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The goals of the Graduate College mission are to provide leadership and service and to enhance the quality of graduate education and research/creative activity.
T.H. Lee Williams, Ph.D., Vice President for Research and Dean of the
Graduate College
William O. Ray, Ph.D., Dean of the Graduate College in Tulsa
Janis M. Paul, Ph.D., Assistant Dean and Director of the English Assessment
Program
Created by the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a doctoral degree-granting research university serving the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. The Norman campus serves as home to all of the university’s academic programs except health-related fields. Both the Norman and Health Sciences Center colleges offer programs at the Schusterman Center, the site of OU-Tulsa. The OU Health Sciences Center, which is located in Oklahoma City, is one of the only four comprehensive academic health centers in the nation with seven professional colleges. OU enrolls almost 30,000 students, has more than 2,000 full-time faculty members, and has 20 colleges offering 152 majors at the baccalaureate level, 160 majors at the master’s level, 80 majors at the doctoral level, 38 majors at the first professional level, and 18 graduate certificates. The university’s annual operating budget is $1.2 billion. The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.
The University’s main campus and the offices of administration are located in Norman. The OU Health Sciences Center has its headquarters in Oklahoma City for the University’s seven professional colleges; it also offers programs at OU-Tulsa. At OU-Tulsa, the majority of programs are located at the Schusterman Center; others are located at area clinics and hospitals. Students also are enrolled in OU courses on U.S. military bases around the world and through the College of Liberal Studies’ innovative programs for nontraditional students. In addition, a wide variety of courses and programs is offered through the College of Continuing Education.
The Norman campus is home to a broad array of programs and facilities that enhance the University’s educational mission. Immediately adjacent to the central campus in Norman is the south campus, site of the Law Center, the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, and the OU Foundation, the University apartments, Lloyd Noble Center, the Research Campus, the tennis complex, and the Jimmie Austin University of Oklahoma Golf Course.
At its north campus location, one mile from the central campus, the University houses University Computing Services; Max Westheimer Airpark, the University-operated airport; Swearingen Research Park, where government agencies and industry have established facilities; and the Weather Center, a complex of federal, state, private and University meteorological agencies, including the National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Weather Forecasting Office, Applied Systems Inc., and the NEXRAD Operational Test Facility. Other research and study units at the University include the Biological Station at Lake Texoma, the Earth Sciences Observatory at Leonard near Tulsa, the Aquatic Biology and Fisheries Research Center in Noble and in Norman, Sarkeys Energy Center, the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, the Oklahoma Biological Survey, the Oklahoma Archeological Survey, and the Center for the Analysis and Prediction of Storms. The Oklahoma Geological Survey, a state agency responsible to the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, also is housed on the Norman campus.
The Graduate College is the center of advanced study, research, and creative activity at the University. Graduate instruction has been offered at the University of Oklahoma since 1899, seven years after the University opened its doors. The first master’s degree was conferred in 1900. The Graduate School was formally organized in 1909 and in 1929 the first doctoral degree was awarded. In 1942, the name was changed to the Graduate College.
In the past three decades, the Graduate College has greatly expanded its degree program offerings and student enrollment. In addition to the Doctor of Philosophy, the University offers the Executive Doctor of Education, Doctor of Engineering and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. Interdisciplinary degree programs are available at both the master’s and doctoral levels. The OU Health Sciences Center also offers graduate degrees at the master’s and doctoral levels.
The University of Oklahoma central campus provides excellent library, laboratory and learning facilities as well as a close association with scholars and research investigators. Immediately adjacent to the central campus in Norman is the south campus, site of the 271-acre University of Oklahoma Research Campus. Here the Stephenson Research and Technology Center provides a home for the OU Supercomputing Center for Education and Research, for interdisciplinary programs in biosciences and bioengineering, and for other research initiatives. The National Weather Center houses the university’s research programs in meteorology and NOAA’s weather, research, and operations programs. One Partners Place fosters collaboration between research and business enterprises. Also located on the south campus are Andrew M. Coats Hall, housing the College of Law, the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, the OU Foundation, the University apartments, Lloyd Noble Center and parking complex, the tennis complex, and the Jimmie Austin University of Oklahoma Golf Course.
AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE GRADUATE COLLEGE
The goals of the Graduate College are to provide leadership and service and to enhance the quality of graduate education and research/creative activity. The Graduate Council and the Dean of the Graduate College will supervise and evaluate those divisions of the University that offer the master’s and doctoral degrees and will use adequate means to ensure quality, observance of policy, and academic excellence.
The Graduate College strives to develop in each student a firm grasp of a chosen field, the skills and methods of research, and the capacity for independent thought. The Graduate College will carefully monitor the performance of all graduate students. Final determination of a student’s graduate status, from admission through graduation, rests with the Graduate Dean.
Faculty and students share an obligation to master the knowledge of their chosen fields, to add to that knowledge and to present it to the scholarly community. The Graduate Faculty has responsibility for instruction, for the guidance of graduate students in the development of their programs and for pursuing investigations associated with a particular field or discipline. Graduate students are expected to demonstrate initiative and assume responsibility for the progress of their studies. Students must master a body of knowledge, and class work provides merely the foundation for wider personal inquiry. A graduate degree is conferred for mastery of a field and thorough understanding of its related branches.
Graduate Programs for Academic Excellence
Private donations have enabled the Graduate College to provide fellowships and scholarships in designated areas. Among these are the Kenneth L. Hoving Fellowship, Hudson Fellowship, McNair Graduate Fellowship, National Science Foundation Fellows, OU Graduate Alumni Fellowship, Mr. and Mrs. W. O. Wethington Scholarship and Fellowship, and Graduate Foundation Fellowships for outstanding graduate students.
Dissertation and Graduate Teaching Awards are given annually to reward excellence in dissertation research and teaching, respectively. The awards include a certificate and a cash prize.
The Graduate College and the Graduate Student Senate sponsor an annual event wherein which graduate students display posters describing current research projects. Cash prizes and certificates are awarded for winning posters.
For more information on these programs and others that may be available, please contact the Graduate College, Robertson Hall, 731 Elm Avenue, Norman, OK 73019-2115, (405) 325-3811 or visit our Web site at http://gradweb.ou.edu.
Research Programs
Research is an increasingly critical dimension of the mission of the University of Oklahoma. It is vital to the growth, health, and progress of the state of Oklahoma, the region, and the nation. In fiscal year 2005 approximately 679 grants and contracts were awarded totaling in excess of $70 million.
Participation in research and creative activity projects is fundamental to a graduate student’s training and development. Various projects that support graduate students are conducted in all graduate programs offered at the University. A few of the funded projects are described briefly below. Information about current research projects is available from academic departments.
Graduate students in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry have opportunities to participate in research activities funded by the National Science Foundation’s EPSCoR program, which supports the Center for Photonic and Electronic Materials and Devices. This Center is in its third three-year award. It supports six graduate students per year to assist in maintaining and operating selected research facilities both multidisciplinary in character and multi-university in use. The Center for Photonic and Electronic Materials and Devices brings together research programs in semiconductors and polymers at the University to form a nationally significant research and technology center. Semiconductor programs utilize state-of-the-art techniques that permit the controlled growth of new materials and novel structures, followed by detectors and a variety of photonic devices ranging from the blue to the far-infrared regions of the spectrum, that have numerous applications in the optics and electronic industries. The second major emphasis of the Center is polymers with unusual electrical and optical properties. This research focuses primarily on conducting polymers with applications varying from high energy density batteries through display systems to xerography.
Grants and cooperative agreements with Centers such as the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS) and the Center for the Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS) in the School of Meteorology provide support for numerous other graduate students. The Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS), funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), (a) provides research on mesoscale atmospheric systems associated with a wide variety of severe environmental storms, short-range prediction problems, and meteorological phenomena of the Great Plains; (b) improves the effectiveness of research through close collaboration with the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL); and ©) provides a center where scientists working on problems of mutual interest may come together to work advantageously in an environment different from that already provided in the federal and University structure. The Center for the Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS), which was established as one of the first National Science Foundation Science and Technology Centers, (1) maintains the unifying intellectual theme of the advancement of basic knowledge in science and technology in the prediction of storms; (2) provides educational and research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, industrial fellows, faculty members from other colleges and universities, and others in the area of storm prediction and analysis, and (3) engages in and facilitates knowledge transfer and significant intellectual exchanges with other groups; for example, those in the private sector, federally supported laboratories, state and local governments, and other academic institutions.
Many other research opportunities exist for graduate students at the university. Graduate students are encouraged to contact the graduate liaison in their academic unit for information on research projects that will match their studies and for opportunities to join these research teams.
Student Services
Graduate students will find services to meet their needs through the Center for Student Life, located on the third floor of the Oklahoma Memorial Union, (405) 325-6873. In addition to assisting and advising the Graduate Student Senate, this office develops programs and activities for graduate students, including special orientations, advises the Commuter Student Association, and operates Evening Student Services. Additional assistance is also provided, including African-American, American Indian, Asian American and Hispanic American student advisors; International Student Services; Disabled Student Services; and an office to assist veterans and adults returning to school. The Center for Student Life is committed to helping students succeed at the University of Oklahoma.
Graduate students are encouraged to contact the graduate liaison in their academic unit for information on research projects that will match their studies and for opportunities to join these research teams.
Use of Human Subjects in Research
All research involving human subjects or the use of data generated via human subjects research, which will result in publication or presentation, must be reviewed and approved by the University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Institutional Review Board (OU-NC IRB) prior to subject recruitment and data collection. All human subjects research to be performed by faculty, staff or students of the University of Oklahoma Norman campus, Tulsa campus, or conducted by Cameron University faculty, staff or students must be reviewed by the OU-NC IRB. The primary role of the OU-NC IRB is to determine if the rights and welfare of human subjects who volunteer to participate in research studies are adequately protected and to ensure that adequate informed consent procedures are used.
The University of Oklahoma Norman campus policy for the protection of human subjects in research activities and IRB application materials can be accessed at the following:
If you have questions about compliance or the IRB approval process, you may contact the Office of Human Research Participant Protection at (405) 325-8110 or e-mail irb@ou.edu.
Patent Policy
The University Intellectual Property Policy provides that all discoveries and/or inventions, patentable or unpatentable, that are made or conceived of while the inventor is a student at the university with substantial use of university facilities not normally made available to students or are made with funds provided by or through the university, are the property of the university. This policy provides protection to both the university and the inventor and offers substantial benefits to the inventor. Copies of the Intellectual Property Policy may be obtained from the Office of Technology Development, 201 Evans Hall, (405) 325-3800, or viewed online at www.otd.ou.edu.
Students who made an invention or discovery under the stated conditions should contact the Office of Technology Development as soon as possible (201 Evans Hall, (405) 325-3800).
Graduate Assistant Integrity
Graduate assistants make a vital contribution to the University at every level. As teaching and research assistants, they carry on the highest levels of intellectual inquiry; as professionals in training, they connect the University to the community and the world. In these roles, graduate assistants represent not only the student body, but the University as whole. Therefore, the University expects graduate assistants to conduct themselves with the highest standards of judgment and behavior in every area.
As instructors, graduate assistants adhere to all University policies concerning instruction. They demonstrate respect for students as individuals and adhere to their proper roles as intellectual guides and counselors. They make every reasonable effort to foster honest academic conduct and to ensure that their evaluations of students reflect each student's true merit. They respect the confidential nature of the relationship between instructor and student. They avoid any exploitation, harassment, or discriminatory treatment of students. Graduate assistants will not receive payment from students for tutoring or help sessions in any course in which they are currently assigned as an instructor, and they will accept the judgment of their department as to other limitations on such activities.
As researchers, graduate assistants have a responsibility to ensure the integrity and ethical standards in any research activity in which they are engaged. Graduate assistants will not engage in research misconduct and will notify a responsible party if they become aware of research misconduct by others.
As professionals in training, graduate assistants have a professional obligation to their colleagues and to the University. They show due respect and civility to their associates. They understand that any other employment or enterprise in which they engage for income is secondary to their University duties, and they accept the judgment of their department regarding conflicts of interest, either real or apparent, that may be caused by such outside activities.
Science and Public Policy Program
The Science and Public Policy Program is an interdisciplinary unit in the Sarkeys Energy Center that conducts applied research on issues involving science, technology, and society. The Program was created in 1970 to investigate the roles of science and technology as major driving forces behind social change and as important aspects of public policy.
Science and Public Policy faculty pursue research on current and emerging issues in the areas of energy, environment, and technology policy. Other faculty from across the University are appointed and supported as needed to work on specific projects. Graduate students from a wide variety of departments also form an integral part of the research program. Recent graduate students supported by Science and Public Policy have been recruited from chemical engineering, environmental science, geography, political science, public administration, and regional and city planning.
Science and Public Policy is not a degree-granting unit but does have a strong educational component. The core faculty in Science and Public Policy also hold joint appointments with other academic departments. These faculty teach and advise students; as well as direct theses and dissertations. Program faculty routinely incorporate the results of their research into classroom instruction.
For further information about Science and Public Policy research activities, capabilities, and resources, please contact the following: Science and Public Policy Program, Director; Sarkeys Energy Center, 100 E. Boyd, Room S202; Norman, OK 73019-0628; or call (405) 325-3821.
Graduate Degrees Offered
General requirements that apply to all of these degrees appear later in this bulletin. Information about individual degrees is available from the Graduate College or from the individual academic unit.
Master’s Degrees and Programs of Study
MASTER OF ARTS
Norman Campus
Tulsa Campus
MASTER OF SCIENCE
MASTER OF SPECIALTY
This degree is determined by the program of study. The degree is conferred upon students whose major work is completed in one of the following areas. All degree requirements are available from the Graduate College or from the individual academic unit.
Norman Campus
Tulsa Campus
ACCELERATED DEGREE PROGRAMS
The Accelerated Dual Degree program was established in 1994 to provide highly motivated and academically outstanding students with the opportunity to complete an undergraduate and graduate degree in an accelerated fashion. Currently, the University offers accelerated undergraduate/graduate degrees in the areas listed below. Admission into these programs is granted by the Academic unit and the Graduate College. For additional information, please contact the appropriate department.
DUAL MASTER’S DEGREES
Dual Degree Master’s programs allow students to pursue degrees simultaneously in two fields of study. To obtain a dual degree, the student must satisfy the admission, course, and examination requirements of both programs.
Requirements
1. The student must be admitted to both programs before 12 credit hours of coursework have been completed in either program.
2. All deficiencies must completed and all degree requirements, including research tools, foreign languages, comprehensive examination, and thesis, must be met for both programs.
3. Up to 20 percent of the total graduate credit hours required for both degrees taken individually may be double-counted, e.g., counted as credit for both master's programs.
4. The double-counted courses must be appropriate for each degree.
5. The student must graduate with both degrees in the same semester.
Dual Master’s Degrees
SPECIAL MASTER’S DEGREES
The Special Master’s Degree is for those students whose educational goals cannot be met by one of the existing master’s degrees offered. Consequently, any proposed Special Master’s Degree program must be interdisciplinary in nature. The various components of a special master’s degree must be integrated so the program presents a well-defined and coherent education experience. The integration can most appropriately be accomplished through research that culminates in a thesis.
Requirements
1. An applicant for a Special Master’s Degree must be a graduate student in full standing in the Graduate College at the time of the application.
2. A thesis is required for all Special Master’s Degrees.
Request Procedure
To have a program considered for a Special Master’s Degree by the Graduate Council, a student must submit a completed Special Master’s Degree Application, along with the additional information requested on the first page of the application to the Graduate Dean before 12 hours of the proposed program have been completed.
GRADUATE CERTIFICATES
Norman Campus
Tulsa Campus
Doctoral Degrees and Programs of Study
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Norman Campus
Tulsa Campus
DOCTOR OF SPECIALTY
Norman Campus
Tulsa Campus
Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program
Valuable academic pursuits may involve areas of educational preparation and research that transcend a single field. In such a situation, the interdisciplinary doctoral degree allows a student to draw from more than one relevant discipline to design an individual degree program. An interdisciplinary doctoral degree must maintain the same high standards and academic rigor as regular graduate degrees. Furthermore, the degree must demonstrably fall outside the purview of established programs that require some interdepartmental or intercollegiate coursework. Authority for overseeing interdisciplinary doctoral degrees is vested with the Graduate Council.
Requirements:
Request Procedure
To be admitted into an interdisciplinary program or approved for an interdisciplinary degree, the candidate must petition the Graduate Dean by submitting a completed INterdisciplinary Ph.D. Program Application. The application will contain:
The petition must:
September 2007