To receive a doctoral degree from the School of Information, candidates complete the following:

• A total of 24 hours of coursework: 12 credits of methods, including one statistics class and one qualitative methods class; 12 credits of theory; and 3 or more credits of cognate, or related, courses; can double count with method or theory
• A pre-candidacy research project
• A field preliminary examination
• The school's teaching requirement
• A dissertation proposal defense before the Dissertation Committee
• The residency and fee requirements of the Horace H. Rackham Graduate School
• Dissertation approval from the Dissertation Committee and the Graduate School, and a successful defense of their dissertation before the Dissertation Committee

Length of study

All UMSI doctoral students conduct research, teaching and coursework full time. While the amount of time to degree may vary, the program requires a minimum of three years of full-time study. Five years is more typical. The maximum time to complete the degree is seven years from first enrollment.