Dissertation Proposal

Dissertation Proposal Procedure

At least two years prior to the dissertation defense, candidates must present a written proposal in either a National Institutes of Health (NIH) or National Science Foundation (NSF) format for their dissertation work to the advisory committee. The proposal will be given to the doctoral program coordinator two weeks in advance of meeting with the committee. The student must successfully defend the rationale and experimental procedures for the proposed doctoral dissertation. Students are encouraged to present an open seminar on the proposal prior to meeting with the advisory committee. Students who fail the proposal defense may repeat the proposal defense a maximum of one time. If a second failure occurs, the student may be dismissed from the program. 

Proposal Presentation Dates

1. Proposals are ONLY conducted during the Fall and Spring semesters.
2. Last day to present the proposal would be during the last week of the semester, before the final exam week.
3. Proposals have to include three Chapters: Introduction, Literature Review, and Methodology and Bibliography. Make sure to follow the format in the Dissertation Handbook found online.
4. A copy of the Proposal has to be submitted to the Committee members and Coordinator two weeks prior to the presentation along with the scheduling form.
5. There has to be at least one semester apart between the proposal presentation and the final dissertation defense.
6. Proposal presentation and Dissertation defense CANNOT be combined together in one semester.