Qualifying for doctoral candidacy is a multi-faceted process. Required core area courses are an integral part of the qualifying process, as is the other coursework you have completed, your annual student review, and any requirements your area of specialization may have.
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Required Coursework
All doctoral students must register for Beginning Fall 2023, registration in two semesters of EDP 395R Qualifying Process Research before the end of the semester in which they students go through the qualifying process will now vary depending on which program you are in.Doctoral students should check with their advisor to see what their particular program requires. Some programs may still require 6 hours of EDP 395R, while others may require only 3 hours, or none. Summer registration in EDP 395R is contingent on approval of the qualifying process adviser and the adviser’s ability to supervise the student’s work during the summer.
Students must have successfully completed at least 5 of the 6 required foundation courses during the semester prior to the semester in which they go through the qualifying process. With supervisor permission, the 6th foundation course may be completed during the same semester the student is going through the qualifying process. Careful planning is required to get these courses completed on time, and it is recommended these courses be taken as soon as possible (summer offerings are not guaranteed).
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In accordance with the Department’s timeline, faculty will meet to determine the two remaining committee members. Usually, one member will be from the student’s area and the other member will be from another area. Such decisions will be made based on the student's qualifying document topic summary, and members will be assigned based on their expertise with respect to the student’s topic and faculty workload considerations. You should send your up-to-date Program of Work to your committee members so they know which courses you have completed and with what level of competency.
Anchor QP Purpose QP Purpose
Purpose of the Qualifying Process
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The purpose of the qualifying process and the examination is to allow students to demonstrate readiness to advance to candidacy. The examination is one part of a comprehensive evaluation. Readiness to advance to candidacy involves that the student demonstrates the following:
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Once the date for turning in the qualifying document has been officially determined, it cannot be moved to a subsequent semester. For this reason, students sometimes officially choose to turn in the qualifying document one semester later than the one in which they actually hope to turn it in - just in case a courseload causes a problem in completion of the core area courses, etc. If no problem arises (and if all other requirements will be met on time) the student can, with approval of the qualifying process adviser, turn in the document a semester early. To do so, the adviser must email approval to the Graduate Coordinator with enough advance notice for the student to be sent the new deadline information and to be able to meet the deadlines.
The schedule for submission of the qualifying document through oral examination:
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Students who are beginning the qualifying process are required to work with their qualifying adviser to complete the Qualifying Process Student/Faculty Adviser Agreement. After completion, the student is to upload a copy of the signed Agreement to his/her UTBox Program of Work folder.
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Students needing assistance with research design and quantitative methods should read appropriate texts and seek free consultation from the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences. One hour of consulting per week is provided free of charge to UT students who need (SDS). UT Austin graduate students are eligible to sign up for a free 30-minute consultation with a SDS faculty member for assistance with experimental design, survey design, model design, or data analysis. An additional follow-up appointment may be arranged depending on appointment availability.
Qualifying process advisers agree to be available, in the final two weeks before the document is due, to read and give final feedback if the student requests it. Students who have made little or no effort to seek adviser consultation in the two semesters of 395R may not expect more time than one hour per week during the two weeks before the document is due.
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- Legacy Qualifying Process: The Legacy QP examination is composed of three parts: qualifying document, written examination, oral examination.
- New Qualifying Process: For CP, HDCLS, and SP students, the New QP examination is composed of the qualifying document and a non-evaluative oral presentation. For QM students, the New QP examination will also include an oral examination (see program-specific QM requirements).
Students who matriculated into the PhD program in Fall 2021 or after must take the new qualifying process.
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Developing the qualifying document encompasses a process and a product. That is, it involves the acquisition of knowledge and skills as well as the reporting of them. Acceptability, therefore, is a matter of whether the student has gained a sufficient degree of mastery of the subject and whether the reporting of the results of these intellectual activities is adequately done. Along with a copy of the document, each member of the qualifying process evaluation committee receives an evaluation data sheet upon which he/she will independently rate the acceptability of the document.
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For QM students taking the New QP, please see the program-specific requirements for the oral exam.
Oral Presentations (New QP Only)
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The qualifying process committee members use Rubrics and the Qualifying Process Ratings Report to evaluate students’ documents and examinations.
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Evaluation committees’ recommendations are presented to the GSC for discussion and voting. The GSC members take into consideration the committee's recommendation as well as the student's academic record in making a final decision. Final decisions are made by majority vote of the GSC for each student. It is the responsibility of the student’s qualifying process adviser to convey this decision to the student at the earliest opportunity. Notification will also be sent directly to the student regarding the GSC’s decision.
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Program-Specific Processes
Counseling Psychology Qualifying Process
General
Qualifying process completion enables students to 1) file for doctoral candidacy, and 2) begin to make arrangements for the dissertation proposal meeting, which thereby affects eligibility for internship. Counseling Psychology students are encouraged to plan ahead and to consult with their advisers in deciding the timing to the qualifying process. For example, a student who submits and passes the qualifying process and the necessary coursework during the 6th semester (spring of the 3rd year) will advance to candidacy that summer, or the following academic session/semester. When planning, bear in mind that most faculty are on 9-month appointments. Faculty on 9-month appointments are not obligated to review materials over summer. Therefore, a tight timeline leaves little time to have a dissertation proposal meeting occur before October 1st of that year, which is a program requirement for applying to internship.
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Process for Students not Passing on Their First Try
Students who are not on probation will be given another opportunity to go through the qualifying process (either one semester or one year later). For students on probation, the default decision following a non-pass of the QP will be termination from the program. The student may submit a written summary to the CP faculty if the student wishes to have another attempt at the QP before termination. This summary is to be submitted prior to the GSC meeting following the QP decision, and will be reviewed by faculty. Termination may include an option to earn a Master's degree, or no option to earn a Master's degree, and this decision will also be made by the GSC.
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The student must submit for examination a high quality document that demonstrates that the student is prepared to advance to candidacy (see Purpose).
The document can take one of two forms:
- Legacy QP version, consisting of an integrative review of the literature to serve as rationale for a study and a detailed description of how one would undertake the study (note that quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, and meta-analysis are all possible methodologies for the proposed study).
- New QP version, a completed study that adds to the integrative review of the literature and description of study methods an actual report of findings and final discussion.
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Assignment of Adviser
Students should discuss qualifying process adviser selection with the QM Chair as early as their 2nd semester and no later than the end of their 4th semester. The qualifying process adviser is to be assigned by QM faculty. QM qualifying process students will submit to the QM Chair a ranked list of their top three QM faculty member choices for qualifying process adviser by the last class day of the semester before they begin the qualifying process. QM faculty will meet every semester to assign qualifying process advisers. Decisions will be based on student’s ranked list of preferred advisers, match of faculty’s expertise with the student’s interests, and faculty advising workload. Adviser assignments will be given to students before the start of the semester in which they are beginning the qualifying process.
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SP Students who matriculated into the PhD program in Fall 2021 or after must take the new qualifying process.
Qualifying process completion enables SP students to 1) file for doctoral candidacy, and 2) begin to make arrangements for the dissertation proposal meeting, which thereby affects eligibility for pre-doctoral internship. School Psychology students are encouraged to plan ahead and to consult with their advisers in deciding the timing to the qualifying process. For example, a student who submits and passes the qualifying process and the necessary coursework during the 6th semester (spring of the 3rd year) will advance to candidacy that summer, or the following academic session/semester. When planning, bear in mind that most faculty are on 9-month appointments. Faculty on 9-month appointments are not obligated to review materials over summer. Therefore, a tight timeline leaves little time to have a dissertation proposal meeting occur before October 15th of that year, which is a program requirement for applying to internship.
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The student must submit for examination a high quality document that demonstrates that the student is prepared to advance to candidacy (see Purpose).
The document can take one of two forms:
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