D.N.P. Doctoral Committee

D.N.P. DOCTORAL COMMITTEE COMPOSITION 

The Doctoral Committee will consist of the student’s adviser and two additional members from the graduate program in Nursing, as assigned by the Associate Dean for Graduate Education.  The committee serves in an advisory capacity to the student and assures that the project is feasible in scope and of sufficiently high quality to demonstrate the student’s competence as a leader in the health care system. The D.N.P. faculty will work with the student in developing the initial plan for the project, which will be approved by the full committee. The Graduate Student Committee Procedures & D.N.P. Committee Appointment Signature Form is obtained from the College of Nursing Graduate Program office. 

General guidance of a D.N.P. student is the responsibility of the doctoral committee. A person not affiliated with Penn State who has particular expertise in the project area may be added as a “Special Member,” upon recommendation by the doctoral committee and approval of the graduate dean (via the Office of Graduate Enrollment Services). A Special Member is expected to participate fully in the functions of the doctoral committee. 

Chair—The primary duties of the chair are: (1) to maintain the academic standards of the D.N.P. program and the Graduate School, (2) to ensure that the comprehensive/ proposal hearing, and final oral presentation 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 project. 

RESPONSIBILITIES OF DOCTORAL COMMITTEES

To advise and ultimately approve the written proposal (Comprehensive Examination).  

1. To be available to the student for consultation regarding the project. 

2. To serve on the student’s comprehensive committee/proposal hearing, (written and oral component). 

3. To read the written component of the project and, when appropriate, to designate the written component 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 Associate Dean for Graduate Education (Chairperson is responsible for this activity). 

5. Conduct the final oral presentation of the project and determine acceptability of written component for graduation. The entire committee must participate in the final oral presentation. If a member is unable to attend, a replacement must be appointed. The student may participate via distance using video-conference technology. 

Comprehensive Examination and Final Oral Presentation— The committee will prepare the student, be present at presentation, and evaluate the D.N.P. student’s performance at the presentation. If there are not enough members serving on the committee present, another Penn State faculty member will need to replace that member to constitute a legitimate D.N.P. committee (substitutes are not permitted). These changes and approvals shall occur before the actual presentation takes place. The department or program head will notify the Office of Graduate Enrollment Services when the D.N.P. student is ready to have the comprehensive/ proposal hearing, and also when the final oral presentation scheduled. Following the final oral presentation, the department or program head will report the results of these presentations to Office of Graduate Enrollment Services. 

A favorable vote of the members of the committee is required for passing a comprehensive examination/proposal presentation or a final oral presentation. 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 written component to the project, administers the final oral presentation, and signs the D.N.P. approval. The doctoral committee and the Associate Dean for Graduate Education must approve the final project.