The
University Senate of Michigan Technological University
Proposal
24-10
(Voting Units: Academic)
"INTERNATIONAL
DUAL GRADUATE DEGREES"
Definitions:
Dual
degrees are defined as arrangements whereby a student, upon completion of
a course of study, receives two parallel degrees, one from each of the
institutions participating in the arrangement.
These may entail adjustments to accommodate the differences in the rules
and expectations of the two institutions, but the student has not completed two
distinct curricula and has not written two separate theses or dissertations.
Dual degrees can not be arranged ad hoc; they must be administered under the
rubric of an established formal agreement.
International
graduate degrees are defined through arrangements between Michigan Tech and one
other comparable institution in a country outside of the U.S.
Concept proposal is a written
document used in the Michigan Tech preliminary approval process.
Formal agreement, such as a
Memorandum of Understanding, is legally negotiated between the two, or more,
institutions in the arrangement.
Policy:
The Graduate School
will entertain concept proposals for establishment of programs to award International
Dual Graduate Degrees. Once approved,
these degrees will be articulated through formal agreements between Michigan
Tech and one or more collaborating universities.
Students enrolled in
an International Dual Graduate Degree program must complete all of the
requirements (both content and credit) for a degree at Michigan Tech through combined studies at Michigan Tech and the parterning institution. In addition, students
enrolled in an Dual International Dual Graduate Degree program must also earn at least 50% of
the credits required for a Michigan Tech degree through Michigan Tech (ie., they may earn up to 50% of the credits through the collaborating institution). (Note that this is inconsistent with the general
requirement that 2/3 of the graduate course work be taken in residence; see
Board of Control Policy 8.5 for mechanism for approval of variance.)
Students pursuing an
International Dual Graduate Degree will receive a degree and diploma from both
Michigan Tech and the collaborating university. When the degree and diploma
awarded from each collaborating university are in the same academic area, up to
50% of the credits required for each degree may be used to fulfill degree requirements
at Michigan Tech and another university. When the degree and diploma awarded
from each collaborating university are in different academic areas, students
may double-count up to 33% of the credits required for each degree (if the
academic content covered by those credits can be appropriately applied toward
each degree).
Each participating
student’s final Michigan Tech transcript will indicate that the degree was
earned as part of an International Dual Graduate Degree program and will provide the
name(s) of the collaborating universities.
Students enrolled in
International Dual Graduate Degree programs will complete a thesis or
dissertation and will be co-advised by a qualified faculty member from Michigan
Tech and the primary collaborating university. If more than one collaborating
university is involved in an agreement, the primary collaborating university
will be the one at which a participating student will earn the most credits (in
addition to the credits earned at Michigan Tech). Students will defend their
thesis or dissertation at Michigan Tech and the primary participating
university, either on-site or through the use of video or web-based
conferencing.
Equivalence of
Michigan Tech credits and credits earned at a collaborating university will be
determined based on the basic principal that full-time enrollment at Michigan
Tech requires the same amount of student effort as full-time enrollment at the
collaborating university.
International Dual
Graduate Degree programs can only involve degrees that are already available at
Michigan Tech. New degree programs cannot be developed initially as
International Dual Graduate Degrees.
Proposals for New International Dual
Graduate Degrees:
1)
Initial
concept proposals will be developed by a member of the Michigan Tech Graduate
Faculty. Faculty seeking assistance or guidance in developing
proposals are encouraged to contact the Graduate School. Concept
proposals should identify the proposing faculty member, the name of the
Michigan Tech graduate program that will offer the degree, a statement of the
benefits of the proposed dual degree to Michigan Tech and the appropriate
intellectual community, the name of the collaborating university(s), and the
name of a correspondent faculty member at the collaborating university(s).
Concept proposals must also attend to the
following elements: financial
arrangements, including insurance; the time period of student attendance at
Michigan Tech; the disciplinary scope of the agreement; clear exposition of
credit and other academic equivalencies presumed; policies with regard to the
comprehensive, qualifying, and final examinations; any anticipated intellectual
property issues; arrangements for renewal and termination of the agreement; and
an evaluation process and timeline for program evaluation.
2)
Concept
proposals must be approved by the faculty of the department or school that
hosts the degree program. For non-departmental degrees, initial approval can be
granted by the dean of the college or school in which the proposing faculty
member has their primary academic appointment.
3)
Concept
proposals must be approved by the dean of the college or school that hosts the
degree program. For non-departmental degrees, initial approval can be granted
by the dean of the college or school in which the proposing faculty member has
their primary academic appointment.
4)
After
initial approvals are completed (steps 1-3) proposals will be submitted to the
dean of the Graduate School for review. Upon successful preliminary review, the
dean of the Graduate School will:
a. Submit the
concept proposal to the University Senate for review, and upon approval;
b. Submit the concept proposal to the manager
of Sponsored Operations who will develop an initial draft formal agreement. The
draft formal agreement will be based on the Michigan Tech Standard Template for
International Dual Graduate Degrees, or a similar document from one of the dual
agreement institutions.
5)
The
draft formal agreement will then be reviewed by the dean of the Graduate
School, the faculty review committee, the director of International Programs
and Services, and the University’s legal counsel. Recommendations for
modification will be acted upon by the manager of Sponsored Operations. Upon
successful completion of the internal review process, copies of the formal
agreement will be forwarded to the collaborating university for review and
modification. Once the terms of the formal agreement are agreed upon by the
collaborating universities, it will be reviewed and, if appropriate, signed by
the president and provost at Michigan Tech and by the leadership at the
collaborating university(s).