Dissertation Completion Pathway

Vision

The vision for the Dissertation Completion Pathway is to provide “all-but-dissertation” or ABD students a structured approach for completing their dissertation and help them achieve their academic goals in obtaining their doctorate. This pathway provides a student-centered, high touch, and structured pathway that recognizes past academic coursework while providing the student with the preparation and guidance to earn their doctoral degree.

Basis for Admissions

• Achieved doctoral candidacy from a regionally-accredited institution for a degree program and specialization offered by NCU (excluding PhD MFT, DMFT, DNP, and DHA).
• 7 year maximum for block transfer of credits into an existing NCU degree program (from official transcripts)
• Minimum GPA of 3.0 in previous doctoral program coursework
• Complete NCU Dissertation Completion Application with required documents
• Cannot be academically dismissed from previous doctoral program
• Must complete a phone or video interview with assigned NCU committee
• Completion of a memorandum of understanding and statement of intent

General Pathway Requirements

• The DCP requires a minimum of 23 semester credit hours
• Grade Point Average of “B,” 3.0, or higher
• Official transcripts on file for all transfer credit hours accepted by the University
• Official documents on file for basis of admission
• All financial obligations to the University paid in full

DCP Course Sequence

• DCP-8001 - Scholarly Writing and Synthesis of Literature  
• DCP-8002 - Designing Scholarly Research  
• DCP-8003 - Dissertation Intensive  (including a required face to face 3-day intensive - student responsible for travel and expenses)
• CMP-9XXX - School-based Prospectus course
• DIS-9901A - Components of the Dissertation  
• DIS-9902A - The Dissertation Proposal  
• DIS-9903A - Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Data Collection  
• DIS-9904A - The Dissertation Manuscript and Defense  

**In addition to the required dissertation sequence of courses (DIS-9901X – DIS-9904X) with a minimum of 12-credit hours for dissertation coursework.