The Ph.D. degree represents the highest degree awarded by universities in the United States. The Ph.D. degree usually requires coursework beyond that required by a master's degree program in the same discipline, but is primarily characterized by the Ph.D. dissertation requirement. The Ph.D. dissertation should contain significant original research and material suitable for publication as refereed manuscript or manuscripts, normally as a research journal article or articles. The recipient of a Ph.D. degree should possess a broad knowledge of his or her discipline and should be prepared for a lifetime of creative intellectual inquiry. The Ph.D. dissertation should establish the candidate's ability to read and comprehend the literature, to independently formulate a significant intellectual problem, to formulate the solution to the problem utilizing state-of-the-art knowledge and creativity, and to communicate the findings in a lucid, professional document, the Ph.D. dissertation.