Academic Norms for Doctoral Programs

Maintenance of Active Status in Doctoral Programs

PhD students who are not officially enrolled in any course, but will be taking their comprehensive exams may apply for active student status.

In order to apply for active status, the student must have completed all the doctoral requirements, except the comprehensive exams and the dissertation. They must pay a fee set by the administration to remain linked to the Institution. Active status may be granted for a maximum of two consecutive academic terms, within the statutory eight-year period for doctoral students.

Residency Requirements for Doctoral Programs

Students in doctoral programs, except those in psychology or education, must complete at least fifteen (15) credits of the corresponding doctoral program in two successive academic terms (two terms or one term and the two summer sessions) at Inter American University. For the doctoral program in psychology, students must complete a minimum of 60 percent of their courses at Inter American University. They must also complete one year of residence as full-time students or its equivalent. The doctoral degree in education does not have a residency requirement.

Comprehensive Examination Requirements for Doctoral and Specialist Programs

To achieve the candidacy to the degree, all doctoral students must pass a comprehensive examination after having approved at least 30 credits. Nine (9) of these credits must be from core required courses and 21 credits in the selected doctoral program.

Academic programs or specialties in the area of Natural Sciences with a strong curricular component in research (with a minimum of 15 credits) will substitute the comprehensive exam for the defense of the dissertation proposal that will be presented after having completed the specialty and investigation courses.

Expiration Norm for Doctoral Program Courses

All work with academic credits will be valid for a period of ten (10) years. The courses to which the expiration rule is applied will appear in the student's academic record, but will not be considered for their general academic index.

The courses that have expired due to having met the time limits may be evaluated by the director of the graduate program and the dean of academic affairs to authorize their inclusion in compliance with the study program and in the general academic index, in accordance with the Procedure to apply exceptions to the expiration rule of master's degree courses, professional certificates and doctorates.

Standard of Maximum Time to Comply with the Dissertation Requirement

Students in doctoral programs have a maximum of four semesters, or the equivalent of two academic years, to fulfill the dissertation requirement. In exceptional meritorious cases, in which the student is about to meet this requirement, an extension of time of up to one additional year may be granted with the authorization of the Dean of Academic Affairs or a designated person. Extraordinary situations that modify the period included to complete it, may be raised to the Chief Executive of the unit, for evaluation and determination.