College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences 2015-2016 Catalog

66 student develop a written agreement as to the student supervisor’s responsibilities for the practicum. Dissertation The Ph.D. dissertation consists of original research in the Marriage and Family Therapy field. Students are encouraged to develop research topics that are not only of interest to them but also meaningful to the field at large. It is highly recommended that students begin their studies with a general idea of a dissertation topic which they begin to evaluate upon entering the program. During each of the four research courses , students will be developing components of a manuscript, such as an Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, and IRB proposal, that will lead to a dissertation. Students enroll in their Dissertation courses while completing their Internship. A dissertation committee for all doctoral students will be composed of at least three members, one of whom will serve as the dissertation chair. The dissertation chair and at least one other committee member must be full-time DFT faculty members. A student may have one or more outside members on the committee if methodological or substantive topical issues make such membership advisable, and is approved by the dissertation chair. All members who are not DFT faculty must have an earned doctorate degree, must be full-time faculty at a university, and must provide copies of their credentials to the department. Dissertation committee members may not be from among the student’s family members or personal friends, nor have graduated from CAHSS within the past three academic years. The dissertation Chair will formalize a research study with the student and develop a timeline for moving through the process. The Dissertation process is extensive and specific details about how students move through this process and write their dissertation can be found in the DFT Dissertation Guidelines available online at www.CAHSS.nova.edu/studentresource s. Students must take a minimum total of 9 dissertation credit hours; three credit hours per term for three terms. Three hours of dissertation credits is considered full time by the program. Students must continually be registered for at least one dissertation credit each term until they complete and successfully defend their dissertation, bind, and turn in their final document, and register their dissertation with ProQuest, UMI. The Dissertation process may entail taking more than the minimum of 9 dissertation credit hours as required by the program. Once a student takes 9 dissertation credits over three terms, they can register for one credit hour each term thereafter until completion of their dissertation. If, for some reason, students cannot continue working on their dissertation, they must apply in writing to their Dissertation Chair and the Program Director requesting a Leave of Absence. The Leave of Absence form is located online and must be completed with original signature in BLUE to remain in good academic standing. A student requesting a leave for longer than one term (i.e., two or more), may be unable, upon returning, to continue with the same dissertation chair and committee. The student must submit a written request to their Dissertation Chair for approval to continue their work and all dissertation forms must be updated. If a Leave of Absence is requested and approved, this does not extend the 7 year timeframe for completing the degree program. Students not enrolled in the program for more than three terms are considered inactive and are required to reapply to the program. If approved for readmission, the student must be continually registered to remain in good standing in the program. Three terms of a Leave of Absence is the maximum for a student to remain active in the program. Students are required to adhere to the dissertation guidelines and timelines. The complete DFT Dissertation Guidelines can be found online at http://CAHSS.nova.edu/Downloads/mft.htm . Individual Supervision for State Licensure or AAMFT Approved Supervisor