Doctoral Degrees, Specific Requirements
Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) degrees is awarded for completion of the professional practitioner program designed for entry level activity as an audiologist. Audiologists are professional practitioners responsible for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of hearing disorders in children and adults.
Doctor of Arts (D.A.) degrees is awarded for completion of content-oriented programs to prepare the candidate for a career in college or university teaching. The student is expected to specialize in a specific field of study but is not expected to specialize in a single facet of the chosen field. General components of the program include coursework in the major area, supervised practica in college teaching, and individual studies in effective teaching. Students are offered considerable flexibility in program development. While the degree is not research-oriented, the recipient will demonstrate research competence by preparing a dissertation designed to support college/university teaching. A wide range of topics is permitted for this document, and the study may develop a presentation that is unique to the discipline.
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degrees is awarded for completion of professional or practitioner programs designed to prepare candidates for positions of leadership in all fields including elementary and secondary education, higher education, business, industry, government, and the military. These doctoral programs prepare graduates for service in instructional, supervisory, and administrative capacities.
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees is awarded for completion of the research degree granted to students who demonstrate 1) mastery of definite fields of knowledge to the extent they are familiar both with what has been done in their specific field and with the potentialities and opportunities for further advances, 2) a scholarly investigation or creative work in their specific field, and 3) the ability to integrate their specific field or specialization with the larger domains of knowledge and understanding.
Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) degrees is awarded for completion of the expert clinicians programs designed to prepare candidates for advanced practice roles in healthcare. This doctoral program prepares graduates for practice in virtually any area within the healthcare industry. These highly skilled practitioners will be the leaders in healthcare delivery and care management.
Post-Doctoral Programs of research and advanced study are available in selected areas to persons holding the Doctor of Arts, Doctor of Education, or Doctor of Philosophy degree. Work at the post-doctoral level may be taken in areas such as educational leadership and policy studies, educational technology, educational psychology, counseling psychology, elementary education, special education, applied statistics, and other disciplines.
The specific research project or program of study is planned by the post-doctoral student in conference with a faculty committee appointed to advise the student throughout the program and to assess the student's progress at the end of the program.
Master's En Route to the Doctoral Degree
Students who have been admitted to a doctoral program may complete a master's degree in the same discipline enroute to completion of the doctoral degree if this option has been previously requested by the program and approved as a program modification for this degree program through the curriculum approval process. Students will be required to submit a plan of study for both the Master's and Doctoral degree. Contact the Graduate School for details.
Doctoral Admission
Each applicant for the doctoral degree must:
-
Possess a baccalaureate degree and/or master's degree, depending on the program, from a regionally accredited college or university,
-
Submit three letters of recommendation confirming that the applicant has the ability to do doctoral work in the proposed discipline(s),
-
Have a minimum level of achievement combining GPA and GRE performance.
-
Submit GRE scores electronically through Educational Testing Service (ETS) so that testing date is less than five years from the date the application is submitted. UNC's institutional code is 4074.
Doctoral applicants meet the Graduate School minimum criteria for admission if they have:
- GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on their master's degree or in the most recently completed 60 semester hours of their bachelor's degree.
- GRE scores of at least 146 on the verbal, and 140 on the quantitative with a combined score of at least 297 and an analytical writing score of at least 3.5.
Doctoral degree applicants must take the following steps to be considered for admissions:
- Complete the online applications and pay the non-refundable application fee.
- All official transcripts, submitted as part of the application process, are retained by UNC and not returned to applicants or admitted students. Request one official transcript from every accredited college or university attended or from which you earned credit, except UNC. While it is not necessary to request a transcript from UNC, it is required to be listed as a prior college on the application. Official transcripts from each college are required, even if courses taken at one institutions are listed on another schools transcript. This includes concurrent enrollment courses taken while in high school through an accredited college and exclude study abroad transcripts. All official transcripts are sent via mail in an unopened sealed envelope or through an electronically secure digital program directly from the issuing institution. Mailed transcripts are send to UNC Graduate School & International Admissions, 501 20th Street, Campus Box 135, Greeley, CO 80639. Electronic transcripts should be sent to grad.applicationmaterials@unco.edu. The Graduate School and International Admissions does not accept email , scanned or PDF transcripts directly from the student. UNC retains submitted transcripts, from institutions other than UNC, for admitted students for up to five years after graduation or date of last attendance at UNC. Transcripts provided by applicants who were not admitted, denied admissions or did not complete their application are destroyed after one (1) year. The Graduate School will make every attempt to use previously-submitted transcripts if they are within these time frames. However, if the Graduate School cannot locate previously submitted transcripts, the transcripts fall outside the time frames listed above, or they are considered illegible, applicants must provide new transcripts.
- Your program may require other items such as letters of recommendations, or GRE scores; please http://www.unco.edu/graduate-school/degrees-and-programs/ check for specific program requirements.
The doctoral programs at UNC do not utilize quantitative rating systems and standard criteria weightings as sole determining factors for decisions concerning the acceptance of doctoral applicants. Quantitative information such as GPA or GRE scores is considered in combination with qualitative information derived from letters of recommendation, applicant goal statements, as well as past academic and professional accomplishments. Because of the specialized nature of doctoral work, it is incumbent on the faculty to utilize their professional judgment in determining to what extent a student is qualified for entry into a particular program. The information requested by each school or department upon which their decision is to be based, gives the faculty the opportunity to thoroughly and carefully evaluate the strengths and potential of each applicant.