College of Agriculture & Natural Resources School of Packaging

The graduate student is responsible for learning and adhering to University, College, and
School rules pertaining to graduate study and research, including those outlined in
Academic Programs, Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities, and Student Rights and
Responsibilities at Michigan State University.

Responsibilities of the Graduate Student

• Meet University, College, and School requirements for degree completion, and
  forming a Guidance Committee that meets University requirements and those
  outlined in this Graduate Handbook. The student is responsible for reviewing the
  School of Packaging Graduate Handbook annually in order to ensure they are
  meeting all responsibilities
  
• Form a Guidance Committee that supports the dissertation research as well as
  career and professional development needs.
• Explore career options and pursue professional development opportunities in support
  of them
• Follow applicable disciplinary and scholarly codes of ethics in course work and in
  dissertation research. Honesty and integrity in collecting and maintaining data must
  be practiced without compromise.
• Maintain high standards of professional behavior and scholarly integrity. Failure to do
  so can lead to an allegation of misconduct in research and creative activities.
  Penalties can be severe, including dismissal of students found guilty of plagiarism or
  data falsification. For additional information see https://rio.msu.edu/ and
  https://grad.msu.edu/researchintegrity/.
• In particular, there have been a number of cases of scientific misconduct due
  apparently to unintentional plagiarism. In order to help avoid such instances, MSU
  provides “iThenticate” antiplagiarism software available on the Desire2Learn site.
  More information is available at https://tech.msu.edu/service-
  catalog/teaching/tools/ithenticate/. Students may request an account which allows
  them to submit drafts of research articles and grant proposals to be scanned for
  missed citations and other mistakes that could be characterized as plagiarism,
  before they are submitted.
• Must obtain applicable regulatory approval for research in the early stages of
  dissertation work. In particular:
  • Safety training through Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) must be completed
    before any laboratory work is begun.
  • Any research involving human subjects or materials of human origin must be
    approved by HRPP, the Human Research Protection Program, before any such
    research is initiated. This includes collection of data through surveys. If a student
    fails to obtain the appropriate prior approval, the dissertation containing such
    work will not be accepted, and the student will not graduate.
• Research involving vertebrate animals must be approved by Institutional Animal
  Care & Use Committee (IACUC).
  

Graduate students are obligated to keep their Faculty Advisor and Guidance
Committee apprised on a regular basis of their progress towards completion of the
dissertation.

PhD Course Plan Requirements

The student must complete:

• Additional courses, beyond PKG 805 or PKG 815, PKG 825, PKG 810 and PKG 985,
  must be completed as specified by the student’s Guidance Committee and indicated in
  GradPlan.
• It is expected that the program will consist of a minimum of 45 credits.
• Students may not enroll for more than 36 credits of PKG 999. Full time status for a
  graduate student without an assistantship requires enrollment for 6 credits until the
  comprehensive examination is completed; it then drops to 1 credit. Therefore, to stay
  under the 36-credit limit, it is essential for students to complete their comprehensive
  examination in a timely manner.

All course work must be completed with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Students must be enrolled
in the University during the semesters in which comprehensive and final oral examinations
are completed. Exceptions may be granted by the Dean of the Graduate School for PhD
comprehensive examinations conducted during Summer session, provided the student was
enrolled the previous spring semester or the following Fall semester.

• PhD Defending: need to be enrolled in at least the minimum of 1 credit the semester
  they defend, even in the Summer.
• Comprehensive Exam: For Fall or Spring must be enrolled in the minimum (6
  credits); or if defending in the Summer must be enrolled in at least 1 credit during the
  Summer.

Full-time Status
In order to be considered full-time for academic purposes, students must carry the minimum
number of credits per semester or Summer session as defined below:

• Doctoral without assistantship: 6 credits minimum per semester
  
• Doctoral with assistantship: 3 credits per semester
• Doctoral student who has passed all required comprehensive exams: 1 credit per
  semester
• All graduate assistants are classified as full-time students during the semester(s) of
  their appointments as long as they are enrolled for the minimum required credits for
  the assistantship.

International Students Online Course Regulations
https://oiss.isp.msu.edu/immigration1/visa-and-immigration-overview

• U.S. Immigration Regulations require that only one online or distance learning class per
  semester can be used to count toward the minimum number of credits needed for full-
  time enrollment as an F-1 student.
• If the total number of credits of all the in-person classes and one of the online classes
  are more than the required full-time credits, it is possible to enroll in as many online
  classes as the student wishes.

Annual Progress Report

Each student is to submit to their Faculty Advisor, by March 31, an Annual Progress Report
on their activities and accomplishments for the preceding period.

Comprehensive Examination

The purpose of the comprehensive examination is for the student to demonstrate both depth
of knowledge in the research area and a sound research plan that is reasonable in scope.
The comprehensive examination must be taken by the beginning of the student’s 3rd year in
the program, unless the student’s Guidance Committee requests an extension due to
special circumstances, and the School of Packaging Graduate Committee approves that
extension. If the student does not pass, they may take the examination a second time the
following semester. Students who fail on the second attempt may be dismissed from the
program. PhD students must pass the comprehensive examination by the end of their 3rd
year in the program. The comprehensive will include a written document and an oral
presentation as follows:

Written Document

• A critical review of relevant literature which includes findings, a summary, and an
  evaluation of information that is relevant to the packaging related problem at hand.
• The proposed research, with preliminary results if available, will be presented in the
  form of a grant proposal. The student will identify a potential grant opportunity in
  consultation with their Guidance Committee. The student’s Guidance Committee
  must approve the selected funding agency and the guidelines to be followed for
  writing the proposal.
• The written comprehensive examination document will be electronically distributed
  by the student to the Guidance Committee, faculty, and Packaging PhD students at
  least two weeks before the oral presentation.
• Where intellectual property is a concern, the student will consult with the Guidance
  Committee to determine the appropriate level of detail to include in the document
  and oral presentation.
  Oral Presentation
• The student will present the literature review and research plan to the faculty and
  graduate students of the School, in an open seminar to be scheduled by the student
  at least two weeks in advance for a two-hour block of time during Fall or Spring
  semester.
• The first hour will consist of an approximately 45-minute presentation by the student,
  followed by open questions from the students in the audience.
• At the end of the open question period, the graduate student audience will be
  excused, and there will be a period of questions to the graduate student from the
  members of the student’s Guidance Committee and other School of Packaging
  faculty.

Evaluation

• At the end of the Guidance Committee’s questions, the student will be excused.
• The Guidance Committee and School of Packaging faculty will discuss the student’s
  performance and research plan.
• The Guidance Committee will then vote by open ballot to determine whether the
  student has passed the examination.
• A passing grade will require not more than one dissenting vote from among MSU
  regular faculty members of the Guidance Committee.
• A student who fails the comprehensive examination will be allowed to retake the
  examination the subsequent semester.
• Students who fail for a second time will be dismissed from the program.

Apply for Graduation

https://packaging.msu.edu/graduate-degrees/forms

In order to be certified to graduate, students must apply for graduation during the semester
they anticipate graduating. The applicable form is available online, through the student’s
portal at student.msu.edu. If the student does not graduate during the intended semester, a
new application must be submitted for the new semester of intended graduation.

Final Oral Examination in Defense of the Dissertation

The dissertation defense consists of a presentation of the dissertation research to the
Guidance Committee and the students and faculty of the School in an open seminar,
followed by a question/answer session about the research.

Written Document
Graduate students are strongly encouraged to prepare one or more submissions for
publication, as appropriate, based on their dissertation work. Graduate students are also
encouraged to take advantage of opportunities to present their work to professional
audiences, such as at meetings of professional societies. PhD students are expected to
have at least 1 article submitted to a refereed journal prior to scheduling their
dissertation defense.

• A doctoral dissertation must be based on the student’s original research and make a
  significant contribution to knowledge. The research is to be under the direction of and
  acceptable to the Guidance Committee.
• The student is expected to take a major role in planning, as well as carrying out, the
  research program.
• Provide “final” copy of dissertation, approved by Faculty Advisor, to the Guidance
  Committee, in format specified by Graduate School at least 2 weeks prior to defense

Oral Examination

• The final oral examination must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.
• All faculty and graduate students of the School will be notified of the exam date, time,
  and location as soon as the exam is scheduled.
• The first part of the oral examination is presentation of a seminar detailing the
  thesis/dissertation research or the project work. Graduate students are required, and
  faculty encouraged, to attend these presentations. Members of the public may also
  attend.
• The second part of the oral examination is an examination of the candidate by the
  student’s Guidance Committee and is followed by a defense of the dissertation.
  

Dissertation Defense

• Following the final oral examination, the Guidance Committee and the student will
  meet, which will include additional questions, discussion of necessary revisions in
  the document, etc.
• The student will then be briefly excused for discussion and vote by the Guidance
  Committee.
• The student’s performance on the final oral examination and dissertation defense
  must be approved by a three-fourths vote of the Guidance Committee, with not more
  than one dissenting vote from among the Michigan State University regular faculty
  members of the committee, for a pass to be awarded.
• Students will be informed immediately whether they have passed or failed the final
  oral examination and dissertation defense.
• When the PhD final oral examination and dissertation defense are completed, the
  Faculty Advisor and members of the Guidance Committee will sign the appropriate
  form, indicating the results.
• Students must be registered in the semester in which the final oral examination is
  taken.

Submitting the Dissertation

The student must submit an acceptable doctoral dissertation. These must be submitted
electronically via ProQuest after final approval by the Faculty Advisor and the Guidance
Committee. Instructions for electronic submission of dissertations are available from:

The Graduate School
Electronic Theses and Dissertation Submissions (ETD)

You must submit your work by the Submission Deadline (below) in order to qualify for the Final Deadline.

Submission Deadline

• Each semester has a deadline for the initial submission of theses and dissertations
  to ProQuest. The deadline is generally two weeks prior to the final deadline. Plan
  your defense accordingly.
• The document submitted to ProQuest is expected to be a final version, meaning it
  has been successfully defended, Guidance Committee corrections have been made,
  and there are no more content changes.
• The Graduate School will not accept documents for review for the current semester
  after 5:00PM ET on the submission deadline date.

Final Deadline

• Each semester has a final deadline where documents have been accepted and
  delivered for publishing, all required paperwork has been turned in, all milestones
  have been completed and all degree audits have been completed.
• Your document must be accepted and delivered to the publisher, ProQuest, by
  5:00PM ET on the final deadline date.

Supplemental Material

• If supplemental material is to be submitted in addition to the main body of a
  dissertation, these supplemental materials will not be reviewed by the Graduate
  School for formatting requirements, but they must be acceptable by ProQuest and
  comply with ProQuest’s criteria and storage limits. All supplemental materials need
  the approval of the dissertation committee chair on the ETD approval form.

Additional Information

• It is common to use previously published articles where the student was the primary
  author in a dissertation. This should first be discussed with the student’s guidance
  committee.
• It should be noted that submission of the dissertation is not the same as approval.
• There is an interactive review process, and final approval can take anywhere from a
  few hours to weeks, depending upon the extent of the necessary revisions and the
  diligence of the student in completing the changes.
• The review by the Graduate School focuses on requirements for proper formatting
  and completion of all required forms. It is not a content review of the dissertation.
• Students must provide an electronic copy of their final approved dissertation to their
  Faculty Advisor. Students must also provide copies of all data and other relevant
  materials to their Faculty Advisor.

Requests for Hold/Embargo on Publication of Documents Submitted to ProQuest

Sometimes students may wish to put a hold/embargo on the online publishing of their
dissertation for a brief period of time in order to obtain a patent or submit the work for
publication. A request for an embargo of up to 2 years may be made using this online form.
For questions regarding embargoes, please contact the Graduate School at
msuetds.approval@grd.msu.edu or at (517) 353-3220.

An embargo is a hold on publication of an author’s thesis or dissertation for a specified
length of time. The options for length of embargo authorized by Michigan State
University are 1 year or 2 years. When an embargo has been approved by your Faculty
Advisor and college Associate Dean, the Graduate School will notify ProQuest and the
MSU library. ProQuest will release the document for publication once the embargo
period has expired.

Creating an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

At the time of submission to ProQuest, authors now have the opportunity to create an
ORCID that provides researchers with a unique identifier for linking their research
outputs and activities. An ORCID:

• Improves recognition of research contributions
• Reduces form-filling (enter data once, re-use it often)
• Works with many institutions, funders, and publishers
• Is a requirement of many journal manuscript submission systems and grant
  application forms.

To learn more about ORCID go to: https://vimeo.com/237730655

Previously submitted dissertations are available for review through the MSU Library.

Request More Information - Degree Program Inquiry

Information on Applying to the Packaging PhD Program