Advising & Academic Planning

Pursuing doctoral study is a meaningful and carefully considered decision. It is important for the student to know what to expect from the program and for the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing to know as much as possible about the prospective student. At the start of the doctoral program, the Director of the Ph.D. Program assigns students to a faculty member who assumes the traditional responsibilities of an academic adviser. These early advising assignments are treated by both students and faculty as temporary arrangements. This relationship helps get a student started in his or her studies, but there is no reason for either party to assume that this temporary advising connection will become permanent.

Once students start taking courses, meeting faculty, and exploring their interests, it is normal that they begin developing relationships with a variety of faculty members. As soon as students find someone with whom they would like to work with in developing their program plan, they initiate a formal change of adviser. This change merely formalizes a shift in advising roles that has already taken place. For a student to make such a choice is neither surprising nor insulting to the temporary academic adviser, because the assumption from the start is that students are likely to move on once they become more familiar with the program faculty. Students who wish to request a change of adviser must first have a conversation with both their current adviser and the proposed new adviser. Following these discussions, the student should submit a formal email request to the Director of the PhD Program. This email should clearly outline the rationale for the change and confirm that discussions have taken place with both advisers. The student must cc both the current and proposed advisers on the email.

Upon receipt of the request, the Director will initiate a discussion with the involved parties. A final determination will then be communicated to the student and both advisers.

Students are ultimately responsible for learning about and planning to fulfill degree requirements, but an adviser can help. Academic advisers provide information about the academic requirements of the program, choice of electives, development of a balanced program, and availability of university resources. Students are urged to talk with an adviser each semester about program plans. Students are free to change advisers whenever such a change leads to a better match between the student’s interest and the expertise of the adviser.

As soon as possible (usually before the end of the first year or early in the second full year of study) the student selects a research adviser who will replace the academic adviser. In some cases, the academic adviser may simply assume the new role. A good match of skills, interests, and personality between the student and the research adviser is critical to a successful performance of the research. A well-informed student is more likely to make a good decision. Discussions with individual faculty, careful review of recent publications, participation in research seminars, advice from the academic adviser and the Director of the Ph.D. Program are several avenues for information about choosing a research adviser. The research adviser will ultimately chair the dissertation committee.

The student and the academic adviser/research adviser share the responsibility for planning a program of coursework that provides the student appropriate academic knowledge, scholarly perspectives, skills, and satisfies the curricular requirements of the program. The plan, also known as the Ph.D. program progress record, should be organized to conform to the requirements of the program. The program plan is always subject to future additions, deletions, or substitutions, as long as the revisions satisfy program requirements. The earliest course on the plan can be no more than eight years old; all courses, therefore, must be taken within the eight-year period of time.

GENERAL

Typical advisers:

1. Make themselves familiar with the curriculum and courses necessary to meet the program requirements within the college.

2. Become acquainted with the various resources available under Student Services and elsewhere within the University organizations.

3. Maintain and post reasonable office hours during which students may meet with them, as and when required, discussing any aspect of their scholastic career, especially issues related to the student’s progress and plans for subsequent work.

4. Familiarize themselves with administrative, University, and departmental regulations, procedures, and scheduled activities relating to the advising process.

Academic Adviser

The Academic Adviser represents a vital linkage between the entering student and the doctoral program. The Academic Adviser plays an important role in orienting the student to the College and the program, assisting with clarification of goals, helping the student to structure a meaningful and integrated learning experience and monitoring the student’s progress in and adjustment to doctoral study. The specific responsibilities of the Academic Adviser are to:

1. Interpret the doctoral program design, requirements and policies to the student.

2. Guide the student in planning objectives for doctoral study and clarifying career goals.

3. Guide the student in completing the Program Plan in accordance with program requirements, individual research interests and career goals.

4. Guide the student with registration procedures.

5. Approve and sign required materials needed for the program records.

6. Monitor the student’s academic progress through communication and discussion with faculty teaching doctoral courses, checking grades and meeting with the student.

7. Guide student in meeting deadline for qualifying examination.

8. Evaluation of the student’s academic progress by completing the Annual Evaluation in collaboration with the student.

9. Maintain student record to include:

a. Program plan

b. Annual evaluation of student progress

c. Notation of special advisement consultations, phone calls, etc.

10. Guide the student in selecting a dissertation research topic (general area for the research) and Research Adviser.

11. Guide the student in completion of a Predoctoral HRSA Fellowship application to NINR, if appropriate or refer for assistance to Research Adviser.

12. Forward the student’s file to the Research Adviser.

Research Adviser

The Research Adviser (Chair of Dissertation committee) assumes the responsibilities of academic advisement of the student as soon as the student has made the selection. In addition, the Research Adviser has the following responsibilities:

1. Guide the student with the selection of specialty and elective courses for pursuing a unified program of study supportive of the student’s interests and career goals.

2. Ensure the plan of study has been completed and submitted to the Director of the Ph.D. Program for approval before the student registers for elective/specialty credits.

3. Guide the student in completion of a Predoctoral NRSA Fellowship application to NINR or application to other relevant funding source that student is eligible for. 

4. Serve as Chairperson of the student’s Dissertation and Comprehensive Committees.

5. Guide the student in selecting a Dissertation Committee.

6. Assume primary responsibility for guiding the student throughout the dissertation research process and completion of the dissertation, to include assistance with:

a. Selecting and delimiting a research topic

b. Developing a written proposal for the research project

c. Carrying out the research as proposed (and approved)

d. Developing the dissertation

7. Notify the Director of the Ph.D. Program and the Associate Dean for Graduate Education in writing of the proposed dissertation topic and proposed Dissertation Committee membership so approval can be obtained from the J. Jeffery and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School Dean prior to the student’s defense of the research proposal.

8. Notify the Director of the Ph.D. Program and the Associate Dean for Graduate Education in writing when the student has successfully passed the comprehensive examinations and defended the dissertation research proposal.

9. Forward a copy of the approved dissertation proposal form to the Director of the Ph.D. Program and Associate Dean for Graduate Education.

10. In conjunction with the student, determine his/her readiness to take the comprehensive examinations, subject to approval by the Associate Dean for Graduate Education.

11. Serve as a member of the committee, which administers the comprehensive examination to the student.

12. Recommend to the Dean of the J. Jeffery and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School via the Associate Dean for Graduate Education, the membership for the student’s Dissertation Committee.

13. Once the dissertation has been approved for defense by the student’s Dissertation Committee, the student and adviser will notify the  PhD Program Director and the Associate Dean for Graduate Education who will work with the administrative team and schedule the date/time/location of the defense. A minimum of three weeks is required for Graduate School scheduling.

14. Serve as the chairperson of the student’s Final Oral Examination Committee.

15. Complete and forward to the Graduate School via the Associate Dean for Graduate Education, the results of the examination.

16. Approve and sign the final version of the dissertation. Once the final thesis is submitted by the student to the Fox Graduate School, the Dissertation Committee will receive an email to review and approve the dissertation electronically.  

Research advisers must be Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing faculty who hold membership on the J. Jeffery and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School faculty. The Research Adviser must have sufficient expertise to guide the student’s proposed area of research. The Research Adviser is selected by the student with input from the Academic Adviser. Ideally, the student makes this choice following discussion with several qualified faculty members. Ordinarily the student will choose a Research Adviser by the end of the second semester of full-time study (or the equivalent). The Academic Adviser, if qualified, may serve as the Research Adviser as well. The choice of a Research Adviser is based on mutual agreement between faculty member and student. The Director of the Ph.D. Program is informed of the student’s selection in writing. The Research Adviser chairs the Dissertation Committee.

Changing Advisers:

1. Requests should be forwarded to the Director of the Ph.D. Program who coordinates the reassignment.

2. A change in Research Adviser (and if appropriate, Committee membership) is indicated if the substantive area of the student’s research changes remarkably.

3. A change of adviser may be initiated by the Adviser or the Advisee without prejudice to himself or herself.

4. A change of membership on the Dissertation Committee must be recommended by the student’s Research Adviser, subject to approval by the student, the Associate Dean for Graduate Education, and (following approval of the original Committee) to the Dean of the J.Graduate School.

1. Communicating regularly with his/her adviser regarding programs, goals and plans.

2. Initiating contact with faculty members whom she/he is considering as Research Adviser.

3. Selecting a Research Adviser, in consultation with the Academic Adviser.

4. Registering for the Qualifying examination following consultation with Adviser and Director of the Ph.D. Program.

5. Initiating contact with faculty members being considered as members of the Dissertation Committee/comprehensive examination committee.

6. Selecting Individual Specialty [elective] Courses in collaboration with their Adviser prior to registering.

7. Communicating with Dissertation Committee members on a regular basis regarding progress, scheduling meetings, including proposal hearing, comprehensives and dissertations.

8. Communicating to the Adviser and the Director of the Ph.D. Program a desire to change advisers.

9. Becoming familiar with and complying with all relevant policies and procedures as set forth by the J. Jeffery and Ann Marie Fox  Graduate School and Graduate Program of the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing.

10. Reporting problems that delay progress in completing the degree requirements to the Associate Dean for Graduate Education, and when appropriate, the Dean of the J. Jeffery and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School.

To advise and ultimately approve (when appropriate) the dissertation research plans and the written dissertation proposal. Approval must be based upon two-thirds positive vote.

1. To be available to the student for consultation regarding the research and the dissertation.

2. To serve on the student’s comprehensive committee (developing and selecting questions; grading written and oral component).

3. To read the dissertation and, when appropriate, to designate the dissertation as complete and acceptable (must be based on two-thirds positive vote).

4. To communicate all committee decisions in writing to the student and the Director of the Ph.D. Program (Chairperson is responsible for this activity).

5. Conduct the final oral defense of the dissertation and determine acceptability of written dissertation for graduation. The entire committee must participate in the final oral defense. If a member is unable to attend, a replacement must be appointed. At least three members must be physically present for comprehensive, proposal hearing and final defense. (A maximum of two of five members may participate via distance, but only one by telephone). The student must be physically present.

Doctoral Examination — The (entire) committee will prepare and administer the examination and evaluate the candidate’s performance on the examination. If a committee member is unable to attend the final oral defense, the member may sign as a special signatory. A revised committee appointment form will need to be sent to the Office of Graduate Enrollment Services, 114 Kern Building, removing the faculty member as a regular committee member and moving the member to a special signatory. If there are then not enough members serving on the committee (i.e., four or more active members of the Graduate Faculty) another Penn State faculty member will need to replace that member to constitute a legitimate doctoral committee. (Substitutes are not permitted.) These changes and approvals shall occur before the actual examination takes place. The department or program head will notify the Office of Graduate Enrollment Services when the candidate is ready to have the comprehensive and the final oral examinations scheduled and will report the results of these examinations to that office.

It is expected that doctoral examinations will take place at the campus location of the graduate center offering the program (University Park or the Hershey Medical Center), and the graduate student must be physically present at any doctoral examination.

The dissertation adviser, as well as the chair of the doctoral committee (if not the same individual as the dissertation adviser), along with additional members of the committee to total a minimum of three, also must be physically present at the comprehensive/final examinations. (Thus, for a five-person committee, two members could participate via distance.) Requests for exceptions to allow participation of any committee member via distance must accompany the Examination Request Form and must be submitted to the director of Graduate Enrollment Services for approval at least two weeks prior to the date of the examination. Of those approved to participate via distance, no more than one member may participate via telephone; any or all of those approved to participate via distance may participate via interactive videoconferencing. Special arrangements, i.e., requirements for meeting participation via distance, must be communicated to the student and all doctoral committee members well in advance of the examination.

A favorable vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the committee is required for passing a comprehensive or a final oral examination. If a candidate fails an examination, it is the responsibility of the doctoral committee to determine whether another examination may be taken.

The committee examines the dissertation, administers the final oral examination, and signs the doctoral approval. At least two-thirds of the committee and the Associate Dean for Graduate

This committee, selected based on expertise relevant to the dissertation research, serves in an advisory capacity to the student and assures that the dissertation research and written dissertation are of sufficiently high quality to demonstrate to the scientific community at large the student’s competence as an independent researcher. The Graduate Student Committee Procedures & Doctoral Committee Appointment Signature Form is obtained from the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing Graduate Program office.

General guidance of a doctoral candidate is the responsibility of a doctoral committee consisting of four or more active members of the Graduate Faculty, which includes at least two faculty members in the major field. The dissertation/performance adviser must be a member of the doctoral committee. The dissertation/performance adviser usually serves as chair, but this is not required. If the candidate is also pursuing a dual-title field of study, a co-chair representing the dual-title field must be appointed. In most cases, the same individual (e.g., dissertation/performance adviser) is a member of the Graduate Faculty in both the major and dual-title fields, and in such cases may serve as sole chair.

At least one regular member of the doctoral committee must represent a field outside the candidate’s major field of study in order to provide a broader range of disciplinary perspectives and expertise. This committee member is referred to as the “Outside Field Member.” In cases where the candidate is also pursuing a dual-title field of study, the dual-title representative to the committee may serve as the Outside Field Member. Additionally, in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest, the primary appointment of at least one regular member of the doctoral committee must be in an administrative unit that is outside the unit in which the dissertation/performance adviser's primary appointment is held (i.e., the adviser's administrative home; in the case of tenure-line faculty, this is the individual's tenure home). This committee member is referred to as the “Outside Unit Member.”

In the case of co-advisers, the Outside Unit Member must be from outside the administrative home(s) of both co-advisers. In some cases, an individual may have a primary appointment outside the administrative home of the student’s dissertation/performance adviser and represent a field outside the student’s major field of study; in such cases, the same individual may serve as both the Outside Field Member and the Outside Unit Member. If the candidate has a minor, that field must be represented on the committee by a “Minor Field Member.”

The doctoral committee is appointed by the director of Graduate Enrollment Services, upon recommendation of the head of the major program, soon after the student passes the qualifying examination. The Dean of the J. Jeffery and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School may, on occasion, appoint one or more members of the committee in addition to those recommended by the head of the program.

A person who is not a member of the Graduate Faculty (and may not be affiliated with Penn State) who is otherwise qualified and has particular expertise in the candidate's research area may be added as a “Special Member,” upon recommendation by the head of the program and approval of the director of Graduate Enrollment Services. A Special Member is expected to participate fully in the functions of the doctoral committee. If the Special Member is asked only to read and approve the doctoral dissertation or to evaluate the final performance, that person is designated a Special Signatory. Occasionally, Special Signatories may be drawn from within the Penn State faculty in particular situations.

Graduate Faculty officially appointed by the J. Jeffery and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School to a doctoral committee who then leave Penn State may maintain that committee appointment for up to one year if the student's graduate program and the Dean of the J. Jeffery and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School, through the Office of Graduate Enrollment Services, approve the request for this exception. A retired or emeritus faculty member may serve as a doctoral committee chair if, and only if, he/she was officially appointed and began chairing the committee prior to retirement and has the continuing approval of the program head and the dean of the Graduate School, through the Office of Graduate Enrollment Services. Requests must be sent by the program head to the director of Graduate Enrollment Services. Otherwise, the committee must be revised to either remove the faculty member from the committee or change the individual's appointment to a Special Member.

Chair — The chair or at least one co-chair must be a member of the specific graduate faculty of the doctoral program in which the candidate is enrolled. A retired or emeritus faculty member may chair a doctoral committee if he/she began chairing the committee prior to retirement and has the continuing approval of the department head or program chair. The primary duties of the chair are: (1) to maintain the academic standards of the doctoral program and the Graduate School, (2) to ensure that the comprehensive and final examinations are conducted in a timely fashion, (3) to arrange and conduct all meetings, and (4) to ensure that requirements set forth by the committee are implemented in the final version of the dissertation.

The membership of doctoral committees should be periodically reviewed by the program chair to ensure that its members continue to qualify for service on the committee in their designated roles. For example, if budgetary appointments, employment at the University, etc., have changed since initial appointment to the committee, changes to the committee membership may be necessary. If changes are warranted, they should be made as soon as possible to prevent future problems that may delay academic progress for the student (e.g., ability to conduct the comprehensive or final examinations).