Evaluation, Statistics, and Methodology Major, PhD

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Campus Code

Knoxville Campus

Admissions Standards/Procedures

Students must submit an online graduate application to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Following a review of applications, an interview with the faculty is required. Admissions decisions are made on a holistic basis to discern the candidate’s promise for doctoral study and to ascertain the match of the candidate’s educational goals with the resources and goals of the program/department.
A Master’s degree is not required for students who apply for admission to the major. For students who are admitted to the major, prior graduate coursework will be examined on a case-by-case basis as it might be used to satisfy the overall course requirements.

Credit Hours Required

90 graduate credit hours

Required Courses

ESM Core Courses (15 credit hours)

Advanced ESM Core (12 credit hours)

Research Core (15 credit hours)

ESM 583
ESM 559
ESM 659
ESM 682
3 credit hours of approved graduate research electives selected in consultation with the major advisor

Applied Professional Experience (15 credit hours)

ESM 660 (9 credit hours)
ESM 670 (6 credit hours)

Electives (9 credit hours) selected in consultation with the major advisor

Dissertation/Research (24 credit hours)

ESM 600
Students will enroll in a minimum total of 24 credit hours of dissertation at the conclusion of their coursework.

Non-Course Requirements

Doctoral candidates work closely with their advisor to complete a dissertation proposal. A candidate will present the proposal to the dissertation committee, and once approved by all committee members, will begin work on the dissertation research. With the advisor’s approval, the candidate will schedule an oral defense for the dissertation. During the dissertation defense, the candidate will present the work completed for the dissertation, which will be reviewed by the dissertation committee.