General University Regulations

See current University catalog.

Departmental Regulations

Students are expected to form a Ph.D. committee shortly after completion of the M.A. thesis, and preferably before the end of the semester in which the thesis is defended. The final oral defense of the Ph.D. must be chaired by a fully credentialed member of the USF Graduate Faculty outside the Department of Psychology selected by the student and the Ph.D. advisor with approval of the Dean of the College and the Dean of the Graduate School.

The Department of Psychology requires that the selection of faculty for membership on the student's Ph.D. Supervisory Committee be consistent with both the depth of expertise and breadth of scholarship that are traditionally associated with the doctoral degree. It is expected that the Ph.D. Committee will represent the competence and qualifications necessary to evaluate the doctoral dissertation, signified by the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

The Ph.D. Supervisory Committee will consist of at least five full-time faculty members. Three of these members must be full-time faculty within the Department of Psychology and in the student's area of study (Clinical, I/O, Experimental). At least one of the remaining two members must be a full-time faculty member from within the Department of Psychology and outside the student's area of discipline. The fifth member must be outside the student's area of discipline and may be chosen from within or outside the Department of Psychology. If justified, a sixth member of the Ph.D. Committee may be requested.