Program Requirements

General Program Requirements:
Number of Credits Required Beyond the Master's: 46

Required Courses:

Core Courses
DANC 8867Educational Inquiry in Dance3
DANC 9801Research Methods in Dance3
DANC 9873Seminar in Dance Writing5
DANC 9991Directed Research-Dance1
Electives
Select courses totaling 28 credits from the following:28
DANC 9800
Special Topics in Dance
DANC 9831
Moving Across Genres
DANC 9841
Experience, Engagement and Multi-Sensory Inquiry
DANC 9851
Black Performance
DANC 9852
Dancing the Popular
DANC 9862
Bodies, Texts, History
DANC 9889
Dance Field Experience
Any Dance course numbered 8000-9991
Any Temple graduate course outside the Department of Dance 1
Research Courses
DANC 9994Preliminary Examination Preparation1
DANC 9998Pre-Dissertation Research1
DANC 9999Doctoral Dissertation4
Total Credit Hours46
1

Advisor approval required.

Culminating Events:
Qualifying Examination:
Students take a Qualifying Examination at the end of Fall term in Year 2. The examination covers three areas crucial to doctoral research. Questions are devised in consultation with specialist advisors. Details of the Qualifying Examination are published in the Graduate Handbook.

Preliminary Exam Projects:
Upon completion of all required coursework for the degree, students complete two Preliminary Exam Projects, which are submitted for review early in Fall term of Year 3. These include:

  1. A position paper presented in view of the dissertation, which was drafted in DANC 9873 in Spring term of Year 2.
  2. A course proposal for higher education, which the student began work on in DANC 8867 Educational Inquiry in Dance in Spring term of Year 2.

Through DANC 9994 Preliminary Examination Preparation, the student demonstrates significant achievement of scholarly and professional competencies. The Preliminary Exam Projects must be reviewed and approved by a committee composed of at least three Dance doctoral faculty.

Dissertation Proposal:
Through DANC 9998 Pre-Dissertation Research, the student prepares a dissertation proposal that evidences a strong body of work thus far and preparedness to complete the Dance PhD program. A primary advisor and Doctoral Advisory Committee are established upon the student’s successful completion of the Preliminary Exam Projects. In consultation with the primary advisor, the student prepares a proposal, including an abstract that is reviewed and approved by Dance doctoral faculty. Once approved for defense, the student makes a formal oral presentation of the proposal to the Doctoral Advisory Committee. Upon approval of the dissertation proposal, the student is elevated to candidacy in the PhD program. The dissertation proposal is normally defended in Spring term of Year 3. Written guidelines for the dissertation proposal are published in the Graduate Handbook.

Dissertation:
The dissertation is a substantial piece of original and independent research making a significant contribution to new knowledge in dance and possibly related fields. Typically, students complete the dissertation and DANC 9999 Doctoral Dissertation in Year 4 or 5, although candidates may submit beyond Year 5 in consultation with their primary advisor. The original Doctoral Advisory Committee may be expanded with additional doctoral faculty from Temple University or other universities, or with doctoral-level experts who work outside a university setting. For purposes of the dissertation defense, the committee must include at least one additional doctoral faculty member who is not from the student's program; so constituted, it becomes the Dissertation Examining Committee. At least one member of the Dissertation Examining Committee must be an "outside examiner," defined as one who has not read the dissertation in progress.

The primary advisor and student confer with the Dissertation Examining Committee to establish a date for oral defense of the dissertation. A majority of the members of the Dissertation Examining Committee must approve the written dissertation and oral defense; once passed, the student has 30 days to complete final revisions. Detailed guidelines for the dissertation process and examination are published in the Graduate Handbook.