Doctoral degree requirements
Applicants to the Ph.D. program are expected to have earned a master’s degree with a thesis or equivalent. Students who have not completed a master’s degree by the end of their first semester in the Ph.D. program will be subject to dismissal. Students without a previous degree in geography are encouraged to apply. Students without previous course work in human geography, physical geography, and spatial techniques, may, however, be required to add hours to their program of study. If a student has not previously taken a course in the history and philosophy of geography, the student will be required to take GEOG 820 as part of the program of study. The addition of hours to a program of study is determined on a case-by-case basis during the program planning interview in the student’s first semester and will reflect the faculty’s appraisal of the student’s experience and needs. Courses taken to strengthen the student’s background in geography may count toward the 30 credit hours of course work required for the Ph.D., but only if approved by the student’s graduate committee.
Students will complete a minimum of 60 credit hours beyond the master’s degree: at least 30 credit hours of course work and 30 credit hours of dissertation research.
All students seeking the Ph.D. in geography will complete the following requirements:
1. Required courses
These courses must be taken while in residence.
2. 800-level course requirement
In addition to GEOG 830 and GEOG 900, twelve credit hours of courses must be at the 800-level or above. No more than 6 credit hours of 500-level courses are permitted in a Ph.D. program, but no 500-level geography course may appear in the program of study.
Complete two geography research seminars (6 credits) both of which must be at the 800 or 900 level, in addition to GEOG 830 and GEOG 900. These two research seminars may not be used to meet the research tools requirement.
Students may not include more than six credits of independent study course work.
3. Non-Geography course requirement
At least three hours must be taken in a department other than geography. Preferably, a course will be taken from a faculty member who will serve as the outside member of the supervisory committee.
4. Research tools requirement
The student in consultation with the advisory committee, selects two tool areas and appropriate course work to develop competency in each area. Tool areas include but are not limited to: a foreign language, quantitative methods, GIS, remote sensing, qualitative methods, survey research methods, and field methods.
At least six hours of course work must be in classes that help meet the research tools requirement. A short letter from the major professor, to be placed in the student’s departmental file, will document the two areas selected and the work needed to complete the research tools requirement. For those selecting a foreign language, the student must demonstrate a reading knowledge of the foreign language based on standards established by the Department of Modern Languages at Kansas State University. Students whose first language is not English must document that they will be using their native language in their dissertation research if they want to use their native language to help meet this requirement.
Students must fill out and submit the “Documentation of Research Tools Selected for Completing the PhD Requirements” form. This form must be on file with the department prior to taking the preliminary examination. This form is available at: http://www.k-state.edu/geography/academics/Research%20Tools.pdf
5. Residence requirement
Students must spend at least one full academic year in residence.
6. Preliminary examination
Students who have filed their program of study with the Graduate School and have completed at least 21 of the 30 hours of course work with a grade point average of 3.33 or better are eligible to take the preliminary exam. To schedule the preliminary exam, the student must complete the “Request for Preliminary Examination Ballot.” The student should submit this form to the Graduate School one month prior to the date of the oral portion of the exam. The preliminary exam must be completed at least 7 months prior to the final defense of the dissertation. The examination covers the student’s fields of specialization as defined by the student’s doctoral committee. It will include both a written and an oral portion. Performance on the examination must provide evidence of the student’s mastery of the subject in four sub-fields as defined by the supervisory committee, knowledge of related geographic literature, and an understanding of research theory and methods.
7. Ph.D. candidacy
Successful completion of the preliminary examination is required for the student to become a doctoral candidate.
The period of candidacy may last up to five years from the end of the semester in which the preliminary exam was passed. If a student fails to complete both the dissertation and final oral examination within this period, the student will be dropped from candidacy. The Ph.D. Candidate must maintain continuous enrollment (at least 1 hour each spring and fall semester) from the completion of the preliminary exam until the Graduate School accepts the dissertation.
8. Dissertation proposal
Students must complete a written dissertation proposal following completion of the preliminary examination. An oral defense of the proposal will be conducted before the supervisory committee, other faculty, and students. Following the public presentation, the supervisory committee and the student will discuss the appropriate revisions to the proposal, if any, and the next steps in the research.
9. Ph.D research hours requirement
Students must complete 30 credit hours of GEOG 999.
10. Dissertation defense
The dissertation will be a cohesive, original, and independent contribution to scholarship. The research is to be performed under the guidance of the major professor and the supervisory committee and must be acceptable to them and to the Graduate School representative, who chairs the final examination. The dissertation must follow guidelines outlined by the Graduate School.
A final oral examination in defense of the dissertation will be conducted and evaluated by the supervisory committee. Two weeks prior to the dissertation defense, copies of the defense draft will be distributed to the supervisory committee and one will be placed in the department office for review by other faculty and graduate students. Other faculty and students are encouraged to attend the public presentation at the defense.
