Admission
Admission to the doctoral concentrations (Tourism, Natural Resource Recreation, and Sport Management) in Health and Human Performance requires graduation from an accredited college or university with a minimum grade average of B for all upper-division undergraduate work, and satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

Students from countries where English is not the primary language are also required to score a minimum of 550 (213 computer-based; 80 internet version) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). International students whose native tongue is English or who have studied at a United States college or university for one year or more need not submit TOEFL scores but must submit satisfactory scores on the GRE before their applications for admission can be considered.
Applications will be accepted year round, but, those who are applying for Departmental and College Financial Assistance (Assistantships or Fellowships) must submit their applications by the following dates:

Fall Admission: Apply by February 1
Spring Admission: Apply by October 1
Late Applications may be considered.

Doctoral Concentrations
Tourism
Natural Resource Recreation
Sport Management

Curriculum and Examination
Curriculum includes core departmental, college, and university course requirements and recommended courses. In summary, doctoral students must pass a comprehensive written and oral qualifying examination upon completion of all course work, maintain a satisfactory academic record, submit an approved dissertation topic, and receive the supervisory committee's opinion of ability for advancement to candidacy. Upon completion of the dissertation, the student must successfully complete an oral examination pertaining to the dissertation research.

Supervisory Committee
Prior to registration, it is highly recommended that all incoming doctoral students have identified and gotten approval of a graduate faculty member in the department who is willing and available to supervise the student. The respective faculty is usually the academic advisor and the Chair of the supervisory committee. The members of the supervisory committee should be appointed as soon as possible after the student has begun doctoral work, and in general no later than the end of the second semester of equivalent full-time study.

The supervisory committee for a candidate for the doctoral degree shall consist of no fewer than four members selected from the Graduate Faculty. At least two persons, including the chairperson, will be from the department recommending the degree, and at least one member will be drawn from a different academic discipline. The supervisory committee will include at least one person selected from the Graduate Faculty from outside the discipline of the major.

Transfer of Credit
A maximum of 30 credit hours of previous graduate course work taken at an accredited institution will be allowed to transfer within 7 years of being admitted to the University of Florida. If transferring as a Ph.D. student from another institution, a maximum of 45 credit hours of all previous graduate coursework will be allowed to transfer.

Qualifying Examination
All Ph.D. candidates must take the qualifying examination. It may be taken during the third term of graduate study beyond the bachelor’s degree. The student must be registered in the term the qualifying examination is given.

The examination, prepared and evaluated by the full supervisory committee or the major and minor academic units, is both written and oral and covers the major and minor subjects. Except for allowed substitutions, all members of the supervisory committee must be present with the student at the oral part. At this time the supervisory committee is responsible for deciding whether the student is qualified to continue work toward a Ph.D. degree.

If a student fails the qualifying examination, the Graduate School must be notified. A re-examination may be requested, but it must be recommended by the supervisory committee and approved by the Graduate School. At least 1 term of additional preparation is needed before re-examination.

Time lapse: Between the oral part of the qualifying examination and the date of the degree there must be at least 2 terms. The term the qualifying examination is passed is counted, if the examination occurs before the midpoint of the term.

Registration in Research Courses
Advanced Research (HLP 7979) is open to doctoral students not yet admitted to candidacy. Students enrolled in HLP 7979 during the term they qualify for candidacy will stay in this registration unless the academic unit elects to change their enrollment to Research for Doctoral Dissertation (HLP 7980), which is reserved for doctoral students admitted to candidacy.

Admission to Candidacy
A graduate student becomes a candidate for the Ph.D. degree when the student is granted formal admission to candidacy. Such admission requires the approval of the student’s supervisory committee, the academic unit chair, the college dean, and the Dean of the Graduate School. The approval must be based on:

1) The academic record of the student
2) The supervisory committee’s opinion on overall fitness for candidacy
3) An approved dissertation topic
4) A qualifying examination as described above
The student should apply for admission to candidacy as soon as the qualifying examination is passed and a dissertation topic is approved by the student’s supervisory committee. A student may not register for HLP 7980 (Research for Dissertation) until he or she is admitted to candidacy for a doctoral degree.

Dissertation
Every candidate for a doctoral degree is required to prepare and present a dissertation that shows independent investigation and is acceptable in form and content to the supervisory committee and to the Graduate School. Dissertations must be written in English and is acceptable in form and content to the supervisory committee and to the Graduate School. The work must be of publishable quality and must be in a form suitable for publication, using the Graduate School’s format requirements.

Dissertation first submission: when first presented to the Graduate School Editorial Office, the dissertation should be near-final (not a draft), completely formatted, and printed on plain paper (do not print 2-sided). The Graduate School Editorial Office reviews dissertations for acceptable format, and to make recommendations as needed. Students should be completely familiar with the format requirements and should work with the ETD Lab to troubleshoot their files before printing out their first submission for the Graduate School Editorial Office

Final Examination
After the submission of the dissertation and the completion of all other prescribed work for the degree, but in no case earlier than six months before the conferring of the degree, the candidate will be given a final oral examination by the supervisory committee meeting on campus. All supervisory committee members must be present with the candidate at the oral examination. The candidate and the entire supervisory committee must be present at the defense. The defense should be no more than 6 months before degree award.

All forms should be signed at the defense: the candidate and the supervisory committee chair sign the ETD Rights and Permission form; and the entire supervisory committee should sign the ETD Signature Page and the Final Examination Report. If dissertation changes are requested, the supervisory committee chair may hold the Final Examination report until satisfied with the dissertation. Satisfactory performance on this examination and adherence to all Graduate School regulations outlined above complete the degree requirements for the doctoral degree.

Time Limitation
All work for the doctorate must be completed within five calendar years after successful completion of the qualifying examination or the qualifying examination must be repeated.