Graduate Program in Environmental and Industrial
Hygiene
GUIDELINES
for PH.D. DEGREE
Summary
Admission to Ph.D. Program
Course Work Requirements
Qualifying Examination
The Research Advisor
Dissertation Research
Summary
This document describes the pathway which a student must
follow to obtain the Ph.D. degree. On this page a brief summary
is given of material described in more detail further below.
The student applies for admission through the Office of
Graduate Studies to the Director of the Training Program. Upon
admission, an academic advisor is assigned and a committee of
faculty members is formed to help select elective courses and to
guide the student towards qualification. This Academic Advisory
Committee (AAC) is temporary and is later supplanted by the
Qualifying Examination Committee and then by the Dissertation
Committee which will oversee the student's research.
At least 18 graduate credits of formal courses are required in
addition to the 62 credits of required course work for the M.S.
degree in Environmental and Industrial Hygiene. Additional
electives must be taken to replace waived required courses. The
student must maintain an overall grade point average of 3.0 in
the formal course work with no more than 20% of the credits being
below 3.0. The elective courses are selected by the student and
the Academic Advisory Committee to provide a proper background
for the anticipated area of research. The University requires a
total of 135 credits of graduate work for the Ph.D. degree. The
core courses are supplemented by research credits, seminars and
teaching practicum to reach this total.
During the second year the student looks for a potential
research advisor by interviewing with each faculty member to
explore mutual research interests.
At the end of the second or early part of the third year of
study, the student presents three original proposals at the time
she/he applies to the Degrees Committee for the appointment of a
Qualifying Examination Committee. Up on acceptance of these, the
student develops an extended original proposal for research which
is the subject of an oral examination. A student already holding
an M.S. degree can sit for the exam earlier. Upon passing this
qualifying examination, the student is admitted into candidacy
for the Ph.D. degree and proceeds to do the dissertation research
as specified by the rules of the Department and the University.
With the preparation and successful defense of a dissertation on
this research, the student has completed all of the departmental
requirements for a Ph.D. degree.
The sections which follow contain detailed guidelines
developed by the Environmental Hygiene Science and Engineering
faculty. General Departmental guidelines are attached.
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Admission to Ph.D. Program
- Admission from Outside the Department: The
prospective student applies for admission through the
Graduate Studies Office to the Director of the
Training Program. The Graduate Studies Office ensures
a completed application package.
- The application is evaluated by the Director of the
Training Program and the faculty of the Training
Program.
- Admission From Within the Department: The
student applies for admission through the Graduate
Studies Office to the Director of the Training
Program as above. The package must include a
letter of support from 2 faculty members within the
Training Program. The application is evaluated as
above.
- Academic Advisory Committee: Upon admission,
the student is assigned an academic advisory by the
Program Director and the faculty. The academic
advisor, after discussion with the student and with
the concurrence of the Program Director and the
faculty of the Training Program, enlists two
additional individuals, at least one of which is a
member of the faculty of the relevant training
program This group constitutes the Academic Advisory
Committee which is responsible for overseeing
the progress of the student in the selection of
electives and towards qualification.
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Course Work Requirements
The University of Cincinnati requires that a total of 135
graduate credits be completed for the Ph.D. degree. These
consist of a mixture of credits for course work and research.
- Courses Stipulated for the M.S. Degree or Their
Equivalent: The student takes the required courses
for the M.S. degree (Environmental and Industrial
Hygiene: 62 credits, 69 credits for Hazardous Substances
option within Environmental and Industrial Hygiene).
Courses may be waived with the approval of the course
instructor. An additional elective must be taken for the
same or greater number of credits than the waived course.
Instead of signing up for 2 credits of Special Topics in
Industrial Hygiene in the first Autumn Quarter and 3 credits
of Industrial Hygiene and Safety Practice in Winter Quarter,
as required for M.S. students, the Ph.D. student signs up for
3 credits of Industrial Hygiene and Safety Practice in both
Autumn and Winter Quarters. This carries the obligation of
writing reports on 10 field trips.
- 18 Additional Graduate Credits: The courses taken
are subject to approval of the student's Academic
Advisory Committee. These courses serve to develop
expertise as the groundwork for a student's research
efforts. More than 18 credits are often taken.
- Seminar Series: It is expected that students will
attend appropriate seminars for purposes of availing
themselves of these unique educational opportunities. The
student is required to register for and complete one year of the Occupational Health, Hygiene and Safety
Workshop and the Departmental Seminar Series for at least
2 of the years of residency in the Department. It is
expected that full-time students will attend the
Departmental seminars even when they are not formally
enrolled in the course.
- Teaching Practicum: The student is required to
participate in a teaching practicum for at least 2
quarters of residency.
- Minimum Performance Requirements: The student must
maintain a GPA of 3.0 to continue in the Ph.D. program.
No more than 20% of the course work hours may be below a
grade of 3.
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Qualifying Examination
The purpose of this procedure is to determine if a student is
ready to undertaken research at the doctoral level. It is to be
taken after almost all of the formal
course work. See Departmental policy.
- Application to Degrees Committee: This package is
submitted to the Degrees Committee under the signatures
of the Chairperson of the Academic Advisory Committee and
the Program Director. It must contain the following:
(1) A cover letter which requests that the student sit
for the Qualifying Examination. This letter is to be
co-signed by the Advisor.
(2) Evidence to the effect that
substantially all of the regular courses
have been completed. This material is available in the
Graduate Studies Office in the student's file and may be
copied.
(3) A list of prospective members of the Examining
Committee with an indication from each of a willingness
to serve. This list is intended to be suggestive rather
than exclusive.
(4) Three short proposals of original research
prepared by the student. Each proposal shall be distinct
and not simply another aspect of the same problem.
Ideally, the three will illustrate the breadth of the
student's interests. The proposals consist of a statement
of an original, testable hypothesis carefully justified
by reference to several articles in the current
literature of scientific significant and feasibility.
Detailed descriptions of methodology are inappropriate at
this point. The student should keep the length of each
proposal to no more than three pages (See Departmental policy).
- The Examining Committee: This committee is usually
appointed by the Degrees Committee from the list provided
in the application. It will consist of at least three
(preferably 5) members of the University faculty, one of
whom must be from within the faculty of the Training
Program and one of whom must be drawn from outside the
Department of Environmental Health. The Chairperson of
the Academic Advisory Committee sits as a non-voting
member of the committee. This individual is responsible
for the overall administration of the examination which
includes (1) convening the Examining Committee; (2)
ensuring that the guidelines are followed, and (3)
issuing the final report to the Degrees Committee.
- Form of the Examination: This is at the discretion
of the Examining Committee with the approval of the
Degrees Committee. Historically, it has consisted of the
selection of one of the proposed research projects which
the student develops into a full-fledged research
proposal under the format of an NIH or NSF grant
application. Once the full proposal has been accepted by
the Examining Committee as the written examination, the student submits to an oral
examination. A formal announcement to the Department
faculty has to be posted and distributed at least 14 days
prior to the exam. This consists of a presentation of the
proposal followed by a period of questions. The questions
need not be confined to the proposal and serve to test
the overall state of the examinee's knowledge and ability
to formulate a research plan. Performance on the
examination is decided on the basis of a simple majority
of the voting members of the committee with the options
being:
(1) pass
(2) conditional pass (passing is contingent upon further
work on the part of the student, e.g., written report in
a certain area, taking a specific course, etc.)
(3) re-examination
(4) fail
Should the student fail the examination, a petition to the
faculty through the Program Director must be made for
continuation in the program.
- Timeframe: The procedure is to be completed within
2 months of the formation of the Examination Committee.
The qualifying examination is most often taken at the end
of a student's second year or at the beginning of the
third year.
- Successful Completion: With the successful
completion of the Qualifying Examination, the student
becomes a candidate for the Ph.D. degree. The Ph.D.
candidate is permitted an additional 5 years by the
University to complete the degree. Financial support
is usually limited to a maximum of five years, including
time prior to passing the qualifying examination.
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The Research Advisor
By the start of the Winter Quarter of the second year of
study, the provisional Ph.D. student personally interviews with
every faculty member within the Training Program concerning
research interests/projects. As each interview is completed, the
student will obtain the faculty member's signature on a form
which is available from the Program Director's office. The
student provides the completed form to the Director of the
Training Program, with a copy to the graduate studies office, along with a suggestion for a research advisor
and a letter from this individual indicating a willingness to
serve in that capacity. The research advisor may be the initial
advisor chairing the Academic Advisory Committee or a different
faculty member, if that individual more closely matches the
student's research interests. If a change is desired prior to the
Ph.D. Qualifying Exam, a memo to the Graduate Studies Office with
a copy to the Program Director suffices, if it carries the
signatures of the initial and new advisor. Whenever the student's
Ph.D. focus emerges, it is best that the principal advising be
done by the research advisor. This should occur, at the latest,
when the Dissertation Committee if formed.
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Dissertation Research
After passing the Qualifying Exam, the student is admitted
into candidacy and formally begins research under the direction
of a Dissertation Committee. Typically, research has been
proceeding on an informal basis. It should be formalized within
two months of the admission to candidacy.
- Dissertation Committee: The student with the
chosen research advisor submits to the Degrees Committee
a list of faculty members considered to be appropriate
for the Dissertation Committee. At the same time, a
statement of the proposed research project in sufficient
detail to permit the Degrees Committee to appreciate the
expertise required to approach the topic is included. The
Degrees Committee appoints the Dissertation Committee in
light of this information. It shall consist of at least:
(1) The Research Advisor as chairperson
(2) A full-time faculty member of the Training Program if
the Research Advisor is not a member of the Training
Program
(3) A full-time faculty member from another Training
Program within the Department of Environmental Health
(4) A member from outside the Department of Environmental
Health
Either the Research Advisor or two other members of the
Dissertation Committee must be members of the Graduate
Faculty of the University of Cincinnati. The policy for
external thesis work is presented in the Departmental
Guidelines.
- Statement of Intent: Within 6 months of the
constitution of the Dissertation Committee, the candidate
will submit a Statement of Intent to the Degrees
Committee through the Dissertation Committee. The
Statement of Intent is a concise description of the
nature of the research project: hypothesis, significance,
rational and methods. The Degrees Committee will review
the Statement of Intent and furnish to the candidate and
the Research Advisor a written critique with an overall
"Approval" or "Disapproved" rating.
If the Statement of Intent is disapproved, the Degrees
Committee shall provide the candidate a specific list of
objections, criticisms and recommendations. The candidate
shall furnish to the committee a revised Statement of
Intent.
- The Dissertation: Once the approval of the Degrees
Committee is obtained, it is sufficient for the
Dissertation Committee to provide a brief yearly report
of the candidate's progress to the Program Faculty and
the Degrees Committee. At the conclusion of the research
project, the candidate will prepare a dissertation under
the guidance of the Dissertation Committee. This is a
written document which gives evidence of high scholarly
achievement through independent, original research. Once
the Dissertation Committee judges that the dissertation
is complete, the candidate and research advisor arranges for a public
defense of the dissertation through the Graduate Studies
Office of the Department of Environmental Health. Notice
of the defense must be posed at least two week prior to
the scheduled date of defense. The Research Advisor
shall serve as moderator for the oral defense which shall
consist of (in order):
(1) an oral presentation of the work by the candidate
(2) a period of questioning of the candidate by the
Dissertation Committee
(3) a period of questions and comments by other members
of the audience
At the conclusion of the defense, the Dissertation
Committee will immediately meet to determine the
acceptability of the dissertation and its defense. The
candidate will immediately be informed of the results of this
deliberation. If the dissertation is accepted, the Committee
members will sign the acceptance sheet, and this will be
conveyed to the Graduate Studies Office for transmission to
the appropriate University offices. Should the dissertation
not be accepted, the candidate meets with the Dissertation
Committee within two weeks to discuss the problems and decide
on a course of action. Another defense may be scheduled
within a period of 2-6 months after the first defense.
NOTE: The guidelines stated above have been
developed by the Environmental Hygiene Science and Engineering
faculty. Further information is contained in the Departmental
guidelines.
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