Doctor
of Philosophy in Human Resource Development
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Admission to the program is currently suspended.
Applications to the program are not being accepted at this time.
The Ph.D. in Human Resource Development (HRD) seeks to prepare the student for a wide range of career choices requiring a doctoral degree. The student is expected to attain a discriminating understanding of both quantitative and qualitative research design and implementation strategies, and to develop an expertise in the strategies they believe are best suited to the work they will do. HRD leadership strengths in two professional arenas are emphasized: (1) scholarly research, theory-building and teaching and (2) reflective, research-oriented HRD practice. The program is multi-disciplinary, requiring the ability to synthesize multiple bodies of knowledge and mixed-source data from field applications. Human resource development crosses private, public, and international boundaries and stretches the capacities of students to envision and help others enact new patterns of change and organization improvement.
Corporations now understand that their competitive edge in the 21st Century may lie in the development of their own employees, and organizations not aimed at profit-making also see the need to increase employee initiative and effectiveness in order to meet product and service goals. Government policies that affect workforce availability, efficacy, or development are of concern to HRD, as are effects of organization behavior and work cultures on government policy. Employee development policies and practices stimulated at any level of government without explicit knowledge of how adults learn run the risk of unintended and even counterproductive consequences. Both formal and informal learning engage the attention of HRD professionals, who are now being asked to assist in capturing and arranging retrieval of that learning wherever it occurs in the organization.
Demand for highly skilled, Ph.D. level HRD practitioners is increasing, as is the demand for HRD faculty in institutions of higher education. Those who expect to be leading workplace programs need the wider vision and research capability afforded by doctoral study as much as those who aspire to the executive position of Chief Learning Officer. Opportunities for research in this new field are abundant, partly because of its cross-over, multi-disciplinary nature. HRD faculty are researchers, and involve students in their research projects. Students in the program are expected to blend theory, research and practice throughout their doctoral study, on the premise that each informs the other. On the same basis, full-time study is encouraged but not required as long as degree completion deadlines are met.
Degree Requirements and Specific Regulations:
To earn the Ph.D., the student must satisfy these general requirements:
1. Completion of a master's degree in a relevant discipline;
2. Exemplary completion of core, major, and elective fields requirements;
3. Completion of a residence requirement of full-time enrollment for one
academic year;
4. Successful completion of doctoral qualifying examinations and successful
defense of a dissertation.
Students are expected to have background and current knowledge in the scope of HRD practice and opportunities for specialization in the field. If the master's degree the student brings to the program does not include this background, the master's level course PAUS 8751 (HRD Professional Practice) should be taken. It will not earn doctoral credit.
The program of study requires a minimum of 15 semester hours in the research core, 21 semester hours in the major, 15 semester hours in the elective fields, and 3 semester hours in dissertation research. After completion of coursework, students will register in a minimum of 9 hours of dissertation credit per semester (with the exception of summer sessions) until graduation. The total minimum semester hours for the program is 54, 18 of which must be taken as part of the residency requirement.
Core Curriculum (15 hours). The required Ph.D. research core includes an introductory course in methods of educational inquiry, a two-course sequence of applied quantitative (statistical) research methods, and two additional research courses to be purposively selected with approval of the student's dissertation director. Students must earn a grade of "B" or better in all core courses to maintain their doctoral candidacy.
Required courses:
EPS 9820 Methods
of Educational Inquiry
PAUS 8121 Applied Research
Methods and Statistics I
PAUS 8131 Applied Research
Methods and Statistics II
Select two courses. (List provides examples; others may be selected with dissertation chair's approval)
Anth 8010 Qualitative
Research Methods in Applied Anthropology
EPSF 9850 Historical Research in
20th Century American Education
PAUS 8581 Seminar in Applied Policy
Research
PAUS 8551 Survey Research Methods
PAUS 8521 Evaluation Research: Design
and Practice
PAUS 9371 Qualitative Research and
Analysis
PAUS 9111 Advanced Research Methods
I
PAUS 9121 Advanced Research Methods
II
Major Area (21 hours). A minimum of seven courses is required in the major area of professional study. In addition, a course is available to accommodate directed readings (PAUS 9801). This course cannot be substituted for a required course but may be used to acquire additional depth of understanding in a topic relevant to the dissertation.
Required courses:
PAUS 9711 Theory, Systems and Models
in Human Resource Development
PAUS 9721 Human Resource Development
Consultant Theory
PAUS 9731 Human Resource Development
Strategic Planning
PAUS 9741 The Study of Organizational
Cultures
PAUS 9751 International Human Resource
Development
PAUS 9771 Research Seminar: Action
Learning
PAUS 9801 Dissertation Development
in Human Resource Development
Elective Fields (15 hours). A minimum of five courses are to be selected from allied disciplines. Designing this aspect of the student's program of study also requires advisement from the dissertation chair, since the goal is to customize the electives in such a way as to deepen the student's intellectual understanding of issues pertinent to the dissertation.
Examples of courses:
Econ 8200 Business
Fluctuations: Trends and Forecasting
Econ 8500 History
of Economic Thought
Econ 8850 International
Trade
IB 8090
International Business Environment
Mgt 8600
International Management
Mgt 8450
Organization Development and Change
Soci 9030
Sociological Theory II
PAUS 8251 Practice of Community
Organizing
PAUS 8301 Urban Sociology
PAUS 8531 Policy Analysis
Dissertation Research (3-9 hours). Doctoral students who have passed comprehensive exams are eligible for this course. It involves research design, data collection, analysis and interpretation and final preparation of the dissertation for defense.
Required course:
PAUS 9901 Dissertation Research
The comprehensive examination in the doctoral program in Human Resource Development is take-home, expected to yield responses of publishable quality, and is utilized not only to assess the student's knowledge of course work but also to anticipate proposal and dissertation preparation. In many cases, work done for the examination is later directly applicable to the student's dissertation work. To be eligible to sit for the examination, students must have, as a minimum, a 3.50 cumulative graduate point average.
Examination Process. The examination process involves both written responses and oral defense. The student is assigned a dissertation chair upon admission to the program and with the help of the chair identifies a program committee of two additional faculty. At least one member of this committee should be drawn from outside of PAUS. It is this program committee that reads the written responses and assigns a "pass," "fail," or "conditional pass." The conditional pass means that the committee believes the student has essentially completed the examination requirements but should revise one or more of the responses. The purpose of this is similar to the purpose of manuscript submission and revision, i.e., to clarify and improve the written work.
When the student's program committee is satisfied with the written responses, an oral defense of the examination is scheduled. Successful completion of the oral defense advances the student to dissertation stage.
Students will not be permitted a second attempt to pass the comprehensive examination except upon recommendation, by majority vote, of the group of faculty members who graded the examination. A maximum of two attempts is permitted to pass the examination.
Examination Content. Because of the take-home nature of the examination, responses are expected to be not only iterative of the coursework, but also interpretive. The following three components make up the content of the examination portfolio. All three components are expected to advance the student toward dissertation.
A. Research Strategy and Design. Students prepare a trial analysis of a research question which has personal interest for them, and then provide detailed rationale for selection of a particular research strategy, using background from the research core of the doctoral program. They are expected to explain the merits of various quantitative and qualitative approaches to research design, examining their appropriateness to the question(s) they seek to answer.
B. Area of Dissertation Interest. Students designate an area of special interest which they believe will be most pertinent to their dissertation, review current research, and identify theoretical positions they wish to extend or challenge. The examination response is expected to cite literature encountered in course work, but to go beyond this and examine new work and published contributions that inform the area of interest.
C. Integrative Area. This question is answered by synthesizing and expanding course work in several dimensions: relationship of research methodology and area of dissertation interest to the practice field of human resource development, relationship of different HRD specializations to the proposed work (e.g., organization development and action learning, or culture studies and international HRD), and relationship to existing HRD theory and its development.
Regulations for the Degree
A. Transfer Credit. A maximum of 15 semester hours may be transferred from other institutions. Transfer credit, whether from other institutions or from Georgia State University, must have been completed within five years of the semester of entry to the doctoral program. The course must have been limited to graduate students only and a grade of "A" or "B" must have been received.
At the time the program of study is planned with the dissertation chair, the student who requests transfer credit must submit a course description from the catalog of the institution, a syllabus or course outline, and written justification stating why the course is relevant to the program of study. Final approval for the acceptance of transfer credit rests with the dissertation chair and the Office of Academic Assistance.
B. Scholastic Warning and Termination. The doctoral grade-point average (GPA) is defined as the GPA for all courses numbered 6000 or higher taken after admission to the doctoral program. Each student must maintain a 3.00 doctoral GPA ("B" average). A student whose doctoral GPA falls below 3.00 is on "scholastic warning." After being placed on scholastic warning, a student must attain a 3.00 doctoral GPA within two consecutive semesters; otherwise the individual will be terminated from the doctoral program. (Note: The doctoral GPA could differ from the GPA calculated by the university and reported on the student's official transcript, since the university GPA could also include the grades from any graduate courses numbered 6000 or above taken at GSU before admission to the doctoral program.)
No student will be permitted to sit for any examination required for the doctoral degree, other than course examinations, without having a minimum 3.00 doctoral GPA at the time the examination is to be taken. A student with a doctoral GPA below 3.00 is ineligible for graduate assistantship appointments as either a GRA or GTA.
A student who has been terminated from the doctoral program will not be permitted to reapply or reenter the program.
C. Standards of Performance. The requirements and regulations listed in this bulletin refer to minimum standards of performance. The department may have additional requirements, as set forth in writing, that exceed the minimum standards outlined here. If a student fails to meet these additional requirements, either the department or the dissertation chair may require that the student withdraw from doctoral study. To continue in the program, a student must make reasonable and timely progress toward the degree in terms of coursework completed and examinations.
D. Petitions. Where a student believes that unusual circumstances invalidate any of the regulations or requirements relating to the degree in his or her particular case, the student may write to the Office of Academic Assistance and request exemption from or change in the policy. The petition by the student must be submitted with accompanying justifications. If the dissertation chair supports the request, s/he will write a letter of support for the student and submit the material to the Office of Academic Assistance for a decision in consultation with the associate dean.
E. Continuous Registration. Beginning with the semester after completion of program of study coursework, a doctoral student must register for a minimum of 9 hours a semester (excluding summer session) until graduation. PAUS 9901, Dissertation Research, may be used to satisfy this requirement. Students who fail to meet the continuous registration requirements are subject to withdrawal from the program.
F. The Dissertation. The purpose of the dissertation is for the Ph.D. candidate to demonstrate his or her ability to conduct a research program leading to a significant contribution to the candidate's discipline.
G. The Dissertation Committee. The Dissertation Committee consists of a chair plus a minimum of three members. The expectation is that one of the committee members should be from outside the department. The committee, and any subsequent change in its membership, is appointed by the Office of Academic Assistance, based on the recommendation of the appropriate faculty member. As the student develops an interest in a potential dissertation topic, he or she should discuss this topic with individual faculty members, both to determine the topic's feasibility and merit and the faculty members' interest and expertise in that area. Once the dissertation chair has been chosen, the chair, in consultation with the student, will recommend the selection of three additional committee members to the Office of Academic Assistance.
H. The Dissertation Proposal Defense. Prior to admission to candidacy for the degree, a dissertation proposal defense must be held. After the student completes a written proposal that the Dissertation Committee judges to be ready for a final defense, a dissertation proposal defense will be held before the Dissertation Committee. The Office of Academic Assistance will make a written announcement of the date and time of the proposal defense two weeks prior to the date it is scheduled so that interested faculty and doctoral students may attend.
The student's dissertation proposal should include a summary of the following: the purpose of the study; the nature of the subject to be investigated and its importance; a brief review of the literature; the theory, if any, to be developed; the empirical methodology, techniques, and data sources, if any, to be used; the nature of the hypotheses to be developed or tested; and a time frame for completion of the dissertation. Normally the proposal should not exceed 40 pages.
The proposal defense will be open to all interested faculty and doctoral students. After the proposal defense has been held, the committee members will vote to determine if the student is deemed to have a satis- factory research topic. A unanimous decision by the student's Dissertation Committee is required. The approving members will sign the dissertation proposal defense approval form.
Submission of the approval form does not constitute a contractual agreement between the student and the Dissertation Committee. It is within the scope and function of the Dissertation Committee to recommend modifications to the research as it proceeds. Upon submission of the proposal defense approval form, the student is admitted to candidacy for the degree.
I. Final Dissertation Defense and Graduation. When the candidates's Dissertation Committee judges that the dissertation is complete, it must be defended orally in a final dissertation defense. At least two weeks in advance of the final dissertation defense, an abstract of the dissertation should be submitted to the Office of Academic Assistance and an announcement will be made to all academic units regarding the scheduling of the candidate's dissertation defense. While any interested faculty member or graduate student may attend the examination and participate in the discussion, only those individuals who are members of the candidate's Dissertation Committee may vote on the dissertation's approval or disapproval. Upon successful defense of the dissertation, a dissertation defense approval form will be signed by the members of the Dissertation Committee and submitted to the Office of Academic Assistance. Unanimous approval is required.
Six weeks prior to graduation, the candidate must submit a copy of the dissertation the candidate believes is in final form to the Office of Academic Assistance. After the dissertation has been reviewed by the Office of Academic Assistance and the final oral has been held, the candidate will make any recommended changes to the dissertation. For graduation, three final copies of the dissertation must be submitted to the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies by the Wednesday prior to the commencement ceremony. Guidelines for the dissertation are available from the Office of Academic Assistance.
J. Time Limits for the Degree. These time limits should be interpreted as the maximum amount of time students may take to complete each of the degree requirements. It is anticipated that most students will complete the requirements much earlier than the maximum time limits specified below:
1. All coursework on the program of study and the comprehensive examination must be completed within four years from the semester of entry into the doctoral program.
2. The Dissertation Committee must be appointed, the dissertation proposal defense must be held and approved within one year after completion of the comprehensive examination.
3. All requirements for the degree, including the dissertation, must be completed within seven years from the semester of entry into the doctoral program.
For further information, please contact the Office of Academic Assistance.
