Mar 29, 2024  
Graduate Record 2010-2011 
    
Graduate Record 2010-2011 [ARCHIVED RECORD]

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences


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Although Thomas Jefferson’s original plan for the University contemplated graduate instruction, the first such department in the modern sense was not instituted until 1859-60 by Professor Basil Gildersleeve in the School of Greek. Shortly after the Civil War, a similar department was announced for the School of Latin. The degree of Doctor of Philosophy was offered initially by the University as early as 1880 and was first awarded in 1885. No formal departmental organization for graduate study existed, however, until 1904. In that year, the Graduate School was established under regulations corresponding to the requirements of the Association of American Universities, in which the University of Virginia was the first southern university to hold membership. The administrative offices of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences are as follows: Admissions Office, 437 Cabell Hall (434-924-6739); Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall (434-924-7183); and Dean’s Office, 419 Cabell Hall (434-924-3389). The mailing address is University of Virginia, P.O. Box 400775, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4775.

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Table of Major Requirements            See departmental entries for any 
                                                          departmental degree requirements.

M.A., M.S.

  Academic Requirement

  •     Must complete not less than 30 credits of graduate courses while regularly enrolled as a graduate student.  For degree programs that require a thesis, up to 6 credits may be Non-Topical Research.
  •     No transfer or extension credits may be counted.

Fee Requirement

  •     Full tuition and fees for at least two semesters or the equivalent.

Time Limitation

  •     Five years from the initial registration.

Language Requirement  

  •    Refer to departmental degree requirements  

Final Examination

  •     Must make a satisfactory standing in a final comprehensive examination, oral, written, or both.

M.F.A.   (Drama and English only)

See drama and English departments for statement requirements.

Ph.D.
Academic Requirement

  • Must complete not less than 72 credits of graduate courses while regularly enrolled as a graduate student, including at least 54 credits of courses other than non-topical research.

Residency Requirement  

  • Two consecutive semesters in full-time residential study beyond the M.A. 

Time Limitation

  • Seven years from the time of Ph.D. enrollment

Language Requirement

  • Refer to departmental degree requirements     

Dissertation/Final Examination   

  • Must prepare dissertation and make a satisfactory standing in a final

     examination, oral, written, or both.

Deadline Dates For The Above Degrees  

Degree applications are due:

  •    no later than October 1 if the degree is to be conferred in January.
  •    no later than February 1 if the degree is to be conferred in May.
  •    no later than July 1 if the degree is to be conferred in August.

Title Pages are due:

  •    no later than November 1 if the degree is to be conferred in January.
  •    no later than April 1 if the degree is to be conferred in May.
  •    no later than July 1 if the degree is to be conferred in August.

   Theses/Dissertations are due:

  •    no later than December 1 if the degree is to be conferred in January.
  •    no later than May 1 if the degree is to be conferred in May.
  •    no later than August 1 if the degree is to be conferred in August.

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Special Programs and Centers

In addition to the degree programs listed above, graduate instruction in arts and sciences is provided through the following special programs and centers located on the Grounds of the University.

The Carter G. Woodson Institute The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies was established to promote excellence in research and teaching in black studies at the University of Virginia. Drawing on the resources of humanities and social science departments that treat the black experience, the Woodson Institute features a variety of programs designed to be of help and interest to the University community.

In addition to supervising the undergraduate program in African-American and African Studies, the Woodson Institute also conducts a residential fellowships program, administers black studies research support for University faculty members and doctoral candidates, and offers a colloquium series featuring resident fellows, University faculty members, and distinguished visitors.

Cell and Molecular Biology This is an interdisciplinary program offered by faculty from eight basic science departments and programs.

Center for East Asian Studies An interdisciplinary group of faculty specializing in East and Southeast Asia, this center exists to encourage and facilitate interest in China, Japan and other countries of East and Southeast Asia at the University. The center administers the M.A. Program in Asian Studies, graduate certification in East and Southeast Asia, as well as a research travel grants program for students and faculty and a speaker’s series on Asian topics.

Center for South Asian Studies The Center for South Asian Studies at the University is one of the nine federally funded National Resource Centers for the Study of South Asia—its diverse peoples, languages, cultures, religions, and history. Coordinating academic studies, outreach programs, and research relating to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tibet, the center offers a wide range of courses in languages and the disciplines, a comprehensive library, and substantial fellowship and assistantship awards, as well as educational and cultural programs in the community.

Center for Public Service The Center for Public Service was created in 1987 by the merger of the former Institute of Government and portions of the former Tayloe Murphy Institute. With research programs in government, public policy, business and economics, and demographics, the center brings multiple perspectives to the study of Virginia. It assists both state and local governments in the commonwealth with research into specific issues, management expertise, planning, and social and economic data. The center also sponsors professional education programs for government managers and elected officials, and it operates civic education programs like the Virginia Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution and the Teacher Research Service. In all its work, the center aims to apply the University’s resources to improving the public life of Virginia.

Senior staff members are University faculty who frequently teach courses in their respective fields. The center employs both work-study students, who serve as office staff, and graduate research assistants, who gain firsthand experience in research and government by participating in center projects. The center’s publications program makes readily available a wealth of data on Virginia to supplement students’ course work in political science, economics, history, and sociology. Besides its central offices in Charlottesville, the center maintains a Southwest Virginia office in Wise County.

The Center for Russian and East European Studies This center is an interdisciplinary graduate and undergraduate program concerned with Russia and Eastern Europe. Further information may be obtained from the center’s director or from the chair of the academic department in which the student plans to enroll.

Center for Survey Research The Center for Survey Research (CSR) enhances the research capabilities of the University by making available the technical resources needed for survey research of the highest scientific quality. CSR produces, and helps others produce, academically visible and innovative research that contributes to substantive knowledge in the social sciences and related fields, and advances the ongoing technical development of scientific survey methods. The center assists faculty in their research as well as government agencies, private foundations, businesses, and non-profit organizations by consulting and carrying out project design, data collection, and data analysis.

In addition to its expert research and teaching faculty, CSR’s staff includes graduate research assistants, undergraduate interns, and part-time student employees who gain firsthand knowledge of the theory and practice of survey research. The center works with faculty, staff, and students from all schools in the University.

White Burkett Miller Center of Public Affairs The Miller Center is a privately endowed research center with a fifteen year history of contributing to the deeper understanding of public issues and to the amelioration of major national problems. The center undertakes intensive research into issues of governance, with a unique emphasis on the role of the president in the American political system. In its J. Wilson Newman Pavilion patterned after the Virginia House of Burgesses, the center sponsors a series of conferences, twice weekly forums, workshops, and lectures engaging faculty, students, and community leaders in serious continuing dialogue.

The center has a small continuing staff, holding joint appointments in University departments including the Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics. Outstanding graduate students also assist the center and write theses and dissertations.

By facilitating close and sustained cooperation between scholars, policy makers, and men and women of affairs, the center encourages a new perspective on public affairs reflected in some 300 publications, occasional papers, and articles appearing in its scholarly Journal. Through the combined efforts of its community of scholars and experienced national leaders who have been members of its seven national commissions, the center seeks to direct the attention of officials and the public to the most urgent problems of national government and contribute to the clarification and improvement of governance.

The Thomas Jefferson Center for Studies in Political Economy This center was established in 1957. Its purpose is to facilitate research activities in the Department of Economics. Specific activities of the center have included the sponsorship of visiting scholars and professors, the sponsorship of lectures and seminars, the award of fellowships, and the publication of research results.

Center for Advanced Studies This center was established to help certain departments in the University move from a position of strength to a position of academic excellence. The center serves to stimulate research and instruction within the University while at the same time attracting outstanding professors to the University and recognizing the achievements of those already here.

Eminent scholars in disciplines encompassed by participating departments are appointed to the center to enable them to further their scholarly interests and to become permanent members of the faculty once the term of their appointments to the center are over. Center members may also have an opportunity to participate in the academic programs of the department through classroom teaching, seminars, and research.

Participating departments in the sciences are astronomy, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, environmental sciences, mathematics, medicine, pharmacology, physics, and psychology; in engineering: chemical engineering, electrical engineering, nuclear engineering, materials science, and systems engineering; in the humanities and social sciences: anthropology, art, economics, English language and literature, French language and literature, Germanic languages and literatures, government and foreign affairs, history, law, philosophy, religious studies, Slavic languages and literatures, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese languages and literatures, and sociology.

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Admission Information

Admission Procedure

Application for admission must be made on-line at http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/gradschool/admissions/index.html. The application must be supported by official transcripts of the applicant’s entire academic record, including records of any advanced work which may have been done in another institution. Official results of the Graduate Record Examination (General Test and for some departments one Subject Test), and two letters of recommendation from professors, preferably those who taught in the field of the major subject, are required in further support of the application. Additional materials are required by some departments. Applicants can apply to only one program in Arts and Sciences.

The non-refundable application fee of $60 is payable at the time of application. Since the application fee is non-refundable, applicants are urged to read carefully the admission requirements before submitting an application.

Since most decisions for admission are made by April 15, applicants are urged to submit their materials early for adequate consideration. Deadlines for individual departments vary: please see http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/gradschool/index.html for further information. 

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Admission Requirements

All applicants must take the GRE General Test and for some departments the Subject Test in the proposed field of specialization. Inquiries concerning this testing program and application to take the tests should be addressed to the Graduate Record Examinations, Educational Testing Service, www.gre.org or call 1-800-GRE-CALL.

The applicant must have a bachelor’s degree in arts or in science from a collegiate institution of recognized rank. Other Baccalaureate degrees from such institutions may be acceptable upon approval of the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Holders of the degree of Doctor of Medicine may be considered for admission as students in the Medical Science group.

The applicant should have a B average in their undergraduate program or the equivalent in terms of credit standards of the college from which the applicant comes, as estimated by the Dean of the Graduate School. Certain departments in this University, because of the large number of well qualified applicants, require a general grade average of B or higher.

Academic credits, undergraduate or graduate, earned more than 10 sessions, or 10 calendar years before the date of application for admission will ordinarily be considered no longer valid and therefore will not form a basis for admission to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. At the discretion of the department in which the student proposes to work, such credits may be validated by an examination or examinations given at the University of Virginia.

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Financial Assistance

The University offers financial assistance to students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences through a variety of programs: fellowships, assistantships, work-study plans, and loans. Each of these programs are administered by a separate office and a student interested in applying for one of them should read the sections below to find the office to contact. Most superior students can expect to receive aid of some kind throughout their graduate careers.

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Fellowships

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences has a number of merit fellowships supported by endowments, gifts, and other sources which it offers to exceptional students. These fellowships are available to all students and are awarded on the individual’s academic achievements and promise. Fellowships are granted with the provisions that good academic standing is maintained and that the recipients remain in residence at the University during the award period. In addition to these fellowships some departments have merit fellowships with comparable stipends that are awarded by the department on the same basis as the Graduate School fellowships.

A student must be nominated by his or her department in order to be considered for a Graduate School fellowship. Students seeking admission to the Graduate School who indicate on the application for admission that they seek financial aid will automatically be considered by the department to which they are applying as candidates for fellowships. Returning graduate students should indicate to their department that they wish to be considered for a fellowship.

All fellowships, with the exception of the Presidents and the Jefferson’s Fellowships, are awarded for no longer than one academic year and are not automatically renewed. The President’s Fellowship is a four-year award, and the President’s Fellows receive financial assistance of at least $18,000 plus tuition, fees and a health insurance subsidy per session. The Jefferson Scholars Graduate Fellowship carries a living stipend totaling at least $30,000 plus tuition, fees, and health insurance and is renewable for five years.


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Assistantships

Assistantships and part-time instructorships are available in most departments. These involve teaching, grading, laboratory assistance, and other duties. The salary varies according to the duties and the amount of time required of the student. For information concerning assistantships, applicants should write directly to the Director of Graduate Studies of the department in which they are interested.

Out-of-state graduate students who are teaching assistants and are paid at least $5,000 may receive a tuition adjustment fellowship to pay the difference between the out-of-state and in-state tuition. Out-of-state research assistants and graduate assistants who are paid at least $5,000 may receive a tuition adjustment fellowship to pay a percentage (up to 100 percent) of the difference between out-of-state and in-state tuition.

Graduate teaching assistants who are employed at half-time or greater (10 hours or more per week) will have their in-state tuition and required fees (excluding activities fees) remitted during the semester of their employment.

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Loans and Part-Time Employment

In addition to fellowships and assistantships graduate students may apply for financial assistance through the Office of Student Financial Services. All awards from federal loan or employment funds are based on need. To apply for assistance a University financial aid application must be submitted to Student Financial Services and a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). For further information or applications, contact Student Financial Services, P.O. Box 400207, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4207. See the Financial Aid section of this Record for further information.

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Graduate Academic Regulations

Course Enrollment  Students are required to register for 12 credit hours to be a full-time student. To avoid problems with tuition bills and financial aid, students must register during pre-registration.

Registration is not complete until all fees have been paid or satisfactory arrangements have been made with the Financial Services. Changes in a student’s registration record after the final day for dropping a course can be made only with the approval of the dean.

Every graduate student, resident or non-resident, must be registered in the Graduate School during the semester in which he or she is an applicant for a degree.

Attendance Students are expected to attend classes throughout the session with the exception of University holidays. When necessary, excuses for absence from class are arranged between the student and the instructor of the course in question. Routine excuses for illness are not furnished by the Department of Student Health either to the student or to the instructor. On request of the dean, the Department of Student Health will evaluate the effect of any illness upon a student’s attendance and academic performance. Failure by students to attend lectures and other prescribed exercises in the courses for which they are registered may subject them to penalties for non-attendance.

Attendance Upon Examinations Written examinations are an essential part of the work of most courses in the Graduate School, and attendance at them is required of every student. Absence from examination will not be excused except for sickness on the day of examination attested by a physician’s certificate or for other cause which the graduate faculty by special action may approve. An unexcused absence is counted as a failure.

Grades The standing of a graduate student in each course is indicated by one of the following grades: A+, A, A-; B+, B, B-; C+, C, C-; D+, D, D-; F. B- is the lowest satisfactory grade for graduate credit, and students with a grade point average below 3.0 for an academic year will be considered as not making satisfactory progress toward a degree. Student with a grade point average below 3.0 in the courses offered for a degree will not be considered to have satisfactory status with respect to earning that degree.

For certain courses in which the department does not require a final examination, permission can be granted to grade those courses on an S/U (satisfactory/unsatisfactory) basis. A report of IN (incomplete) on a graduate course is changed by the university registrar to a failing grade if the course is not completed by the end of the next regular semester. Courses in which no grade was recorded (NG on the transcript) are changed to a failing grade within 30 days if a valid grade is not submitted before that. Failing grades recorded in this manner have the same effect on the student’s record and status as failing grades assigned by instructors. Unsatisfactory performance during any semester may be considered sufficient reason for enforced withdrawal from the University.

Application For A Degree Any graduate student who wishes to become a candidate for a degree must file the degree application with the dean on a form available in the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall or on the web at: http://www.artsandsciences.virginia.edu/gradschool/index.html. All graduate degree applications must be submitted not later than October 1 if the degree is to be conferred in January, February 1 if the degree is to be conferred in May, or July 1 if the degree is to be conferred in August.

The degree application must include a program of work arranged in accordance with the degree requirements outlined in the following pages, and must state the title of the thesis or dissertation. A transcript of the applicant’s previous academic record, attesting the content of his or her baccalaureate degree, must also be on file in the Graduate School Office.

Graduate degrees are not conferred merely upon the basis of the number of courses passed, or the length of time spent in resident or non-resident work, but primarily upon the basis of the quality and scope of the candidate’s knowledge and the ability in the chosen field of study. The applicant’s graduate record should be better than a minimal passing average to be accepted as a candidate, and the department responsible for the student’s graduate program must qualify him or her for candidacy. The degree application, approved by the candidate’s advisory professor and the chair of the department, is submitted to the dean.

Candidates who do not receive a degree in the semester for which their application has been approved must renew their application in proper form at the beginning of the semester in which candidacy for the degree is desired. Candidates who find that they will not be able to receive their degree in the semester for which their application was approved must remove their name from the degree list by notifying the graduate school registrar.

Voluntary Withdrawal A graduate student may not voluntarily withdraw from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences later than one week immediately preceding the beginning of course examinations. An official application to withdraw must be obtained from the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Science’ and must be approved by the dean, with a statement of the reason for the withdrawal. The student must report to the Office of the Dean of Students for an exit interview. The official withdrawal form will be forwarded to the university registrar, who notifies all other administrative offices of the withdrawal action.

A student who withdraws from the University for reason of ill health must notify the Department of Student Health, and subsequent medical clearance from the Department of Student Health is among the requirements for readmission of all students. To apply for readmission to the University, the student must submit an application to the academic dean’s office at least 60 days before the next University scheduled class registration.

Failure to comply with the above regulations will subject the student to suspension from the University by the Vice President for Student Affairs.

Readmission After Voluntary Withdrawal Readmission to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is not automatic; after absence of a semester or longer, a former student must apply for readmission to the Graduate School. This statement does not apply to graduate students pursuing graduate work in summer only.

Enforced Withdrawal The student may be required to withdraw from the University if the academic advisor, the responsible departmental members and the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences determine that the student is making unsatisfactory progress toward a degree (See Grades, Voluntary Withdrawal, and University General Regulations).

Posthumous Degrees Eligibility for posthumous degrees extends only to students enrolled in B.A. and B.S. programs.

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Degree Requirements

Master’s Degree

The master’s degree will be conferred upon the holder of an approved baccalaureate degree who has fulfilled within the designated time limit all requirements as set forth below. Language requirements are included in the section on Ph.D. requirements. Successful candidates in those departments (science and mathematics) which offer both the M.A. and M.S. may upon recommendation of their departmental faculty elect the M.S. degree.

Program of Studies No fewer than 30 credits of graduate courses, no more than 6 of which may be Non-Topical Research if the degree involves a thesis, must be successfully completed while regularly enrolled as a graduate student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The program should be arranged in consultation with the professors concerned, approved by a faculty advisor of the major subject or department, and then be approved by the dean in a formal degree application submitted not later than October 1 if the degree is to be conferred in January, February 1 if the degree is to be conferred in May, or July 1 if the degree is to be conferred in August. The courses may all be in one subject or department, but the candidate may, with the approval of his or her advisor, elect a limited number of appropriate courses offered in other departments. Only graduate courses (courses taught by members of one of the graduate faculties of the University) may be counted toward a graduate degree, and no extension, correspondence, home-study, or transfer courses will be counted toward the degrees of Master of Arts and Master of Science. Courses applied for a Master’s degree from one department may not be used to fulfill requirements for a Master’s degree in a second department of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Following the course descriptions for each department will be found statements of any special requirements in that department for the M.A. or M.S. degree.

Thesis Departments may include a master’s thesis as one of the degree requirements. Detailed instructions on the subject and method of the thesis are available in departments. The physical standards for the thesis and the deadlines for submission are the same as those for the Ph.D. dissertation.

Final Examination A candidate must receive a satisfactory standing in a final examination, oral or written or both, conducted by two or more faculty members designated by the department in which the candidate is working. The result of the examination, with the names of the examiners, must be reported by the chair of the examining committee to the Graduate School no later than two weeks before final exercises.

Time Limitation All work for the master’s degree must be completed within five years from the time of admission if the work is done primarily during the regular academic session and within seven years if the work is done primarily in summer sessions. In special cases, upon approval of the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, out-of-date work may be revalidated by examination.

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Master of Fine Arts

The Master of Fine Arts program is offered by the Departments of Drama and English. Specific requirements are listed following the course descriptions for these two departments.

Doctor of Philosophy

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy will be conferred upon the holder of an approved baccalaureate degree who has fulfilled within the designated time limit all requirements as set forth below under the headings: Language Requirements, Program of Studies, Dissertation, and Final Examination.

Requirement Examinations in Foreign Languages for M.A./Ph.D. Candidates Students wishing to take foreign language examinations to meet departmental or School graduate requirements should contact their department. Examinations are offered in Spanish, German, Italian, French, and Russian, and special arrangements may be made for ancient and other languages. Once the student has notified the department, a representative of that department will then contact the requested language department. At least two weeks’ notice should be given to the language department in order that arrangements be made for test administration.

Two types of tests are available: “proficiency” and “mastery.” Students should carefully review their departmental requirements before they indicate which level test they wish to take.

Proficiency Examinations The proficiency examination for the M.A. and/or Ph.D. requirements is designed to test the student’s proficiency in the language.

The examination consists of a prose passage in the language to be translated in 90 minutes into adequate, if not literary, English. The length will be between 250-750 words. The texts are chosen out of recent books, journals, or news magazines, and an attempt is made whenever possible to select them as relating to the major discipline of the student being tested. The student has to demonstrate a clear understanding of syntactical structures and some basic knowledge of cultural references. Verb wheels and dictionaries are allowed.

The results of the examinations are sent to the Graduate Program Administrator in the student’s department and to the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The Graduate Program Administrator in the student’s department will notify the student of the results.

The grading fee has been set by the Graduate School, and students will be informed by their department that they must clear administrative matters with the Graduate School before receiving credit for the examination.

Mastery Examination The mastery examination differs from the proficiency examination in that it lasts two hours and is made up of three parts:

  1. A short critical prose passage (not necessarily contemporary) relating to the student’s major to be translated in 40 minutes.
  2. Analysis of a short text relating to the student’s major. Forty minutes are allowed to answer six to eight questions about the form and meaning of the proposed text.
  3. A short essay in the language with a general question relating to the student’s major.

Dictionaries are permitted. Administrative details for the mastery examination are the same as those for the proficiency examination.

Program of Studies Constituting not less than 72 hours of graduate credit of which no more than 18 be Non-Topical Research, the program of studies must be successfully completed under satisfactory conditions of registration. The student may elect courses in more than one department or subject if they contribute appropriately to his or her program, but the entire program must be directed and approved by one department. (See Table of Major Requirements above for specific requirements.)

A formal degree application must be submitted and must be approved by the dean not later than October 1 if the degree is to be conferred in December, February 1 if the degree is to be conferred in May, or July 1 if the degree is to be conferred in August.

With the approval of the supervising department and the dean, up to one third of the required hours of graduate work may be completed at another graduate school or may be taken at this University on a part-time basis; also with the approval of the supervising department and the dean, up to one third of the required hours may be spent in dissertation research elsewhere. However, no candidacy will be approved unless the applicant has spent at least two consecutive semesters during the academic year beyond the M.A. or equivalent level in full-time residential study at this University.

Exceptional students who complete all other degree requirements within two calendar years of entering this Graduate School may petition the dean to waive the third year of graduate work.

Following the course listings of the departments will be found statements of any special requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Dissertation The preparation of a dissertation exhibiting independent research in the candidate’s major subject is required. The advisory professor will periodically evaluate the student’s progress on the dissertation. If the student’s progress is judged to be unsatisfactory, the advisory professor may recommend a new topic or may recommend to the department that the student not be allowed to continue his or her graduate work.

The title of the dissertation is to be approved by the advisory professor and submitted to the dean on the degree application. The dissertation must be submitted in completed form to the department for approval by the advisory professor and by the special examining committee (see below, under “Final Examination”). Theses/Dissertations can be submitted to the Graduate School either electronically or as hard copies. 

For electronic submission, visit the Printing Services webpage at www.virginia.edu/uvaprint/copy_dissertations.html for complete details to ensure your files meet all the guidelines. For submission in the traditional paper format, one copy on regular paper if you are having Printing and Copying Services in Alderman Library make two copies on acceptable paper, or two electrostatic copies of the dissertation on acceptable paper, must be brought to the Graduate School Office for inspection not later than December 1 if the degree is to be conferred in December, May 1 if the degree is to be conferred in May, or August 1 if the degree is to be conferred in August. The Physical Standards for submitting the dissertation are posted on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ website at http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/gradschool/requirements/thesis_dissertation.html.

The dissertation must be double-spaced, upon 20 pound weight, 25% cotton, acid-free, watermarked, bond paper of good quality, 8 1/2 x 11 inches, with a left-hand margin one and one-half inches in width. The remaining margins are to be one inch wide. Paper for the second copy must be of the same quality as the original. Suitable paper can be purchased from many sources including the UVA Printing and Copying Centers: Alderman Copy Center, University Bookstore Copy Center, Hospital Copy Center, Chemistry Copy Center, and Carruthers Hall Copy Center. Pages should be numbered throughout, consecutively in the upper right corner of each page. Dissertations must be in manila envelopes with the following information noted thereon: Name of Author, Abbreviated Title of Dissertation (36 spaces or less), Degree, and Date to be Conferred. For complete details on physical standards for theses and dissertations, see: http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/gradschool/requirements/thesis_dissertation.html, or visit the Enrolled Student Office (438 Cabell Hall, 434-924-6741). The student should consult the advisory professor in reference to any special departmental requirements relating to the dissertation.

After the dissertation has been inspected and approved at the Graduate School Office, the student will deliver the dissertation to UVA Printing and Copying Services, Alderman Library, and pay for the cost of permanent binding. A receipt showing that the dissertation has been delivered to the Photography Division of Printing Services must be returned to the Graduate School Office. Personal copies will also be handled by the Photography Division of Printing Services. 

All dissertations will be published by having a master microfilm negative made from each original dissertation. These negatives will be stored and serviced by University Microfilms of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Positive microfilms, or enlarged prints, will be produced to order at the standard rate for other scholars who desire access to any dissertation.

Each dissertation, when submitted, whether submitted as an electronic or hard copy, must be accompanied by three hard copies of an abstract of 350 words or fewer. The abstract, or summary, will be published in Microfilms Abstracts for national distribution. No dissertation will be accepted without this abstract.

A fee for the above service must be paid to the Photography Division of Printing Services by the candidate for the Ph.D. degree before it is conferred.

Final Examination A candidate must receive a satisfactory standing in a final examination, oral, written, or both. A dissertation committee will examine the candidate on  the major subject and allied subjects as the committee shall prescribe. The dissertation committee, under the chairmanship of the advisor professor, will consist of not fewer than four members from the graduate faculty, one of whom must be from another department and serves as a representative of the graduate faculty. Once the minimum GSAS requirements have been met, additional committee members from within the University or from other institutions may be added; however, individuals from other institutions may not serve as the Dean’s representative. Through its chair, the dissertation committee may invite other members of the departmental faculty to take part in the examination; indeed, it is recommended that the doctoral examination be given before the entire professional staff of the department concerned. The result of the examination, with the names of the committee members and their departmental affiliation, must be reported by the chair of the dissertation committee to the Graduate School no later than two weeks before final exercises.

The candidate shall not be admitted to the final examination before satisfying the foreign language requirement, if such is required by the candidate’s department. No candidate may be admitted to the final examination until the dissertation has been accepted. Preliminary examinations may, in addition, be required by individual departments.

Time Limitation All requirements for the Ph.D. must be completed within seven years from the date of admittance into the Ph.D. Program. In special cases, upon approval of the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, work out-of-date may be revalidated by examination. In case of interruption of work by military service, time spent in service will be excluded from the computation of this seven-year period.

Certificate of Candidacy A Certificate of Candidacy may be awarded by certain departments to students who have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. degree except for the dissertation. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences does not award these certificates.

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