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Graduate
Student Info: Deadlines, Requirements, Forms, etc.
For
the most up to date information, please check the Graduate
School Website. Additional rules and regulations vary
from department to department, so please contact your Director Of
Graduate Studies for more info.
Qualifying
Examinations:
In
the Mechanical Engineering Department, PhD. students are required
to take a qualifying examination sometime during their first two
years of study. Please contact your advisor and Departmental
Director Of Graduate Studies for the additional information and
appropriate forms.
Beginning
with the entering class of Fall 2003, all doctoral students at
Duke University will be required to complete a series of training
sessions in the Responsible
Conduct of Research. These sessions will consist of two
components: the first is comprised of a mandatory fall workshop.
All students in the Bio-Medical Sciences will attend a required
introductory workshop at the Duke University Marine Laboratory;
students in the Humanities and Social Sciences will attend a
similar introductory workshop on the main campus, as will students
in non-medical Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences and
Engineering programs. To meet the number of hours required for RCR
training, all Ph.D. students will subsequently attend a minimum
number of supplementary and more focused workshops in individual
topics related to Responsible Conduct of Research over the course
of their first three years at the University. The number and
content of such worskhops will be published at the beginning of
each semester.
Preliminary
Examinations:
Ordinarily
a student registered for full-time study should pass the
preliminary examination by the end of the third year. A student
who has not passed the examination by this time must file with the
Dean of the Graduate School a statement, approved by the Director
of Graduate Studies in the major department, explaining the delay
and setting a date for the examination. Except under unusual
circumstances, extension will not be granted beyond the middle of
the fourth year. As early in a student's course of study as
is practicable and not later than two months before the
preliminary examination, one's committee approval form
must be submitted for approval. The committee consists of at
least four members, with one member designated as chair. This
committee should include at least three graduate faculty members
of the major department and, usually, at least one from outside
the department.
The
doctoral dissertation should be submitted and accepted within
two calendar years after the preliminary examination is passed.
Should the dissertation not be submitted and accepted within four
years after the examination, the candidate may, with the approval
of the committee and the Director of Graduate Studies, petition
the Dean of the Graduate School for an extension of up to one
year. If this extension is granted and the dissertation is not
submitted and accepted by the new deadline, the student may be
dropped from candidacy. The student must then pass a second
preliminary examination to be reinstated as a candidate for the
degree. In such cases, the time limit for submitting the
dissertation will be determined by the Dean of the Graduate School
and the candidate's committee.
The
dissertation is expected to be a mature and competent piece of
writing, embodying the results of significant and original
research. One month before the dissertation is presented and no
later than January 25 preceding the May commencement, July 1 for a
September degree, and November 1 for a December degree, the
student must file online a declaration of intention
to receive degree. This form should indicate the approved
title of the dissertation and be approved by both the director of
graduate studies of the student's major department and the
professor who directs the dissertation.
The
basic requirements for preparing the dissertation (type of paper,
form, and binding) are prescribed in the Guide
for the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations or the Guide
for the Electronic Submission of Dissertations. The
dissertation must be completed to the satisfaction of the
professor who directs the dissertation, members of the student's
advisory committee, and the Dean of the Graduate School. A copy of
the dissertation must be submitted to the Dean of the Graduate
School on or before April 1 preceding the May commencement, ten
days before the end of the Duke summer session for a September
degree, or ten days before the end of the fall semester for a
December degree. The dissertation must be submitted to the
Graduate School office at least seven days before the scheduled
date of the student's examination.
All
doctoral dissertations are published on microfilm through
University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Authors may copyright
them if they wish. Abstracts are published in Dissertation
Abstracts International.
One
extra copy of the abstract (not more than 350 words long) with
signature page is submitted when the dissertation is presented at
013 Perkins (Photographic Services). A nonrefundable fee of $55 is
charged for microfilming. If copyright is desired, an additional
fee of $45 is charged. The original and two copies will be bound
at a cost of $25.
The
Final Examination
The final examination is administered by at least four members of
the supervising
committee. The final oral examination shall be primarily
on the dissertation; however, questions may be asked in the
candidate's major field. Except in unusual circumstances approved
by the Dean, a final examination will not be scheduled when the
university is not in session. A student must be registered during
the term that he/she takes the final examination.
Successful
completion of the final examination requires at least three
affirmative votes and no more than one negative vote. The sole
exception to this policy is that a negative vote cast by the chair
of the examining committee will mean a failure on the examination.
A student who fails the final examination may be allowed to take
it a second time, but no earlier than six months from the date of
the first examination. Permission to take the second examination
must be obtained from the professor who directed the dissertation
and from the Dean of the Graduate School. Failure to pass the
second examination renders the student ineligible to continue work
for the Ph.D. degree at Duke University.
Deposit
of Dissertation
After passing the examination, candidates return the original and
the first two copies of the dissertation, properly signed to 013
Perkins Library. At this time they sign the microfilming agreement
and present proof of payment of binding, microfilming, and, if
applicable, copyright fees.
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