Dissertation and Dissertation Committee

Each candidate for the doctorate pursues, under faculty direction, and original investigation of a problem or problems in a field of concentration and presents the results of the investigation in a dissertation. The dissertation must be approved by a minimum of three members of a faculty committee of four members. The member of the program faculty who supervises the student’s investigation becomes chairperson of the committee and must be a member of the Graduate Faculty. The committee also includes two additional members of the Ph.D. faculty in Education and an “outside” member, who is appointed by the Ph.D. director in consultation with the student’s advisor. Whenever possible, “outside” shall be “outside the university,” but in all cases this person must be outside the program. The outside member is expected to be a recognized authority on the subject of the dissertation. Prior to scheduling a defense of the proposal, the proposed committee must be approved by the Ph.D. director.

Proposal Defense

A candidate for the Ph.D. in Education must present a public defense of the dissertation proposal to the members of the committee. The student must submit an abstract of the proposal to the Ph.D. director for approval and distribution to the faculty and students in the Ph.D. program.  A signed copy of the approved proposal is placed in the student’s file upon completion of any changes requested at the proposal defense.

Dissertation Defense

The final copy of the dissertation should be prepared in strict accordance with the instructions given in the pamphlet “Style Guide for Thesis and Dissertation Preparation.” A final public examination is held in which the candidate defends the completed dissertation. The candidate must satisfy the members of the committee that he or she is qualified to receive the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 

It is the student’s responsibility to obtain from the Office of the Graduate School the candidacy application (on which the results of the qualifying examination was recorded) for completion by the committee members at the final examination. The same committee members must also sign the title page of the dissertation, signifying their acceptance of it. Once the Ph.D. director certifies that all program requirements have been completed for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, the candidate must return the candidacy application to the Office of the Graduate School. All required materials (forms, copy of the dissertation) must be submitted to the Office of the Graduate School no later than the announced deadline.