• Doctoral programs will usually be concerned with in-depth mastery of subject matter in a rather narrow area. However, achieving this goal generally requires a broadening of the knowledge base in other fields related to the student's special area of interest, e.g., psychology, health science, physiology, education, business administration, and physical and social sciences.

• Second is the development of knowledge and skills that represent the necessary and basic tools for carrying out clinical, research, or teaching functions-for example, computer science, laboratory instrumentation, statistics, behavioral research methods, tests and measurements, as well as an understanding of the history and philosophy of science.

• The third content area involves clinical or intern experience. These might include ongoing involvement in clinic work, supervision, teaching, or research.

• The fourth area involves the research experience. The development of research skills requires sequential experience in posing questions and hypotheses, designing research projects to evaluate them, and carrying out the research. Such experience will extend throughout the doctoral program. The dissertation project is intended to be the capstone to the research experience, not the beginning of it.

• The final area is related to teaching. One of the goals of doctoral education is to prepare the individual as an academic professional who is equipped to teach students. This will require content dealing with principles of education, methods of evaluation, instructional technologies, and teaching approaches.

Statistics

Required courses:

Required courses:

Prior to and during completion of the dissertation, Ph.D. students must be involved in research activities every semester in which they are enrolled in the doctoral program. It is expected that students will produce a minimum of two manuscript-quality documents related to their research experiences.

Teaching/Research Presentation and Service Experiences

Doctoral students are expected to complete experiences that will include lectures, workshops, inservices, and/or research presentations to students, colleagues, faculty members, and professionals in practice. In addition, students will engage in professional consultations related to issues within the areas of their expertise. The breadth and frequency of these experiences will be outlined in the program of studies document and will be individualized to the needs and skills of students. Some portion of these experiences must involve culturally diverse and exceptional populations. Students will receive feedback regarding service experiences from mentors or their designates.

Computer, Network, and Instrumentation Proficiency

All doctoral students in the Communication Disorders Program are expected to have a working knowledge of electronics and laboratory instrumentation common to their field of study. It is expected that all doctoral students will demonstrate computer proficiency in the following application areas: word processing, statistics, spread sheets, and graphing. Deficiencies in all computer and instrumentation areas will be assessed upon entrance to the program and removed early in the program through coursework, directed readings and/or laboratory experiences. Proficiency must be demonstrated to the mentor or mentor's designate by the time the student applies to write comprehensive examinations.

Multi-cultural Requirement

This requirement is designed to ensure that students are exposed to diverse cultural perspectives related to the areas of emphasis in their doctoral programs. This requirement can be met through new coursework and/or clinical experience. The amount of coursework and type(s) of clinical experiences will be determined by the Supervisory Committee. An attempt will be made to integrate this requirement with student's stated professional goals. Examples for meeting this requirement are listed below.

1. Combination of previous experiences and/or additional coursework or practica Additional coursework may be selected from those listed in (2) below.

2. No previous experience:

Practica--administrative, clinical, and/or research experiences in multi-cultural setting

This area will focus on how individuals learn, how the mind works, counseling, family interactions, etc., depending on the individual needs and interests of the student. This requirement can be fulfilled through fieldwork, research, and/or coursework. Coursework might include classes such as:

The Doctoral Seminar provides graduate faculty with an opportunity to mentor doctoral students by working intensively with them on outcome-based projects of shared scholarly interest. All doctoral students are required to compile a minimum of four consecutive semesters of Doctoral Seminar (prior to candidacy) under the supervision of the chair (or co-chair) of their Doctor Supervisory Committee. The Doctoral Seminar plan for each student will be described in the Program of Studies and approved by the supervisory committee. The Doctoral Seminar plan will include a description of projects, meeting schedules, expected products, and evaluation procedures. Doctoral Seminars are not to be construed as formal classes but rather as individual mentoring experiences with faculty advisors. The sequence and content of Doctoral Seminars is as follows:

Doctoral Seminar One:

Introduction to doctoral study including review of (1) doctoral program planning; (2) career planning; (3) writing, spreadsheet, teaching, library search, and statistical analysis software tools; and (4) dissertation planning. In addition, students are required to be actively involved in ongoing research as outlined in their doctoral program plan. Finally, students are to attend the Brown Bag Research Seminars offered by the Communication Disorders Division.

Doctoral Seminars Two - Four:

Admissions Criteria and Procedures

Evaluation criteria for admission (cumulative point system)

The student must be sponsored for admission by a faculty mentor (If the sponsor is not a member of the graduate faculty, arrangements must be made for co-sponsoring /mentoring). A faculty member agreeing to serve as a sponsoring mentor should provide a written statement of that intent during the admissions review process. This statement will be included in the application file. 

Form of the Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination is intended to allow the student to demonstrate mastery of subject matter within an area of study. The examination may not be waived, but may be tailored to the special needs of the individual student. It should not consist only of writing answers to isolated questions hour upon hour. Rather, in addition to demonstrating proficiency in limited content areas, the student may also be expected to integrate information across an extended project or paper. The final form, content, and duration of the examination will be left to negotiation between student and advisor.

Evaluation of the Comprehensive Examination

Student responses will be read and evaluated by the supervisory committee and others who may be enlisted by the committee. 

Evaluation Choices

Each part must be passed in order to pass the comprehensive exam. The written comprehensive examination can be passed without an oral examination. If the written examination is not completed successfully, the committee has a choice of two options. The first option would be to have an oral examination that would be limited to the specific portion of the written examination not successfully completed. The second option would be to require the student to rewrite the failed portion(s) of the examination. Failure to pass the second attempt at the comprehensive examination will result in automatic review of the student's performance with the possibility of termination from the program. 

Dissertation

Role of the Dissertation and Dissertation Research
The doctoral dissertation should: (1) reveal the student's ability to analyze, interpret and synthesize information; (2) demonstrate the student's knowledge of the literature relating to the project or at least acknowledge prior scholarship on which the dissertation is built; (3) describe the methods and procedures used; (4) present results in a sequential and logical manner; and (5) display the student's ability to discuss fully and coherently the meaning of the results. The work must be described in sufficient detail to permit an independent investigator to replicate the results.

The dissertation is the beginning of one's scholarly work, not its culmination. Dissertation research should provide students with hands-on, directed experience in the primary research methods of the discipline, and should prepare students for the type of research/scholarship that will be expected of them after they receive the Ph.D. degree. (From: The Role and Nature of the Doctoral Dissertation: A Policy Statement – Council Of Graduate Schools)

Dissertation options: 

1. Traditional dissertation focusing on one research project. 

2. Multi-project dissertation consisting of a series of related research projects, prepared as individual research reports with an integrated review of the literature, integrated discussion, and an integrated future research directions section. 

A student selecting the multi-project dissertation approach should work closely with the Supervisory Committee throughout the course of the research to ensure agreement among committee members about focus, procedures, and analysis. However, final approval of the multi-project plan will occur only after the student has been admitted to candidacy. 

On occasion it becomes necessary to reconstitute the Supervisory Committee to satisfy particular demands of the dissertation. This is done in consultation with the Supervisory Committee Chair and must be approved by both the Departmental Graduate Committee Chair and the Department Chair.

Dissertation Defense

Policy for Doctoral Student Funding

A full-graduate assistant assignment with full tuition remission will receive an annual stipend to be paid monthly.  Such appointments must be continuous for four (4) full months within the semester dates and must be at a stipend no less than the minimum level as determined annually in the Guidelines for Graduate Assistantship Eligibility for Student Benefits.  Included in the Guidelines is the provision for a payback of tuition by the student in the even the student doesn’t hold the assistantship for three (3) months.

The requirements for a full doctoral student assistantship include:

1. At least nine (9) hours of academic credit per semester  (both fall and spring) six (6) hours of academic credit during the summer or permission of the major advisor and Department Chair.

2. A work requirement of 20 hours per week involving teaching, supervision, and/or research that will be consistent with the students’ program goals.

3. Because the students are considered full-time students with work responsibilities, they are not to hold other employment as they have a full-time responsibility at UNL.

4. Students should consider doctoral study a full-time job and thus should spend a majority of their time on campus when they are on assistantships.

The stipend for a part-time, but continuous, doctoral student will be negotiated with their advisor and the Chair of the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders.  In general, individuals who are less than full time will not receive tuition remission.  The stipend will be based on the workload of the student.

The tuition remission and stipend for a non-continuous doctoral student will be negotiated with the student’s advisor and the Chair of the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders and consistent with University guidelines for graduate assistantships.

Philosophy on Work Activities for Doctoral Students Who Receive Full-Time Financial Aid From Departmental or University Funds

Doctoral students who are awarded financial aid during their doctoral education will be assigned activities that are consistent with their development as scholars. The purpose of doctoral education is to prepare students for academic and research positions.  Within that context, the goals for assistantships should be constructed with the following goals in mind: 1) lead to the learning and improvement in teaching and research skills, 2) learn how to manage laboratories and laboratory equipment, 3) learn and use current computer technology appropriate for communication sciences and disorders, and 4) be involved in activities that lead to the improvement of technical writing skills. Independence in all of these goals is expected toward the end of a doctoral student’s program of studies.

Each advisor is responsible for insuring that doctoral students working under their direction have the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills to survive as scholars within the discipline.  Faculty members in Communication Disorders have generated a list of appropriate work activities.  Students and faculty are advised to consult the list of activities when formulating work activities each semester.  It should be understood that variations in the time allocated for each activity will vary for each assignment and across academic advisors.  Students may negotiate changes in workloads and activities with advisors.  However, at no time should students be expected to perform the following or similar activities unrelated to their doctoral education: 1) clerical work for a faculty member such as filing or office/lab organization/cleaning that is unrelated to a research project to which the student is involved, 2) attend a class and receive work credit for that activity, 3) run errands unrelated to teaching or research responsibilities, 4) take care of the faculty member’s house or family member, and 5) count commuting time as work time.

Any disagreements or complaints about how students are allocating their time for their assistantships should be worked out with the major faculty advisor.  When issues cannot be resolved, it is recommended that there be a meeting with the Graduate Committee Chair, Chair of the Department, faculty member and student in order to resolve any problems.

General Student Responsibility

Program Faculty

The following is the current Communication Disorders Program faculty and their active areas of scholarship.

In addition, the faculty includes adjunct appointments from such places as Boys Town National Research Hospital, Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, Veterans Administration Hospital and the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Admission Procedures and Forms