Graduate Degrees and Programs: College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Department of Health and Human Performance

• Master of Education, M.Ed.
• Master of Science, M.S.
• Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D.

Master of Education, M.Ed.

Degree Requirements

Areas of Study

• Physical Education
  • Urban Fitness Programming
  • Sport and Fitness Administration
  • Motor Behavior
  • Online-web-based general exercise science/physical education focus

Master of Science, M.S.

Degree Requirements

Area of Study

• Human Space Exploration Sciences

• Human Nutrition

Degree Requirements

The following represents minimal expectations regarding the completion of a master’s degree in the College of Education. Some programs and/or departments may have additional requirements.

1. A minimum of 36 semester credit hours is required, however, some program areas require additional credit hours. Transfer students must complete at least 27 semester credit hours at the University of Houston after admission to the graduate program. Of these hours, not less than 18 semester hours must be in courses numbered 6000 or above. Courses outside the College of Education bearing numbers lower than 6000 must be approved by the advisor to be included in the degree program. College of Education courses numbered lower than 6000 may not be applied toward the program.

2. Students must earn all semester hours, including thesis, within the five years prior to graduation.

3. With the approval of the advisor and the associate dean for graduate studies, up to nine semester hours of transfer credit may be accepted.

4. A minimum 3.00 grade point average (A=4.00) is required in all transfer and subsequent work. No graduate credit is given for grades lower than C-. A graduate student who receives a grade of C+ or lower in 12 semester hours of credit at the University of Houston, whether or not in repeated courses, is ineligible for any advanced degree and will not be permitted to re-enroll for graduate study.

5. A common core of nine semester hours is required of all students. This requirement normally is fulfilled during the first 18 semester hours taken at the university.

6. Students are required to submit a degree plan approved by their academic advisor, the program coordinator, the department chair, and the Executive Associate Dean prior to the completion of 18 semester hours of credit.

7. A thesis, for which students receive six semester hours of credit, is optional for most programs. An oral defense of the thesis is required.

8. Satisfactory performance on a departmental comprehensive examination is required of all M.Ed. students. The M.S. degree requires the completion of a thesis.

Each department establishes specific admission and degree requirements for its major areas. For more information, students should consult the department of their choice.

An application for graduation must be filed early during the semester when degree requirements are completed. The application can be completed by logging in to Enrollment Services Online. The application should be turned in to the Office of Registration and Academic Records, 128 Welcome Center. Filing deadlines are listed in the class schedule and the academic calendar.

Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D.

Degree Requirements

Area of Study

• Kinesiology
  • Motor control and biomechanics
  • Obesity studies
  • Exercise physiology

 

Prerequisites

Most students have a master's degree or its equivalent prior to admission to one of the college's doctoral programs.

Degree Requirements

The following represents minimal expectations regarding the completion of a doctoral degree in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. Some programs and/or departments may have additional degree requirements.

1. Students usually complete a minimum of 60 semester hours of course work and at least six hours of dissertation credit for the doctoral degree. All degree requirements, including successful dissertation defense and internship must be completed within ten years from the date of admission to the degree program, except for the Ph.D. program in Kinesiology, which requires completion within seven years of admission to the program.

With the approval of the student's academic advisor, program coordinator, department chair, and the executive associate dean, a student may transfer a maximum of 30 semester hours of graduate credit from another university into the doctoral program. Courses Courses (1) with grades lower than B-, and (2) completed more than five years prior to the date of admission to the University of Houston, and/or applied to previously completed degree program may not be transferred.

With the permission of the student's academic advisor, program coordinator, department chair, and the executive associate dean, the college may accept either six hours or the total number of hours completed in one semester of postbaccalaureate (PB) or nondegree objective (NDO) course work for doctoral credit.

2. Students may fulfill their residency requirements by being in full-time study for two consecutive academic semesters, an academic semester and a consecutive 12-week summer session, or three consecutive 12-week summer sessions. 

3. A minimum 3.00 grade point average (A=4.00) is required in all course work, including transferred courses. Graduate credit is not given for grades lower than C-. A graduate student who receives a grade of C+ or lower in 12 semester hours of credit at the University of Houston, whether or not in repeated courses, is ineligible for any advanced degree and will not be permitted to re-enroll for graduate study. Departments or programs may have grade point average or course performance expectation that exceed these requirements

4. While doctoral students are eligible to take graduate level courses numbered 6000 it is expected that the majority of courses taken by the student will be at the 7000 and 8000 levels. Students may consult course descriptions in this catalog for information on courses requiring prerequisites or special authorization.

5. Students must complete not less than 18 semester hours of course work in the doctoral core, including a minimum of 12 semester credit hours in research; three semester credit hours in social, historical, and philosophical foundations; and three semester credit hours in psychological foundations.

6. A research paper is required for advancement to candidacy. Students must complete the paper under the direction of a faculty member and successfully defend the paper to a departmental examining committee. Copies of the pape r should be given to members of the departmental examining committee at least five working days before the examinat ion. Candidates should consult their departmental office for specific information about the candidacy paper.

7. Students must pass a comprehensive examination after completing at least 36 hours of course work. The student must also have an approved degree plan, an approved Residency Application, removed any incomplete grades, and maintained a 3.0 grade points average on all graduate work attempted at UH. Specific programs or departments may have additional requirements. A student who fails the comprehensive examination on the first attempt may take the examination a second time, upon applying, with the written recommendation of the student's faculty advisor, program coordinator, and department chair, to the Executive Associate Dean.

If the request for reexamination is denied by the student's department, or if the student fails the comprehensive examination a second time, the student shall be ineligible for a doctoral degree in education at the university.

8. To be eligible for advancement to candidacy, students must have completed the candidacy project, successfully defended their candidacy paper, passed the comprehensive examination, and successfully defended their dissertation proposal.

9. Students must complete their dissertations to the satisfaction of the research committee and successfully defend the dissertation before the dissertation committee. Students who have not successfully defended their dissertations within five years of the comprehensive examination will be required to pass a second comprehensive examination. Once enrolled for dissertation, students must be continuously enrolled, with the exception of summers. Students who will graduate in the summer, however, must enroll in dissertation credit during the semester of graduation. 

Each department establishes admission and degree requirements for its major areas. Consult the department of choice for these requirements.

An application for graduation must be filed early during the semester when degree requirements are completed. The application can be completed by logging in to Enrollment Services Online. The application should be turned in to the Office of Registration and Academic Records, 128 Welcome Center. Filing deadlines are listed in the class schedule and the academic calendar.

Catalog Publish Date: January 14, 2013
This Page Last Updated: November 29, 2012