{"id":1819,"date":"2015-04-16T11:00:27","date_gmt":"2015-04-16T16:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/?p=1819"},"modified":"2016-08-25T10:32:16","modified_gmt":"2016-08-25T15:32:16","slug":"what-is-doctoral-colloquium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/what-is-doctoral-colloquium\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Doctoral Residency?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When looking at the components of a PhD program<\/a>, many of the parts may seem (on the surface, anyway) easy to understand: Coursework<\/a>. Research<\/a>. Dissertation<\/a>. But there are also requirements involving residencies. What exactly does that mean? Garvey House, PhD, associate director of research for Capella University\u2019s School of Business and Technology, provides some answers.<\/p>\n

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Different from Coursework<\/h4>\n

The residency portion of a PhD program occurs simultaneously with coursework. \u201cResidencies prepare you for comprehensive examinations and the dissertation,\u201d says House. Unlike coursework, residencies provide structure, training, and detailed feedback that allow students to develop research plans and identify the essential elements of the dissertation. They also provide foundational skills for the applied research and analysis that will be central to the process.<\/p>\n

During residencies, students have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with their instructors. They can also meet with consultants from the school\u2019s research and writing groups, as well as the Institutional Review Board<\/a> (IRB). Students can gain many of the needed levels of approval for research topic and methodology through residencies. \u201cIn fact, residencies can enable the student\u00a0to enter the writing phase of the dissertation needing only IRB approval,\u201d says House.<\/p>\n

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Residency Structure and Content<\/h4>\n

How residencies are structured varies from school to school. In general, there is always an in-person component. Some universities will have weekly meetings, while others have more conference-like approaches. Many online universities, including Capella, provide weekend residencies, usually taking place Thursday through Sunday. Students may be asked to complete pre-work in preparation for the upcoming in-person session, and there could be post-residency coursework as well.<\/p>\n

What will be covered in residencies will vary according to your program\u2019s focus and requirements, but following are examples of topics and skills covered:<\/p>\n