During the second semester of full-time enrollment, the student should prepare a document entitled     A Proposed Plan of Study for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree. The student should confer with the faculty adviser, who will provide overall guidance in the preparation of the document and may suggest specific content and format details.

Prior to the first day of pre-enrollment during the second semester of enrollment, the student should arrange the time and place of the Plan of Study Proposal meeting with the approval of the advisory committee. A two-hour block of time should be allocated for this meeting in which the student will give a short presentation summarizing the Plan of Study Proposal followed by a question and answer session with the advisory committee. The advisory committee will determine any modifications to the proposed Plan of Study. Plan of Study approved by the advisory committee should be filed with the Graduate College using the form available at http://gradcollege.okstate.edu/download/plansforms.htm

The document should contain the following major sections:

Educational Background And Professional Experience. This section should include a list of all university education and work experience, including dates and a brief description of major responsibilities and accomplishments.

Objectives Of Graduate Study. This section should include a statement of the student's reasons for pursuing the Ph.D. degree and a discussion of the student's academic and research interests and how they are expected to relate to the anticipated research emphasis.

Subject Area Classification Of Courses. This section should include the name, number, institution, grade awarded and date of enrollment of all graduate courses previously completed as well as the name, number, institution and expected date of enrollment for current and proposed graduate courses. The courses should be grouped into subject areas defined by the student and his/her faculty adviser to indicate the focus of the student's program.

Proposed Plan Of Study. The purpose of a Plan of Study is to ensure that the student will be adequately prepared with the proper academic background necessary to successfully conduct the dissertation research effort. Once the Plan of Study is approved, complete control of the student's required courses, via the Plan of Study, rests with the advisory committee. Changes can be made in the Plan of Study, but only with the advisory committee's approval.

The Plan of Study should include a chronological listing of the Ph.D. graduate courses completed and planned and is required to include a minimum of sixty graduate credit hours, plus the language requirement, beyond the Master's degree. The sixty graduate credit hours must include eighteen and thirty credit hours of dissertation research. This initial submission of the Plan of Study is considered to be a preliminary Plan of Study and a final Plan of Study approved by the advisory committee must be on file with the Graduate College at the beginning of the semester in which the student intends to graduate.

The School of Industrial Engineering and Management requires all Ph.D. candidates to satisfy the following language alternative. The advisory committee may determine that the dissertation research will require competency in specialized research techniques or related knowledge. This competency can be certified by six graduate credit hours, with grades of B or better, in courses outside the School of Industrial Engineering and Management that are approved by the advisory committee.

Anticipated Research Emphasis. This section should include at least a two-page description of the anticipated research emphasis. The advisory committee will use this information to more accurately evaluate the appropriateness of the proposed Plan of Study.

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