Texas Wesleyan University 2020-2021 Catalog

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Academic Policies for the Doctoral Program in Marriage and Family Therapy

Time Limitation

Graduate courses expire within ten years from the date of course completion shown on the transcript; thus, at the time the student graduates with the Ph.D. degree, no course may be more than ten years old. Courses taken more than ten years prior to graduation must be retaken to meet graduation requirements. In the event that the required course is no longer offered, a substitute course of similar content must be taken in its place. Approval to take this course must be obtained from the Director of the Doctoral Program in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Comprehensive Examinations

The Comprehensive Examinations are given each summer during the final semester of practicum. Students will not progress to dissertation work or candidacy until they have successfully achieved a satisfactory score on all sections.  Refer to handbook for additional details.

Official Communications

A student's University Email address is the official e-mail address for Texas Wesleyan University. All official University e-mail communication will be sent to this e-mail address. Students may elect to forward Ram Mail to an alternate e-mail address. However, the University will not be responsible for the handling of e-mail to an alternate e-mail address. Students will be responsible for any information sent to their official e-mail address.

Dissertation Process

Admissions to Candidacy Criteria

To be admitted to candidacy the student must meet the following criteria:

  • Complete all core, research, and concentration coursework with a 3.2 overall GPA;
  • Have only two "C" grades in the above listed required coursework;
  • Passing score on the Written Comprehensive Examination.

Dissertation I (MFT 8328): Candidates who successfully complete the Qualifying Examinations must enroll in MFT 8328 Dissertation Design and Proposal to proceed with the design and development of the dissertation proposal. Candidates complete the dissertation proposal with the assistance of their major professor and the other members of the dissertation committee as appropriate. The dissertation committee is comprised of the major professor, another doctoral professor, and a professor from another department. The proposal includes a review of related research, identifies the research problem and research questions or hypotheses and describes the research design.  The proposal must be approved by the University IRB in order for the student to proceed with research.

Dissertation II (MFT 8329): After successfully defending the proposal, the candidate, under the supervision of the major professor and dissertation committee, conducts the research and completes the writing of the dissertation. The dissertation research stage is the most important part of the doctoral program, for it provides the opportunity for the student to apply information and skills learned in the program to the study of a topic of interest to the candidate and importance to the profession.

Dissertation III (MFT 8330): Upon completion of the dissertation, the candidate will defend his/her dissertation research before a group of graduate faculty, his/her dissertation committee, and invited peers. Successful defense grants the candidate the Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy degree. Publication of dissertation work is expected. Please contact the Director of the Doctoral Program in Marriage and Family Therapy for more information.

Residency Requirement

To be awarded the Doctor of Philosophy in Marriage and Family Therapy, a student must complete a minimum of 53 credit hours at Texas Wesleyan University.