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 and DMFT)
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 (student responsible for travel and expenses)

CMP-9700D - Dissertation Completion Pathway – Prospectus

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.