The Doctor of Philosophy in Community Sustainability is designed to enable students to generate new knowledge in complementary fields responsive to rapidly changing conditions in our natural environment and agricultural systems.
In addition to meeting the requirements of the university and of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, students must meet the requirements specified below.
Admission
To be admitted to the Doctor of Philosophy degree program in Community Sustainability a student must have completed a master’s degree. Relevant experience and strong academic backgrounds in the natural, physical, or social sciences, including independent research experience, are strongly encouraged. All applicants are required to submit scores from the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination. Collateral courses may be required to overcome deficiencies in addition to the requirements for the doctoral degree. Collateral course work will not count towards the doctoral degree.
Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Community Sustainability
| A minimum of 60 credits is required for the degree. The student’s program of study must be developed in cooperation with and approved by the student’s guidance committee and must include the requirements specified below. |
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| 1. |
All of the following courses (9 credits): |
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CSUS |
800 |
Foundations of Community Sustainability I |
3 |
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CSUS |
801 |
Foundations of Community Sustainability II |
3 |
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CSUS |
802 |
Introduction to Interdisciplinary Inquiry |
3 |
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If a student already has credit in any of these courses, these credits must be replaced by another 3 credits of related courses chosen in consultation with their advisor. |
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| 2. |
Complete a minimum of 9 credits of course work in advanced research methods, to be selected in consultation with the student’s guidance committee, including at least 3 credits in each of quantitative and qualitative methods, with the remaining credits in statistics, quantitative, qualitative, or other advanced research methods. |
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| 3. |
Complete a minimum of 18 credits in course work grouped in two focus areas, each of which must have a minimum of 9 credits. Of these, at least 3 credits in each focus area must be selected from Community Sustainability (CSUS) courses. |
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| 4. |
Prepare a comprehensive examination program statement that presents the student’s learning and professional background and goals, and provides a rationale for the student’s declared focus areas plus integrating and summarizing the related research literature. This statement is prepared in consultation with the student’s guidance committee and is presented to the full faculty for review. |
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| 5. |
Pass a comprehensive examination based on the student’s comprehensive examination program statement. |
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| 6. |
Complete 24 credits of doctoral dissertation research, publicly defend the research proposal, and successfully defend the final dissertation, including presenting results of the research in a public seminar during the final oral examination. |
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| All students are encouraged to prepare at least one paper from the dissertation research suitable for submission to a professional and/or refereed academic journal. |
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