A total of at least 60 credits must be successfully completed for graduation from the program.

• Core Courses (12 credits): Students are required to complete the core courses prior to applying for candidacy.
• Ethics (4 credits)
• Research (15 credits)
• Electives (29 credits): The total number of required credits equals 31, leaving 29 credits as electives. Students satisfy the liberal arts component of the degree through electives.

The only stipulations regarding these 29 elective credits are that:

• No more than 12 can be either individualized study credits or doctoral level credits transferred in from another university. Transfer credits are subject to review and approval by the Doctoral Faculty.
• No more than 3 credits can be taken on-line or through an internship or mentorship (DPLS 766).
• 21 credits may be completed off-campus (12 individualized study or transfer, 3 on-line or internship/mentorship,6 dissertation).