Doctoral Degree in Physical Education Teacher Education
Steps for Completing the PETE Doctorate
Step 1. Forming the Doctoral Program of Studies Committee
The Department chair, in consultation with the student, assigns an advisor to assist in planning the student’s program. The student, in consultation with the advisor, selects a Plan of Studies Committee. Since the Plan of Studies committee becomes the Dissertation Committee, the committee should be comprised of five faculty members with faculty from the cognate area and research/statistics represented. Three faculty should be from the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences. The chair will serve as the primary advisor and must hold regular graduate faculty status. In addition, three of the five members of the committee must have regular graduate faculty status.
Step 2. Forming Your Plan of Study
This Program of Studies committee assists the students in developing a plan of studies which will include relevant coursework, evaluation of competencies, and an estimated time frame for its completion. The Plan of Studies Committee will meet with the student within six months of beginning the program to ratify the plan. The approved Plan of Studies functions as the document against which completion of program requirements is assessed. The student completes the coursework required by the plan of studies. The number of credit hours required and the time required to complete the coursework varies by program.
Step 3. Qualifying Examination and Comprehensive Exam Guidelines
At the conclusion of the first year of course work, the students will be required to pass a qualifying examination based on core readings provided in required coursework during the first year. After completing all discipline specific coursework doctoral students will complete written comprehensive exams across core disciplinary areas, research methods and statistics, and their cognate area.
Students must check with the chair of their doctoral committee to ensure that all prerequisites have been met prior to requesting comprehensive exams. Students must apply in writing to the Department Chair of the Coaching and Teaching Studies Department at least four weeks in advance of the scheduled test date in order to sit for the comprehensive examination.
The comprehensive examination will be administered across two 6-8 hour (approximate) sessions. Students’ responses to each doctoral seminar will be evaluated by PETE faculty members who taught the seminars. The faculty will provide a brief synopsis of their evaluation as well as a numerical score for each area using the following scale: 0-1 = Fail; 2 = Pass; 3 = Good; 4 = Excellent. All areas of the exam must be passed with a score of 2.0 points or higher. If the student receives a 0 or 1, they must retake that area of the exam, but will be permitted only one retake. Once the student passes the written comprehensive exam, they will be able to take the oral comprehensive exam. The oral exam will be conducted by all faculty evaluators of the written exam. The faculty will evaluate the oral exam using the following scale: 0-1 = Fail; 2 = Pass; 3 = Good; 4 = Excellent. The average score must be 2.0 points or higher. If the student receives a 0 or 1 from any faculty, they must retake the exam, but will be permitted only one retake.
A student cannot defend the dissertation proposal until the comprehensive examination has been successfully completed. A student who fails to successfully complete all requirements of the comprehensive examination within one semester beyond the deadline specified in the Plan of Studies will be terminated from the program.
Step 5. Prospectus Meeting
Following the successful completion of the comprehensive examination, the student will write and defend a prospectus for the dissertation. The prospectus will be evaluated by the student’s Dissertation Committee. The Dissertation Committee is often identical to the student’s Plan of Studies Committee, though additions or changes may be made to the Plan of Studies Committee at this time in order to constitute the Dissertation Committee
Once the comprehensive examination and prospectus defense are successfully completed, the student is admitted to candidacy. Admission to candidacy is permission to proceed with dissertation research as described in the prospectus.
Step 6.
The student will write and orally defend an original research project as described in the prospectus. Successful defense will be determined by the quality of the written document as well as by the quality of the oral defense in a forum open to the academic community. All members of the student’s Dissertation Committee must be present for the dissertation defense. Successful defense of the dissertation results in the awarding of the degree. The dissertation must be successfully defended within five years of admission to candidacy.
Research Publications / Dissertation Summary
The research benchmarks for the Ph.D. will result in three publishable manuscripts. The Program of Studies committee will review the manuscripts and determine if they are acceptable for meeting the research benchmarks. The manuscripts must then be submitted for publication for doctoral students to obtain credit for completion of the benchmark. Only the article based on the dissertation need not be submitted to a journal. This manuscript, like the others, will be reviewed by the Dissertation Committee.
The program will culminate in a dissertation research project on an important topic. The dissertation will take the form of a publishable paper. The paper must be cleared for submission by the committee and submitted before signing off on the final dissertation defense. We emphasize peer-reviewed research publications as desired outcomes because of their positive impact on skills and the professional placement options for our graduates. This is consistent with a trend in Kinesiology Ph.D. programs around the country.
The dissertation will be defended in public in a forum that has been announced at the school and university level at least two weeks in advance of the meeting date. The dissertation committee will be comprised of five members. All committee members must sign the approval form for the dissertation to be complete.
The research benchmarks and timeline for Ed.D. and Ph.D. programs are presented below.
Research Benchmarks
Ed.D. & Ph.D. Research Benchmarks
Doctoral Student _____________________ Faculty Advisor ________________________
(Date and initial upon completion)
1) Research Benchmark #1 (Ed.D. & Ph.D.) Qualifying Exam
Completion Date (Spring 1 st year) ___________________Advisor initials _________
2) Research Benchmark # 2 (Ph.D) Article Submission #1 (Issues or data-based)
Completion Date (Fall 2 nd year) _____________________Advisor initials__________
3) Research Benchmark # 3 (Ph.D.) Article submission #2 (survey, pilot, data-based)
Completion Date (Spring 2 nd year)___________________ Advisor initials__________
4) Research Benchmark #4 (Ed.D. & Ph.D.) Comprehensive Exams
Completion Date (Summer 2 nd year)__________________Advisor initials _________
5) Research Benchmark # 5 (Ed.D. & Ph.D.) Dissertation prospectus
Completion Date (Fall 3 rd year)______________________Advisor initials _________
*ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY – FIVE YEARS TO COMPLETE THE DEGREE
6) Research Benchmark # 6 (Ed.D. & Ph.D.) Dissertation defense
Completion Date (Spring 3 rd year)___________________Advisor initials _________
7) Research Benchmark # 7 (Ph.D) Article submission #3 (Based of dissertation findings)
Completion Date (Spring 3rd year)___________________Advisor initials _________
PETE Doctoral Links:
PETE Links:
WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences
Updated 9/25/08 sb