Dissertation

The candidate for the PhD degree prepares a study embodying original research for a maximum of 20 credit hours. The dissertation should be a serious effort of publishable quality.

Dissertation Committee. Unless the student requests a change, the Advisory Committee serves as the Dissertation Committee. Once constituted, Dissertation Committees may not be changed except for serious reasons stated in writing to the Graduate Director and then approved by the Graduate College.

Prospectus. Before taking Exam B, PhD students must submit an approved copy of an abbreviated Dissertation Prospectus Form to the English Graduate Office. Blank copies of this form are available in the English Graduate Office.

No later than the seventh week of the semester following the one in which the student successfully completes the PhD Qualifying Exam, doctoral candidates should submit a 1000- to 1500-word formal prospectus for the dissertation, containing an explanation of the proposed argument of the dissertation along with an outline of the proposed chapters and a bibliography (not more than two pages). The prospectus must be approved by the candidate's committee. Committee members must be notified in writing if an approved  prospectus differs significantly from the submitted dissertation (if, for example, the topic of the dissertation changes, the authors or texts to be treated are altered, or the number or character of the chapters changes).  Students must provide a copy of the approved prospectus to the English Graduate Office.

Reading Procedure. At the time that the prospectus is approved, the candidate and the committee members should agree upon the reading procedure for the individual chapters. Matters to be discussed in reaching this agreement might include: which chapters each member of the committee needs to see as they are completed by the candidate, whether individual committee members want to see the chapters serially or all at once, and how long committee members will need to finish reading a chapter or the entire thesis or dissertation. Under no circumstances should a completed dissertation be submitted to any committee member for reading less than three weeks before the defense.

Deadlines. Students submitting dissertations must adhere to deadlines established by the Graduate College and by the Department of English.

Style. The student must write the dissertation according to the guidelines in the current Graduate College Style Manual, available from the Graduate College. A Graduate College staff member will be available for advice on formatting for binding and electronic submission.

Defense Copy (Final Draft). The dissertation that is defended should contain all of the chapters in a completed form and full documentation.

Final Copy. If as a result of the defense, revisions to the dissertation are required, committee members will not sign the dissertation until they are satisfied with the revisions.

Dissertation Defense

The candidate orally defends the doctoral dissertation at a public examination in which the advisory committee challenges the argument, credibility, and value of the work. The candidate can expect also to be questioned in the theoretical, and/or cultural tradition of the dissertation subject. In the case of an interdisciplinary study, the student is questioned in the related discipline(s) as well.

Intent to Defend Form. Candidates will file a non-binding Intent to Defend Form with the Graduate Director within the first two weeks of the semester in which they expect to defend the dissertation. Each member of the committee will sign this form before it is filed with the Graduate Director. If a student does not defend in a semester when the Intent to Defend form is filed, he or she should resubmit the form when he or she is prepared to defend.

Scheduling of Defense. Again, under no circumstances should a completed dissertation be submitted to any committee member for reading less than three weeks before the defense. The English Graduate Office must be notified one week before the oral defense of the following: the day and time of the defense and the title of the dissertation. All dissertation defenses are to be held no later than four weeks prior to the deadline for submission of the final copy to the Graduate College. No dissertation defense may be scheduled during the summer.