• English
  

  Non-native speakers must take the English Placement Test, a test of English grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation, at the beginning of the first semester. Students not passing this test must take one or more courses in English. For information, contact the Graduate College or the Student Services Center.

  New teaching assistants whose native language is not English are evaluated before their first teaching assignment using the SPEAK and TEACH tests. These tests are administered by the Graduate College before the beginning of each semester.

• Foreign Language
  

  Each Department establishes its own foreign language requirement. See the general requirements for all Ph.D. degrees in the NREM Department.

• Residence Requirement
  

  At least 24 semester credits must be earned during two consecutive semesters on campus at the University.

• Time Limits
  

  A student beginning a Ph.D. degree at Iowa State with a M.S. degree from another institution is expected to complete the work for the Ph.D. degree within 5 years, whereas a student beginning without a M.S. degree is expected to complete the Ph.D. within 7 years. If warranted, the student’s major professor and the program’s DOGE may request by letter that the Dean of the Graduate College extend these time limits.

• Minimum Credits
  

  At least 72 semester credits of acceptable graduate work must be earned for the Ph.D. At least 36 credits, including all dissertation credits must be earned under the supervision of the student's POS committee at Iowa State. Graduate credits of “B” grade or better earned at another institution may be included in the program of study, with committee and Graduate College approval.

• Minor
  

  Students may declare a formal minor in any department or interdepartmental unit authorized to grant such minors. Requirements for declared minors are determined by the minor department or program and coordinated by the faculty member representing the minor department on the POS committee. To have a minor placed on the transcript after graduation it must be approved on the POS and listed on all examination reports and the diploma slip.

• Preliminary Exam
  

  A student must satisfactorily pass a preliminary examination before becoming a doctoral candidate. This exam is comprehensive and should not be restricted only to the content of graduate courses. It usually has two parts: a written exam followed by an oral exam. The oral exam is mandatory and all members of a POS committee (or approved substitutes) must be present. The preliminary exam must be completed within the first three years of enrollment in the graduate program and at least six months before the final examination.

• Final Exam
  

  Ph.D. candidates must pass a final oral examination at the time all degree work, including the dissertation, is completed. This exam is ordinarily focused on the dissertation but may be more comprehensive in nature.

These requirements pertain to all Ph.D. degree students whose home department is NREM regardless of their major.

• Research Proposal Procedure
  

  All Ph.D. degree students must prepare a research proposal and present an outline of the proposed research to the POS committee. The proposal should be prepared and presented during the first eight months after appointment and prior to commencement of field or laboratory work.

• Dissertation Requirements
  

  Each student is expected to complete a dissertation produced from original research. Students are also expected to prepare at least one manuscript for publication in a professional journal. This requirement may be met either by including the manuscript as part of the dissertation (alternate thesis format) or by submitting the manuscript to the major professor prior to the final examination.

  All graduate dissertations must comply with the requirements and deadlines established by the Graduate College as stated in the Thesis Manual. Students should become thoroughly familiar with the instructions in the manual. All ISU theses will be digital (“ETDs” converted to a single file in PDF format) and submitted on-line beginning in Fall 2006.

  Copies of the completed dissertation must be distributed to the POS committee and the Department Chair at least 2 weeks prior to the final examination. After the examination, one bound copy shall be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator for the Department Reading Room and a copy will be provided to the major professor and other members of the POS committee that desire a copy.

• Teaching Experience
  

  Each student must perform a formal college-level teaching experience. The purpose of the experience is to strengthen the graduate’s qualifications for academic, public, or industrial employment. A student can satisfy this requirement in one of several ways: (1) by serving as a TA for one semester, (2) by teaching a seminar or course in the NREM curriculum, or (3) by assisting an instructor in a course for one semester.

  In the case of option (3) the student would be directly involved in planning subject matter and in teaching that subject matter for a minimum of three weeks in either lecture or laboratory or both. A student with an interest in either an undergraduate or a graduate course may approach the course instructor about assisting in that course. Alternatively, a faculty member may suggest that a student help with the instruction in a particular course. The student would develop a plan with the major professor and the instructor and provide the POS committee with a one-page description for approval prior to implementation of the plan

  Students will carefully document the teaching-related activities during the semester and submit the documentation to the POS Committee. The student will be given credit in A Ecl/For/NREM 698 (Teaching Practicum) for the teaching experience. This will be graded on a satisfactory-fail basis.

• Seminar
  

  Formal, oral presentations are an essential component of the training program in graduate studies. Prior to the final examination, each student is required to present his/her Ph.D. dissertation research results in a departmental seminar.

  Departmental Ph.D. requirements:

  These requirements pertain only to Ph.D. degree students with majors offered by the NREM Department.

• Foreign Language
  

  There is no requirement of foreign language in the NREM Department. The student's POS committee, however, may require a foreign language competence as they so determine.

• Minimum Credit Hour Requirements
  

  72 credit hours of acceptable graduate work, including at least 36 semester hours of graduate level course work and at least 30 credit hours of research (A ECL, FOR,NREM 699), must be earned for the Ph.D. (which may include credits earned for the M.S.). Research credits (A ECL, FOR, NREM 699) will be graded on a satisfactory-fail basis. Credit in 500- and 600-level seminars counts as coursework. At least 36 credit hours (including AECL, FOR, NREM 699 research) must be earned under the supervision of the student's POS Committee at Iowa State, and at least 12 hours must be taken as courses outside the NREM Department.

• Applicable Courses
  

  Graduate courses at Iowa State are numbered 500 and 600 series. Graduate students may receive graduate credit for lower numbered courses if they are approved for minor credit by the offering Department. The catalog description of each Department lists the courses offered for minor credit. No undergraduate courses offered by the NREM Department may be used for graduate credit. Normally graduate credits of B grade or better earned at another institution are included in the course work for the POS, with Committee and Graduate College approval.

• Statistics
  

  Two 400-level or above courses in Statistics are required for all students.