UD Launches ‘The Quest: The Way of Beauty,’ Season Two of the EWTN Show
“The Quest: The Way of Beauty” is a collaborative effort of UD faculty in several disciplines, including art, theology, modern languages and literature.
+ Read MoreThe Institute of Philosophic Studies awards the Ph.D. and M.A., under the titles Doctor of Philosophy in Literature, Philosophy or Politics, and Master of Arts in English, Philosophy or Politics.
Three years of residency.
A total of 66 credit hours of course work that includes 21 hours of the Core Curriculum sequence and 45 additional credit hours in the concentration discipline (9 of which may be in a related field, with the approval of the concentration director).
Successful completion of the Qualifying and Comprehensive Examinations.
Reading knowledge of one classical language (Latin or ancient Greek) and one modern language (usually French or German).
Successful defense of a Ph.D. dissertation.
All requirements for the Ph.D. degree must be met within ten years from the time the student begins course work in the program. Periods for which a Leave of Absence is requested and granted are not counted toward the limit. Any extensions to the limit must be formally requested of and granted by the Director of the Institute.
Each student is ordinarily required to complete the first two semesters in full time doctoral course work, that is, nine credit hours per semester. This one-year residency is the minimum expected of all doctoral students. Generally, all course work is done in full time work. Doctoral studies at less than six credit hours per semester are discouraged.
Students are required to complete the 21-hour Core Curriculum sequence plus an additional 45 hours of course work in their chosen concentration, nine of which may be in a related discipline (with the approval of the concentration director).
A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 for all doctoral course work is required for graduation. A GPA of 3.5 is required for scholarship support.
The Qualifying Examination provides an occasion early in the student's course of study for the Institute faculty to assess the candidate's ability to continue in the program. Students must take the Qualifying Examination at the beginning of their fourth semester in the Institute.
The Examination consists of three parts:
The Qualifying Examination is conducted by an examining panel appointed by the IPS Director. The panel consists of at least one member from the Departments of English, Philosophy, Politics, and Theology. Members of this panel conduct each oral examination and are responsible for an overall assessment of three parts of the Examination. The director of the student's concentration sits in on the examination ex officio. Together with the IPS Director, they shall determine whether the examinee should continue in the Ph.D. program. Should the panel find the student's examination unsatisfactory, the student will be allowed to complete the Institute's Master's degree, but will not be allowed to continue further work in the Institute.
The comprehensive examination provides an opportunity to achieve and demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the area of concentration and of the core program.
The comprehensive examination is normally taken in the semester following the completion of 66 hours of course work and both language requirements. In special cases it may be postponed a semester. It is offered twice a year and consists of both a written and an oral examination. The written examination is offered during the first week of October and the first week of March.
It consists of three parts:
a) a four-hour examination on the first day on the Core
b) a four-hour examination on the second day in the student's area of concentration
c) a four-hour examination on the third day on a chosen focus text
Students must fulfill the language requirement in one of three ways:
In some cases, where the student's dissertation requires proficiency in a language other than the normal four (for example, in dealing with Machiavelli or Cervantes or Kierkegaard), another language may be substituted for German or French. No one is allowed to do a dissertation on a topic whose major texts are in a language in which the student has not attained reading proficiency.
Before undertaking any of the ways of fulfilling the language requirement, the student should obtain a language approval form from the Graduate Coordinator and secure the approval of the Concentration Director, IPS Director and, outside of following the course option, of the language examiner. In the non-course options, the Concentration Director suggests to the IPS Director the text and the examiner.
All grades earned for foreign language courses will be recorded on the transcript but will not be included in determining the grade point average. The only exception will be for those language courses which may be counted for course credit towards a student's degree.
Requirements at this final stage of the Institute education include:
Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic achievement for a period of one academic year and are renewable annually. Scholarship support requires full time study and covers required course work, Dissertation I and II, and language instruction at UD of up to 18 hours needed to meet the Language Requirements. To maintain a University scholarship a student is expected to keep a GPA on course work of at least 3.5.
Students who receive less than a "C" grade (2.0) in a course may retake the course to try to obtain a better grade. However, scholarships will not cover such retakes, nor will they cover retakes of, or substitution for courses in which a grade of permanent Incomplete (I*) was earned. Without special dispensation by the IPS Director, students must pay to retake courses which are required by their program and from which they have withdrawn.
Students who decide to transfer from the IPS to one of the Master's programs forfeit their IPS tuition remission scholarship. Those who have received special University grants will no longer be eligible for them if they transfer out of the IPS.
Information regarding eligibility for federal and state financial aid is contained in the general bulletin of the University of Dallas.
Students in the Institute may apply for a Master of Arts in their concentration upon successful completion of the Qualifying Examination, forty-two credit hours, and fulfillment of one language requirement. Proper distribution of credit hours involves at least thirty hours in the concentration, to which appropriate Core courses and other courses approved by the Concentration Director as part of the degree plan may apply.
After students have successfully passed the Qualifying Examination, they may petition for a transfer of concentration credits from previous graduate studies. Note: transfer work may not be used to earn the Institute M.A. If the previous work in question was done at an institution other than UD, then no more than nine credits may be transferred into the IPS. However, transfer of course credits is not automatic. The Concentration Director recommends, the Institute Director approves the transfer, and the Graduate Dean's signature makes the transfer final. Course work eligible for consideration for transfer credit must meet the following conditions: it must have been taken within the previous six years, it must be strictly comparable to UD courses, the work must have been done at an accredited university or college, and it must have received the equivalent of a grade of "B" or better. Pass/fail courses may not be transferred. If the previous work was Masters level work done at UD in the programs of English, Philosophy or Politics, then the number of allowable credits will be limited by the discretion of the IPS Director and Graduate Dean upon the recommendation of the Concentration Director. For instance, it is conceivable that an IPS student with a recent UD M.A. in Politics, could transfer 21 (or even 36) credit hours toward satisfaction of the 36 hours of course work required in the concentration. In making petitions, students must submit to the Concentration Director a syllabus or official course description for each course they wish transferred along with a copy of their official transcript which is on file in the Graduate Coordinator's office.
After a student's first year or 18 credit hours in the IPS, requests to change from one concentration to another may be reviewed by the Concentration Director and IPS Director. Students should note that scholarships cover only 66 hours of course work in the IPS, even if they transfer concentrations.
Applicants are admitted to candidacy after successfully completing all course requirements, satisfying the two language requirements, and passing the Comprehensive Examination. Having completed these requirements, students may use the "Ph.D. (cand.)" after their name.
Candidates for a degree must apply within the first two weeks of the semester in which they intend to graduate. Forms should be picked up in the Graduate Coordinator's Office and returned, along with a check covering graduation expenses, to the Coordinator. For the amount of graduation fees, consult the Bulletin each year.
Full-time students are enrolled for a minimum of 9 credit hours per semester. Part-time students are enrolled for fewer than 9 credit hours per semester. Part-time status in the IPS is discouraged.
The "I" (incomplete) grade should be used sparingly. It may be given in a class if, for a serious reason, the student was unable to finish all assignments by the end of the semester and the reasons for the delay have been accepted by the professor. No "I" grade is to be given unless the student explicitly requests it from a professor. All "I" grades for any semester must be removed before the first day of the regular registration for the next semester. The professor has the right to require that the work be done more quickly than the established deadline.
It is the student's responsibility to submit all work required to the professor at least two weeks before the grade is due and to remind the professor of the final deadline. Prior arrangements should be made especially with those professors who may be absent during a particular semester or in the summer.
When work is submitted by the due date, the "I" is only slashed over. If work is not completed on time, the "I" grade will either become permanent (I*) or will be changed to some other grade, at the teacher's discretion, to reflect the work completed.
Braniff Graduate School scholarships will not cover the re-taking of courses in which a permanent incomplete (I*) was earned.
The minimum GPA required for annual continuance in the program and for graduation is 3.00. In courses in which a grade lower than C (2.00 GPA) is given, the grade counts for determining the grade point average but does not satisfy course requirements. Grades for language courses do not count in the final GPA, nor will they be counted in determining both scholarship renewal and eligibility to continue in the programs.
A GPA of 3.5 is required for continued scholarship support.
At the end of each spring semester all IPS students are reviewed to determine their continuance in the program and the level of University of Dallas scholarship aid they will receive.
Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes, and to satisfy all course requirements within the time limits established by their professors, unless prevented from doing so by extraordinary circumstances such as serious illness or unavoidable travel. A professor who deems that a student has been excessively absent during the first half of the semester may recommend that the student withdraw from the course. If a student has been excessively absent throughout the entire semester, the professor may withhold permission to take the final examination and, depending on the student's academic performance, assign a grade of F or FA (failure due to absence).
Every semester the Graduate Office publishes a calendar listing the deadlines for the completion of degree requirements. The student is responsible for knowing and meeting these guidelines.
Students who need to interrupt their course of studies from one semester to the next must seek a leave of absence. Request for a leave must be made at least two weeks prior to the first day of classes and addressed to the IPS Director. Upon the recommendation of the Director, the Graduate Dean will grant or deny the leave. Leaves will be granted for a fixed period and only where there is a good reason for the absence and a good prospect of the students returning to the program. Leaves of absence will not be counted in the time limit for completion of the degree. Students who interrupt their course of studies without a leave of absence are considered to have resigned from the program and must reapply for admission if they should desire to return.
A student who needs extra time to prepare for examinations or to do research for a dissertation may register for a non-credit Doctoral Reading (8V99) course. Registration for this course indicates that the student is involved full time in studies necessary for non-course work degree requirements. At the end of each Reading course the student must demonstrate progress toward completion of a requirement. Registration requires the approval of the Graduate Dean. Doctoral students are limited to a total of four graduate level non-credit Reading courses.
“The Quest: The Way of Beauty” is a collaborative effort of UD faculty in several disciplines, including art, theology, modern languages and literature.
+ Read MoreThe relics of St. Pio of Pietrelcina will visit the University of Dallas on Sept. 20.
+ Read MoreThe University of Dallas welcomes new faculty members in various disciplines and congratulates others on their promotions.
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