Doctoral Program Description
There are four major components to the doctoral program of study: (a) Course work; (b) Research Competence Demonstration; (c) Core and thematic comprehensive examinations, and (d) Dissertation research.
A minimum of fifty-seven (57) graduate semester credits of required course work must be earned in the following four categories:
(a) Statistics/research methods. Nine (9) semester credits of course work in quantitative statistical and/or research methods. LIR statistics courses below the 900 level cannot be counted toward the statistics/research methods requirement.
(b) Disciplinary cognate. A cognate of at least twelve (12) graduate semester credits within a single disciplinary Department (e.g. Economics, Psychology, or Management). The course work applied towards this requirement may not be applied to any of the other three categories listed here.
(b1) Alternatively, the student may take a structured disciplinary cognate in the departments for which these have been established. The structured disciplinary cognate, which consists of four to six courses established between LIR and the particular department, provides the student with the common knowledge and techniques of that discipline as well as knowledge of that discipline as it applies to the employment relationship. Taking a structured disciplinary cognate better assures the student that their disciplinary studies will be recognized and valued by those in the single discipline. In some instances, courses included in the structured disciplinary cognate may be counted toward other requirements. For example, those taking the six course cognate in Economics would be permitted to use the two econometrics courses as part of their statistics requirement and LIR 809, Labor Markets, would be replaced by the two graduate courses in labor economics (the substitution of graduate labor economics courses for LIR 809 does not reduce the requirement that 57 credits must be earned in graduate courses).
(c) Thematic cognate. An additional cognate focused on a theme related to the student’s research interests. The thematic cognate consists of twelve (12) credits and is developed by the student with the advice and consent of the guidance committee. It may include courses in LIR or other departments, except for those which are part of the LIR common knowledge course work (part (d)) or courses used for the disciplinary cognate. The thematic cognate may include credits earned in any unit in the University. An explanation of the focus and content for this cognate shall be attached to the Guidance Committee Report.
Directed Readings. Doctoral students may earn up to six (6) LIR credits through directed readings. In general, each readings course should correspond to a different directed readings project and may be used as part of a thematic cognate. These credits offer doctoral students the opportunity for more advanced learning in LIR subjects. These directed readings will be earned through weekly discussions with an LIR faculty member and the writing of a paper exceeding nineteen pages in length. Each individual doctoral student and the corresponding faculty member will select a topic and scope for the paper and file the corresponding form that the School of Labor and Industrial Relations uses to record and manage directed readings credits.
The course work applied towards the thematic cognate may not be applied to any of the other three categories of requirements: (a) Statistics/research methods, (b) disciplinary cognate, and (d) LIR course work.
Possible areas chosen by students for the thematic cognate include:
Human Resource Management
Organizational Behavior
Strategic Human Resource Management
Employment Relations
Labor Markets
Employment Policy
(d) LIR course work. A minimum of twenty-four (24) graduate semester credits earned for course work in LIR. LIR course work for doctoral students must include eighteen (18) credits in the “common knowledge” courses: LIR-809, LIR-823, LIR-824, LIR-825, LIR-858, LIR-863 and six (6) credits in the two doctoral seminars LIR-992A, and LIR-992B. The course work applied towards this requirement may not be applied to any of the other three categories listed here. Because some the “common knowledge” courses represent masters’ level courses, when taken as a part of the Ph.D. program, Ph.D. students may be assigned additional work in the courses as specified by the course instructors.
Sample Schedule
It is expected that a full-time doctoral student who does not transfer any credit should be able to satisfy the minimum course work requirements in three years following a schedule comparable to the one listed below.
Semester 1: 9 credits.
First statistics/research methods course (3 credits)
Two 800-level LIR “common knowledge” courses (6 credits)
Semester 2: 9 credits.
Second statistics/research methods course (3 credits)
Two 800-level LIR “common knowledge” courses (6 credits)
Semester 3: 9 credits.
Third statistics/research methods course (3 credits)
Two 800-level “common knowledge” course (6 credits)
Semester 4: 9 credits.
Two cognate courses (6 credits)
Employment Relations 900-level LIR doctoral seminar (3 credits)
Semester 5: 9 credits.
Two cognate courses (6 credits)
Human Resources 900-level LIR doctoral seminar (3 credits)
Semester 6: 9 credits.
Three cognate courses (9credits)
Summer Semester: 3 credits
One directed readings courses (3 credits)
Demonstration of Research Competence
Purpose:
The main purpose of the requirement for doctoral LIR students to demonstrate Research Competence is to validate the students’ basic preparation and skills to conduct independent empirical work.
The ability to conduct independent empirical work is essential for LIR doctoral students because the Ph.D. degree is intended to prepare students for a career as academic scholars in tenure-track positions at research-oriented universities. Furthermore, doctoral LIR students are required to develop, complete, and defend a dissertation before receiving the Ph.D. degree.
In important ways, the demonstration of research competence indicates the students have developed sufficient understanding of the research process and methodologies to succeed in the dissertation phase of their program of study.
Timing:
Students must pass either the Research Competence Demonstration or their First Comprehensive Examination by the end of their second year of doctoral study. Both of these requirements must be passed before the beginning of the fourth year of doctoral study.
Students must have completed at least six credits of graduate course work in statistical techniques and/or research methods before beginning work on their Research Competence paper.
Normally, students will satisfy the Research Competence requirement during the Spring Semester of their second year. However, students who opt to take the Comprehensive Examination in their second year must satisfy the Research Competence requirement no later than the Spring Semester of their third year of doctoral study.
Failure to satisfy the Research Competence requirement within the time limits specified here may result in removal from the doctoral program.
Standards:
In order to fulfill the Research Competence requirement, students must plan, write, submit and present a paper that adequately demonstrates their research ability. The Research Competence paper may be a synthesis of the student’s master’s thesis or (more typically) a research paper written specifically to satisfy the Research Competence requirement. The paper should be of journal article form and of length appropriate to its subject matter.
The members of the student’s Guidance Committee who are also in the LIR faculty will appraise the student’s research plan and, once the Research Competence paper is completed and presented to them, will also determine its acceptability. Students will make an oral presentation, to the LIR faculty members in their Guidance Committee, explaining and defending the main points in their Research Competence paper. When a student satisfies the Research Competence requirement, her/his Guidance Committee Chair will notify the Associate Director for the Academic Program in writing.
Students and Guidance Committee members who appraise these papers should keep in mind that these papers are expected to be of journal article length and form but that this does not imply that Research Competence papers must achieve the quality of ready-to-publish journal articles. Research Competence papers are only expected to contain sufficiently developed sections that:
(a) review literature and support one or more clearly stated central proposition(s) and their testable implications, hypotheses, or research questions;
(b) discuss the types and sources of evidence relevant to the proposition(s) and related hypotheses or research questions;
(c) present actual evidence and apply the appropriate technique(s) for its analysis; and
(d) clearly state the conclusions and implications of the empirical investigation.
The following criteria shall be considered to determine the acceptability of any Research Competence paper or thesis submitted in lieu of this requirement:
1. The subject of the Research Competence paper belongs to the broad fields of industrial relations and/or human resource management or to one of their related disciplines. These related-disciplines may include labor economics, labor history, labor law, sociology of work and occupations, industrial/organizational psychology, management, and organizational behavior.
2. The Research Competence paper should be organized around one or more central propositions and their testable implications (hypotheses or research questions). These central propositions need not be original. Indeed, a careful replication of a published study using data from a new setting or a different time period is entirely acceptable.
3. The Research Competence paper should be empirical. Students should bring evidence to bear on the central propositions, hypotheses, or research questions that drive their investigation. However, data used need not be originally collected for this project. Although students may gather primary data for the Research Competence paper, it is acceptable to use secondary data such as government statistics, archives, and data sets from research projects conducted by others. Particularly, students are advised to investigate whether LIR faculty have data sets which may be useful for Research Competence papers.
4. The method(s) of analysis should be consistent with the central proposition(s) and its (their) testable implications (hypotheses or research questions). Students may use qualitative or quantitative analytical methods or a mixture of both depending on the research hypotheses or questions driving their investigation.
5. Students must assume individual leadership, control, and responsibility for the “methods” and “results” portions of the Research Competence paper. That is, students must be capable of explaining and defending their choices regarding data analysis and interpretation.
Comprehensive Examinations
Purpose:
The Comprehensive Examinations are designed to test the fundamental knowledge and preparation that the student has developed through her/his formal program of study as indicated in the Guidance Committee Report. Through these Comprehensive Examinations, the student demonstrates competencies (other than in research methodology) that indicate the student is ready to move into the dissertation phase of his/her doctoral program.
The Comprehensive Exams serves two functions. First, the Comprehensive examinations serve as an assessment tool by which faculty determine the extent to which the student has mastered the content areas related to the student’s formal program of study. Second, preparing for the Comprehensive Examinations is a developmental experience which allows the student to integrate materials discussed or read in the various graduate courses within the student’s formal program of study. For this second function of the examination, students may be asked to read materials to which they have not been exposed previously but that members of the Examining Committee consider essential for the student’s competence in the subjects comprising the student’s formal program of study.
The Core Comprehensive Examination covers the common knowledge courses in the LIR curriculum and the graduate seminars. It consists of two sections: Human Resources and Organizational Behavior; and Labor and Industrial Relations. The Core Comprehensive Examination is given twice a year if there is need.
The Thematic Comprehensive Examination covers the students’ thematic cognate with questions from each class that comprised the cognate. The thematic comprehensive should be completed by the conclusion of the seventh semester of studies and must be completed by the beginning of the eighth semester.
Timing:
Students must pass either the Research Competency Demonstration or the Core Comprehensive Examination by the end of their second year of doctoral study. Both the Research Competency Demonstration and Core Comprehensive must be passed by the end of the third year of doctoral study. The Thematic Comprehensive must be completed by the beginning of the eighth semester in the program.
The specific dates for the Comprehensive Examination will be determined jointly by the student and the three members of the Examining Committee led by the student’s Guidance Committee Chair.
Failure to pass the Comprehensive Examination within the time limits specified here will result in the suspension of financial support provided by the School of Labor and Industrial relations and may result in removal from the doctoral program.
Design and Content of Exams:
The Core Comprehensive Examination will be designed by an Examining Committee comprised of faculty who teach the common knowledge courses and graduate seminars. The student’s Guidance Committee Chair shall lead this Examining Committee. The other members of the Examining Committee must be members of the LIR Academic faculty.
The core examination is divided into two sections: Human Resources/Organizational Behavior and Labor and Employment Relations. Each section lasts five hours and is given on a different day with one day off between the examination days. Each section of the examination is comprised of at least four questions related to the topic of the examination.
The Thematic Comprehensive Examination will be designed by student’s Guidance Committee in consultation with the faculty who taught the courses which comprise the student’s thematic cognate and will be chaired by the Chair of the student’s Guidance Committee.
Procedure:
The following are critical steps involved in developing, administering and grading a Core Comprehensive Examination for an LIR doctoral student:
1. The student notifies the Guidance Committee Chair six months before the intended date of her/his intentions to take the Comprehensive Examination. Thus, students need to start this procedure early enough to satisfy the time limits stated above in the section titled “TIMING”.
2. The Examining Committee Chair identifies other members of the LIR Academic faculty who have taught common knowledge courses or doctoral seminars. The Chair then consults with those faculty members to gain their consent to participate in the Examining Committee.
3. The student meets individually with each member of her/his Examining Committee to clarify the boundaries for the content areas being considered and to identify material that must be read and/or mastered in order to succeed in the Comprehensive Examination.
4. The student and the Examining Committee Chair determine the starting date and time for the Comprehensive Examination.
5. The Examining Committee Chair informs, in writing, the Associate Director for the Academic Program of the starting date and time, as well as of the content areas and reading materials determined for the student’s Comprehensive Examination. These lists of content areas and associated materials become part of the student’s academic file.
6. While the student prepares for the Comprehensive Examination, the Examining Committee Chair coordinates the development of examination questions.
7. Each section of the examinations, which are given on the designated days, is to last no more than five hours.
8. The Examining Committee Chair distributes the student’s answers to the corresponding members of the Examining Committee and establishes a time schedule for the evaluation and grading of such answers. This schedule shall ensure that an overall grade is obtained and communicated to the student no later than one month after the student returned his/her answers.
9. The Examining Committee Chair notifies, in writing, the student and the Associate Director for the Academic Program of the overall grade and of the grades received by the student in each of the questions. This notification must occur no later than one month after the student completes the examination.
The procedures for the Thematic Examination are similar except that:
1. The committee is comprised of the members of the students’ Guidance committee. The committee is chaired by the chair of the Guidance Committee.
2. The Thematic Comprehensive will consist of at least four questions. These questions are to be developed in consultation with the faculty who have taught the courses which comprise the student’s Thematic Cognate.
3. Students will have five days, 120 hours, to complete the Thematic Comprehensive from the time they receive the questions.
4. Questions will be graded by the Guidance Committee.
Exam Grading:
This exam represents a validation of the student’s formal program of study that is recorded in the student’s Guidance Committee Report. In order to pass the examination, students must show they have a sufficient knowledge of the literature. Students must also show they have developed the critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis competencies that make them ready to move into the dissertation phase of their doctoral program of study.
For each answer, the corresponding member of the Examining Committee shall issue one of the following three grades: pass, low pass, or fail.
The criteria for deciding the grade for each question will include the following: (1) understanding of major concepts in the area; (2) familiarity with scholars, theories, and models historically important in the area; (3) knowledge of the extent to which major theories and models have been supported by research; and (4) awareness of recent developments and trends in theorizing and research.
A good or “pass” answer demonstrates the student’s ability to integrate and synthesize concepts, models, and theories covered during the student’s formal program of study. Also, a good answer demonstrates that the student understands critical or seminal pieces of the literature in the corresponding area. Good answers resemble a solid draft for the “Introduction” and “Literature Review” sections in scholarly journal articles.
In order for the student to receive an “overall pass” for the Core Comprehensive Examination, the student must receive a “pass” grade for each of the two parts of the Examination. To receive a “pass” on a section of the Examination they must receive a pass on all questions, except they may receive one low pass. Assuming an “overall pass” is received, the student will have to write additional essays related to any answer(s) rated as “low pass.” The topic and size of these essays will be determined by the corresponding member of the Examining Committee and will be based on the student’s performance in the Examination.
Students who receive a “fail” or more than one “low pass” grade in a section will be considered to have failed that section. If a student fails one or both sections of the Core Comprehensive Examination, he/she shall schedule a second examination on the sections that he/she failed to be administered no later than six (6) months after the first examination. Failure to pass the Core Comprehensive Exam for a second time will result in dismissal from the doctoral program.
Doctoral Dissertation:
A doctoral dissertation on a significant proposition in industrial relations and human resources is required of each doctoral student. The dissertation must be concerned with a problem having aspects and ramifications which extends across disciplinary or professional area lines. It is subject to University and College rules concerning doctoral dissertations, including the requirement to enroll in 24 credits of doctoral dissertation credits. The dissertation must conform to good scholarly practice in employment relations and human resources. A dissertation committee directs the dissertation work of the student.
The first formal step in the dissertation process is the submission of a written proposal to the dissertation committee. A dissertation proposal includes a statement of the research question and a discussion of its significance, a literature review, a discussion of the research design, and a description of the data to be used in the analysis. This written proposal will be presented orally to the chair and other members of the dissertation committee. When all members of the committee are satisfied with the proposal, the proposal is submitted to the Associate Director with a cover letter signed by the members of the committee indicating acceptance.
Students must successfully defend their dissertation proposal by their eighth semester in the doctoral program. Students who do not have an accepted proposal by their eighth semester will have any financial support provided by the LIR suspended until the semester following their completion of these requirements.
When the student is ready to submit their dissertation for review, the dissertation committee administers an oral examination, known as the dissertation defense. In order to be accepted, the members of the dissertation committee must approve the dissertation, with no more than one dissenting vote. The committee may decide on any one of four possible outcomes of the dissertation examination: (a) dissertation approved; (b) dissertation approved contingent on minor revisions; (c) dissertation not approved -- student instructed to make major revisions and to resubmit the dissertation for a second examination; (d) dissertation rejected --committee recommends to the Associate Director for the Academic Program that the student be withdrawn from the Ph.D. program.
The dissertation must be defended within eight years of having been accepted into the doctoral program.
During the semester in which students complete their dissertation, there are four steps required by the University. First, students must hand in the final version of the dissertation to the dissertation committee chair for review. Approximately two weeks later, this version with any changes suggested by the chair should be distributed to other members of the dissertation committee for them to read prior to the dissertation defense. At that time students should notify the Associate Director for the Academic Program that a defense has been scheduled. The Associate Director will then notify the Dean's Office so that a Dean's representative can be assigned to the committee. The defense should be approximately three weeks after that. Students should consult the University Schedule of Courses for the exact deadlines for each of these steps in the semester when they plan to complete and defend their dissertation. Students should realize that the time allowed for each step is fairly short. This does not permit time for major revisions. That means students should not start this process until they are fairly certain that they will have completed a dissertation that their committee is likely to approve.
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