Student Program Handbook

For the doctoral program, students will be assigned a temporary adviser when they are admitted to the program. The student’s supervisory committee should be appointed before the end of the second year of study. The student initiates the appointment by selecting a member of the Graduate Faculty as chair of the committee. The Supervisory Committee for the doctoral degree must be composed of four faculty members who have been appointed to the Graduate Faculty. At least two members must be from the Higher Education Administration program and at least one member must be from outside the School of Human Development and Organizational Studies in Education (HDOSE) to serve as the external member. It is useful, but not necessary, that the external member have knowledge of the field or research area addressed in the dissertation. The essential role of the external member is to ensure that due process occurs during the dissertation defense and fair treatment is accorded to the doctoral candidate. Students are responsible for initiating selection of the Supervisory Committee and submitting the Supervisory Committee form to the Department.

For the master’s program, students will be assigned an adviser when they are admitted to the program. The Supervisory Committee for the M.Ed. degree must be composed of at least one faculty member who has been appointed to the Graduate Faculty.

The school will dismiss from the program students not making satisfactory progress toward the degree. The following policies guide those decisions:

• Satisfactory Progress in the doctoral program
• Satisfactory Progress in the masters program

• Doctoral Student Individual Development Plan – Use this form to align your personal and professional goals with your academic expectations and responsibilities.
• Practicum Form
• Supervisory Committee Form – This form is used to define members for doctoral dissertation committees. Students should complete this form after your first year in the program.
• Transfer of Credit form– This form is used to request transfer of credit. Doctoral students should submit the form by the end of their first year in the program, and master’s students (if applicable) should submit it by the end of the first semester.
• Ph.D. program plan – This form is used to define the schedule of completion of courses required for the Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration. Students should complete this form no later than the semester before they plan to qualify.
• LEAD. Ed.D. program plan – – This form is used to define the schedule of completion of courses required for the Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration. Students should complete this form no later than the semester before they plan to qualify.
• M.Ed. Program Plan – This form is used to define the schedule of completion of courses required for the M.Ed. in SPHE.  Students should submit this form in the semester they are taking EDH 6935 Capstone.
• Individual Work registration form – Use this form to register for EDH6905.
• Qualifying exam sign-up sheet– This form is required in addition to the EDH 7979 form when a student is registering for qualifying exams.
• Advanced/Doctoral Research Course (EDH 7979/7980) Form – Complete this form EVERY semester you plan to register for EDH 7979 (qualifying exams) or EDH 7980 (dissertation research).

Soon after the beginning of the student’s final semester in the program, the student must apply for graduation at the Office of the Registrar and complete other forms. Deadline dates can be found on the Graduate School website: http://www.ufl.edu/admissions/graduate/

1. EduGator Central
2. Graduate School Website
3. EEP

Student Assistance and Emergencies

University support services are available to students who are experiencing significant distress and/or personal emergencies. As appropriate please contact:

• U Matter, We Care: If you or a friend is in distress, visit http://www.umatter.ufl.edu/ or please contact umatter@ufl.edu or (352) 392-1575 so that a team member can reach out to the student.
• Counseling and Wellness Center (CWC): http://www.counseling.ufl.edu/cwc/ or (352) 392-1575
• Sexual Assault Recovery Services (SARS): Student Health Care Center, (352) 392-1161.
• University Police Department: (352) 392-1111 or 9-1-1 for emergencies.

Academic Resources

• E-learning Technical Support: call (352) 392-4357 (select option 2), e-mail Learning-support@ufl.edu, or visit https://lss.at.ufl.edu/help.shtml
• Career Connections Center: Reitz Union, call (352) 392-1601 or visit http://www.career.ufl.edu for career assistance and counseling.
• Library Support: visit http://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/ask for various ways to receive assistance with respect to using the libraries or finding resources.
• Teaching Center: Broward Hall, call (352) 392-2010 or (352) 392-6420 or visit http://teachingcenter.ufl.edu/ for general study skills and tutoring.
• Writing Studio: 2215 Turlington Hall, call (352) 846-1138 or visit http://writing.ufl.edu/writing-studio/ for help brainstorming, formatting, and writing papers.

• American Educational Research Association
• Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)
• Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP)
• ACPA—College Student Educators International
• NASPA-  Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
• American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
• Association of Florida Colleges (AFC)
• Various other functional area associations

These awards support travel fees for research-related conferences and meetings.

• HEA Graduate Student Travel Funds Application: Available to program students when funds are available.
• Graduate Student Council Travel Awards: The UF Graduate Student Council offers travel grants to help graduate students attend conferences and present their research.
• Graduate School Doctoral Research Travel Awards: These awards support research-related travel expenses for Ph.D. students in the humanities, arts, and social sciences. It is for students who have inadequate departmental funding to conduct doctoral dissertation research away from UF.
• Office of Research and Graduate Programs’ Graduate Student Travel Funds: Doctoral students who have been admitted to candidacy are eligible to apply for these awards that support travel to conferences, symposia, and special research opportunities.

As part of the graduate school requirement of the final comprehensive examination for a master’s degree without thesis, SPHE students will complete a case study presentation demonstrating their knowledge as part of EDH 6935 Capstone Seminar in Student Personnel in Higher Education. Additional information will be provided during class.

The main purpose of this written and oral qualifying exam/paper requirement is to assess the extent to which each HEA Ph.D. and Ed.D. student has achieved mastery of concepts within the core curriculum, application of appropriate research methods, doctoral quality writing, and oral presentation. Evidence of mastery enables the student and dissertation committee to proceed with confidence to the dissertation phase of their program.

Eligibility:

The qualifying examination is taken at the end of the student’s doctoral coursework. Students should sit for exams only after they have completed all coursework or are currently enrolled in their final semester, with all research courses completed. Students wanting to sit for qualifying exams, must also have:

• Completed the qualifying exam request form (from Angela Rowe) in the semester prior to your qualifying exam
• A minimum grade point average of 3.0 for all courses completed
• Have on file a valid supervisory committee in the semester prior to your qualifying exam
• Submit an approved/signed program plan on file, including any transfer of credit in the semester prior to your qualifying exam
• Registered for at least 3 credits
• Registered for at least one credit of EDH 7979

For more information, review the Qualifying Exam Policy

The Proposal Meeting

The proposal meeting is a formal evaluation of the dissertation proposal. The dissertation proposal must include (but is not limited to) the introduction, research questions, literature review and methods section. In the proposal meeting, the committee members evaluate the relevance of the study, the appropriateness of the methods, and whether the student is adequately prepared to conduct the research, as well as other issues pertinent to the student’s proposal.

IRB

Upon successful passing of the dissertation proposal, students may submit the IRB. For the dissertation, students should be listed as the Principal Investigator (PI) and the chair should be listed as the Faculty Mentor.

Preparing for the Defense

In order to schedule the dissertation defense, the student must have a dissertation document which has been reviewed and approved by the committee chair. The student should schedule the dissertation defense taking into consideration that some time may be required after the defense for reviews before the final version of the dissertation can be submitted to the Graduate School.

Typically, students need to provide a minimum of one week for chairs to review it, but during the heavy parts of a semester, it is best to plan for two weeks. Remember that as you get ready to schedule any of these defenses (i.e., prospectus, comprehensive, or defense), there are forms that must be completed for the program and for the graduate school.

Higher Education Administration Program Specific Awards

• Keener Dissertation Fund: Established in the spring of 2017, the purpose of the Dr. Barbara Keener Dissertation Fund is to support the dissertation research of doctoral students focused on the study of community and state colleges. Applications are due in the spring semester. The fund is to be used as a one-time dissertation research grant/award for one or more doctoral students:
  • Who are enrolled in the Ph.D. or Ed.D tracks of the Higher Education Administration program;
• • Whose dissertation research proposal focuses on community or state colleges; and
• • Whose dissertation research proposal has been endorsed by their dissertation chair.

General UF Awards

For these awards, you must be a doctoral candidate who has successfully passed your qualifying exams and proposed your dissertation topic.

• Graduate School Dissertation Awards: This award provides final term funding for UF Ph.D. candidates in selected majors in the humanities, arts, and social sciences to complete their dissertations through defense, final clearance by the Editorial Office, and graduation. This program is for students who have exhausted all funding and meant to allow recipients time and resources to focus exclusively on their dissertation.
• Delores Auzenne Dissertation Award: This award is designed to assist underrepresented minority students in completing their dissertation work. The program provides competitively awarded stipends to Ph.D. candidates who are in the advanced writing stages of their dissertations at UF.
• Madelyn Lockhart Dissertation Fellowship– The Association for Academic Women (AAW) at the University of Florida established the Madelyn Lockhart Fellowship to honor a PhD. Candidate who is both an outstanding researcher and who has contributed to creating a more inclusive and diverse community. One Fellowship in the amount of up to $2,000 will be awarded annually to assist in the dissertation phase of the doctoral degree. The recipient must be enrolled in dissertation credits the semester (or summer) s/he receives the fellowship.
• UF/Santa Fe College Faculty Development Project– The UF/Santa Fe College Faculty Development Project is a partnership between the University of Florida and local Santa Fe College that aims to increase faculty diversity at Santa Fe College while providing doctoral students at UF with valuable teaching experience. Participants teach two courses per year at SFC and assist in its recruitment and retention of minority and underrepresented students. The program provides a stipend of $15,000 for nine months, in-state tuition, fees, and health insurance for fall-spring semesters with an additional amount supplied by UF. Participants must have a master’s degree in an approved field, 18 credit hours of graduate level hours in an approved field completed, and have passed their qualifying exams.

During EDH 6947 Practicum in Student Personnel, master’s students will complete 150 hours on a practicum experience. The practicum is an opportunity for students to learn new skills that differ from their current position (professional or assistantship). In addition to completing projects, students will reflect on their experience and how these activities that have contributed to their professional development

Departments within the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Florida and Student Affairs at Santa Fe College, as well as related departments and colleges, provide employment opportunities for graduate students interested in pursuing a career in a student affairs related field. These graduate positions enable students to combine the knowledge learned in the classroom with the experience of working in a professional setting. In short, students are able to put theory into practice. The personal and professional skills gained by being able to directly apply what is learned in the classroom, will be beneficial throughout your professional career.

If you plan to attend the on-campus SPHE program as a full-time student and will not be working as a full-time professional, please indicate your interest in applying for a Graduate Assistantship/Position on your On-Campus M.Ed. SPHE program application. Selection for the SPHE academic program and the assistantship/position hiring process are separate, but collaborative and concurrent processes.  On-campus SPHE students are required to have a Graduate Assistantship/Position or related employment due to the “theory-to-practice” nature of the program.

Most graduate assistantships/positions are 20 hour per week positions for the spring and fall semesters. Some assistantships/positions are also available in the summer. Candidates must be accepted to a graduate program at the University of Florida in order to obtain graduate employment.  (NOTE: First preference is given to students applying to the SPHE master’s degree program.)

Some terminology to be aware of:

• Assistantships – typically include a stipend, tuition waiver, and health care
• Positions – may not include tuition waiver or health care, but do include a competitive stipend and other benefits. Be sure to ask supervisors during your interviews.

Doctoral Fellowships

PhD Fellowship/Assistantship Applications are due at the time of your application. Please consult the specific Program Area websites for their application deadlines.

• Fill out the Fellowship/Assistantship Application Form and submit it to the coordinator of your program if you are applying for a fellowship or assistantship.
• The FAMU Feeder Fellowship affords FAMU students the opportunity to receive advanced study in graduate programs not available at FAMU. Within HDOSE, the Higher Education Administration, Counselor Education, and Research and Evaluation Methodology programs are eligible.
• McKnight Doctoral Fellowships: The Office of Graduate Diversity Initiatives, in partnership with the Florida Education Fund, administers the McKnight Doctoral Fellowship for African-American and Hispanic students who have been admitted to begin their studies in the coming fall semester.
• Grinter Fellowships: Ph.D. students who have been admitted to begin their studies in the coming fall semester are eligible to be considered for these 3-year $2000-$4000 stipend awards.

Assistantships

• Many departments across the university offer Graduate Assistantships for both doctoral and master’s students with various benefits. You can search for them at the UF Jobs Site by clicking on Student Assistant under the Work Type filter. Common places include:
  • UF Teaching Center– Hires GAs from a variety of disciplines as supplemental instruction leaders and coordinators of Teaching Center programs.
  • The Hawkins Center– Hires content or strategy prep (time management, etc.) tutors for student-athletes. They also hire Assistant Learning Specialist Interns (which is often like a 2-year assistantship). Prefers education majors.
  • Academic Advising Center– Hires year-round GAs. Previous grads have come from counselor ed, higher ed, SPHE, and educational leadership.
  • Department of Housing – accepts all majors. Previous housing experience is preferred but not required.

International Students

• International Student Certificates of Excellence (5 COE students recognized/No monetary award) – International undergraduate or graduate students; minimum 3.5 GPA, exceptional scholarly research activity, outstanding participation in the department/college, and service to the University community. Students are eligible based on visa status – please contact your school Graduate Coordinator to verify eligibility. Nominations must come from their COE faculty advisor using the attached nomination form.  Other required materials are a letter of support from the faculty advisor and the student’s curriculum vitae.  The college will select 5 awardees from all nominations received and will forward the names to UFIC.
• Alec Courtelis Award (University-wide/3 monetary awards: 1 @ $3,000, 2 @ $1,500) International graduate students; eligibility criteria include demonstration of outstanding academic achievement, contribution to the department and college, exceptional contributions and service to campus life at UF, involvement in the Gainesville community.  Students are eligible based on visa status – please contact your school Graduate Coordinator to verify eligibility. Nominations must come from their COE faculty advisor using the attached nomination form.  Additional submission requirements are three letters of recommendation (one can be the advisor) and the student’s curriculum vitae. The college can nominate 2 students for review by the UFIC selection committee.
• Diane Fisher Award (University-wide/2@$500) Information about eligibility and submission requirements can be found at:  https://internationalcenter.ufl.edu/f-1-student/additional-information/international-student-awards-ceremony/diane-fisher-scholarship 
• Scarborough-Maud Fraser Award (University-wide1@$1,000) Information about eligibility and submission requirements can be found at: https://internationalcenter.ufl.edu/f-1-student/additional-information/international-student-awards-ceremony/scarborough-maud-fraser