Research Proposal: Within six months of forming the dissertation committee (i.e., no more than nine months after passing the qualifying examination), doctoral students must make an oral presentation to their Doctoral Dissertation Committee on the scope of their proposed research. Prior to the presentation, the PhD candidate has to develop a PhD Research Proposal. The proposal is a written document identifying the topic for the PhD candidate’s planned doctoral dissertation. Further, the proposal should describe preliminary work done by the candidate as well as provide a detailed plan for the rest of the dissertation research. The Doctoral Dissertation Committee reviews the written proposal and hears an oral presentation by the PhD candidate outlining the main points of the proposal. The oral presentation typically lasts 30 – 40 min, and it is followed by a discussion led by the PhD Dissertation Committee members. The Doctoral Dissertation Committee must formally approve the proposal within a maximum of three additional months. This ensures meeting the requirements that doctoral students must have an approved dissertation committee and an approved dissertation proposal within a year of passing the qualifying examination. The approved and signed proposal must be submitted to the Advisor for Graduate Studies so that it is kept in the student’s file.
