Dual Doctoral Major Request

All dual major doctoral degrees must be approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. 

A request for the dual major degree must be submitted via GradPlan within one semester following its development and within the first two years of the student’s enrollment at Michigan State University.

In order to receive a dual major, the following conditions must be met: 

1. The intent to receive the degree in two areas must be outlined in the guidance committee report.
2. The guidance committee will include members from both doctoral programs.
3. The Ph.D. Degree Plan must reflect the required standards for both doctoral programs.
4. The integrated course work must be satisfactory to both graduate programs and meet the requirements for awarding a degree in that program.
5. The comprehensive examination must be passed to the satisfaction of both departments.
6. Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR requirements) will be approved by the guidance committee; they should meet the RECR requirements in both programs and the university.
7. There must be a single dissertation that represents an integration of the two disciplinary areas.
8. Guidance committee members from both departments must be satisfied that the dissertation represents a contribution meeting the usual standards in both areas.

The student should work with the graduate program administrators in both of their programs to initiate a dual major request form. Once approved by all parties, this form becomes a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two programs and colleges.

The form must be reviewed and approved (with signatures) by both graduate programs and the college(s) before it is forwarded to the Graduate School for review and approval.  If the Graduate School approves the request, the dual major will be applied in Campus Solutions by the student’s college. If it is denied, the student will receive a notification with comments.

View a map of this process here.

Dual Doctoral Major Request Form

The student must complete a dual degree request form that includes: 

1. Name of primary degree program
2. Name of secondary degree program
3. List of guidance committee members, including their departmental/programmatic affiliation
4. Coursework that fulfills the requirements of the primary major (including electives)
5. Coursework that fulfills the requirements of the secondary major (including electives)
6. Description of how RECR requirements are being met
7. Examination areas and an explanation of their relation to both areas and to examination requirements in each program
8. Proposed dissertation area, with an explanation of how the research incorporates aspects of both fields
9. Signatures from the guidance committee chair, graduate programs directors from each program, and the college associate deans from the appropriate areas
10. Screenshots of the approved course plan and list of graduate committee members

Additional information may be required by the participating programs.