Program Handbook Template
Include here a short description of the program and the nature of what it provides to students who earn the degree.Mission, Vision, Values, and Program Goals and Outcomes
Mission statement
Our mission is to promote learning through the discovery, preservation and dissemination of knowledge of public value across a broad spectrum of disciplines and fields of study. UMKC celebrates the individual and embodies opportunity for all by intertwining these goals with innovation to enable transformational impact aimed at bringing cultural, social, health and economic prosperity to the metropolitan, regional and global communities we serve.
Vision
Our vision is to aspire to be an exemplary public, urban research university of the 21st century, pursuing excellence as a human-centric learning and discovery community that fosters opportunity for all as we enrich the lives of the people and regions we serve.
Values
Our values make us proud to contribute to a student-centered, urban university, serving our mission of learning, discovery, research and service, inspired by our commitment to respectful interaction and opportunity for all.
Our key values:
- Accountability
- Learning
- Respect
- Opportunity
- Collaboration
- Integrity
School of Graduate Studies Mission Statement
The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) provides a support network that promotes excellence in graduate education, and supports current and prospective graduate students in achieving their full potential. We do this by:
- Advocating for graduate education
- Recruiting and retaining students
- Assuring quality control in graduate programs
- Managing and distributing financial support
- Providing support services for graduate students
- Partnering with others to promote graduate education
School of Graduate Studies Vision Statement
The vision of the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) is to be a leader in urban graduate education through the support of a diverse student body who advances knowledge and positively impacts our regional, state, national, global, and disciplinary communities.Emphasis Areas, Coordinators, Advisors
You can use this section to describe the differences in emphasis areas, provide contact information/photos of the advisors, or another applicable use for your specific program.
Guide Through the Program
Include in these accordions things like first/second semester goals, Individual Development Plan information, how the Plan of Study is developed and its deadline, forming a Supervisory Committee (if applicable), qualifying and Comprehensive Exams, a research plan approval, thesis/dissertation information, etc. I have left the Natural Sciences information here as a template, but your program may not use all these areas and may use others.Mission statement
Our mission is to promote learning through the discovery, preservation and dissemination of knowledge of public value across a broad spectrum of disciplines and fields of study. UMKC celebrates the individual and embodies opportunity for all by intertwining these goals with innovation to enable transformational impact aimed at bringing cultural, social, health and economic prosperity to the metropolitan, regional and global communities we serve.
Vision
Our vision is to aspire to be an exemplary public, urban research university of the 21st century, pursuing excellence as a human-centric learning and discovery community that fosters opportunity for all as we enrich the lives of the people and regions we serve.
Values
Our values make us proud to contribute to a student-centered, urban university, serving our mission of learning, discovery, research and service, inspired by our commitment to respectful interaction and opportunity for all.
Our key values:
- Accountability
- Learning
- Respect
- Opportunity
- Collaboration
- Integrity
School of Graduate Studies Mission Statement
The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) provides a support network that promotes excellence in graduate education, and supports current and prospective graduate students in achieving their full potential. We do this by:
- Advocating for graduate education
- Recruiting and retaining students
- Assuring quality control in graduate programs
- Managing and distributing financial support
- Providing support services for graduate students
- Partnering with others to promote graduate education
School of Graduate Studies Vision Statement
The vision of the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) is to be a leader in urban graduate education through the support of a diverse student body who advances knowledge and positively impacts our regional, state, national, global, and disciplinary communities.Forms applicable to the Program
I have left the Natural Sciences list here as a guide, but you will want to detail ALL required forms throughout the program, as well as providing links/resources to any forms that might be applicable for a student throughout their time at UMKC.Sometime in the first two semesters, the student meets with the primary advisor to complete an Individual Develop Plan, which assesses the first year progress and details the coming goals (academic, research, career, etc.). This document should help set expectations for timelines and for advisor/advisee communications throughout the program.
In the subsequent years, advisor and student will meet to review and revise the Individual Development Plan, also providing progress updates for each stated goal.
An additional piece specifically for this Natural Sciences Ph.D. program entails an online survey sent from SGS to students, typically each November, for feedback on advisor effectiveness and any additional commentary, feedback, and/or needs outside of the primary advisor.
The Plan of Study should be discussed by the advisor and student prior to its completion in Kuali, such that both parties are in agreement about the program’s required coursework, exams, dissertation, etc.
The primary advisor begins the completion of the Plan of Study online in Kuali, through the GradProRoo site. The advisor selects the necessary program components and enters any transfer coursework. The advisor can then fill in the required UMKC coursework, or instead can select an option for the student to fill in the UMKC coursework. The form is then forwarded to the student for review and approval (“send back” is also an option if the student needs clarification on a particular piece of the Plan of Study). Other needed approvals are completed after the advisor and student steps.
The final Plan of Study will remain on record with the Registrar’s Office. Any later changes require resubmission through GradProRoo for approval.
The Supervisory Committee shall consist of at least four members, composed of at least one doctoral faculty from each designated discipline, with a maximum of three from any one discipline.
Up to two of the remaining members of each committee can hold either graduate or adjunct graduate faculty status. Where graduate or adjunct graduate faculty are included, the Advisor shall provide a strong justification for their inclusion.
The Supervisory Committee Formation is an online form in Kuali, accessible through GradProRoo.
Final approval of the composition of each Supervisory Committee rests with the School of Graduate Studies.
The Preliminary Research Plan (2-4 pages) must be developed and submitted to the Supervisory Committee for review. The committee members should not agree to serve on the committee until after they have reviewed the Preliminary Research Plan.
The approved Supervisory Committee information will be saved in the student’s files. Any later changes to this Committee must be submitted and approved through GradProRoo.
To advance to degree candidacy, Natural Sciences Ph.D. students are required to pass a comprehensive examination that integrates components of each discipline to which they have been admitted. The comprehensive exam may include written and/or oral components and must include an evaluation of the student’s ability to integrate content, theory, and/or methods from each specified discipline.
The doctoral comprehensive examinations must be completed at least seven months before the date of graduation.
These requirements must have been met before a student can take the comprehensive examination:
- Successful completion of all qualifying requirements (such as residency requirement) and full admission to the School of Graduate Studies.
- Filing and approval of the Plan of Study and completion of essentially all coursework or other study required for the degree.
- Appointment and approval of a Supervisory Committee.
- The student must be enrolled when taking the Comprehensive Examination.
Process steps include:
- Advisor completes the Application for the Comprehensive Examination through the GradProRoo site.
- The application will go through an approval workflow, then a task will remain in the queue of the primary advisor to complete the Examination results.
- Upon completion of the examination, the primary advisor initiates the results process in Kuali. Each member of the Supervisory Committee will need to “pass” or “fail” the student’s exam attempt. The primary advisor and program director will review and approve these results before sending to the Registrar’s Office for the student’s official files.
- In addition to the online pass/fail results, the Natural Sciences Ph.D. program requires an evaluation from each Supervisory Committee member, for the purposes of program assessment. Committee members should complete these evaluations either during the exams or during the completion of the online pass/fail evaluation, and send by email to the primary advisor. The primary advisor should submit all committee members’ evaluations to SGS upon online approval of the pass/fail results.
Candidate submits the Dissertation Research Plan to the Supervisory Committee.
When the plan is approved by the Supervisory Committee members (and the appropriate Institutional Review Board, if applicable), the candidate’s Supervisory Committee Chair sends the completed Research Plan Approval forms with a copy of the Research Plan to the School of Graduate Studies (umkcsgs@umkc.edu). These forms are not yet online in Kuali - please navigate to the forms page for the Word document.
The candidate begins/continues dissertation research and analysis of data according to the plan.
Candidate continues to work with the Supervisory Committee to complete the dissertation research and to write the final dissertation.
The candidate seeks approval from the Supervisory Committee Chair to apply for graduation in Pathway.
At least six weeks prior to graduation, the candidate and advisor complete the online Preliminary Approval process through GradProRoo. This process includes the preliminary approval by the advisor and the signing of the MOspace license agreement (and embargo request if needed). The student also sends a copy of the dissertation to the School of Graduate Studies for a format review.
Candidate works with the Supervisory Committee Chair in conjunction with the student’s Supervisory Committee members to schedule the defense of the dissertation and to announce the date, time, and location to doctoral faculty at least 2 weeks prior to the defense. By this time, the student should have also submitted a copy of the dissertation for the committee's review. The student should include the intended defense date within the preliminary approval form in Kuali.
The defense must take place during the regular semester (Fall, Spring, Summer). Any exceptions must be approved by the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. The defense is open to all doctoral faculty members.
Supervisory Committee members will complete an online examination approval through GradProRoo. The primary advisor should begin the defense form in Kuali, available at the GradProRoo site, immediately after the defense itself. The committee evaluations are due within 48 hours of the defense.
Each committee member should also complete a document approval through the Kuali form, which should be started by the advisor in GradProRoo around the same time as the defense form. Note: The School of Graduate Studies will not approve the student to upload in ProQuest until these online committee forms are completed in Kuali.
If your department requires an additional assessment piece related to the dissertation, this will NOT come to SGS (except in the cases of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. and Natural Sciences Ph.D.). You will need to create a separate process for collecting such assessments.
The Supervisory Committee Chair submits changes of grade forms for any “Incomplete” grades in dissertation hours (or other courses) to the Registrar’s Office.After the formatting check, the candidate completes all revisions to the dissertation communicated by the School of Graduate Studies. Once the corrected dissertation has been received from the student and the Final Approvals have been received from the supervisory committee, the dissertation is certified by the School of Graduate Studies and instructions are communicated to the candidate for uploading a final copy to ProQuest.
A Canvas course also exists that contains a graduation-related survey, and the student will be invited to the appropriate Commencement and Hooding Ceremonies.
Minimum Academic Regulations and Degree Requirements
These requirements pertain specifically to students pursuing the Natural Sciences Ph.D. However, Natural Sciences Ph.D. students are also subject to regulations common to all graduate students and the dissertation requirements common to all doctoral students (see additional links). Students should also consult the specific requirements for the disciplines to which they have been admitted. Where discipline requirements are more stringent than the general requirements, the discipline requirements take precedence.
NOTE: Programs should alter this introductory language to suit their programs. The Catalog links will change with the program level (certificate, Master's, Doctoral, Education Specialist, etc.). Any specific program regulations not in the Catalog should also be included here.
The Plan of Study is due by the end of the first year. It includes the required coursework and exams for the degree. Please navigate to the GradProRoo site to find this form online in Kuali. The primary advisor should initiate the form - students may not see it in their version of the site.
The primary advisor inserts the program requirements (exams, dissertation, etc.) and any transfer coursework from other institutions. The advisor can then insert the UMKC coursework or instead can move the document forward to the student for inserting the UMKC coursework.
Any later changes to coursework on the Plan of Study will simply require a full resubmission of the online form.
The Comprehensive Exam passing deadline is five years from admission. Please navigate to the GradProRoo site to complete the application form online in Kuali. The primary advisor should initiate the form when the exams are scheduled - students may not see it in their version of the site. After the application is approved, the results will be initiated by the advisor later, after the exams are finished. Pass/fail results will be submitted by the Examining Committee.
Examining Committee: You will need to complete an online simple evaluation when prompted in Kuali. In addition to that online component, there is an evaluation component needed for program assessment.
The Preliminary Approval Form is online for student completion. Please navigate to the GradProRoo site to complete the form online in Kuali. This should be submitted in conjunction with submitting a draft of your dissertation to the School of Graduate Studies by email. Please see the Submitting Your Dissertation web page for further instructions. A MOspace License Agreement form is also necessary and available on the GradProoRoo site.
The Dissertation Defense examination should be evaluated by the Supervisory Committee within 48 hours. Please navigate to the GradProRoo site to complete the form online in Kuali. This process is started by the primary advisor (or designated staff member) as soon as possible after the defense, to give the committee a full 48 hours to complete their evaluations.
The primary advisor will also begin the online process to collect approvals from the Supervisory Committee that solidify the necessary revisions to the dissertation have been made, and to recommend its approval by the School of Graduate Studies. The primary advisor should navigate to the GradProRoo site to complete the form online in Kuali. The Supervisory Committee members will receive a notification to complete the online assessment in Kuali, and they should also completed the needed Dissertation Defense Evaluations at this time to submit to the primary advisor (these are a separate piece as part of program assessment for the Natural Sciences). After the committee approvals have been received, the student will receive a "task" assignment to verify the final title for the dissertation prior to approval for the final document upload to ProQuest.
The School of Graduate Studies will notify the student when the final document can be uploaded into ProQuest. After this, the School of Graduate Studies will notify the Registrar's Office that the dissertation has been accepted.
Summary of forms and submissions:
- Preliminary approval form - online - completed by the student, approved by the advisor
- MOspace License Agreement form - online - completed by the student
- Dissertation copy submitted by student to SGS (umkcsgs@umkc.edu) by stated semester deadline and submitted to supervisory committee prior to defense
- Dissertation defense approvals - started online by primary advisor or designated staff member immediately after the defense. Completed by entire supervisory committee within 48 hours of the defense. This is only an approval of the passing/failing of the defense.
- After committee-recommended revisions are completed, the supervisory committee submits an online set of final approvals of the document, started in Kuali by the primary advisor.
- NOTE: Both the defense approvals and the document approvals must be received by all committee members in Kuali before SGS will allow the student to upload their final dissertation in ProQuest.
- If your department has an additional assessment piece related to the dissertation, this will NOT come to SGS (except in the cases of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. and Natural Sciences Ph.D.). You will need to create a separate process for collection of any assessment forms.
- After committee evaluations are completed in Kuali and all revisions are made (including for format purposes), SGS will allow the student to upload to ProQuest.
- SGS reviews the ProQuest upload prior to approving the final dissertation with the Registrar's Office.
To declare or change a secondary discipline, please utilize the Change of Discipline form. Please navigate to the GradProRoo site to complete this form online in Kuali.
An extension may be requested in some circumstances to the five-year deadline for Comprehensive Examination completion or for the five-year deadline from Comprehensive Examinations to degree completion. Please navigate to the GradProRoo site to complete the Request for Extension form online in Kuali.
Other student forms may be applicable to Natural Sciences Ph.D. students, such as a request to take an undergraduate course, a petition to revalidate coursework more than seven years old, a request for full-time status exception, or a request for student employee positions to total more than 0.5 FTE. Please see this web page for access to those general Graduate Studies forms.
Academic Resources, Practical and Financial Resources, International Studies, Wellness, Campus Involvement, Campus Safety, and Applicable Policies
It is incumbent upon each student in the Natural Sciences Ph.D. program to provide high quality research and writing. Please find in this section information on support services available through UMKC, as well as links to important policies.
NOTE: Please alter this language to suit your program. The resources list mirrors what SGS has included in our Orientation site in Canvas, but if you have further program-specific resources, please include them where appropriate.
Natural Sciences Ph.D. students must satisfy the doctoral residency requirement by satisfactory completion of at least 18 credits, exclusive of dissertation research, in no more than 24 months. When satisfying the residency requirement, all Natural Sciences Ph.D. students are subject to these restrictions:
- The doctoral residency requirement must be satisfied no later than the end of the semester in which the student completes his or her comprehensive examinations.
- Students must achieve a cumulative graduate grade-point average of at least 3.0 in all courses counted toward satisfying the residency requirement.
- Dissertation research credits (5696-5699) may not be counted toward satisfying the doctoral residency requirement.
The chair and a majority of the members of a student's supervisory committee must be from disciplines certified as eligible to participate in the Natural Sciences Ph.D. program. The student's committee chair must be a regular doctoral faculty member from the student's primary discipline and has the final authority over the student's program. The research advisor/committee chair assists the student in identifying other members of the doctoral faculty to form a supervisory committee appropriate to the student's research goals.
The supervisory committee shall consist of at least four members including one doctoral faculty from each of the designated disciplines, with a maximum of three members from any one discipline. Up to two of the members of each committee can hold either graduate or adjunct graduate faculty status. Final approval of the composition of each supervisory committee shall be obtained in writing by the research advisor/committee chair from the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. Where graduate or adjunct graduate faculty are included, the advisor shall provide a strong justification for their inclusion. An outside reader may also be included on the supervisory committee as a non-voting member.Within 12 months (1 year) of initial admission, a student chooses a research advisor and they work to submit the Plan of Study. Prior to the third year or Comprehensive Exams (whichever comes first) the Supervisory Committee formation and preliminary research plan are filed. If modifications to discipline- specific requirements are made after the student is admitted, the student has the option of proceeding under either the requirements in place at the time they entered the Natural Sciences Ph.D. program, or proceeding under the modified requirements.
Guidelines
- The plan of study must include coursework from all the student's disciplines (including courses completed prior to admission that are being credited toward discipline-specific requirements) and must satisfy all the applicable discipline- specific core requirements.
- The plan of study must note the total of didactic hours beyond the baccalaureate degree, exclusive of thesis or dissertation research hours (minimum of 30 hours).
- Didactic coursework on the plan of study will include a minimum of nine credit hours outside of the primary discipline area.
- All plans of study must include a minimum of 12 hours of dissertation research (5696-5699) credit.
- At least two-thirds of the total courses included on the plan of study must be numbered 5500+ if taken at UMKC, or, if taken from an institution with a course-numbering system that differs from UMKC's, they must be courses intended primarily for graduate students.
- UMKC courses at the 100 and 200 levels, and courses with equivalent lower- division numbers taken at another institution, are not available for graduate credit and may not be applied toward the hours required for the degree.
- Students' needs will be examined on a case-by-case basis by their supervisory committees, and appropriate language or related research skill requirements will be incorporated into each student's plan of study.
- The plan of study will include a brief description of the course focus and the name of the supervising professor for any independent study courses listed.
- The plan of study will specify which courses are being used to satisfy the residency requirement.
- The plan of study will outline the comprehensive examination expectations.
Approval Process
Once the advisor and student have agreed on and approved the plan of study, appropriate academic officers corresponding to the student's choice of disciplines [dean(s) or program director(s), department chair(s), division head(s), etc.], must then review and certify by approval that the courses and all other resources are currently available at UMKC and in the respective units for the student to initiate the plan of study. The plan of study then moves to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies for review and approval.
The plan of study will be accepted for review only if:
- The Ph.D. coursework falls within the outlined guidelines.
- The student will enroll at UMKC for dissertation credit under the supervision of a UMKC member of the UM doctoral faculty.
- The plan includes written assurance from the appropriate academic officers that:
- adequate faculty, laboratories, library support and all other necessary resources are presently available at UMKC to support the proposed Ph.D. plan of study
- the courses included in the plan are either presently available at UMKC or can be taken by the student as a visiting student in a time period less than that required to satisfy the residency requirements on the other campus.
To advance to degree candidacy, Natural Sciences Ph.D. students are required to pass a comprehensive examination (written, oral, or both) that integrates components of each discipline to which they have been admitted. The comprehensive examination must include an evaluation of the student’s ability to integrate content, theory, and/or methods from each specified discipline. The doctoral comprehensive examinations must be completed at least seven months before the date of graduation.
These requirements must be met before students can take the comprehensive examination:
- Successful completion of all qualifying requirements and full admission to the School of Graduate Studies
- Appointment of a research advisor and supervisory committee
- Filing and approval of the Ph.D. plan of study and completion of essentially all coursework or other requirements for the degree
The doctoral student must take and pass the doctoral comprehensive examination and advance to candidacy within five years from the beginning of doctoral coursework. Students will typically not enroll in dissertation credit hours until they have passed the comprehensive examinations.
Students should then remain continuously enrolled until the dissertation work is completed and successfully defended. Exceptions to this policy require documentation from the student’s chairperson, with support from the program director and dean. Final approval will be provided by the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.
After the establishment of degree candidacy, a maximum of five years will be allowed for completion of degree requirements. Failure to complete the work within the periods specified will necessitate re-evaluation of the entire program and may result in a notice of termination. In compelling circumstances, and on the written recommendation of a majority of the student's supervisory committee members, the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies may grant a one-year extension. Some academic units may impose more stringent time requirements.The student's supervisory committee must approve the research activities associated with a dissertation. These activities must be performed under the direct and continuing supervision of the committee chair. If the proposed research involves the use of human subjects, animals, or radioactive materials, the student and the research advisor must obtain prior written approval of the proposed research by the appropriate Institutional Review Board, the Animal Care and Use Committee, or the Radiation Safety Committee.
For the approval process, the Ph.D. candidate must submit a brief dissertation research plan. The dissertation research plan shall include:
- An abstract
- A statement regarding the general purpose of the research
- Background information, including a review of the relevant literature, the rationale for the research and a concise statement of the hypotheses to be investigated and/or the research questions to be answered
- Methods
- Appropriate protocol or application if human subjects, animals, or radioactive materials are to be used in the research
All UMKC Ph.D. degrees require a dissertation as the final component of the program. For regulations pertaining to formatting the dissertation and the process for approval, please see the appropriate section of the School of Graduate Studies website. The doctoral faculty view the dissertation as one of the most important aspects of the student's experience because:
- It is a work of original research or scholarship that makes a contribution to existing knowledge.
- It is an educational experience that demonstrates the candidate's mastery of research methods and tools of the specialized fields.
- It demonstrates the candidate's ability to address a major intellectual problem.
Final examinations in defense of the dissertation are open to all members of the doctoral faculty, who may attend as interested observers. The format and procedures of the defense are determined by the supervisory committee and its chair. The date, time, and location must be announced and published at least two weeks before the final examination takes place. This examination may be conducted only after the dissertation has been approved by the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and may not be administered when UMKC is not officially in session.
The defense of the dissertation is approved when a majority of the supervisory committee recommend approval and submit the results to the chair online. Within 48 hours of the defense, the supervisory committee chair will report the results of the final dissertation examination to the School of Graduate Studies, and notification is sent to the candidate.