Doctor of Philosophy Program

The purpose of the advisory conference is to aid the student in developing an overall plan for attaining a doctoral degree. 

Timeline and Conditions. It is recommended that the student schedule the advisory conference in consultation with their advisor (or else the graduate liaison) within the second semester of enrollment in the doctoral program.

Procedure. At the advisory conference, it is the duty of the chair of the advisory conference committee, typically the doctoral student’s advisor, to obtain approval of each committee member so that the student may file the Advisory Conference Report to the Graduate College. Each program of study will be tailored to the needs and interests of the individual student. However, certain basic requirements must be satisfied. Also, the advisory conference committee will determine how to redress any deficiencies in course work.

If any changes to the Advisory Conference Report later become necessary, a Request for Change in Doctoral Advisory Conference Report can be filed. This request must be approved by all members of the advisory conference committee and the graduate liaison.

Coursework Requirements. The advisor, in consultation with the other members of the advisory conference committee, will decide on the number and nature of courses that will be taken, likely guided by the student’s research interests and expected dissertation topic. Coursework is subject to the following minimum requirements.

1. The following 9 credit hours of core courses are taken by all graduate students (unless waived as described below):
   • ISE 5013 Fundamentals of Engineering Statistical Analysis (or ISE 5553 Data-Driven Decision Making I, or ISE 5853 Data-Driven Decision Making II, or ISE 5103 Intelligent Data Analytics)
   • ISE 5023 Systems Optimization (or ISE 5113 Advanced Analytics and Metaheuristics, or ISE 5663 Simulation I)
   • ISE 5033 Systems Engineering (or ISE 5543 Decision Analysis, or ISE 5813 Advanced Human Factors and Ergonomics)
2. At least 9 credit hours of electives that are approved by the advisory conference committee and graduate liaison are required in addition to the 9 credit hours of core courses. 
3. At least 12 credit hours of coursework must be taken in Industrial and Systems Engineering at the 5000-level or above.
4. At least 3 credit hours must be 6000-level courses in Industrial and Systems Engineering. These can include ISE 6990 Independent Study, when approved by the advisory conference committee.
5. Students with an M.S. thesis from a recognized industrial and systems engineering (or related) program may petition the ISE graduate committee to apply up to 30 credit hours from the M.S. degree and waive the core course requirements. If a student is approved to waive core course requirements, these courses must be replaced by other courses not including independent study. 
6. A minimum of 30 and a maximum of 42 credit hours can be given for research on the doctoral dissertation. 

The student is responsible for meeting the requirements and deadlines established by the Graduate College. These are listed in the current Graduate College Bulletin. Some of the major requirements are as follows.

1. A minimum of 90 graduate credit hours beyond the Bachelor's Degree.
2. Following the initial enrollment in ISE 6980 (dissertation research), the student must maintain continuous enrollment in a minimum of two credit hours each fall and spring semester until all degree requirements are completed.
3. Normally expect to spend at least the equivalent of three full academic years beyond the bachelor’s degree to obtain the doctoral degree. 
4. Must be in residence as a full-time student at OU for at least two consecutive 16-week semesters and be engaged in coursework or research activities as prescribed by the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

Transfer Credit. If a student has performed graduate-level coursework at another institution that has not been applied to a previous degree and that might be equivalent to an OU course, the student may request an evaluation to determine whether transfer credit can be given. Transfer credit cannot be more than five years old at the time of admission to the graduate program. When combined, hours transferred from other institutions and residence credit taken prior to admission to the doctoral program may not constitute more than 49 percent of the minimum number of 90 credit hours required for the doctoral degree. The number of transfer hours accepted for each student is determined on an individual basis at the advisory conference.

To request a transfer credit evaluation, a student must complete the following.

1. Ensure a transcript is on file with the Office of Admissions.
2. Complete the Request for Transfer Credit Evaluation form.
3. For each course for which transfer credit is requested, provide documentation such as a course syllabus, a course description, an outline of the topics covered in the course, and the name of the textbook, among any other appropriate information.
4. Submit the form and accompanying documentation to the ISE Student Coordinator in CEC 124.
5. The graduate liaison and the instructor of each course for which transfer credit is being requested will review the course information and make a determination of equivalency. All approvals are subject to the Graduate College Guidelines for Transfer Credit.

Members of the student’s doctoral committee will be responsible for advising, directing, assisting and encouraging the student throughout the student’s career as a doctoral candidate.  The doctoral committee must be composed of at least five members, including one member from outside of the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering to serve as the Graduate College Representative. Faculty from the School must make up a simple majority of the committee membership. The student’s doctoral committee will facilitate the following.

• Prepare and conduct the general examination,
• Conduct the proposal defense,
• Supervise the preparation of the dissertation, and
• Conduct the final oral examination over the dissertation.

In most cases, the advisory conference committee will become the student’s doctoral committee.

The Graduate College must approve any change in membership of the doctoral committee.

The student is required to satisfy all requirements for the general examination specified by the Graduate College. These requirements may be found in the Graduate College Bulletin.

The general examination is intended to test the student’s mastery of a number of related fields as well as the student’s capacity for synthesis and sound generalization, ability to engage in critical thinking, and readiness to undertake doctoral research.  

Timeline and Conditions. When all required coursework has been completed or will be complete in the current semester, the student may request to schedule the general exam. The general exam should be scheduled to occur as soon as coursework is substantially complete and therefore typically will occur well before the proposal defense. The Graduate College will not allow a student to enroll in ISE 6980 (dissertation research) until the semester in which the general exam is taken. Before that point, the student must take either graded courses or ISE 6990 (independent study). The Advisory Conference Report can be amended after the general exam has been passed to adjust the remaining number of credit hours of ISE 6980 that are required based on the number of ISE 6990 credit hours taken prior to the general exam. Note that no more than 50% of coursework completed for the doctoral degree may be S/U graded. The number of credit hours used when making this determination includes S/U courses undertaken for the master’s degree and should be based on the total number of hours taken for the master’s degree and those planned for the doctoral degree. 

A doctoral student who enters the graduate program with a bachelor’s degree is expected to pass the general examination within five calendar years of the student’s first graduate enrollment in the doctoral program. A doctoral student who enters the University of Oklahoma program with a master’s degree is expected to pass the general examination within four calendar years of the student’s first enrollment in a post-master’s course used toward the doctoral degree.

A doctoral student must be in good academic standing during the semester the general exam is held. In addition, the student must be enrolled in at least two graduate credit hours at the University of Oklahoma in the semester the general exam is held. 

Procedure. The general exam consists of a written portion followed by an oral portion held in the presence of the entire doctoral committee. Both the written and oral portions should be taken in the same semester. 

The student’s Advisory Conference Report must be approved by the Graduate College before the student applies for the general exam. The Application for General Examination must be completed and signed by the student, all members of the doctoral committee, and the graduate liaison. The student should then file the Application for General Examination in the Graduate College and receive permission from the Graduate College before beginning the written portion of the examination. The student must complete the general exam during the semester in which the authority is given.

The topic of the general exam will be prepared by the advisor in consultation with the doctoral committee. The advisor should specify a problem to be addressed in the general exam. As the general exam is meant to test the ability of the student to undertake doctoral research, the problem definition should be guided in part by the research interests and potential research contributions of the student.

In the written portion of the general exam, the student will provide a written response to the problem posed by the advisor and the doctoral committee. It should include an understanding of the problem, motivation for the problem in terms of its importance and broader impacts, and how that problem (or similar problems) has been addressed as determined by the associated literature. The student should propose future directions of research, including how to solve and implement those future directions and associated intellectual merit. With the written portion of the general exam, the student should exhibit a mastery of a number of related fields, a capacity for synthesis and sound generalization, an ability to engage in critical thinking, and a readiness to undertake doctoral research. The written portion of the general examination is not meant to be a proposal of dissertation research.

The doctoral committee will determine the results of the written examination. A student cannot proceed to the oral portion of the general exam until the written examination has been satisfactorily completed. If the written portion of the general exam is failed, a report must be submitted within 72 hours of the exam to the Graduate College indicating that the general exam was failed.

The student shall arrange with the doctoral committee a time and place for the oral portion of the general exam. The oral portion of the general exam cannot be scheduled when classes are not in session, during finals week, or at any time when the doctoral committee cannot be assembled. 

Refer to the Graduate College Bulletin for additional requirements concerning the mode of participation of members of the doctoral committee during the oral portion of the general exam. The oral portion is meant to be an oral presentation of the written portion of the general exam, and the student should be expected to respond to any inquiry from the doctoral committee related to mastery of related fields, capacity for synthesis and sound generalization, ability to engage in critical thinking, and readiness to undertake doctoral research.

Outcome. Within 72 hours after completion of the oral portion of the general exam, the Authority Report Form signed by the entire doctoral committee must be submitted to the Graduate College. The Authority Report Form indicates whether the student has passed or failed the exam. The result of the exam can also be held in abeyance for a limited time.

Passing Outcome. A student becomes a doctoral candidate upon successful completion of the general exam and then may begin to take ISE 6980 (dissertation research). Following the initial enrollment in ISE 6980, the student must maintain continuous enrollment in a minimum of two credit hours each fall and spring semester until all degree requirements are met.

Marginal Outcome. If the student’s performance is marginal, but not failing, and the doctoral committee requires that the student to do further reading, coursework, or investigations, among others, the results of the examination can be held in abeyance with approval of the Graduate College. The doctoral committee’s request for an abeyance should state a specific time period (usually limited to two months, but no longer than one semester) in which the student has to complete the extra work. At the end of the specified time period, the doctoral committee and the graduate liaison must file a report with the Graduate College indicating whether the exam was satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

Failing Outcome. If the general exam is failed, the student may, at the discretion of the doctoral committee, apply to repeat the exam a second time in a subsequent semester. If a student fails any portion of the general exam on the second attempt, the student will be terminated from the doctoral program. The general exam may not be given a third time.

The proposal defense occurs when a student is ready to defend the research proposal. It is a separate event from the general exam and typically occurs at a later point in time. 

Timeline and Conditions. Like the other milestones in the doctoral program, there are no guidelines from the Graduate College on the timing of the proposal process. The research proposal should be prepared after conducting a comprehensive literature review and after having performed preliminary exploration to verify that what has been proposed can be accomplished with an acceptable likelihood. A doctoral student should do enough preliminary work, in consultation with their advisor and doctoral committee, prior to the proposal to ensure results will be attainable before the subsequent dissertation defense. The purpose of the proposal is to (1) update the doctoral committee on the status of the doctoral student’s research and (2) improve the likelihood of a successful dissertation defense.

Procedure. The advisor in consultation with the doctoral committee will define requirements that the proposal should satisfy. At a minimum, the proposal defense will include a meeting with the advisor and doctoral committee to apprise them of the planned contributions. It is expected that this meeting will include a formal introduction to the topic, a problem statement, a comprehensive literature review, a description of the theory and/or methodology, progress toward contributions including preliminary results, and a detailed research plan including remaining milestones.

The advisor may require a written research proposal document to accompany the proposal defense. Any reasonable expectations of such a document will be discussed with the student sufficiently in advance of the semester in which the proposal defense is planned to occur. In the spirit of prior guidelines in this Graduate Program Guide, the advisor should clearly communicate expectations of the student throughout the student’s tenure, and the inclusion of a written document with the proposal defense should be a clear expectation if the advisor so chooses. Such a written document may also be distributed to the doctoral committee for feedback.

Outcome. If the proposal defense is unsatisfactory, a report of unsatisfactory progress will be made to the graduate liaison. The student may, at the discretion of the committee, repeat the proposal defense a second time in a subsequent semester. If a second proposal defense is unsatisfactory, the student will be terminated from the doctoral program.

A number of items must be completed during the semester in which a student expects to defend the dissertation:

1. Apply for graduation. File the Application for Graduation with the Office of Academic Records before the deadline.
2. Degree check. Complete the online Request for Degree Check within the first two weeks of the semester.
3. Distribute a reading copy of the dissertation. The student must distribute complete drafts of the dissertation to each doctoral committee member at least four weeks prior to the expected date of the defense. More detail about the dissertation is found in Section 4.7.
4. Schedule the defense. After the draft of the dissertation is approved by the advisor and other members of the doctoral committee, the student should arrange with members of the doctoral committee the time and location for the dissertation defense.
5. Obtain authorization for the defense. When the reading copy has received preliminary approval by the advisor and the other members of the doctoral committee, submit the Request for Authority for Dissertation Defense and IRB approval (if applicable) at least two weeks prior to the defense date. When the request for authority is approved, the Graduate College will email the Authority Report Form for the Dissertation Defense to the student and the doctoral committee. A student is not authorized to defend until the Authority Report form has been received. 

Dissertation Reading Copy. A doctoral dissertation should demonstrate an extension to the state of the art in the chosen field of research.

The doctoral candidate should prepare and distribute reading copies of the dissertation to each doctoral committee member at least four weeks prior to the expected date of the dissertation defense. See the Dissertation Instruction Packet published by the Graduate College for dissertation format requirements and instructions. The reading copy of the dissertation must satisfy these requirements.

The doctoral committee will read the dissertation and determine whether the dissertation demonstrates the student’s ability to conduct original research and makes a significant contribution to the student’s discipline. The committee may accept or reject the dissertation. If the committee accepts the dissertation, it may require changes and corrections to be submitted by a specified date. If the committee rejects the dissertation, the student will have another opportunity to submit an acceptable dissertation to the committee.

The dissertation defense is an oral examination of a doctoral candidate’s dissertation research conducted by the doctoral committee and is open to the public.

Timing and Conditions. A doctoral candidate is expected to complete all degree requirements, including the written dissertation and its defense, within five years after passing the general examination. The defense must be held no later than the last day of classes (i.e., before finals week) of the semester in which it is authorized.

Refer to the Graduate College Bulletin for additional requirements concerning the mode of participation of members of the doctoral committee.

Outcome. Only one attempt to defend the dissertation is afforded to the candidate.  If the defense is determined to be unsatisfactory, the student will be disenrolled from the Graduate College and the student’s candidacy for the doctoral degree will be terminated. This outcome is final, and the defense cannot be repeated.

Within 72 hours following the defense, the student must submit the completed Authority Report Form to the Graduate College. If applicable, the student also should contact IRB to inactivate their study and should submit a copy of the inactivation memo to the Graduate College.

After the dissertation has been successfully defended, the student must incorporate any corrections and comments into the final dissertation copy. After the committee has approved the final dissertation, the student must submit the Approval for Thesis/Dissertation Submission to SHAREOK form, which requires signatures of committee members, to the Graduate College. The student must then submit the final dissertation to the SHAREOK repository no later than 60 calendar days after the dissertation defense. To graduate in a particular semester, the dissertation must submit by the semester submission deadline given on the Academic Calendar, usually the last day of the final examination period.

The doctoral student must also complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates as soon as possible after the defense date.

The doctoral student must provide one copy of the final dissertation to each member of the dissertation committee in the medium of the member’s choosing (bound or electronic).