside the field of Education require approval by the appropriate department (i.e. Psychology, Management, History) before your registration may be processed. Once registered, Student Accounts will bill you accordingly.

ID Card

Sometime during the first two weeks of courses, stop by the Registrar�s office to have your photo identification card made. You cannot use the library, get a parking permit, or use the health and counseling facilities until you have a valid ID card. You must be registered before you can receive your ID card.

E-mail Accounts

The Office of Information Technology will assign you an e-mail account number. You will receive information about the account name and password and instructions on using your account shortly after your admission. All official email from Claremont Graduate University will be sent to your CGU email address. If you have another email account that you use (AOL, Yahoo, etc.) please forward your CGU account appropriately.

Subscribing to E-Mail Lists

In order to receive timely information about course listings and changes, registration, student events, and messages of general interest from the Education faculty and staff as well as from student services and the CGU administrative offices, be sure to check your CGU e-mail account. If you have any problems, contact the CGU Help Desk at helpdesk@cgu.edu.

There are essentially two types of mailing lists that may be of use to CGU students. First, there are CGU Mailing lists which may be related to a certain class, or may revolve around a certain issue or discussion. Second, there are an infinite number of external mailing lists that one can subscribe to which are maintained by several institutions, companies or private persons.

Subscribing to a CGU list

First you must know the name of the list to which you would like to subscribe. The Ph.D. student mailing lists are education2@lyris.cgu.edu and hieduc2@lyris.cgu.edu.

To subscribe send an email to the following address: lyris@lyris.cgu.edu

In the body of the email type �subscribe� and the name of the list you want to subscribe to. For instance, if the name of the list you want to join is �ed499� then the line in the body of the message should look like this: subscribe ed499.
Once you send the email you will be added as a subscriber to the list you designated in the body of the message.

Unsubscribe to a list

To unsubscribe just end an email to: lyris@lyris.cgu.edu. In the body of the message just type the command �unsubscribe� and the name of the list you want to discontinue. For instance, if the name of the list you want to leave is �ed499� the body should look like this: unsubscribe ed499. Once you send the email your name will be dropped from the list you designated.

Parking Permit

If you are planning to park your car in a parking lot on campus, please visit the Campus Safety office (located in Baxter Hall on the Scripps College campus, off of Eleventh and Dartmouth) to receive a parking permit. You will need to bring your driver�s license as well as your CGU I.D. card. Campus Safety will not issue a parking permit without a valid I.D. card. A permit is not required to park in the street, although students should not park on the west side of College Avenue because it is residential parking.

Course changes

Students wishing to add or drop a course, including tutorials, seminar, and research, after registration must obtain a change form from the Registrar�s office or download the form from the CGU website. If dropped courses result in lower tuition charges, refunds will be made in accordance with the University�s refund policy.

Withdrawal from Graduate Study

A student who needs to withdraw is requested to file a letter of withdrawal with the associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students. Students who do not register in a given semester will be considered as withdrawn and �withdrawn� will be noted on their transcript. It is understood that any student working with the faculty in any manner is a registered student.

Leave of Absence

The Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students of CGU grants leaves of absence for military service, family leave, or medical disability. Leaves must be requested in writing and are accompanied by supporting documents. Leaves of absence are normally granted for one semester and are not automatically renewed. For additional policy, please read the CGU Bulletin.

Reinstatement

Students who have withdrawn from the graduate programs or exceeded institutional time limits, and who have not been dropped for scholastic or disciplinary reasons, may request reinstatement. Such requests are to be submitted to the appropriate faculty Dean/director, and should be accompanied by a detailed account of past scholarly activity and a program outline, including a plausible timetable for completing all remaining degree requirements. See reinstatement policy in the CGU Bulletin. If time has gone by since your last registration and coursework, the School of Education may require additional coursework.

A nonrefundable reinstatement fee, itemized under �other fees� in the �graduate expenses� section of the Bulletin, is required.

Time Limits and Extensions of Time

The CGU time limit to complete the Ph.D. is seven years. With the transfer of 24 units of prior graduate work, the time limit is reduced to six years. You will be notified the semester before your time limit expires by the registrar. With your advisor�s approval and the approval of the dean a first time extension of two years may be granted. To apply for an extension, complete the CGU extension form during the semester in which your time limit expired. Subsequent extensions may be granted for one year with the approval of your advisor and the Education chair. A timetable outlining your plan for completing all outstanding degree requirements is attached to the Petition for Extension and submitted to the administrative director who obtains the appropriate faculty and dean�s signatures.

Incomplete Grades

With the approval of the course instructor, a student may take an �Incomplete� in a course. A student who has received an Incomplete will be required to make up the work by such time as is stipulated by the instructor after consultation with the student, but in no case later than one calendar year from the time at which the work was originally due unless a shorter time period is stipulated by the faculty member. It is advisable to negotiate a completion date soon after the course is completed. If the Incomplete is not made up within the specified time, it will become a permanent part of the student�s record (PI) as an incomplete.

Incompletes MAY impact fellowship support. A student may carry no more than two incompletes to receive a fellowship award.

Fellowships and Financial Aid

Students must reapply yearly for School of Educational Studies fellowships, and applications are due by February 15 for the following academic year. Application forms are available in the Educational Studies program office by mid-January or may be downloaded from the CGU website www.cgu.edu. Please attach pages one and two of your most recent Federal Tax Return. On the form, indicate the number of units of study you plan to enroll for summer, fall and spring.

Fellowships are usually awarded on the basis of the number of courses to be taken during the summer, fall and spring semesters. A committee of the faculty considers both merit and need in their recommendations to the Dean.

Fellowship support may not be used after courses are completed. When not paying tuition for courses or research, a student is required to register for Doctoral Study (ED 499) and to pay the doctoral study fee each semester until all requirements for the degree have been completed.

Contact the Office of Student Financing (909-607-3377) or visit their web site at www.cgu.edu/pages/1161.asp to inquire about loans and to review resource lists for off-campus scholarship possibilities. The Education office and financial aid have current lists of searchable web sites for additional sources.

Minimum GPA

Ph.D. students must maintain at least a 3.5 GPA to remain in good standing in the program. A student falling below this level will have one semester to meet this requirement. Thereafter, the student may be withdrawn from the program.

CGU uses the following grading system:

A+ A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B = 3.0
B- = 2.7
C+ = 2.3
C = 2.0
C- = 1.7
U = 0

Dissertation Grant Application

CGU sponsors a yearly dissertation grants competition. Students who wish to apply for the grants, which require written statements of support from the student�s dissertation committee, must have their proposals approved by their dissertation committee members no later than one month ahead of the institutional deadline for submission of the application. The application deadline is approximately the first week in April.

The Libraries of the Claremont Colleges

The Claremont Colleges are served by a centrally administered system of four libraries whose holdings are available to all members of the academic community. Honnold/Mudd Library houses the main social sciences and humanities collections; Denison Library, on the Scripps campus, houses collections in the humanities and fine arts; Seeley G. Mudd Science Library, on the Pomona campus, and Sprague Library, on the Harvey Mudd campus, houses collections in the sciences and engineering.

The Libraries have extensive journal collections and currently receive approximately 6.000 periodical and other serials. There are many special collections and electronic resources are growing. Through the World Wide Web, it is possible to search the Blais on-line catalog or any of hundreds of databases mounted locally or available through the services such as Lexis-Nexis.

The Libraries offer Interlibrary Loan service and maintain partnerships that provide access to books, articles, and other materials not held in our collections.

The Libraries offer workshops to assist students in learning how to use library resources, including search tools. To learn more about the Library, visit the web site at http://libraries.claremont.edu.

After word

We welcome your suggestions for revisions to this handbook to enhance clarify and an understanding for future students.