The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is frequently required for research and staff specialist positions and is nearly always required for university faculty positions. The PhD is often regarded as a degree of specialized education within a relatively narrow field of expertise. The PhD requires a dissertation and a minimum of 30 hours of graduate-level course work, but additional courses may be required by your advisory committee. Advisory Committee The advisory committee is responsible for planning the program of study, approving a dissertation topic, assisting in direction of your research, final examinations and approval of the dissertation. An advisory committee must be appointed for all PhD students before the end of the first year of study by submitting the PhD Advisory Committee Form. Who is on the committee? The advisory committee includes your major professor, who serves as chair, and a minimum of three other voting members. Please keep these rules in mind when assembling an advisory committee: The major professor and at least two other members of the committee must be appointed members of the UGA graduate program faculty. All UGA committee members should possess a terminal degree and hold one of the following ranks: professor, associate professor, assistant professor, academic professional, public service assistant, public service associate, senior public service associate, assistant research scientist, associate research scientist, or senior research scientist. One committee member should work in a study area outside of your area of concentration. The outside member may be from another school or college of UGA. If more than the required number of members is appointed to the committee, a majority of the committee must be members of the UGA Graduate Program Faculty. A non-UGA member with a terminal degree may serve on the committee but no more than one non-UGA committee member may be appointed as a voting member. This outside representative could be a person who is employed at another institution and has no official relationship with UGA. To nominate a non-affiliated member, the major professor must submit to the Warnell Graduate Office the nominee’s CV and a letter addressed to the dean of the Graduate School, co-signed by the graduate coordinator, explaining why that member’s services are requested. A person nominated must have distinguished credentials in the field of study. The major professor is chair of your advisory committee and is your primary source of advice on academic, scientific, and professional matters. The major professor must be a member of the Warnell faculty (no adjunct members may serve) and must be working in your study area. Co-major professors (optional): A limit of two co-major professors may be appointed to an advisory committee. oth parties must be appointed members of the UGA graduate program faculty and they must sign all forms requiring the chair's signature. Together they count as one member of the committee. Therefore, an additional faculty member must be added to the advisory committee. A majority of graduate faculty members must be maintained. Advisory Committee Form If you would like to add a non-UGA committee member, you must submit a letter of justification and provide the committee member's CV. To receive the letter from our office with the required Graduate Coordinator's signature, please complete the Non-UGA Committee Member form providing the justification. The Graduate School will validate the member if they have a terminal degree in their field. Program of Study Your academic coursework is determined by your advisory committee. These classes are specified on the program of study form, which is approved by the advisory committee, signed by the major professor, and delivered to the Warnell Graduate Office for the graduate coordinator’s signature before the end of the first semester of study. We strongly recommend that the graduate program administrator reviews the program of study before getting signatures.. An overall average of 3.0 must be maintained on all courses on the program of study, with no grade below a C on any course. A PhD program of study requires at least 30 semester hours of graduate-level credit which must form a logical whole and meet the following requirements: Course Requirements for PhD Degree Hours FANR 9000 (Doctoral Research) 6 FANR 9300 (Doctoral Dissertation) 3 8000/9000 level coursework (1,2,3) 16 Any graduate level coursework (5) 5 Total 30 (1) Students are allowed no more than 3 hours each of Problems (e.g., FORS 8980) or Applied Research (FANR 9200) under one faculty member, with no more than a grand total of 6 hours in these courses. (2) PhD students are required to take 1 hour of Forestry and Natural Resources Seminar Series (FANR 8060). No more than 2 hours of graduate seminar may be used to satisfy the 8000/9000 level requirement. Majors in Fisheries and Wildlife are required to take 1 hour of graduate seminar (e.g., WILD/FISH 8300). (3) 1-3 hours of Supervised Teaching Practicum (FANR 9990) or University Teaching in Forestry and Natural Resources (FANR 8900) is required. (4) PhD students who bypass the MS must have a minimum of 20 credit hours in graduate-only courses, exclusive of credit in FANR 9000 and FANR 9300. These students must also enroll in Scientific (FANR 8200) or an equivalent course. This requirement may be waived if the student has published (first author) research in a refereed scientific journal. (5) Experimental Methods in Forest Resources (FANR 6750), or Statistical Methods II (STAT 6220), or a higher level statistics course is required unless an equivalent graduate-level course has been taken elsewhere. Program of Study Form Research Prospectus All PhD students are required to write a research prospectus for approval by their advisory committee before any significant research work is undertaken. The research prospectus form, with abstract, should be signed by the committee and submitted to the Warnell Graduate Office no later than the end of the first calendar year of study. Research Prospectus Form PhD Preliminary Examination The PhD preliminary examination consists of written and oral comprehensive exams. The purpose of the preliminary examination is to provide an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge in an oral and written manner, and to ensure that you have attained a level of knowledge and understanding commensurate with your degree status. Notice of Examination Form
