Policies

1. An applicant for the master’s program must have a baccalaureate degree from a recognized college or university and must at least have an average of 85% in the entire program to be eligible for enrolment. Students with an average lower than 85% shall be admitted on a probationary basis and will be allowed to continue in the graduate program with the condition of maintaining a grade not lower than 1.50.
2. In certain fields of concentration, a graduate student should have either a parallel corresponding undergraduate academic degree or at least 12 units in the undergraduate level parallel to the graduate major being applied for before he/ she is admitted formally into the graduate degree program.
3. For the doctorate program, the applicant must have a master’s degree obtained from a recognized college or university and should have obtained an average not lower than 1.50. An applicant holding a non-thesis master’s degree must enroll in a six (6) unit thesis writing course (Thesis 1 and Thesis 2 Courses), produce a thesis with an assigned adviser, orally defend it before a chairperson and panel members and obtain a passing mark prior to admission into the Ph.D. program that allows such applicants.
4. A transferee must be able to present the necessary transfer credentials to be considered for admission to the graduate degree program. A recommendation of the Program Coordinator approved by the Dean of the Graduate School must be accomplished prior to enrolment. Under certain instances, the Program Coordinator, with the approval of the Dean of the Graduate School, may recommend and require him/ her to take additional academic units, either foundation courses including the institutional requirement, or core/ major or cognate courses.

• the courses taken in the school last attended shall be substantially the same in content in the graduate curriculum of the school; and
• the student has complied with the residence requirement of the school (25%).

1. Master’s students are allowed to have a total course load of 12 units per semester during their first year and six (6) to nine (9) units for the first semester of the second year. Upon passing the comprehensive examination, the student will be allowed to enroll in a six-unit thesis writing course for the succeeding semester.
2. For a doctorate student, the regular course load is 12 units per semester is allowed for the first two years. After passing the comprehensive examinations, students can enroll in the 12-unit dissertation writing course starting the first semester of the third year.
3. During summer terms, both master’s and doctorate students can take a total of six (6) to nine (9) units if the needed courses are being offered by the school.

1. A grade of Incomplete (INC) may be given to a student whose course is incomplete at the time the grade was submitted. However, an “Incomplete” (INC) grade must be completed within a period of one (1) year from the semester/term the incomplete grade was incurred.
2. Incomplete grades not complied with within the required period will automatically be marked as failed.
3. A total of five (5) years is given to a master’s candidate while a period of seven (7) years is given for a doctorate candidate to finish his/her degree upon admission. Any student who fails to comply within the period stipulated will be required to re-enroll in the foundation courses together with the institutional requirement and core courses and retake the comprehensive examinations.
4. A leave of absence may be applied for by the graduate school student who wishes to postpone his/ her studies. This must be submitted to the Dean of the Graduate School and is subject for approval of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs. An approved leave of absence does extend the time limit toward degree completion.

1. The written comprehensive examinations shall be taken by all graduate students who have completed all the necessary course requirements. The scope of the examinations shall be the totality of the whole program in which a student is enrolled in.
2. The GS FORM 1 – CE must be accomplished online and must be submitted to the Record’s Evaluator (Email address: gsdwcc@gmail.com) one week before the scheduled comprehensive examination.
3. The passing grade is 1.5. A student who fails the written comprehensive examination shall be allowed one (1) retake only. The following grading system will be followed:
   • Passed- Examinees who were able to obtain a score not lower than 13 and whose average is not lower than 85 (1.50)
   • Failed- Examinees whose average is lower than 1.50 *will retake all the areas of assessment on the next schedule of comprehensive exam
   • Conditional- Examinees who were able to attain an average of at least 85, but with scores in any of the areas assessed lower than 13.
4. A committee shall supervise the development and administration of the comprehensive examination.
5. The mechanics for the administration of the exam (i.e., scheduling, preparation of test questions and checking) shall be the responsibility of the Committee.
6. The committee will give questions encompassing the core/ basic courses, field of concentration (major), and cognates.
7. Because of the responsibilities that go beyond the normal working load demanded from the members of the Comprehensive Examination Committee, they shall be given an honorarium.

1. Graduate school students may use Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Method Research designs both for the Thesis and Dissertation.
2. Thesis/Dissertation proposal and final defense will be done only when there is an approved Application for the Thesis/Dissertation (Refer to GS Form 2-OD)
3. The DWCC adopts the American Psychological Association (APA) writing style; hence, all students should follow to the APA writing guidelines in all their academic papers.
4. Thesis and Dissertation should follow the prescribed format. (See Thesis/Dissertation Format)
5. Composition of the Panel Committee:

   	Masters	PhD
   Proposal	Chairman & 3 members	Chairman & 4 members
   Final Defense	Chairman & 3 members	Chairman & 4 members

    
   For the doctoral degree, the panel of examiners for each candidate shall be composed of five (5) persons who should be holders of the doctoral degree, two (2) of whom may be external to the institution.
6. In order to maintain the production of the scholarly manuscript and to ensure that our students have mastery of their papers, they must pass both the evaluation of their paper and the oral defense/presentation. The Panel Members assess the student’s performance in the oral defense using the prescribed rubrics and give an averaged numerical grade. (See Assessment Rubric for Thesis/Dissertation Defense). To pass the thesis/dissertation writing, the student must receive a grade not lower than 1.50 in the paper, oral defense, and final rating. If the grade is below 1.5 for both masters and doctorate degrees, the student shall be marked Failed/Unsatisfactory and will be advised to re-enroll the Thesis Writing and repeat the process.
7. The student must pay the required fees (Refer to Honoraria and Fees).
8. The chairperson of the committee presides during the thesis/ dissertation proposal and final defense and is responsible for summarizing the comments and suggestions given by the panel during the defense.
9. The thesis adviser assumes the responsibility of monitoring and helping the thesis writer get through finishing the thesis. As a member of the graduate school staff, he/ she is open to change, committed to discharging his functions, and is selfless and willing to share his expertise. He/ she has the humility to accommodate the student’s shortcomings and the enthusiasm to inspire and motivate him to do good research
10. To sustain the integrity of the research paper, the following are the guidelines for the paper’s acceptability in relation to the similarity index:
    • The manuscript is accepted for oral defense for the proposal if the similarity index is not more than 50% and for final defense, the similarity index should not be more than 30%. In case it is more than the stated index the schedule will be on hold unless the student submits a revised manuscript.
    • For the final manuscript, the similarity index should not be more than 10%.
    The classroom and thesis adviser should look into this concern to avoid delays in the oral defense and approval of the final manuscript.

1. A student shall be allowed to enroll in Thesis/ Dissertation 1 after successfully passing the comprehensive examination.
2. A classroom adviser shall be assigned to the Thesis/ Dissertation 1 course to monitor the progress of the student and encourage them to finish their research writing on time.
3. The classroom adviser shall conduct series of discussions that would serve as a refresher on research writing. The classroom adviser shall also guide the students in identifying the research gaps.
4. The classroom adviser will prepare a letter of recommendation for the Thesis/ Dissertation 1 Adviser based on the focus of the study, subject for approval of the Dean of the Graduate School.
5. Upon approval and in consideration of the field of expertise of the chosen adviser, the thesis/ dissertation adviser shall work hand in hand with the classroom adviser to assist the student in the completion of his/her research writing.
   The thesis/ dissertation adviser will receive an honorarium based on the new rates/ fees effective AY 2022-2023.
   Preferably, the Thesis/Dissertation 1 adviser shall continue to be the adviser for the student’s Thesis/ Dissertation 2. Otherwise, the classroom adviser should make another recommendation for this subject for the evaluation and approval of the Dean.
6. Upon the recommendation of the thesis/ dissertation 1 research adviser to the classroom adviser, a colloquium for Chapters 1 to 3 will be arranged. The classroom adviser will set the date and the panel of examiners to be approved by the Dean. The thesis/ dissertation advisers are preferably the panel of examiners.
7. Once the student passed the colloquium and the necessary revisions were made, the student will be advised to apply for an oral defense.
8. For oral defense application, the student must submit in quadruplicate the accomplished Application for Thesis/Dissertation Oral Defense (GS Form 2-OD). This form is available at the Registrar’s Office (Window 1).
9. A student who goes beyond the enrolment validity for Writing 1 (a period of one (1) year for completion) shall be required to reenroll in the said course.

1. Students who have passed the proposal defense are qualified to enrol for Thesis/Dissertation Writing 2.
2. Steps and procedures regarding recommendations for Thesis/Dissertation adviser and colloquium in the Proposal Defense should also be followed for Final Defense.
3. The revised Thesis/Dissertation is required to be submitted to the defense panel members for evaluation and verification two (2) weeks before the deadline for the submission of the final Thesis/Dissertation set by the Registrar’s Office.
4. Upon successful completion of the revisions, the student is required to submit the following:
   • One compact disc containing the revised version of the Thesis/Dissertation should be properly labeled.
   • Three hard-bound copies of the Thesis/Dissertation (green color for masters and black for a doctoral program) with a signed approval sheet.
   • One compact disc for IMRAD for DWCC Research Journal subject for approval.
5. A student who was not able to submit all the requirements listed above within the given period will not be allowed to apply for graduation and will be required to reenroll in the said course.

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