The Ph.D. Program
The doctoral program consists of 90 semester hours of credit beyond the
B.A. degree. Students with a Criminology, or closely related M.A.
received within the last seven years from an accredited U.S. university
may request up to 30 hours credit from their M.A. work toward this
total. Those with an M.A. from this department may apply 36 hours. The
department requires Ph.D. students to complete at least 66 hours of
course work, including the M.A. hours. Qualifying exams in crime and
justice, law and society, and methods take place at the end of a
student's course work. The 24 hours remaining to complete the required
90 hours usually consist of individual pre-doctoral and doctoral
dissertation research. In addition to the MA requirements, the
Department of Criminology, Law and Society require additional CLS
courses, nine elective courses and dissertation credits. Each Ph.D.
student must indicate an area of specialization: either crime and
justice or law and society.
Procedures for the Ph.D. Degree
- The Supervisory Committee.
The committee consists of at least four members, all of whom must have
graduate faculty status. The CLS program requires that three members
must be from the CLS graduate faculty or approved departmental faculty
affiliates and the fourth member be an external member from outside the
department. While the program requires a total of four members we
strongly recommend a five-member committee. The committee chair must be
a CLS graduate faculty member with tenure line or 50% appointment in
the department and have expertise in the substantive area in which the
student plans to work. Affiliate department members may serve as a
committee co-chair or member. The student should consult with the
proposed supervisory committee chair when determining the other members
and obtain their consent.
The outside member should have expertise related to the student's
research interests. If the student has an out-of-department minor, the
outside member must come from the minor department. Criminology faculty
affiliates can serve as outside members. Students who are unable to
determine likely outside members should consult with the Graduate
Coordinator or supervisory committee chair. Because faculty members in
professional schools (e.g. Law) as well as some other faculty members
are not members of the graduate faculty, special permission from the
Graduate School is required for their inclusion on the supervisory
committee, and obtaining that permission requires compelling
justification. The student must submit a memo to the Graduate
Coordinator for consideration by the Graduate Committee. This memo
should list the proposed committee members and present a brief
rationale for each person's inclusion. Once the Graduate Committee
approves the proposed committee, it will be forwarded to the Graduate
School for approval. Later changes in the supervisory committee require
the same process of petition with a clearly- stated rationale for a
proposed change.
- Plan of Study.
The student should consult with the supervisory committee chair to
develop a detailed plan of courses and timing for completion of the
Ph.D. degree. The supervisory committee chair will transmit an approved
copy of the plan to the Graduate Coordinator within one month of the
supervisory committee's appointment. A copy of the PhD plan of study
can be obtained at http://web.crim.ufl.edu/grad/currgrad.htm
- Requirements. The following
courses are required. Ordinarily students with an M.A. from the
University of Florida will have already completed most of them:
CCJ6001
Proseminar in Criminology & Law
CCJ6920 Seminar in Criminology
CCJ6039 Law and Society
CCJ6705 Research Methods in Crime, Law, & Justice
STA6126 Statistical Methods in Social Research I
In addition, PhD course requirements include:
CCJ7742 Research Methods in Crime, Law, & Justice II
Elective course in student's track of choice:
CCJ6285
Criminal Justice Process (for C&J track)
CJL6090 Law and Social Science (for L&S track)
CCJ7921 Professional Development
METHXXX Doctoral Methods/Statistics (see the Methods/Statistics courses on the
general list of approved out-of-department courses)
CCJ7979 Advanced Research
CCJ7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation
Nine (9) elective courses from graduate courses available throughout the
university and pertinent to student's interest.
With approval of the Graduate Committee, students entering the
department from elsewhere may petition for a waiver if similar courses
have been successfully completed.
- Credit Hour Requirements. A
minimum of 90 semester hours taken after the B.A. is required, with the
following additional restrictions:
- Ordinarily, no more than 3 of the
post-M.A. hours may be in Individual Work courses. Students with an
external M.A. may take 6 hours at the University of Florida. Students
with an M.A. from this department may take 6 hours in their total 90
hour program (3 hours in the M.A. program and 3 post-M.A. hours).
- No more than a combined total of 24
hours taken in courses numbered 7979, Advanced Research, and 7980,
Research for Doctoral Dissertations, may be counted in the 90 required
hours.
- No more than nine semester hours of
graduate sections of primarily undergraduate courses (commonly called
"piggy-back" courses), including hours taken in a Master's program, may
apply toward the Ph.D. degree.
- Students transferring to the
University of Florida with a Master's degree in Criminology may
petition to be credited with a maximum of 30 semester hours taken in an
M.A. Students with a Criminology M.A. from the University of Florida
may count 36 hours from the M.A. program.
- Students entering the Ph.D. program
with a Master's degree in some other field may be required to complete
an M.A. in Criminology or to complete additional graduate- or
undergraduate-level courses. The Graduate Committee has responsibility
for determining these requirements.
- Waivers.
Students may petition the Graduate Committee to waive departmental
rules. Such petitions should include full justification and must have
the approval of the student's supervisory committee if it has been
formed. Petitions should be delivered to the Graduate Coordinator for
submission to the Graduate Committee.
- Courses in Other Departments.
Work in CLS must be in courses numbered 5000 and above. Nine hours of
courses numbered 5000 or above may be taken outside CLS provided they
are part of an approved plan of study (or are approved in writing by
the Graduate Coordinator and supervisory committee chair).
- Areas of Specialization.
Students choose either the crime and justice track or the law and
society track. One elective course at the doctoral level is required.
Students interested in a secondary specialization to enhance their
criminology and law training should consult the Graduate Coordinator
and supervisory committee chair.
- Teaching and Research Experience.
Some teaching experience as a graduate teaching assistant and research
experience working on a faculty member's research are very useful in
enhancing the student's skills and employment prospects. It is highly
recommended that students seek out at least a semester of each type of
experience, even on an unpaid basis. Students should consult with their
supervisory committee or the Graduate Coordinator to discuss ways of
obtaining this experience.
- Written Qualifying Examination.
At the end of course work, comprehensive qualifying exams are required.
These exams should normally occur no later than the 5th semester
following Ph.D. program admission. While preparing for the exams and
while working on a dissertation proposal, the student may enroll in
predoctoral research, CCJ7979, Advanced Research. All students are
required to take two comprehensive examinations. The exams can be taken
during the same semester or in successive semesters but the written
qualifying exam process must be completed within one academic year.
Written exams are ordinarily not scheduled during the summer. One exam
is a tool exam in methods, statistics and theory. This exam will
require the student to demonstrate proficiency in the application of
methodological/statistical techniques and theories relevant to the
study of criminology, law and society, broadly speaking. The other exam
is an area exam in the students chosen area of specialization.
Depending on the area of specialization, students will be required to
possess a mastery of knowledge within either the (1) Crime and Justice
or (2) Law and Society area. Both exams are administered and graded by
appointed committees comprising CLS graduate faculty members.
- Appointed Examination Committees: The
qualifying exam committees will consist of three CLS graduate faculty
members with one alternate member all of whom are appointed for a
two-year term by the area faculty (see list at
http://web.crim.ufl.edu/grad/courses.html). Of the three-member
committee, one faculty member will serve as chair and the other two
persons as members. One committee member will rotate on/off the exam
committee at the end of each academic year.
- Format, Timing and Structure of Exams: The exams are in-house, lasting up to nine hours on one day. There will be three examination dates per academic year. The first offering will be in August on the Saturday before the Fall semester classes start, the second will be in January on the Saturday after the start of Spring Semester classes, and the third will be in April (the exact date will be announced). Either of the area examinations or the tool exam may be taken at any of the three offerings. Written exams are ordinarily not scheduled during the summer. The tool exam will consist of four questions--two required questions (one in theory and the other in methods and statistics) and two questions that the student can choose from a list. On the area exam the student must answer three questions from a list of questions (some may be required).
- Grading: Each appointed committee member submits a "pass" or "fail" written grade for each exam question within two weeks of the date the exam is offered. A majority of graders must issue a pass on each question to pass the exam. If a majority of graders fails a student on more than one question, the student fails the exam and must retake it. To allow for additional preparation, re-examination will occur the next time that the exam is officially offered by the department (see item "b" above). If the committee decides that the student has not passed the qualifying examination or any part of it, one re-examination is permitted. If a majority of graders fails a student on one question, the student receives a conditional pass on the exam and will be given an opportunity for remediation. The remediation will consist of writing a seminar-style paper that address areas of weakness identified from the failing answer; the paper’s topic will be assigned by the comprehensive exam committee. The paper will be due no later than six weeks from the exam date and will be graded by the exam committee members within two weeks of its receipt. If the student fails this remediation, the student will fail the overall exam and will have only one other opportunity to retake the overall exam. The comprehensive exam committee chair shall provide the overall exam result (pass/fail/conditional pass) and the pass or fail results for each question to the student within two weeks of the exam date. Each grader should provide information on failed questions that can be summarized by the comprehensive exam committee chair and given to the student and to the student’s supervisory committee chair. Each student should be notified of the results through email. The supervisory committee chair and graduate coordinator must also be notified. (Passed Spring 2006)
- The Oral Qualifying Examination and
Admission to Candidacy.
The supervisory committee chair shall approve scheduling of an oral
qualifying exam only after the student has passed both written exams
and the supervisory committee chair deems the student ready for an oral
defense. Notice of the exam will be given to the Graduate Coordinator
and department faculty. The oral exam must take place within 30 days of
the exam's completion. Oral exams are ordinarily not scheduled during
the summer. All faculty are invited to attend and participate in the
oral examination, but only members of the supervisory committee may
vote. All members of the supervisory committee must attend.
Time Lapse:Between the oral portion of the qualifying examination and
the date of the degree there must be a minimum of two semesters. The
semester in which the qualifying examination is passed is counted,
provided that the examination occurs before the midpoint of the term
[Graduate School, Rules and Requirements].
- Admission to Candidacy.
Successful completion of both the written and oral parts of the
qualifying examination is required for admission to Ph.D. candidacy.
The supervisory committee's report on the qualifying exams is the
candidacy form and authorizes enrollment in dissertation research,
CCJ7980 (and bars further enrollment in CCJ7979). The Admission to
Candidacy form requires the listing of a dissertation title. Later
changes in the title are possible (though it is important that the
final dissertation have the same title as the original Admission to
Candidacy or amended title reported to the Graduate School). While it
is much more convenient to have a dissertation title at the time of the
qualifying exams, there is a procedure if this is not possible: the
supervisory committee chair reports the qualifying examination result
to the Graduate School (and the Graduate Coordinator) by memo and files
the Admission to Candidacy form when the dissertation title becomes
available.
- Dissertation Proposal and Hearing.
The dissertation proposal may be prepared and defended only after
passing the qualifying exams unless there are unusual circumstances and
the graduate coordinator approves the exception. Ordinarily, it will be
defended by the end of the 7th semester after Ph.D. program entry.
The proposal shall be of the length and organization as determined by
the supervisory committee, and should be sufficient to communicate
satisfactorily an understanding of the literature and background of the
theoretical and empirical issues and present a feasible and appropriate
methodology for the project. A copy of the proposal must be made
available for faculty inspection. Notice of the proposal hearing must
be given to the Graduate Coordinator and department faculty at least 10
working days prior to the date of the hearing. Dissertation hearings
are not ordinarily scheduled during the summer. All members of the
faculty are invited to attend the proposal hearing.
- Suggestions for Dissertation Research.
- Students who remain in residence at
the University of Florida while researching and writing their
dissertations are likely to finish more quickly and will find
consultation with the supervisory committee much easier.
- A dissertation must be completed
within five years of qualifying exam completion. Students taking longer
must be readmitted and may be required to repeat the qualifying exams.
- When writing the dissertation, pay
special attention to Graduate School formatting rules.
- It is entirely ethical for a student
to engage a paid editor to advise on matters of grammar, punctuation,
and spelling. This can be helpful, particularly for students for whom
English is not the first language.
- During the student's planned final
semester, it is essential to obtain and study closely the Graduate
School leaflet showing deadline dates. Incompletes or other defects
should be cured before the start of the final semester.
- The Final Examination.
The final examination is an oral defense of the dissertation; general
matters pertaining to the student's specialization may also be covered.
The exam may not be scheduled before a completed draft of the
dissertation has been distributed to the supervisory committee and the
committee chair has read it and determined that it is ready for oral
defense. The distributed copy must be a complete dissertation
(excepting the acknowledgments, abstract, and biographical sketch). A
copy must be delivered to the department office for faculty inspection.
Notice of the exam must be given to the Graduate Coordinator and
department faculty at least 10 working days prior to the final exam
date. Final examinations are ordinarily not scheduled during the
summer. All faculty members are invited to attend and participate in
the final examination, but only members of the supervisory committee
may vote. A copy of the final dissertation must be delivered to the
department office for inclusion in the department dissertation library.
All supervisory committee members must attend.
Satisfactory Progress
It is important for graduate students to maintain satisfactory progress
while in the CLS program. Progress is considered satisfactory if the
student has:
- no more than two incompletes for longer
than one semester;
- a supervisory committee at the end of the
term in which s/he had accumulated 12 credit hours or by the end of the
second semester in the graduate program;
- a grade point average of 3.0 or higher;
- a plan of study by the end of the first
academic year, updated annually thereafter; and
- met all graduate school requirements.
While satisfactory progress is not a guarantee for funding,
unsatisfactory progress may be grounds for termination from the program
and/or removal of funding.
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