Students in the doctor of philosophy (PhD) program complete the following program of study, with most completing coursework in 2.5 years. Although the program is intended for full-time students, part-time students are accepted into the program (see definition of part-time doctoral study below). Most classes will be offered in the late afternoon and early evening. Please consult the Graduate Student Handbook on the Prevention Science Canvas site for a full description of program requirements and expectations.
General Overview
The total number of credits for the MA degree is 61 credits. Full-time study for one semester is 9 credits of coursework. If any other work is conducted on a part-time basis, the minimum calendar time required to complete the degree will be longer. Successful completion of the degree program requires both fulfilling the requirement, the completion of a 2nd year capstone project (described below), a qualifying exam (described below), and a dissertation (described below).
Students are expected to maintain a minimum of a B (3.0) average throughout the program of study (for fully-funded students, the minimum is 3.5). In the event that a student's cumulative grade-point average falls below 3.0, a meeting with the Graduate Director will be arranged to discuss the reasons behind the performance and what steps, if any, need to be taken to bring the student in line with the requirement. Additional information can be found in the section on Academic Standing.
If a student enters the doctoral program with a master's degree or other graduate credit, up to 15 credits may be applied toward satisfying the course/credit requirements of the program, pending approval of the Graduate Director and the dean of the graduate school. Transfer credits toward the PhD degree cannot be finalized until after taking at least 9 credits. Students requesting transfer credits must provide syllabi from the courses they wish to be considered, in addition to the materials required by the Graduate School-Camden.
Definition of Part-time Doctoral Study
All students in the doctoral program must carry a minimum of 6 credits (normally, two courses) per academic semester. Exceptions to the 6-credit minimum may be granted on a temporary basis in extraordinary circumstances. Students seeking exceptions must petition the Graduate Director in writing, describing the reasons for and expected duration of the exception. This petition must be received prior to the semester for which the request is to take effect.
General Timeline for Completion for Full-time Study
Note: Doctoral students are expected to be working with their advisor on research throughout their entire tenure of the program.
Year 1 (Semester 1)
- Take 10 credits of required courses
Year 1 (Semester 2)
- Take 10 credits of required courses
- Deadline for selecting dissertation advisor
Year 2 (Semester 3)
- Take 7 credits of required courses, one of which is the first course in the 2nd year capstone series ("Applied Prevention Science")
- Take 1 elective course
Year 2 (Semester 4)
- Take 4 credits of required courses, one of which is the second course in the 2nd year capstone series ("Seminar in Action Research")
- Deadline for selecting qualifying exam committee
Year 3 (Semester 5)
Take 3 credits of required courses
Take 1 elective course
Those students who need to maintain full-time status will also need to take Dissertation Proposal credits
After completing semester 5:
Year 3 (semester 6)
-
Deadline for selecting dissertation committee
- Work on dissertation proposal
Year 4 (Semester 7)
- Complete and defend dissertation proposal
Year 4 (Semester 8)
- Work on dissertation project
Year 5 (Semester 9)
- Work on dissertation project
Year 5 (Semester 10)
- Complete and defend dissertation
Advising
PhD students are required to have an advisor; they will be matched with an advisor before starting the program or they can elect to do a research rotation their first semester in the program (see Graduate Student Handbook on the Prevention Science Canvas site for more details). Students must identify an advisor by the end of their first year in the program. Students are expected to be working with their advisor on research throughout the entire program.
2nd Year Capstone Project
The 2nd year capstone project will be completed in the context of the "Seminar in Action Research" course. Students must earn at least a B in the course and present their project in the "Current Topics in Prevention Science" course to satisfy requirements for a master's degree.
Qualifying Exam
The qualifying exam is a comprehensive review of an area of research relevant to prevention science that will be the focus of the student's dissertation project. The student's advisor will outline their expectations for the student's paper. The paper is expected to be approximately 30 pages (manuscript length) and the goal is to make it of publishable quality. Students will first submit a 3-5 page proposal of their review paper to their committee chairperson. After receiving feedback on the direction of their paper, students will then begin writing their paper, which they will have 3 months to complete and submit to their committee, which includes their chairperson and two additional faculty members. The paper is supposed to reflect the student's own work, with some consultation with their chairperson. After their paper is complete, students will send it to their committee on a specified date, who will have 2 weeks to review it, render their decision, and provide any additional feedback.
Dissertation
The dissertation involves writing a dissertation proposal, orally defending the proposal to a committee of 3 faculty members (including the dissertation chairperson), completing the dissertation project, writing a dissertation paper, and orally defending their dissertation to their committee. More information about the dissertation can be found in the Graduate Student Handbook (on the Prevention Science Canvas site); the format and submission of the dissertation and how to apply for graduation can be found on the Graduate School website.
Graduate School-Camden 
