USC publishes the academic calendar online. Important dates such as start dates, holidays, and scheduled breaks can be found on the academic calendar. There are instructions for applying to graduate with important  deadline information there, too.

Anthology Portfolio is a data collection tool used by the College of Education to ensure the delivery of quality academic programming, make modifications to programs and courses, maintain assessment and accreditation expectations, and to help students build portfolios of their accomplishments within their programs. Anthology Portfolio is required of all students in the College of Education and is distributed by the Office of Assessment and Accreditation.

In addition to regular university tuition and fees, students will be responsible for fees as follows:

• College of Education program fees: https://www.sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/bursar/tuition_and_required_fees/department_fees/index.php 

• Praxis certification exams which require registration fees as set by ETS, if applicable

• All other appropriate fees as outlined by the University Bursar

Applicants to a College of Education Ph.D. submit a complete application to the Graduate School in their desired major and are recommended for admission to the Graduate School after a faculty review of their application materials.

Once admitted to a Ph.D. program, students must be admitted to doctoral candidacy at least one full academic year before awarding the Ph.D. degree. To be admitted to doctoral candidacy, a student must be fully admitted to the doctoral program in the academic unit, pass the doctoral qualifying exam, and submit an approved doctoral program of study to the Graduate School. Admission to doctoral candidacy typically occurs at or near the end of the first year of course work.

The Graduate School has requirements for progression, and each college or school can identify additional progression requirements. The College of Education has specific progression requirements that are documented in the Bulletin.

Students in all Ph.D. programs are assigned a graduate staff advisor and a faculty advisor. These advisors work together to ensure that students receive information about courses and progression information. Graduate staff advisors are located in the Gamecock EdQuarters office. They are responsible for communicating with all newly admitted students regarding steps leading to registration. The graduate staff advisors work closely with faculty program coordinators and faculty advisors to ensure that students have access to important information about program and university policies. If students need to step out of a program due to health or family concerns, the graduate staff advisor assists with required documentation.

Faculty advisors are critical to students’ success in their programs. Faculty advisors are assigned by each program with the intention of the faculty and students’ research interests aligning. While course information is communicated by the graduate staff advisors, the faculty program advisors are a critical step in the process since they work with students to complete their planned program of study, provide content area expertise, and direct students’ dissertations.

As part of admission to candidacy, each student is required to have a program of study. The DegreeWorks audit system shows the courses that you need to take in your program. Your graduate faculty advisor will work with you to identify elective courses if applicable to your program. If you have taken previous graduate course work that is not part of a completed degree, you should talk with your graduate faculty and staff advisors about possible Your graduate staff advisor will ensure that your DegreeWorks audit is updated after you and your faculty advisor have finalized the courses.

Each program determines if transfer courses can be considered. Only courses that are not part of a completed degree can be considered, and courses must be relevant to the current program to be considered. The Graduate School has specific guidelines regarding transfer courses. The policy can be found here: https://academicbulletins.sc.edu/graduate/policies-regulations/graduate-academic-regulations/#text

Course loads vary depending on the program. Online accelerated programs are typically designed for students to take 6 credit hours a semester. Taking at least 1 credit hour of dissertation preparation each semester when you are working on your dissertation is required.

Designed to ensure that doctoral students gain benefits and make contributions to the USC community, the residency requirement can be met through consecutive semesters of full-time enrollment or through a program-specific residency plan.

The role of the advisory committee is to give advice, to guide academic planning and research, and to assist in designing the program of study. Typically, the advisory committee is two or three faculty from the student’s academic program. The advisory committee does not replace the faculty advisor from the student’s academic program or the graduate advisor from Gamecock EdQuarters, but it is designed to aid the student in timely completion of the Ph.D. program. The dissertation committee works with the student during the planning, research, writing, and defense phases of the dissertation. Students have two attempts to pass the dissertation defense.

All College of Education doctoral programs require both qualifying and comprehensive exams. Successful completion of the qualifying exam allows a doctoral student to progress to the dissertation phase of the degree. Comprehensive exams are typically administered after all course work is completed, or within the last semester of course work. Comprehensive exams expire 5 years from the academic term taken and must be revalidated in order to be in-date for graduation. The College of Education has specific progression requirements that are documented in the Bulletin.

When you receive the email from your graduate advisor each semester, it will have the courses listed or will contain the course rotation for you to select the next courses to take based on your program of study. Students register in the Spring for the upcoming Summer (if needed) and Fall courses and in the Fall for their Spring courses. When you have completed your DPOS, you can use it as a guide, but your graduate advisor is able to assist you if you have questions.

In order to view your registration time each semester, log in to Self Service Carolina and select the Student tile. Select the Registration tile, then select Registration Status. You should see any holds that may prevent registration, as well as the date and time that you will be able to register. Registration time tickets are not always available for viewing, but they are usually available by the midpoint of each semester.

All fully online programs use Blackboard to deliver course content. On-campus programs may use Blackboard in their courses, too. To access Blackboard, go to https://my.sc.edu/ .

• Find the Blackboard link on the left and select the Columbia campus in the dropdown options. Log in using your Network Username and Password. This is not your VIP ID. Your network username is a combination of letters from your first and last name. It is usually the portion of your name that is before the @ symbol in your USC email address. If you do not know your network username, go to https://my.sc.edu/ and click on “View my IDs” under the Personal section.
• When you are logged into Blackboard, you will see the courses in which you are enrolled.
• Use the left side of the screen to navigate to different introductory and course material.
• Books and/or materials required are in the syllabus.

Circumstances may require you to withdraw or not enroll in a Fall or Spring semester. (Summer attendance is not required in all programs. If your program requires summer enrollment to stay on track for faster program completion, not enrolling in a summer term may affect your graduation date. Typically, taking a break in study does affect your planned graduation date.) We know that unplanned events happen and can assist you by providing the options if a major life event creates a need for you to take a break for a semester or withdraw from classes if the semester is already underway. Contact your graduate staff advisor if you need to investigate taking a break in study.

The College of Education has an academic petitions and appeals process for students who are requesting an exception to academic policy. Contact your graduate advisor for more information.

In order to successfully complete a doctoral program and graduate, students must complete each of the following:

• Earn an appropriate grade on all course work included in the program of study (including no more than 12 hours below B)

• Meet all GPA requirements

• Be enrolled in at least 1 credit hour

• Pass the qualifying and comprehensive exams

• Form a dissertation committee

• Complete an approved dissertation proposal

• Complete the dissertation

• Complete the dissertation formatting process

• Successfully defend the dissertation

• Apply for graduation

While not required for graduation, completion of the College of Education Exit Survey provides important information for improving our services and program offerings for students.