Basque Studies Tutorial Ph.D.
at the University of Nevada, Reno
(Page 2)
General requirements:
The following general requirements (listed in order of completion) apply to all students in the Tutorial Ph.D. program:
1. Time Limit: All requirements must be satisfied during the eight calendar years immediately preceding the granting of the degree.
2. Advisory-Examining Committee: As soon as practical and in consultation with the Center’s Director of Graduate Studies, the student should choose an Advisory/Examining Committee and complete the Graduate School’s Program of Study, which is tailored to each student’s interests. The student should discuss this program with the faculty mentor, the Admissions and Policy Board and/or the Advisory/Examining Committee, which should be constituted during the first semester of enrollment.
The Tutorial Ph.D. in Basque Studies emphasizes a close working relationship between the student and his/her faculty mentor and Advisory-Examining Committee, which consists of the Committee Chair (the faculty mentor), two other faculty members from Basque Studies, and two other graduate faculty from the departments to which the student’s Program of Study relates (Anthropology, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Geography, Political Science or History).
3. Residence: The Tutorial Ph.D. requires an absolute minimum of four semesters of full-time study; and four consecutive semesters (excluding summer sessions) must be spent in full-time residence at the University of Nevada, Reno. Full-time residence requires a minimum of nine credits per semester. Once the Admissions and Policy Board, the Advisory-Examining Committee, and the participating degree-awarding department have approved a student’s program of study, any coursework completed by a non-resident student will be validated by the Graduate School of UNR and applied to the coursework requirements for the Basque Tutorial Ph.D.
4. Continuous Registration: Graduate School regulations require students to maintain continuous registration of at least three credit hours per semester to remain active in the pursuit of a degree. This means that students studying for the comprehensive exam or writing a dissertation must, even if they are not in residence, register for at least three credit hours each semester until they graduate. The doctoral program must be completed within eight years.
5. Total Credits and Transfer Credits: The Tutorial Ph.D. requires a minimum of 72 credits beyond the Bachelor's degree (B.A.). A maximum of 24 credits (with grades of “B” or better) earned at the master’s level at another university may be applied toward requirements for the Tutorial Ph.D. Transfer credit requests must be approved by the student’s faculty mentor, the Director of Graduate Studies in the Center for Basque Studies, and the UNR Graduate School. As many as 18 700-level credits may be used from a master’s degree program.
Of the remaining 48 credits, 24 involve coursework and a further 24 apply to dissertation research and preparation. At least 30 of the 48 credits must be 700-level. The comprehensive examination credit does not count toward this requirement.
NOTE: Courses numbered 600 and above are for graduate credit. A dual-numbered (400-600) course completed at the 400 level for undergraduate credit may not be retaken at the 600 level for graduate credit. Each graduate course must be completed with a grade of “C” or better for the credit to be applied to an advanced degree. Students must maintain good standing with an overall graduate credit GPA of at least 3.0 on a scale of 4.0.
6. Reading Proficiency in the Basque Language: Every student is required to demonstrate proficiency in reading the Basque language at the earliest opportunity. The student’s Advisory/Examining Committee will not normally schedule the comprehensive examination until the requirement has been met. A written examination is administered and examined by the CBS faculty member responsible for teaching the Basque language at UNR. In consultation with the examiner, the student selects three scholarly articles in Basque which must be approved by the examiner. Within three weeks of having selected the approved texts, the examiner administers a two-hour exam based upon the articles. The student provides a written translation of the selected text into English. A dictionary may be used during the exam. The original translation and a copy of the text are kept in the student’s file with a signed, dated note from the examiner stating whether the student passed the exam. The student is responsible for reporting the exam result (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory) to the graduate advisor and the chair of the Advisory-Examining Committee.
First and second-year Basque language classes (BASQ 101, 102, 203, 204) are taught at UNR on an ongoing basis, and are also offered as online classes.
7. Supervision and reports on progress: In order to establish and to maintain effective, regular communication between the student and the faculty mentor, monthly tutorials are recommended. Tutorials enable students and their mentors to discuss course work, written work, the student’s timetable for completion, as well as any problems that have arisen. At the end of each semester, the faculty mentor will submit a report to the Director of the CBS (with one copy to the CBS graduate advisor, one copy for the student and one for the student’s file) on the student’s progress during the semester. The report will provide the following information: how many times the mentor saw the student and whether objectives (agreed with the mentor the previous semester) for the semester had been met; whether the student had submitted any written work and, if so, its overall quality; whether the student had any academic, financial or personal problems that affected his/her scholarly work; and whether he/she had given any seminar or conference papers or had participated in any such events at UNR or elsewhere. The faculty mentor and student should set agreed objectives for the next semester; these should be indicated in the end-of-semester report.
8. Comprehensive Examination (written): After completing course work and the Basque language requirement, the student must pass a comprehensive examination, consisting of a written test compiled by members of the Advisory-Examining Committee, who are responsible for the evaluation of the exam. Graduate School regulations stipulate that an examination is failed if more than one negative vote is cast by that committee. If this occurs, the student may be allowed to repeat specific parts of the exam, or the entire exam. However, no part may be retaken more than once, and three months must elapse between attempts.
9. Dissertation: Candidates for the Tutorial Ph.D. must present a dissertation which makes a significant scholarly contribution to knowledge. A dissertation prospectus must be submitted to and approved by the candidate’s Advisory-Examining Committee before work begins on the dissertation. The prospectus normally includes a bibliography and an extensive description of contents. When considerable progress has been made, the candidate may be permitted to complete the dissertation elsewhere, under such arrangements as his or her Advisory Committee may specify and the Dean of the Graduate School approves.
Students should follow the current information from the Graduate School about strict regulations governing the format and submission of the dissertation. Students doing research involving human subjects must consult the Office of Human Subjects Research in Ross Hall, meet all IRB (Institutional Review Board) requirements before research is conducted and ensure that all protocols are followed.
10. Defense (final oral examination): After the dissertation has been accepted by the candidate’s Advisory-Examining Committee, an oral examination is administered by that committee. The candidate must pass this exam with not more than one dissenting vote from the committee. The oral exam may be repeated once, but at least three months must elapse between attempts.
11. Graduation: Upon passage of the oral exam and acceptance of the dissertation, the Advisory Committee members sign the Doctoral Degree Notice of Completion. To graduate in any given semester, the candidate must purchase and complete an online Application for Graduation. The application is available on the Graduate School web site. Applications are due March 1st for graduation in May; May 1st for graduation in August; and October 1st for graduation in December. The student must also submit the Notice of Completion and the approved dissertation to the Graduate School ten days before the end of the semester in which the student intends to graduate. Deadlines are published on the Graduate School’s website and in each semester’s course schedule. The student is responsible for meeting these deadlines.
The Application for Graduation provides a final list of all courses the student has taken in order to complete the program. If that list in any way deviates from the one on the Program of Study form, the student must attach a Change in Program of Study form (available at the Graduate School) detailing any changes. If the student’s Advisory-Examining Committee has changed, the student must attach the Change of Advisory Committee form.
12. Paperwork: The student is responsible for gaining a thorough knowledge of the degree requirements and for the timely submission of all Graduate School forms. Early in their graduate careers, students should become familiar with the most important of these forms: the Graduate Credit Transfer Evaluation Request, the Program of Study, the Admission to Candidacy/Comprehensive Examination Report, the Notice of Completion, and the Application for Graduation.