Dissertation Process
Dissertation Proposal
Each Ph.D. program will determine when the dissertation proposal must be approved relative to taking Proficiency Examinations (i.e., before, after or concurrently).
Ph.D. Proficiency Examination
All Ph.D. students are required to pass a Proficiency Examination in the major field before writing the dissertation. Each Ph.D. program will determine whether the Proficiency Examination is written and/or oral.
The proficiency examination is typically taken after the student has completed a significant portion, if not all, of the program’s coursework. However, a student may not be advanced to candidacy or register for dissertation hours until all coursework is completed and all portions of the Proficiency Examination have been passed satisfactorily.
The student must be in good academic standing and registered for a minimum of three credit hours in the semester in which any portion of the examination or a re-examination is taken.
Examination Committee
The Proficiency Examination Committee is composed of members of the program's Ph.D. faculty.
Format
While The Graduate School does not dictate the format for the Proficiency Examination, it is expected that the examination will be appropriately rigorous. Also, the policies and rules for the form, timing, scheduling, sequence, and conduct of the proficiency examination must be uniform for all students in the program and available in written form (handbook, etc.) to all students.
Proficiency Examination
The student is considered to have satisfactorily completed the written Proficiency Examination when the members of the Proficiency Examination committee have determined that a candidate has met the criteria established for satisfactory performance.
A student who fails the written examination twice is not allowed an additional examination and is automatically dismissed from the university.
Appeal
A student may appeal the outcome of a Proficiency Examination by submitting a written petition to the director of the Ph.D. program within 10 work days of being notified of the outcome of the examination. The path of the appeal process is from the director of the Ph.D. program to the department chairperson to the dean of the college and to the Dean of the Graduate School. The decision of the Dean of the Graduate School shall be final.
Application for Candidacy
When a student has completed all required coursework, has satisfactorily completed all portions of the proficiency exam, and is in good academic standing, and the report is submitted to The Graduate School, the student is admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree.
Dissertation
The dissertation is an independent scholarly contribution to knowledge in the student’s area of specialization. By researching, writing, and defending a dissertation, the student demonstrates a high level of knowledge in the chosen field and the ability to conduct independent research.
The Graduate School has established guidelines for dissertations. These are available at uttyler.edu/graduate/thesis-dissertation/thesis-students.php.
Individual Ph.D. programs may also offer guidelines with requirements beyond those established by The Graduate School.
All Ph. D. candidates are required to complete and defend a dissertation. The university requires a minimum of nine hours of dissertation credit. However, most Ph. D. programs require more hours.
Ph.D. candidates are required to register for a minimum of one credit of dissertation during fall and spring semesters until the dissertation is accepted by The Graduate School. (See, Enrollment Requirements)
Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval
Federal regulations and University policy require that all investigations using animal or human beings as subjects of research be reviewed and approved by the appropriately constituted committees before such investigations may begin. Data based on the use of animals or human beings as subjects cannot be collected for any dissertation without prior review and approval in accordance with university procedures.
Dissertation Committee
The dissertation committee is established as early as possible in the research process, the dissertation committee must be approved by The Graduate School—using the Appointment of Dissertation Committee form. Once the committee has been approved, the student is allowed to register for dissertation hours.
The dissertation committee is composed of a dissertation advisor, who chairs the committee, and at least two other Graduate Faculty members. The advisor must be qualified to chair dissertations and be from the department from which the degree is sought. At least one more of the committee members must be from the department in which the degree is being sought and hold the required Graduate Research Status.
Ph.D. programs are encouraged to include scholars from outside the program to serve as members of dissertation committees. The outside members may be selected from among graduate faculty from other academic programs or from other institutions where scholarly work is conducted. All members of a dissertation committee must possess the appropriate graduate faculty qualifications for their role on a committee.
The role of the dissertation committee is to mentor the student’s research and writing and approve the dissertation following an oral defense. Ph.D. students are required to consult with members of the dissertation committee throughout the progress of the research. Some programs may require Ph.D. candidates to submit an annual progress report to the dissertation committee.
Defense of Dissertation Proposal
The dissertation proposal is developed in consultation with the dissertation chair and input as needed from committee members. Following approval of the dissertation chair, the proposal is distributed to the dissertation committee prior to proposal defense. The dissertation proposal defense is held in closed session with the committee and requires a majority of committee votes for a decision. The committee may recommend acceptance, revisions, or rejection. The committee may determine a second defense is needed following revision. The proposal must be approved by the committee prior to submitting it to the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Oral Defense
The dissertation chair is responsible for determining that the dissertation draft is appropriate in form and content for committee evaluation. If substantial revisions are necessary, they should be completed before the oral defense is scheduled.
The Request to Schedule Oral Defense form signed by the Dissertation Committee Chairperson must be submitted to and approved by The Graduate School no later than 10 working days before the date of the oral defense.
When the Request to Schedule Oral Defense form is received, The Graduate School nominates a representative to protect the interests of the student, the committee, and The Graduate School. The Representative is also an “unbiased person” to whom the Graduate Dean may turn for judgment and counsel. The role of the Representative at the dissertation defense is to:
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Assure a fair and deliberate process for all, particularly the student.
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Assess the integrity of the defense itself. The Representative should contact the Graduate School Dean immediately if there is an area of concern.
A complete draft of the dissertation (electronic version, not hardcopy) must be made available to the Representative upon request no later than 5 working days before the date of the oral defense. The Representative is in attendance throughout the defense process, including committee deliberation. However, the Graduate Representative does not participate in the committee questioning nor thin the committee deliberations.
The oral defense is open to the public. However, once the defense is completed, the student and visitors must leave the room while the Committee discusses the students’ performance and votes on the outcome. The student is invited back into the room to receive the Committee’s decision.
The student is considered to have completed the oral defense successfully only when the majority of the Committee votes in the affirmative. Each committee member indicates his/her vote by signing the Final Oral Defense Report form. The committee may require alterations and corrections, but these should constitute relatively minor changes agreed to by the majority of the committee members. The dissertation chairperson is responsible for verifying that the changes required by the committee have been made.
If the examination is judged unsatisfactory by a majority of the voting members, the Committee must decide whether the student will be permitted to do a second oral defense. If a second examination is required, the committee must be the same as the original one unless a substitution is approved by the Graduate School Dean. A student who fails the oral defense twice is not allowed an additional examination and the student is automatically dismissed from the program and candidacy revoked.
The final decision of the examining committee is referred to The Graduate School using the Oral Defense Report form, which must be filed which must be submitted to
gradforms@uttyler.edu no later than 5 business days following the oral defense.
Format Review
After successfully defending the dissertation and making any changes requested by the committee, the student must submit an electronic draft of the complete dissertation along with a signature page signed by the entire committee to The Graduate School for format review. Review of the draft for format requirements will take approximately two weeks. After final formatting approval, students will receive a signed Dissertation Approval Form and Electronic Dissertation Submission Form, as well as information on author rights and instructions for submitting the thesis/dissertation in electronic format to the Robert R. Muntz Library.
The Graduate School has created a checklist to guide candidates through the final steps of the dissertation defense and approval process the checklist is available at uttyler.edu/graduate/thesis-dissertation/index.php.
Dissertations are regarded as publications and will be made available to the public once they are approved and submitted to The Graduate School.