Comprehensive Integrative Paper (CIP)
Following the completion of coursework, all Ph.D. students are required to submit a Comprehensive Integrative Paper (CIP), which serves as the program's comprehensive exam. The CIP must be submitted within 6 months of completing coursework, but submission within three months is highly recommended. When revisions to the CIP are required, they must be resubmitted within three months.
Once students receive a passing grade on their CIP, they advance to candidacy for the PhD degree and can begin working on their dissertation proposal.
Dissertation
A central goal of all doctoral education is the preparation of stewards of the discipline, those scholars who will develop and disseminate the new knowledge for practice that the profession needs (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2001). The dissertation is the part of the doctoral program through which students demonstrate their ability to fulfill this responsibility. Successful completion of the dissertation also requires developing the work skills and habits that are required for ongoing independent scholarship that is expected of those with the Ph.D. degree. Students are qualified to begin a dissertation upon successful completion of all coursework and the Comprehensive Integrative Paper (CIP).