ASPECT Doctoral Program Handbook
1
ASPECT Office: The ASPECT office is located at: 202 Major Williams Hall (0192) Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 24061 Phone: 540.231.0698 Fax: 540.231.1134 ASPECT Director: Dr. François Debrix ASPECT Director and Professor of Political Science 202A Major Williams Hall (0192) 540.231.0694
[email protected] ASPECT Staff: Tamara Sutphin ASPECT Program Technician, Graduate Coordinator, and Fiscal Technician 202 Major Williams Hall (0192) 540.231.0698 voice 540.231.1134 fax
[email protected]
2
ASPECT: An Interdisciplinary Teaching and Research Ph.D. Program The Ph.D. program in Social, Political, Ethical and Cultural Thought (ASPECT) prepares graduate students to undertake problem‐centered interdisciplinary analysis informed by social, political, ethical and cultural thought. ASPECT is designed to be of particular interest to those seeking a program of study with a framework wider than that of a specialized department or a particular discipline. It follows an emerging national and international trend in offering training in interdisciplinary subject clusters that involve both department‐based and program specific courses. While the program prepares students to teach the core courses of particular disciplines, research emphases are centered on questions that span concerns articulated in a number of disciplines or fields of study and whose complexity requires the entire tool kit of knowledge offered by the program. Participating faculty and ASPECT courses come from the core contributing departments of History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Religion and Culture, as well as from many other departments and programs in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences (CLAHS), the College of Architecture and Urban Studies (CAUS), and across the University. ASPECT enables doctoral students to pursue work with faculty on a variety of compelling problems at the intersections of theoretically informed research in the humanities, the social sciences, the arts, and cognate professional fields. Examples of such collaborative work already underway include projects on religion, ethics, and politics; the politics and culture of memory; theoretical approaches to individual and social transformation; democracy and democratic theory; corporate and non‐corporate models of globalization and the ethics of community‐based development; theorizing power in a post 9/11 world; and the significance of Frankfurt School political, constitutional, and cultural theory. Further emerging research clusters address cultural production and the politics of culture; democracy, science and technology; state sovereignty in historical and regional contexts; comparative ethics in a globalizing, cross‐cultural world; historical and contemporary articulations of racialization, gender, and immigration; global civil society and the ethics of place; the political, social, and cultural implications of bio‐ethics and bio‐power; and historical and contemporary approaches to power and justice.
3
ASPECT Degree Rationale and Requirements The doctoral program at Virginia Tech is targeted to serve students who have previously earned an M.A. degree or equivalent (e.g., JD, MBA, MArch) before pursuing doctoral study. Course requirements for the Ph.D. ordinarily can be completed during two years of residency. They entail successful completion of 42 credit hours, leading to the defense of a Ph.D. dissertation proposal and preliminary exams no later than in the fifth semester. Thereafter, dissertation research is undertaken under the supervision of a multidisciplinary advisory committee. Remaining credits may be earned either by taking additional classroom courses or research and dissertation credits. Students pursuing the ASPECT Ph.D. select a major and a minor concentration chosen from among four areas: 1) cultural thought, 2) ethical thought, 3) political thought, and 4) social thought. Additional ASPECT course requirements offer education in interdisciplinary theory, methodology, pedagogy, and professional development. The curriculum stresses student flexibility and originality. It permits a focus on overarching problems and questions by offering training in areas of concentration as well as education in interdisciplinary ways of knowing. Each area of concentration, in turn, is composed of a cluster of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary offerings. After graduation, ASPECT students are well prepared to teach introductory and required courses in particular disciplines through their graduate teaching assistantships. However, their Ph.D. research addresses questions that span a number of different approaches and fields. The program is unique in offering a curriculum that communicates on the basis of theory across the limits that frequently result in disciplinary divisions between units in the social sciences, the humanities, the arts, and the professional schools. It is the objective of the ASPECT curriculum to foster a research and teaching agenda that enables Ph.D. students to pursue appropriate coursework and research commensurate with the complexities of the issues they investigate. The ASPECT curriculum consists of four kinds of classroom courses: 1) All candidates will take 12 credit hours of core ASPT courses (ASPT 6004, ASPT 6104, ASPT 6204, and ASPT 6904). 2) 21 credit hours selected from ASPECT cross listed departmental offerings.
4
3) six (6) credit hours in social science or humanistic research methods. 4) three (3) credit hours in pedagogical practices (GRAD 5114). All students are required to identify a major and minor field (one each, selected from the four concentration areas mentioned above). The 21 credit hours that make up course requirement 2) listed above are selected to fulfill the major and the minor areas of concentration, with 12 credit hours in the major and nine (9) credit hours in the minor area. No more than nine (9) credit hours can be taken in one department in fulfillment of the major area, and no more than six (6) credit hours from one department for the minor area. In unusual circumstances, a student may petition the director to allow a course not currently approved for the ASPECT curriculum to count towards either the major or minor area. A student may also petition the program director to allow a course currently listed in one area of concentration to count for another area.
5
ASPECT Course of Study ASPECT PhD Core Requirements (12 credit hours) Each course listed in the Core Requirement section is required for all ASPECT students ASPT 6004 Interdisciplinary Approaches in Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought ASPT 6104 Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Methodology ASPT 6204 Interdisciplinary Frameworks in Social, Political, Ethical, and Political Thought ASPT 6904 ASPECT Professional Development METHODOLOGY (6 credit hours) Theory informed reflection on methodological issues spanning the social and human sciences and the arts is central to ASPECT Ph.D. research. In addition to taking ASPT 6104, Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Methodology, Ph.D. students are therefore required to take no less than six (6) credit hours of methodology courses selected from the following list. AFST 5234 Methods in Africana Studies AINS 5984 Critical Indigenous Theory GEOG / HIST 5024 Area Studies Methods GEOG 5034 Analysis of Spatial Data GIA 5464 Qualitative Methods in a Globalizing World HIST/FLL/GEOG 5024 Area Studies Methods HIST 5104 Historical Methods HIST 5134 Research Methods for Historians HIST 5424 Public History HIST 5434 Oral History Methods HIST 5444 Digital History Methods PAPA / GIA / UAP 5464 Qualitative Research Methods in Global Studies PAPA 6214 Public Policy Processes and Analytical Approaches 6
PAPA / SOC 5204 Data Analysis PAPA 6524 Advanced Quantitative Methods in Public Administration PSCI 5115 / 5116 Research Methods PSCI 5124 Advanced Research Issues PSCI/GIA 5504 Discourse Analysis RLCL / HUM 5204 Material Cultures and Public Humanities Methods SOC 6204 Survey Research Methods SOC 6214 Qualitative Methodology SOC 5214 Research Methods STS 5514 Research Designs for STS PHIL 5505 Symbolic Logic WGS 5924 Feminist Research Methodologies ASPECT Pedagogy (3 credit hours) Ph.D. students who serve as Graduate Teaching Assistants are required to take GRAD 5114, Pedagogical Practices. They may further elect to earn a Pedagogy Certificate, offered through the Graduate School, during their residence at Virginia Tech. Additional ASPECT Curriculum Offerings ASPT 5974 Independent Study ASPT 5984/6984 Special Study ASPT 5994 Research and Thesis ASPT 7994 Research and Dissertation ASPT 5974, 5984, and 6984 may count toward fulfilling either the major or minor area of concentration. ASPT 7994 hours should be taken every semester in order to ensure that the student accumulates the requisite number of hours needed to graduate. Note: ASPECT students are required to have at least 30 hours of ASPT 7994 on their Plan of Study.
7
ASPECT PhD Course Concentrations (12 credit hours in major field; 9 credit hours in minor field) Students in different ASPECT areas of concentration will select courses from the following list of course options (note that, as class offerings in various departments evolve over time—new courses are created and older courses may be removed—the following lists are subject to change). Each category includes courses appropriate to a particular concentration. Yet, the courses are drawn from a variety of departments and disciplines so that each concentration can reflect the interdisciplinarity that is a hallmark of the ASPECT degree. Social Thought and Theory AFST 5314 Theories in Africana Studies HD 6114 Theory and Research in Aging HIST 5114 U. S. to 1877 HIST 5124 U. S. Since 1877 HIST 5274 Topics in Latin American History HIST 5424 Public History HIST 5934 Gender in U.S. History HIST / GEOG 5144 The Transatlantic World HIST 5454 Topics in Public History HIST 5504 Modern European History HIST 5534 Imperialism, Nationalism and Decolonization HIST 6224 Science, Technology and the Enlightenment GEOG 5014 Geographic Theory & Research GEOG 5564 Contemporary Thought in Human Geography GEOG 5214 Health and the Global Environment GEOG 5344 The Globalization of Nature PAPA / SOC 5604 Organizations in Society
8
PHIL 6014 Special Topics in Philosophy PSCI/GIA 5474 Global Governance PSCI/GIA/WGS 5564 Women and Globalization PSCI/GIA 6144 Topics in Global Governance PSCI/GIA 6204/ASPT 6014 Theories of Globalization PSCI / STS 6544 Science, Technology, and Labor SOC 5104 History of Sociological Thought SOC 5114 Contemporary Sociological Theory SOC 5624 Women and Work GEOG / SOC 5654 The Global Division of Labor STS 6524 Critical Approaches to Science & Technology STS 6614 Advanced Topics in Technology Studies STS/ PAPA 6664 Advanced Topics in Science & Technology Policy STS 6674 Advanced Topics in Alternate Perspectives on Science, Technology & Medicine SOC / STS 6824 Normative Structuring of Science & Technology STS/HIST 5205, 5206 History of Science & Technology STS / PHIL 5305 / 5306 Philosophy of Modern Science and Technology UAP 5354 Charity, Philanthropy, and Civil Society UAP 5394 Nature, Society & the Global Economy SOC / UAP 5524 International Development UAP/GIA 5564 Information, Technology, Society, and Public Policy WGS 5914 Feminist Theory Political Thought and Theory ASPT/HIST/RLCL 6124 /PSCI 6234 Pre‐Modern Christian and Islamic Political Theory AFST 5984 Political Consciousness and Agency: Minority Responses to Oppression COMM 5474 International Communication COMM 5544 Mass Media and U.S. Politics GEOG 5424/GIA 5404 Topics in Political Geography
9
GEOG 5434 Topics in Regional Geography HIST 5144 The Transatlantic World HIST 5214/ASPT 6214 5214 Topics in Global History HIST 5534 Imperialism, Nationalism, & Decolonization ASPT/RLCL 5134 Islamic Political Thought PAPA 6014 Public Administration Theory PHIL 6324 Advanced Topics in Ethics & Political Philosophy PSCI/GIA 5214 Contemporary Political Theory PSCI/GIA 5224 Alternative Perspectives in Political Theory PSCI 5244/ASPT 5244 Constitutionalism in Theory and Practice PSCI / UAP / GIA 5254 Global Conflicts PSCI 5464/ASPT 5464 Critical Security Studies PSCI/GIA 5444 International Politics PSCI/GIA 5474 Global Governance PSCI/GIA 5514 Global Security PSCI 5524 US Foreign Policy after 9/11 PSCI / WGS 5564 Women and Globalization PSCI/GIA/UAP/STS 5584 Environmental Politics and Policy PSCI 5634 International Human Rights PSCI / WGS 5644 Women’s Rights as Human Rights PSCI / GIA 6114 Critical Geopolitics UAP 5104 Urban & Regional Development Theory Ethical Thought and Theory ASPT / RLCL 6024 Contemporary Religious Thought ASPT / PHIL 6224 Distributive Justice HIST 5694 American Environmental History HIST 5914 Race and Slavery in Comparative Perspective STS / HIST 6234 Advanced Topics in Modern Science, Technology and Medicine
10
MGT 5664 Ethical Leadership in a Global Context PAPA 6414 Normative Foundations of Public Administration PAPA 6454 Advanced Topics in Ethics & The Public Sector PAPA 6494 Capstone Seminar in Ethics & The Public Sector PHIL 5204 Topics in the History of Philosophy PHIL 5324 Metaethics PHIL 5334 Normative Ethics PHIL 5344 History of Ethics PHIL 5614 Philosophy of Science PHIL 6204 Advanced Topics in the History of Philosophy PHIL / STS 6314 History of the Philosophy of Science PHIL 6324 Advanced Topics in Ethics and Political Philosophy PHIL 6334 Advanced Topics in Philosophy of Science PSCI 5254 Global Conflicts PSCI/GIA/UAP 5364 Public Ecology STS 5444 Issues in Bioethics SOC/STS 6824 Normative Structuring of Science & Technology UAP 5364 Non‐Governmental Organizations in International Development Cultural Thought and Theory AINS 5984 Critical Indigenous Theory ARCH 5134 Topics in Architecture History and Theory ARCH 5614 Theory of Urban Form ARCH 5644 Comparative Urbanism ARCH 6006 Movements in Architecture and Western Thought ART 5854 Advanced Theories of Processes of Contemporary Art COMM 5414 Mass Media Effects
11
COMM 5454 Mass Media Theory COMM 5614 Rhetorical Theory and Criticism ENGL 5024 Critical Theory ENGL 5074 Digital Humanities ENGL 5314 Genre Studies ENGL 5354 Comparative Studies in Literature ENGL 5454 Studies in Theory ENGL 5544 Current Topics in Literary Study ENGL 5614 Visual Rhetoric ENGL 6334 Rhetoric in Society ENGL 6514 Studies in Rhetoric FL 5024 Area Studies Methods FL 5334 Topics in Foreign Language Cinema FR 5344 Writing in the Francophone World FR 5404 Topics in French Studies HIST 5414/ASPT 5414 Topics in Cultural History and Theory HIST 5504 Modern European History HIST 6224 Science, Technology, and the Enlightenment ASPT/RLCL 5124 Religion and Modernity in the West ASPT /RLCL 6024 Contemporary Religious Thought PSCI / GIA / UAP 5284 Transnational Migration PSCI 5384 / WGS 5424 Identity, Migration and Place PSCI 5454 Advanced Topics in Information Technology PSCI/GIA 5504 Discourse Analysis PSCI/GIA 5554 Culture, Politics & Society in Network Environments PSCI/GIA 5574 Arts, Culture, & Civil Society PSCI/GIA/UAP/PAPA 5374 E‐Governance UAP 5574 Arts, Culture and Society
12
PSCI 6244 History, Culture, and Politics of the Internet RLCL / HUM 5304 Material Culture and Humanities in the Public Sphere RLCL / HUM 5584 Topics in Public Humanities SPAN 5234 Spanish‐American Institutions and Concepts SPAN 5344 Spanish‐American Literature and the Representation of History SOC 6504 The Sociology of Culture STS 6534 Cultural Studies of Science, Technology, & Medicine WGS 6004 Topics in Women’s and Gender Studies Note: Depending upon the course instructor, some individual courses may well fit more than one concentration area. Again, if a student wishes to have a specific course counted in one area of concentration in which it is not listed, a petition may be made to the Program Director. Such a request must be made prior to enrollment in the course. Note, however, that no course can be counted more than once toward fulfilling the credit hour requirements. As is a well‐instituted practice at Virginia Tech, Ph.D. students who enroll in 5000 level courses are expected to undertake and are responsible for doctoral level assignments for the course.
13
Language Requirement A language requirement is an integral part of the ASPECT degree program, and students will be expected to have demonstrated reading proficiency in a secondary language as a research tool prior to admission. Students who have not acquired such proficiency may be admitted, but with the expectation that they will develop such skills prior to their doctoral proposal defense. The ability to read foreign language documents, whether in archives, organizational materials, on‐line sites, or scholarly journals, is important for the dissertation research that ASPECT fosters. Each doctoral student's Advisory Committee (including the Major Advisor) determines the student’s required level of reading proficiency in a secondary language (as appropriate to the dissertation topic) before the student’s dissertation proposal defense. ASPECT Plan for Scholarly Ethics and Integrity Activities 1. Every incoming ASPECT PhD student is asked to participate in an hour long session led by the ASPECT Program director on matters of Scholarly Ethics and Integrity as part of the two to three hour orientation for all incoming ASPECT PhD students that is scheduled by ASPECT every August prior to the start of the Fall semester. During this session, matters of academic and scholarly dishonesty (including plagiarism and various forms of cheating), of proper respect for professional conventions and professional etiquette (including recognized use of citations, acknowledgments of other scholars’ work, and interdiction of falsification of research or findings), of ethical pedagogical standards and professional teaching criteria, and of reporting of any known ethical misconduct by other parties are introduced, explained, and discussed. Students are given copies of the Graduate Honor Code at Virginia Tech. The Graduate School document titled “Overview/Mission of the Graduate Honor System” at Virginia Tech is read to all the students during this session too. The students are also asked to sign a form (filed in the ASPECT office) stating that they have received from the ASPECT director and/or the ASPECT program assistant these documents during this pre‐semester session. 2. Every incoming ASPECT PhD student, during their first Fall semester, must sign up for the required core ASPECT course ASPT 6104—Interdisciplinary Methodology in ASPECT. In this course, two sessions (of three hours each) are dedicated to scholarly/academic research ethics and integrity in interdisciplinary social science/humanities research. One of these sessions is the first session of the semester. The second session is scheduled during the latter part of the semester. As part of this course, students must purchase and read several books on matters of ethics and integrity. Among these books are: Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics; Friedrich 14
Nietszche, The Genealogy of Morals; Max Weber, The Vocation Lectures; Gordon Graham, Theories of Ethics; and Israel and Hay, Research Ethics for Social Scientists (titles can vary from year to year). Rarely, an incoming ASPECT doctoral student will start the program in the Spring semester. If this is the case, this student is unable to take ASPT 6104 until her/his second semester in ASPECT. In such a situation, the student is asked to purchase two of the above‐listed books (list can vary from year to year) and read them in her/his first semester in the program. 3. During what is normally their third semester of coursework in the ASPECT doctoral program, ASPECT PhD students must sign up for the required ASPT 6904 course—Professional Development in ASPECT. One of the main objectives of this course is to carefully address issues of scholarly and research integrity and ethics such as knowledge of relevant professional conventions, respect for peer work and research, plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty, pedagogical ethics, procedures for reporting academic misconduct, and so forth prior to the student embarking upon the writing and defense of her/his dissertation proposal. The course is a required core course in ASPECT offered every year (once a year), in the Fall semester, and taught by an ASPECT affiliated faculty member at Virginia Tech. Full time ASPECT doctoral students normally take this course in their third semester of coursework in the ASPECT program. Part‐time students may take this course later on, but always prior to writing a dissertation proposal. A minimum of three sessions (nine hours) in this course are dedicated to the Scholarly Ethics and Integrity topics mentioned above. 4. Every ASPECT PhD student must earn a passing grade in both ASPT 6104 and ASPT 6904 in order to be allowed to move forward with their Program of Study in ASPECT. No ASPECT student will be allowed to defend her/his dissertation proposal if the student’s plan of study is not approved by her/his proposed dissertation committee members, the ASPECT director, and the Graduate School and if the courses listed on the plan of study (including ASPT 6104 and ASPT 6904) show a failing grade. For ASPECT PhD students, core courses such as ASPT 6104 and ASPT 6904 cannot be taken Pass/Fail. Given that ethics and integrity activities are important components of both ASPT 6104 and ASPT 6904, no ASPECT PhD student will be able to move forward to the dissertation proposal writing and defense stage without having participated in these activities. 5. The ASPECT director and/or the ASPECT program assistant will announce Scholarly Ethics and Integrity activities and events organized by the Graduate School to all ASPECT PhD students via email (ASPECT student email listserv), provided that the Graduate School notifies ASPECT of such activities and events in a timely fashion. ASPECT PhD students are always encouraged to be active participants in those activities and events.
15
Progress and Completion Requirements A student must make satisfactory progress towards the degree in order to remain in the program. Satisfactory progress is defined as meeting all program requirements during the time periods and by the deadlines specified. Satisfactory progress is assessed every year, in late‐Spring (April‐May), by the Program Director in cooperation with a student’s Major Advisor. Every ASPECT student is expected to turn in a detailed progress report to the Program Director no later than April 15th (a form is provided by ASPECT for this purpose). Along with this annual report, a one page summary of the student’s progress towards degree completion must be filled by the student’s Major Advisor (this additional form is also provided by ASPECT). The student must subsequently schedule a 30 minute meeting with the Program Director in late April to discuss her/his progress towards the completion of the ASPECT doctoral degree. (See also section on “Dismissal from Program” below.) In addition to completing the credit hours mentioned above (see pages 4‐5), a student must complete the following requirements to receive the doctoral degree: Student Advisory Committee Upon admission to the program, the Director of ASPECT, in consultation with ASPECT’s Graduate Admissions and Graduate Policies Standing Committee, will assign each student a temporary Major Advisor. Ph.D. students will select an Advisory Committee (including a permanent Major Advisor) no later than completion of 12 credit hours of instruction or one (1) year in the program (whichever comes first). Part‐time students will earn credit hours and compose their committees on variable timelines. In composing the Advisory Committee, a student will first select the Major Advisor, who can either be the originally assigned temporary advisor or another faculty member. Any full‐time tenured faculty member affiliated with ASPECT, holding the appropriate terminal degree, and approved by the Graduate School, may serve as a Major Advisor.
A student's Advisory Committee will consist of no less than four faculty members (including the Major Advisor). More than five committee members is not recommended. No more than one faculty member may be in the same department as the Major Advisor. No more than two faculty members on the Advisory Committee may be from the same department. Should the course of study warrant it, one member of the Advisory Committee, but not the Major Advisor, can be drawn from outside the ranks of ASPECT affiliate or core faculty. One of the committee members will have competency in the student's secondary area of concentration. 16
Normally, non‐tenure‐track faculty members are not eligible to serve on an ASPECT doctoral student's Advisory Committee. The composition of the Advisory Committee must be approved by the ASPECT Director. Plan of Study After completion of 12 credit hours of instruction or by the end of the first year (whichever comes first), a student must submit a Plan of Study to her/his Advisory Committee, Major Advisor, and the Program Director. The Plan of Study will list the classes that will be taken to satisfy the course requirements for the doctoral program and the semester in which the courses will be taken. After the Advisory Committee and Major Advisor approve the Plan of Study, the student must submit the Plan to the ASPECT Director for approval. After the Advisory Committee, the Major Advisor, and the ASPECT Director have signed the form, the Graduate Coordinator will enter the Plan into Banner for Graduate School review. This procedure is to take place immediately after completion of 12 credit hours or by the end of the first year. The Graduate School will have final approval over any Plan of Study. Any course listed on the Plan of Study will become part of the requirements for the student’s degree. Students must complete each course on the Plan of Study with a minimum grade of B‐ and must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.40 to remain in good standing. Courses which the student has audited or plans to audit will not appear on the Plan of Study. If a Plan of Study contains a course that is more than five (5) years old, the student will need to file a Course Justification Request Form to petition for the course to be approved. If a student wishes to modify her/his Plan of Study after approval of the initial plan, s/he will need to fill out a Plan of Study Change Form. Please note that any ASPECT student needs to have at least 90 hours listed on the Plan of Study. 30 of these hours must be ASPT 7994 Research and Dissertation hours. ASPECT Plan of Study Forms may be found here: http://www.aspect.vt.edu/graduate/forms.html . When filing a Plan of Study, students must ensure that the academic term taken, course number, and course name all match those on the student’s unofficial transcript that can be accessed through Hokie SPA. If the student has questions about formatting the plan, s/he should contact the Program Graduate Coordinator.
17
Transfer Credits Transfer of credit hours from another accredited institution is performed through the Plan of Study. Students may transfer no more than 50% of their total coursework, but only with the prior approval of their Major Advisor, their Advisory Committee, and the Program Director. Sometimes, graduate students want to transfer as many credits as they can. But this decision is not always the most prudent way of successfully negotiating one’s course through the various milestones of the ASPECT doctoral program. Due to University restrictions, transfer credits need to be considered within the balance of Virginia Tech courses and in the context of dissertation research, comprehensive examinations, and degree completion. Transferred courses are to be chosen only after an initial Plan of Study has been determined for a particular student. Put simply, starting with transfer credits is not an appropriate way of building one’s ASPECT Plan of Study. Moreover, there are a few basic Graduate School rules governing transfer credits that must be considered: 1. All credits potentially to be transferred must have earned grades of “B” or higher, must have been earned while in good standing in one’s graduate status, and must have been offered for graduate credit at the institution where the student took the courses. Grades of “S,” “P,” or “IP” (or equivalent) are not acceptable for transfer credit. 2. All transfer courses must be acceptable to the student’s Advisory Committee, the Major Advisor, and the Director of ASPECT. Moreover, transfer credit courses must have been completed within the time limits prescribed for satisfaction of the degree requirements. For transfer course work more than five years old, the Justification for “Old Coursework” specified below applies. 3. Credits are transferred to the Virginia Tech graduate degree at the time the Plan of Study is approved. Note that transferred courses count only as credit hours. They are not included in the calculation of the Virginia Tech Grade Point Average (GPA). Additionally, official transcripts are required before transfer course work can be approved for the Plan of Study. It is crucial that those courses listed on the Plan of Study match the courses on a student’s transcript. 4. Research hours may not be transferred from another university for Virginia Tech graduate degree requirements. Credits taken while in undergraduate status or for an undergraduate degree cannot be used as transfer credits for a graduate degree. 18
5. Remember Virginia Tech’s 50% rule: No more than 50% of graded credit hours of coursework needed to satisfy the minimum requirements for a Virginia Tech graduate degree can be transferred from another accredited university. For example, if a student has a total of 30 hours of coursework on her/his Plan of Study, only 15 hours can be transfer credits from another institution. In addition to this, at least 15 hours of graduate‐level credit coursework (not including doctoral research, ASPT 7994) must be completed while at Virginia Tech. If a student is coming to the program without any transfer credit, the student must normally complete a minimum of 24 hours of graduate level credit coursework at Virginia Tech. No guarantees regarding transfer credits can be offered to any prospective ASPECT student by any professor affiliated with ASPECT (or not) prior to a student’s admission. Ultimately, most decisions regarding transfer of credits are made by the Graduate School. Justification of Old Course Work Any academic work must be “current.” To repeat what was stated above, courses, including transfer credits, that are more than five years old at the time the Plan of Study is submitted require a justification for inclusion into the plan. Once again, this process is formalized by submitting the Course Justification Request found on the Graduate School website at: Course Justification Request . The Justification form also requires the Major Advisor and Advisory Committee to explain how the student will update her/his knowledge for out‐of‐date courses. For more details see: http://graduateschool.vt.edu/graduate_catalog/policies.htm?policy=002d14432c654287012c6542e382 00cc . When accepted, those justifications remain valid throughout the degree unless the student is out of enrollment for a period exceeding one calendar year. Being out of enrollment causes problems not only for transfer credits, but also with regards to courses that may have been taken while in residence at Virginia Tech. Consequently, students must do their utmost to stay continually enrolled and to remain in close contact with their Major Advisor and Advisory Committee.
19
Minimum/Maximum Hours on a Plan of Study To repeat, the Graduate School requires each PhD student to complete 90 semester hours of graduate study and dissertation. The plan of study must meet the following requirements: 1. Research and Dissertation (ASPT 7994): Minimum 30 credits. 2. Courses 5000 or higher: Minimum 24 credits, of which 15 must be completed while at Virginia Tech. 3. Independent Study and Special Study courses (ASPT 5974 and ASPT 5984/6984). Maximum 18 credits of any combination of those courses. Notes: 1. Courses numbered 5000 or above may not be taken on a Pass/Fail basis, except when offered as P/F only. 2. In exceptional cases, Plans of Study may include a maximum of 6 credit hours of 4000 level undergraduate course‐work. Indeed, exceptionally, undergraduate Special Study courses (4984) may be included on a graduate Plan of Study, but undergraduate Independent Study courses (4974) cannot be used. 3. Courses numbered 5974, 5984, and 6984 may be used in meeting minimum requirements for courses numbered 5000 and higher. Special Study courses that are subsequently approved as regular courses do not count toward the maximum permitted special study credit courses. See the Graduate School’s website for full information on these matters: http://graduateschool.vt.edu/graduate_catalog/policies.htm?policy=002d14432c654287012c6542e343 0001 Residency Requirement Consistent with Virginia Tech policy, all full time students must complete at least two consecutive semesters of full time enrollment at the Virginia Tech, Blacksburg campus. Ordinarily, full time students will spend at least two academic years in residence on the Blacksburg campus. In addition, ASPECT students funded through a Graduate Teaching Assistantship must remain in residence (on the Blacksburg campus) throughout the duration of their funding.
20
Scholarly Ethics and Integrity Requirement Please see section above on the Ethics and Integrity Requirement, as mandated by the Graduate School and ASPECT.
The Initial Proposal Review The Initial Proposal Review is intended to monitor student progress in the program by the end of the third semester. The ASPT 6904—Professional Development seminar, normally taken by all ASPECT students in the third semester of coursework, is designed to facilitate the successful completion of this important program milestone. By the end of the third semester, the student will have already established her/his Advisory Committee and selected a Major Advisor, completed a final Plan of Study, and prepared a draft research prospectus—or Initial Proposal—for discussion. The student’s Advisory Committee and Major Advisor will assess the consistency of the final Plan of Study in light of the student’s research interests as formulated in this Initial Proposal, and suggest adjustments, if necessary. By this stage, the student will have identified primary and secondary areas of concentration. She/he will also have identified theories, methods, and substantive areas to be involved in the proposed research. Through student‐Advisory Committee/Major Advisor dialogue resulting from the Initial Proposal, a reading list will be designed based on these subjects that will form the basis for both the formal dissertation proposal defense and the preliminary examinations to take place a year later (during the 5th semester of study). The purpose of the Initial Proposal and its review is both developmental and evaluative: to ensure that the student is on track and beginning to focus her/his research interests. If this Initial Proposal Review reveals that the student is not making satisfactory progress, she/he will be advised to withdraw from the program. After successfully completing the Initial Proposal Review, students should begin to formalize their dissertation research. This should be undertaken concurrently with completion of remaining course requirements. The student should begin by determining the general area of his/her dissertation, in collaboration with his/her Major Advisor and Advisory Committee. The student will present the Initial Proposal (or pre‐proposal) to her/his Advisory Committee and Major Professor. While no formal defense of the Initial Proposal is required, it is highly recommended that the student meet with all her/his advisors, preferably all together. The Initial Proposal normally includes the following items: 1. A statement of the proposed work. 21
2. A preliminary bibliography. 3. A statement about the body of knowledge that will be targeted. 4. A statement of the contribution to the body of knowledge. 5. A statement of other work and how the proposed work will be different/original. Again, ASPT 6904 should be a perfect setting for the development and crafting of this Initial Proposal. Attainment of ABD Status Once a student's Advisory Committee and Main Advisor have been selected, the student may begin work toward the attainment of ABD (all but dissertation) status in the program by preparing a dissertation proposal and preliminary exams. Attainment of ABD status will normally take place upon completion of the oral component of the preliminary exams, in the 5th semester of study. Dissertation Proposal The proposal may be submitted as soon as the semester in which formal course requirements will be fulfilled. But, in any case, the dissertation proposal must take place no later than during the 5th semester of study in the ASPECT program. The dissertation proposal defense takes place before the preliminary examinations (which normally follow a successful proposal defense by no more than 60 days). The dissertation proposal defense is an actual defense of the student’s project, with all the members of the Advisory Committee, including the Major Advisor, present. It is a formal examination in the context of the ASPECT program. Passing such a defense/examination cannot be taken for granted, and the student must be well prepared before the proposal defense. The defense must be based on a document (normally, 20‐25 double‐spaced pages) prepared by the student in consultation with her/his committee members ahead of the defense. It is normal and expected protocol (and courtesy) to give one’s Major Advisor and Advisory Committee a minimum of two weeks to review the proposal prior to the defense date. The Major Advisor has the final decision as to whether a student’s proposal is ready to be defended or not. To repeat, dissertation proposal defenses normally take place in the fifth semester of study and are public events. Members of the Virginia Tech academic community (faculty members, other students) are allowed to attend these gatherings. The dissertation proposal outlines the specifics of the proposed research, including objectives, review of relevant literatures, methodologies and 22
analysis, significance of the proposed research in relationship to existing scholarship, and relevance to ASPECT's scholarly mission. The student's Major Advisor and Advisory Committee must formally approve the proposal as a result of this defense. Should the proposal not be approved, a student may resubmit the proposal and schedule a second defense. Should this second public defense with all the members of the Advisory Committee (including the Major Advisor) not conclude with the approval of the proposal by the full committee, the student will be dismissed from the program, will not be allowed to take preliminary examinations, and will not attain ABD status. The ASPECT Proposal Defense form may be found on this page: http://www.aspect.vt.edu/graduate/forms.html Preliminary Examinations ASPECT preliminary examinations are ex‐chamber exams. They give the student an opportunity to undertake substantial writing in response to three questions that synthesize a student's general research interest. The student has a choice of three questions in three different subject areas. One question in each area must be answered. A first subject area will address the candidate's major area of concentration (i.e., political, social, cultural, or ethical thought). A second area of examination will be more geared towards the secondary area of concentration and may also include methodological considerations. And a third topical area will address the substantive content of the research formulated by the student in the dissertation proposal. Questions across the three areas of examination (again, nine questions in total, or three per area of examination) will be submitted by the student’s Major Advisor to the ASPECT Program Coordinator at least one week prior to the start date of the preliminary examination. The preliminary examinations will normally take place during the 5th semester of study in ASPECT, no later than 60 days after the successful completion of the proposal defense (unless the student’s Major Advisor, in consultation with the Program Director, deems that the student is not ready for her / his preliminary examination). The Advisory Committee and the Major Advisor will compose the specific questions for each of the three areas based on a list of readings submitted by the student. A student will have three days to answer each question, with a page limit of 25 pages per question. There will be a one‐day break between each part of the exam. The preliminary examination serves two purposes. First, it is the final formal setting to determine whether a student is prepared to undertake independent scholarly research. Second, it permits students to get a head‐start in writing what could become draft chapters of the dissertation and receiving further advice from their committee members. If more than two members of the Advisory Committee provide an unsatisfactory grade on the exam, a student will be permitted to take the exam a second time. If more than two members of the Advisory 23
Committee deem the second set of exams (upon retake) to be unsatisfactory as well, the student will be dismissed from the program and will not reach ABD status. An oral defense of the written examinations must also be performed shortly after the members of the committee have reviewed the written exam (generally, about four (4) weeks after the written part) and deemed it satisfactory. Application for the oral defense (which is the official preliminary exam, according to Virginia Tech Graduate School standards) must be made to the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to the oral defense/official preliminary exam date. The application procedure may be found here: http://graduateschool.vt.edu/graduate_catalog/policies.htm?policy=002d14432c654287012c6542e363 0014 . If more than two members of the Advisory Committee deem the oral examination to be unsatisfactory, the student will be dismissed from the program and will not reach ABD status. Annual Progress Report Each April (no later than April 15th), students must submit a progress report to their Advisory Committee, their Major Advisor, and the Program Director. Moreover, a brief form is also to be filled by the student’s Major Advisor and turned in to the Program Director at exactly the same time as the Annual Progress Report document (it can be turned in separately by the Major Advisor if s/he prefers). The purpose of these annual progress reports is to enable the Advisory Committee, the Major Advisor, and the Program Director to evaluate a student’s research progress, to provide him/her with suggestions for modifications or additions to the research, and to determine if a student is still in good standing in the program. The student will then meet with the Program Director for about 30 minutes in late April to discuss the report and her/his standing in the ASPECT program. The Annual Progress Report form may be found on this page: http://www.aspect.vt.edu/graduate/forms.html Dismissal from Program Any student who receives two consecutive annual evaluation ratings of less than “satisfactory” will be dismissed from the Program. Additionally, any student not signed up for any course credit (including ASPT 7994) for more than two consecutive semesters, even is this student has requested a leave of absence, will be placed by the Program Director on a “dismissal list” so that the Graduate School may effectively remove the student from the program. 24
Teaching Experience All doctoral students awarded a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (or GTA) are ordinarily required to use this opportunity to gain teaching experience. Additionally, students are encouraged to avail themselves of the offerings made available through the Graduate School in order to deepen their pedagogical education. Beginning students will normally serve as Teaching Assistants in one of the four core departments. But depending on background and prior experience with teaching, ASPECT doctoral students on a GTAship may also be assigned by the Program Director and various Department Chairs to teach independent undergraduate courses in one of the four core departments. Normally, students will need to have a minimum of 18 graduate‐level credit hours in one discipline prior to being able to teach in this discipline. In any case, students who expect to seek employment in a particular discipline or across disciplinary fields will be encouraged to gain teaching experience there. ASPECT Ph.D. students are eligible to serve as GTAs in the following departments: History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Religion and Culture. Based on departmental availability and the student’s own background, ASPECT GTAs may be able to gain teaching experience in more than one discipline during their studies at Virginia Tech. Dissertation A doctoral student must complete a dissertation based on original research. ASPECT's program is uniquely crafted to promote this goal. In the context of ASPECT, a dissertation is a substantial body of original scholarly research and writing that either critically produces new knowledge or advances existing knowledge by introducing a series of heretofore ignored or neglected questions, analytical perspectives, and problematiques. While the length of the dissertation is a matter for a Major Advisor and Advisory Committee to decide, in the Humanities and Social Sciences, dissertations are rarely less than 200 double‐spaced pages of text, excluding references, index, and front‐matter. ASPECT subscribes to this norm. Decisions as to how many chapters and how many cited sources a particular ASPECT dissertation must contain are left to the discretion of the Advisory Committee, and particularly the Major Advisor. The dissertation should describe the nature and significance of the original research problem with respect to social, political, ethical, and cultural thought, the relevant literature, methodologies or modes of analysis employed, and conclusions. During the dissertation research and writing process, students should be registered for ASPT 7994 credit hours. Students must also remain in regular contact with their Major Advisor and Advisory Committee
25
members to make sure they do not go off course and that they stay focused on degree completion. Time management and sustained focus are crucial in this phase as well as patience and perseverance. Upon completion of the dissertation, the Advisory Committee and above all the Major Advisor determine if the dissertation is suitable for defense. Final determination as to whether a dissertation is ready to be defended is made by the Major Advisor. The defense of the dissertation (similar to the proposal defense) is a public event (please refer to the stipulations regarding the dissertation proposal defense above). The dissertation defense constitutes the final examination of the ASPECT program (more on the defense as final examination below). Application for Degree During the final semester, the doctoral candidate must electronically submit an Application for Degree (AFD). Once this application has been filed with the Graduate School, the Progress to Degree Checklist must be completed. The checklist requires completion of the Final Exam Scheduling form at least two weeks prior to the desired defense date. Relevant forms can be accessed here: http://www.aspect.vt.edu/graduate/forms.html Public Presentation of Final Research (not Dissertation Defense) In the last semester in the program (typically, no later than a few weeks prior to the actual dissertation defense), ASPECT doctoral candidates have to present their doctoral research findings in a public setting or at a public event to be organized on the Virginia Tech campus. This presentation may be combined with another ASPECT organized event (ASPECT lecture, working paper presentation, conference) or with a colloquium/conference organized by one of ASPECT’s four core Departments. The idea behind such a public presentation/lecture is to introduce the ASPECT doctoral candidate’s research to the larger Virginia Tech community of scholars and researchers. In addition, such an event/public presentation should prepare the student well for the formal dissertation defense that will take place only a few weeks later.
26
Final Examination After completing the final draft of the dissertation, the student will submit it to all the members of her/his Advisory Committee (including the Major Advisor) for review. After the committee as a whole has reviewed the dissertation, the student must make an oral defense of it before the Advisory Committee and the Major Advisor in a public setting open to any interested faculty and students at Virginia Tech. The oral defense of the dissertation constitutes the final examination for ASPECT. The full final draft of the dissertation must be submitted to all the members of the Advisory Committee and the Major Advisor at least two weeks prior to the defense date (more on this above under “Dissertation”). No more than one member of the Advisory Committee may assign a failing grade to the oral defense for the candidate to pass the examination. If revisions to the dissertation are requested by the Major Advisor and Advisory Committee at the oral defense stage, a student must complete all changes to the written dissertation as requested and as the Major Advisor summarizes them towards the end of the oral defense. At the conclusion of the public dissertation defense, the following outcomes are possible: 1. The student passes with all the members of the Advisory Committee (including the Major Advisor) accepting the work. Only one dissenting or negative vote from all committee members (including the Major Advisor) is permitted. However, in almost all cases, recommendations will be made to improve the quality of the work and perform some revisions on the text of the dissertation. 2. The student fails if more than one member of the Advisory Committee (including the Major Advisor) rejects the work. If the student fails, there is one more opportunity for re‐examination after six (6) months and substantial rework and revisions. After six months, another dissertation defense is scheduled. After this second defense, if more than one member of the Advisory Committee (including the Major Advisor) rejects the work in this re‐examination, the student has no further opportunity for re‐examination and cannot complete the degree. To repeat, application for the Final Examination must be made to the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to the final examination/defense. The application procedure may be found here: http://graduateschool.vt.edu/graduate_catalog/policies.htm?policy=002d14432c654287012c6542e363 0014 Once all changes and revisions to the written dissertation requested by members of the Advisory Committee and the Major Advisor are completed, the candidate submits the Electronic Dissertation Approval Form with original signatures and any applicable supporting documentation for the ETD. 27
Awarding of Degree Once all the conditions and criteria listed above have been met, the student is awarded the doctoral degree at the next regularly scheduled University graduation ceremony. Learning Outcomes Graduates of the ASPECT Ph.D. program will develop an advanced level of knowledge about a particular problem in social, political, ethical, and cultural thought and their contributions to knowledge will be made evident through the innovative questions they pose and through the analytical ways they devise to “solve” the problem they have selected from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. They will be encouraged to undertake original, creative, interdisciplinary, and theoretically‐informed research based on the development of a varied set of analytic skills. They will know how to work with various kinds of print and non‐print objects of analysis, as well as with the methodologies required to interrelate them. They will be able to apply for grants, prepare and publish research findings, and contribute to the planning of research venues such as graduate conferences and workshops (already, throughout their course of study in ASPECT, students will have been encouraged to present their research at regional, national, and international professional conferences). They can be expected, with these accomplishments, to apply these skills to related or new projects. Furthermore, graduates who intend to pursue a postsecondary teaching career will be prepared to teach core courses in the departments or disciplines most related to their research/teaching interests. Additional Relevant Points about the ASPECT Course of Study Not everyone who is admitted into a Ph.D. program successfully obtains a Ph.D. The process is demanding. Ph.D. admission is an invitation to pursue, but not an entitlement to obtain the degree (see also section on “Dismissal from Program” above). A student’s initial course grades are preliminary indicators of a student’s standing in the program (those exhibiting Ph.D. potential should be receiving straight A grades or close to it in the vast majority of their courses). In addition to grades in courses, classifications other than ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ on annual reports are clear indications that a student should consider other options than a Ph.D.
28
Normal and Expected Timeline (with Relevant Milestones) for the ASPECT Ph.D. Student arrives
Meets with Program Director who appoints a temporary advisor. Within one month, determines a preliminary plan of study with Advisor and Director.
After 12 credits or 1 year (whichever comes first)
Student appoints a Major Advisor and forms an Advisory Committee. Student submits a Plan of Study to the Graduate School
By the end of the 3rd Semester
Initial Dissertation Proposal is crafted (often as a result of ASPT 6904 seminar)
No later than in the 5th Semester
Public Dissertation Proposal Defense takes place, followed by Preliminary Examinations no later than 60 days after successful Proposal Defense
After 5th Semester
Research credit hours to conduct work on dissertation
During 6th, 7th, and 8th Semesters
Continued and steady work on dissertation leading to Public Dissertation Defense as Final Examination when dissertation deemed ready by Advisory Committee and Major Advisor. Public Presentation of research findings normally to precede Public Dissertation Defense by a few weeks
Note: In addition to the above, an Annual Progress Report (with Advisor’s Verification Form) is due every year by April 15th, to be followed by a meeting with Program Director to assess satisfactory progress towards degree completion.
29
SAMPLE FORMS SECTION All forms can be found on the ASPECT website (http://www.aspect.vt.edu/graduate/forms.html ) or on the Graduate School website (http://graduateschool.vt.edu/academics/forms ).
30