Doctoral Degree

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is designed for students interested in becoming professional scholars, college and university teachers or independent research workers and leaders in industry and private or government research institutions. It builds on the breadth and study-in-depth provided by a baccalaureate and the specialization acquired in the master’s degree. Its specific purpose is to give students the analytic and research skills to function as a scholar in a discipline. The Ph.D. represents the highest level of academic certification at Kent State University and assures that its graduates have the scholarly skills to discover, interpret, integrate, apply and communicate the accumulated knowledge of a discipline.

The curriculum of the Ph.D. degree combines core coursework, a cognate (related) field, a comprehensive written and oral examination and a written cumulative product (dissertation) that shows the results of a scholarly work of original resource and is presented orally to a professional audience of scholars. The degree requires a minimum of 90 semester hours beyond the bachelor’s degree, or 60 hours beyond the master’s degree, of which 30 credit hours are for the dissertation.

Professional doctoral degrees educate students for professional practice, rather than the research-focused Ph.D. The degree is awarded after a period of study such that the total time to degree, including both pre-professional and professional preparation, equals at least six full-time equivalent academic years.

Kent State offers four professional doctorates:

• Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) via Northeast Ohio Audiology Consortium (NOAC)
• Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
• Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.)
• Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (D.P.M.)