dissertation credits

How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis

8 straightforward steps to craft an a-grade dissertation.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Expert Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2020

Writing a dissertation or thesis is not a simple task. It takes time, energy and a lot of will power to get you across the finish line. It’s not easy – but it doesn’t necessarily need to be a painful process. If you understand the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis, your research journey will be a lot smoother.  

In this post, I’m going to outline the big-picture process of how to write a high-quality dissertation or thesis, without losing your mind along the way. If you’re just starting your research, this post is perfect for you. Alternatively, if you’ve already submitted your proposal, this article which covers how to structure a dissertation might be more helpful.

How To Write A Dissertation: 8 Steps

• Clearly understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is
• Find a unique and valuable research topic
• Craft a convincing research proposal
• Write up a strong introduction chapter
• Review the existing literature and compile a literature review
• Design a rigorous research strategy and undertake your own research
• Present the findings of your research
• Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Step 1: Understand exactly what a dissertation is

This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but all too often, students come to us for help with their research and the underlying issue is that they don’t fully understand what a dissertation (or thesis) actually is.

So, what is a dissertation?

At its simplest, a dissertation or thesis is a formal piece of research , reflecting the standard research process . But what is the standard research process, you ask? The research process involves 4 key steps:

• Ask a very specific, well-articulated question (s) (your research topic)
• See what other researchers have said about it (if they’ve already answered it)
• If they haven’t answered it adequately, undertake your own data collection and analysis in a scientifically rigorous fashion
• Answer your original question(s), based on your analysis findings

In short, the research process is simply about asking and answering questions in a systematic fashion . This probably sounds pretty obvious, but people often think they’ve done “research”, when in fact what they have done is:

• Started with a vague, poorly articulated question
• Not taken the time to see what research has already been done regarding the question
• Collected data and opinions that support their gut and undertaken a flimsy analysis
• Drawn a shaky conclusion, based on that analysis

If you want to see the perfect example of this in action, look out for the next Facebook post where someone claims they’ve done “research”… All too often, people consider reading a few blog posts to constitute research. Its no surprise then that what they end up with is an opinion piece, not research. Okay, okay – I’ll climb off my soapbox now.

The key takeaway here is that a dissertation (or thesis) is a formal piece of research, reflecting the research process. It’s not an opinion piece , nor a place to push your agenda or try to convince someone of your position. Writing a good dissertation involves asking a question and taking a systematic, rigorous approach to answering it.

If you understand this and are comfortable leaving your opinions or preconceived ideas at the door, you’re already off to a good start!

Step 2: Find a unique, valuable research topic

As we saw, the first step of the research process is to ask a specific, well-articulated question. In other words, you need to find a research topic that asks a specific question or set of questions (these are called research questions ). Sounds easy enough, right? All you’ve got to do is identify a question or two and you’ve got a winning research topic. Well, not quite…

A good dissertation or thesis topic has a few important attributes. Specifically, a solid research topic should be:

Let’s take a closer look at these:

Attribute #1: Clear

Your research topic needs to be crystal clear about what you’re planning to research, what you want to know, and within what context. There shouldn’t be any ambiguity or vagueness about what you’ll research.

Here’s an example of a clearly articulated research topic:

An analysis of consumer-based factors influencing organisational trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms.

As you can see in the example, its crystal clear what will be analysed (factors impacting organisational trust), amongst who (consumers) and in what context (British low-cost equity brokerage firms, based online).

Need a helping hand?

Attribute #2:   Unique

Your research should be asking a question(s) that hasn’t been asked before, or that hasn’t been asked in a specific context (for example, in a specific country or industry).

For example, sticking organisational trust topic above, it’s quite likely that organisational trust factors in the UK have been investigated before, but the context (online low-cost equity brokerages) could make this research unique. Therefore, the context makes this research original.

One caveat when using context as the basis for originality – you need to have a good reason to suspect that your findings in this context might be different from the existing research – otherwise, there’s no reason to warrant researching it.

Attribute #3: Important

Simply asking a unique or original question is not enough – the question needs to create value. In other words, successfully answering your research questions should provide some value to the field of research or the industry. You can’t research something just to satisfy your curiosity. It needs to make some form of contribution either to research or industry.

For example, researching the factors influencing consumer trust would create value by enabling businesses to tailor their operations and marketing to leverage factors that promote trust. In other words, it would have a clear benefit to industry.

So, how do you go about finding a unique and valuable research topic? We explain that in detail in this video post – How To Find A Research Topic . Yeah, we’ve got you covered 😊

Step 3: Write a convincing research proposal

Once you’ve pinned down a high-quality research topic, the next step is to convince your university to let you research it. No matter how awesome you think your topic is, it still needs to get the rubber stamp before you can move forward with your research. The research proposal is the tool you’ll use for this job.

So, what’s in a research proposal?

The main “job” of a research proposal is to convince your university, advisor or committee that your research topic is worthy of approval. But convince them of what? Well, this varies from university to university, but generally, they want to see that:

• You have a clearly articulated, unique and important topic (this might sound familiar…)
• You’ve done some initial reading of the existing literature relevant to your topic (i.e. a literature review)
• You have a provisional plan in terms of how you will collect data and analyse it (i.e. a methodology)

At the proposal stage, it’s (generally) not expected that you’ve extensively reviewed the existing literature , but you will need to show that you’ve done enough reading to identify a clear gap for original (unique) research. Similarly, they generally don’t expect that you have a rock-solid research methodology mapped out, but you should have an idea of whether you’ll be undertaking qualitative or quantitative analysis , and how you’ll collect your data (we’ll discuss this in more detail later).

Long story short – don’t stress about having every detail of your research meticulously thought out at the proposal stage – this will develop as you progress through your research. However, you do need to show that you’ve “done your homework” and that your research is worthy of approval .

So, how do you go about crafting a high-quality, convincing proposal? We cover that in detail in this video post – How To Write A Top-Class Research Proposal . We’ve also got a video walkthrough of two proposal examples here .

Step 4: Craft a strong introduction chapter

Once your proposal’s been approved, its time to get writing your actual dissertation or thesis! The good news is that if you put the time into crafting a high-quality proposal, you’ve already got a head start on your first three chapters – introduction, literature review and methodology – as you can use your proposal as the basis for these.

Handy sidenote – our free dissertation & thesis template is a great way to speed up your dissertation writing journey.

What’s the introduction chapter all about?

The purpose of the introduction chapter is to set the scene for your research (dare I say, to introduce it…) so that the reader understands what you’ll be researching and why it’s important. In other words, it covers the same ground as the research proposal in that it justifies your research topic.

What goes into the introduction chapter?

This can vary slightly between universities and degrees, but generally, the introduction chapter will include the following:

• A brief background to the study, explaining the overall area of research
• A problem statement , explaining what the problem is with the current state of research (in other words, where the knowledge gap exists)
• Your research questions – in other words, the specific questions your study will seek to answer (based on the knowledge gap)
• The significance of your study – in other words, why it’s important and how its findings will be useful in the world

As you can see, this all about explaining the “what” and the “why” of your research (as opposed to the “how”). So, your introduction chapter is basically the salesman of your study, “selling” your research to the first-time reader and (hopefully) getting them interested to read more.

How do I write the introduction chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this post .

Step 5: Undertake an in-depth literature review

As I mentioned earlier, you’ll need to do some initial review of the literature in Steps 2 and 3 to find your research gap and craft a convincing research proposal – but that’s just scratching the surface. Once you reach the literature review stage of your dissertation or thesis, you need to dig a lot deeper into the existing research and write up a comprehensive literature review chapter.

What’s the literature review all about?

There are two main stages in the literature review process:

Literature Review Step 1: Reading up

The first stage is for you to deep dive into the existing literature (journal articles, textbook chapters, industry reports, etc) to gain an in-depth understanding of the current state of research regarding your topic. While you don’t need to read every single article, you do need to ensure that you cover all literature that is related to your core research questions, and create a comprehensive catalogue of that literature , which you’ll use in the next step.

Reading and digesting all the relevant literature is a time consuming and intellectually demanding process. Many students underestimate just how much work goes into this step, so make sure that you allocate a good amount of time for this when planning out your research. Thankfully, there are ways to fast track the process – be sure to check out this article covering how to read journal articles quickly .

Literature Review Step 2: Writing up

Once you’ve worked through the literature and digested it all, you’ll need to write up your literature review chapter. Many students make the mistake of thinking that the literature review chapter is simply a summary of what other researchers have said. While this is partly true, a literature review is much more than just a summary. To pull off a good literature review chapter, you’ll need to achieve at least 3 things:

• You need to synthesise the existing research , not just summarise it. In other words, you need to show how different pieces of theory fit together, what’s agreed on by researchers, what’s not.
• You need to highlight a research gap that your research is going to fill. In other words, you’ve got to outline the problem so that your research topic can provide a solution.
• You need to use the existing research to inform your methodology and approach to your own research design. For example, you might use questions or Likert scales from previous studies in your your own survey design .

As you can see, a good literature review is more than just a summary of the published research. It’s the foundation on which your own research is built, so it deserves a lot of love and attention. Take the time to craft a comprehensive literature review with a suitable structure .

But, how do I actually write the literature review chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this video post .

Step 6: Carry out your own research

Once you’ve completed your literature review and have a sound understanding of the existing research, its time to develop your own research (finally!). You’ll design this research specifically so that you can find the answers to your unique research question.

There are two steps here – designing your research strategy and executing on it:

1 – Design your research strategy

The first step is to design your research strategy and craft a methodology chapter . I won’t get into the technicalities of the methodology chapter here, but in simple terms, this chapter is about explaining the “how” of your research. If you recall, the introduction and literature review chapters discussed the “what” and the “why”, so it makes sense that the next point to cover is the “how” –that’s what the methodology chapter is all about.

In this section, you’ll need to make firm decisions about your research design. This includes things like:

• Your research philosophy (e.g. positivism or interpretivism )
• Your overall methodology (e.g. qualitative , quantitative or mixed methods)
• Your data collection strategy (e.g. interviews , focus groups, surveys)
• Your data analysis strategy (e.g. content analysis , correlation analysis, regression)

If these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these in plain language in other posts. It’s not essential that you understand the intricacies of research design (yet!). The key takeaway here is that you’ll need to make decisions about how you’ll design your own research, and you’ll need to describe (and justify) your decisions in your methodology chapter.

2 – Execute: Collect and analyse your data

Once you’ve worked out your research design, you’ll put it into action and start collecting your data. This might mean undertaking interviews, hosting an online survey or any other data collection method. Data collection can take quite a bit of time (especially if you host in-person interviews), so be sure to factor sufficient time into your project plan for this. Oftentimes, things don’t go 100% to plan (for example, you don’t get as many survey responses as you hoped for), so bake a little extra time into your budget here.

Once you’ve collected your data, you’ll need to do some data preparation before you can sink your teeth into the analysis. For example:

• If you carry out interviews or focus groups, you’ll need to transcribe your audio data to text (i.e. a Word document).
• If you collect quantitative survey data, you’ll need to clean up your data and get it into the right format for whichever analysis software you use (for example, SPSS, R or STATA).

Once you’ve completed your data prep, you’ll undertake your analysis, using the techniques that you described in your methodology. Depending on what you find in your analysis, you might also do some additional forms of analysis that you hadn’t planned for. For example, you might see something in the data that raises new questions or that requires clarification with further analysis.

The type(s) of analysis that you’ll use depend entirely on the nature of your research and your research questions. For example:

• If your research if exploratory in nature, you’ll often use qualitative analysis techniques .
• If your research is confirmatory in nature, you’ll often use quantitative analysis techniques
• If your research involves a mix of both, you might use a mixed methods approach

Again, if these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these concepts and techniques in other posts. The key takeaway is simply that there’s no “one size fits all” for research design and methodology – it all depends on your topic, your research questions and your data. So, don’t be surprised if your study colleagues take a completely different approach to yours.

Step 7: Present your findings

Once you’ve completed your analysis, it’s time to present your findings (finally!). In a dissertation or thesis, you’ll typically present your findings in two chapters – the results chapter and the discussion chapter .

What’s the difference between the results chapter and the discussion chapter?

While these two chapters are similar, the results chapter generally just presents the processed data neatly and clearly without interpretation, while the discussion chapter explains the story the data are telling  – in other words, it provides your interpretation of the results.

For example, if you were researching the factors that influence consumer trust, you might have used a quantitative approach to identify the relationship between potential factors (e.g. perceived integrity and competence of the organisation) and consumer trust. In this case:

• Your results chapter would just present the results of the statistical tests. For example, correlation results or differences between groups. In other words, the processed numbers.
• Your discussion chapter would explain what the numbers mean in relation to your research question(s). For example, Factor 1 has a weak relationship with consumer trust, while Factor 2 has a strong relationship.

Depending on the university and degree, these two chapters (results and discussion) are sometimes merged into one , so be sure to check with your institution what their preference is. Regardless of the chapter structure, this section is about presenting the findings of your research in a clear, easy to understand fashion.

Importantly, your discussion here needs to link back to your research questions (which you outlined in the introduction or literature review chapter). In other words, it needs to answer the key questions you asked (or at least attempt to answer them).

For example, if we look at the sample research topic:

In this case, the discussion section would clearly outline which factors seem to have a noteworthy influence on organisational trust. By doing so, they are answering the overarching question and fulfilling the purpose of the research .

For more information about the results chapter , check out this post for qualitative studies and this post for quantitative studies .

Step 8: The Final Step Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Last but not least, you’ll need to wrap up your research with the conclusion chapter . In this chapter, you’ll bring your research full circle by highlighting the key findings of your study and explaining what the implications of these findings are.

What exactly are key findings? The key findings are those findings which directly relate to your original research questions and overall research objectives (which you discussed in your introduction chapter). The implications, on the other hand, explain what your findings mean for industry, or for research in your area.

Sticking with the consumer trust topic example, the conclusion might look something like this:

Key findings

This study set out to identify which factors influence consumer-based trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms. The results suggest that the following factors have a large impact on consumer trust:

While the following factors have a very limited impact on consumer trust:

Notably, within the 25-30 age groups, Factors E had a noticeably larger impact, which may be explained by…

Implications

The findings having noteworthy implications for British low-cost online equity brokers. Specifically:

The large impact of Factors X and Y implies that brokers need to consider….

The limited impact of Factor E implies that brokers need to…

As you can see, the conclusion chapter is basically explaining the “what” (what your study found) and the “so what?” (what the findings mean for the industry or research). This brings the study full circle and closes off the document.

Let’s recap – how to write a dissertation or thesis

You’re still with me? Impressive! I know that this post was a long one, but hopefully you’ve learnt a thing or two about how to write a dissertation or thesis, and are now better equipped to start your own research.

To recap, the 8 steps to writing a quality dissertation (or thesis) are as follows:

• Understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is – a research project that follows the research process.
• Find a unique (original) and important research topic
• Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal
• Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter
• Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review
• Undertake your own research
• Present and interpret your findings

Once you’ve wrapped up the core chapters, all that’s typically left is the abstract , reference list and appendices. As always, be sure to check with your university if they have any additional requirements in terms of structure or content.  

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

20 Comments

thankfull >>>this is very useful

Thank you, it was really helpful

unquestionably, this amazing simplified way of teaching. Really , I couldn’t find in the literature words that fully explicit my great thanks to you. However, I could only say thanks a-lot.

Great to hear that – thanks for the feedback. Good luck writing your dissertation/thesis.

This is the most comprehensive explanation of how to write a dissertation. Many thanks for sharing it free of charge.

Very rich presentation. Thank you

Thanks Derek Jansen|GRADCOACH, I find it very useful guide to arrange my activities and proceed to research!

Thank you so much for such a marvelous teaching .I am so convinced that am going to write a comprehensive and a distinct masters dissertation

It is an amazing comprehensive explanation

This was straightforward. Thank you!

I can say that your explanations are simple and enlightening – understanding what you have done here is easy for me. Could you write more about the different types of research methods specific to the three methodologies: quan, qual and MM. I look forward to interacting with this website more in the future.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions 🙂

Hello, your write ups is quite educative. However, l have challenges in going about my research questions which is below; *Building the enablers of organisational growth through effective governance and purposeful leadership.*

Very educating.

Just listening to the name of the dissertation makes the student nervous. As writing a top-quality dissertation is a difficult task as it is a lengthy topic, requires a lot of research and understanding and is usually around 10,000 to 15000 words. Sometimes due to studies, unbalanced workload or lack of research and writing skill students look for dissertation submission from professional writers.

Thank you 💕😊 very much. I was confused but your comprehensive explanation has cleared my doubts of ever presenting a good thesis. Thank you.

thank you so much, that was so useful

Hi. Where is the excel spread sheet ark?

could you please help me look at your thesis paper to enable me to do the portion that has to do with the specification

my topic is “the impact of domestic revenue mobilization.

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Dissertation Requirements for Doctoral Degrees

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The dissertation must demonstrate the student’s capability for original scholarly contributions to their field of study. The preparation of the dissertation must conform to Thesis & Dissertation Resource Guides. All forms referenced in this section can be found on The Graduate College website. Where indicated, forms must be completed and signed by the student, the committee members, the committee chair, the doctoral program director, and the department chair and then forwarded to The Graduate College for review and approval by the dean of The Graduate College. The preparation of the dissertation must conform to Thesis & Dissertation Resource Guides . 

Dissertation Committee

The dissertation committee must be composed of approved doctoral graduate faculty members. The minimum number of committee members varies by doctoral program. The majority of the committee members must be from the student’s current program at Texas State. The student should consult with the doctoral program director regarding the composition of the committee. To form the dissertation committee, the Dissertation Committee Request Form must be completed and signed as indicated on the form. 

Dissertation Proposal and Defense

The student must submit the dissertation proposal and an official Dissertation Proposal and Proposal Defense Form  to his or her dissertation committee. If the dissertation research involves human subjects, the student must obtain exemption or approval from the Texas State Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to submitting the proposal form to The Graduate College. The IRB approval letter must be included with the proposal form. If the dissertation research involves vertebrate animals, the Dissertation Proposal and Proposal Defense Form must include the Texas State IACUC approval code. Each Ph.D./Ed.D. program prepares its own procedures for the dissertation proposal defense. The procedures may be obtained from the doctoral program director. Following the dissertation proposal defense, members of the dissertation committee, the doctoral program director and the department chair sign the Dissertation Proposal and Proposal Defense Form. The signed form and one copy of the proposal are then submitted to the dean of The Graduate College for approval before the student proceeds with research on the dissertation.

Dissertation Enrollment and Credit

A Ph.D./Ed.D. student may typically begin enrolling in a dissertation course during the term following completion of required course work as specified by the Ph.D./Ed.D. program. The number of dissertation credit hours students enroll in must reflect the amount of work accomplished on the dissertation that semester.  It is the responsibility of the committee chair to ensure that students are making adequate progress toward their degree throughout the dissertation process.  Once the student advances to candidacy, the student must continue to enroll in at least one hour of dissertation course credit each fall and spring semester (and summer, if receiving dissertation supervision and/or using university resources) until the dissertation has been completed, defended, submitted, and approved by The Graduate College. The minimum number of hours of required dissertation credit varies by Ph.D./Ed.D. program. Dissertation projects are by definition original and individualized projects.  Thus, depending on the topic, methodology, and other factors, some projects may take longer than others to complete.  If the dissertation requires work beyond the minimum number of dissertation credits needed for the degree, the student may enroll in additional dissertation credits at the committee chair's discretion.

The only grades assigned for dissertation courses are PR (progress), CR (credit), W (withdrew), and F (failing). If acceptable progress is not being made in a dissertation course, the instructor may issue a grade of F. If the student is making acceptable progress, a grade of PR is assigned until the dissertation is completed. Dissertation credit (“CR”) will be awarded only after the dissertation has been approved by The Graduate College and released to Alkek Library.

A student must be registered for a dissertation course during the term in which the degree will be conferred. For summer graduation, student must be registered for dissertation course in Summer I (during the summer, the dissertation course runs ten weeks for both sessions)..

Dissertation Deadlines and Approval Process

Dissertation deadlines are posted on  The Graduate College  website under "Current Students." Students must consult with their committee chair to determine the date by which the dissertation must be submitted to their dissertation committee chair and dissertation committee, prior to the defense date. Some students will have additional revisions to complete after the  defense. Once the final version of the dissertation is approved by the committee, the student must submit the correctly formatted dissertation to Vireo on or before the deadlines listed on The Graduate College website. No edits are permitted under any circumstances after the dissertation is approved by The Graduate College. Dissertations submitted after the Vireo submission deadline will not be reviewed for formatting or approved until the following semester. Students must be enrolled in the semester they graduate.  

The following must be submitted to The Graduate College by the dissertation deadline listed on The Graduate College website:

• The Dissertation Submission Approval Form, bearing original (wet) and/or electronic signatures of the student and all committee members.
• One (1) PDF of the dissertation in final form, approved by all committee members, uploaded in the online Vireo submission system. Some doctoral programs may require additional copies; the student should check with the doctoral program director regarding additional program requirements.

After the dissertation is approved by The Graduate College, Alkek Library will harvest the document from the Vireo submission system for publishing in the Digital Collections database (according to the student's embargo selection). Ph.D./Ed.D. students must submit the completed Survey for Earned Doctorates (SED) online by The Graduate College dissertation approval deadline which is available on The Graduate College website. It is recommended that students discuss the appropriate embargo selection before submitting the dissertation to Vireo. Students have the following options for the embargo:

• One or two-year embargo
• Five-year embargo
• Special request embargo (inventions, discoveries, patents, privacy hold)

All forms must have all appropriate signatures. In addition to original (wet) signatures, the following methods of signing are acceptable:

• printing, signing, scanning, and emailing the form
• notifying the department in an email from their university's or institution's email account that the committee chair can sign the form on their behalf
• downloading and digitally signing the form per our instructions using the university's licensed platform (which is currently Adobe Acrobat)*

If this process results in more than one document with signatures, all documents need to be submitted to The Graduate College together.

All theses and dissertations are submitted to the Library through Vireo, the electronic thesis and dissertation deposit platform. The Library harvests approved theses and dissertations from this system for the online repository. The Library will retain a print copy of every student's thesis/dissertation for their circulating collection and a microfilm copy for the University Archives, regardless of the embargo selection. Supplementary files are excluded from this policy. The Library does not provide binding services. Some programs require the student to deposit a hard copy with the department, so students should check with their departments regarding bound copies of theses/dissertations. The student is responsible for paying all binding fees for personal and department copies. Please contact Alkek Library for more information. 

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Home > Blog > Tips for Online Students > Tips for Students > Dissertation Explained: A Grad Student’s Guide

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Dissertation Explained: A Grad Student’s Guide

Updated: June 19, 2024

Published: March 10, 2020

Higher education is filled with milestones. When completing your PhD , you will be required to complete a dissertation. Even if you’ve heard this word thrown around before, you still may be questioning “What is a dissertation?” It’s a common question, especially for those considering to join or are already in a graduate program. As such, here’s everything you need to know about dissertations.

What is a Dissertation?

A dissertation is a written document that details research. A dissertation also signifies the completion of your PhD program. It is required to earn a PhD degree, which stands for Doctor of Philosophy.

A PhD is created from knowledge acquired from:

1. Coursework:

A PhD program consists of academic courses that are usually small in size and challenging in content. Most PhD courses consist of a high amount and level of reading and writing per week. These courses will help prepare you for your dissertation as they will teach research methodology.

2. Research:

For your dissertation, it is likely that you will have the choice between performing your own research on a subject , or expanding on existing research. Likely, you will complete a mixture of the two. For those in the hard sciences, you will perform research in a lab. For those in humanities and social sciences, research may mean gathering data from surveys or existing research.

3. Analysis:

Once you have collected the data you need to prove your point, you will have to analyze and interpret the information. PhD programs will prepare you for how to conduct analysis, as well as for how to position your research into the existing body of work on the subject matter.

4. Support:

The process of writing and completing a dissertation is bigger than the work itself. It can lead to research positions within the university or outside companies. It may mean that you will teach and share your findings with current undergraduates, or even be published in academic journals. How far you plan to take your dissertation is your choice to make and will require the relevant effort to accomplish your goals.

Moving from Student to Scholar

In essence, a dissertation is what moves a doctoral student into becoming a scholar. Their research may be published, shared, and used as educational material moving forwards.

Thesis vs. Dissertation

Basic differences.

Grad students may conflate the differences between a thesis and a dissertation.

Simply put, a thesis is what you write to complete a master’s degree. It summarizes existing research and signifies that you understand the subject matter deeply.

On the other hand, a dissertation is the culmination of a doctoral program. It will likely require your own research and it can contribute an entirely new idea into your field.

Structural Differences

When it comes to the structure, a thesis and dissertation are also different. A thesis is like the research papers you complete during undergraduate studies. A thesis displays your ability to think critically and analyze information. It’s less based on research that you’ve completed yourself and more about interpreting and analyzing existing material. They are generally around 100 pages in length.

A dissertation is generally two to three times longer compared to a thesis. This is because the bulk of the information is garnered from research you’ve performed yourself. Also, if you are providing something new in your field, it means that existing information is lacking. That’s why you’ll have to provide a lot of data and research to back up your claims.

Your Guide: Structuring a Dissertation

Dissertation length.

The length of a dissertation varies between study level and country. At an undergraduate level, this is more likely referred to as a research paper, which is 10,000 to 12,000 words on average. At a master’s level, the word count may be 15,000 to 25,000, and it will likely be in the form of a thesis. For those completing their PhD, then the dissertation could be 50,000 words or more.

Photo by  Louis Reed  on  Unsplash

Format of the dissertation.

Here are the items you must include in a dissertation. While the format may slightly vary, here’s a look at one way to format your dissertation:

1. Title page:

This is the first page which includes: title, your name, department, degree program, institution, and submission date. Your program may specify exactly how and what they want you to include on the title page.

2. Acknowledgements:

This is optional, but it is where you can express your gratitude to those who have helped you complete your dissertation (professors, research partners, etc.).

3. Abstract:

The abstract is about 150-300 words and summarizes what your research is about. You state the main topic, the methods used, the main results, and your conclusion.

4. Table of Contents

Here, you list the chapter titles and pages to serve as a wayfinding tool for your readers.

5. List of Figures and Tables:

This is like the table of contents, but for graphs and figures.

6. List of Abbreviations:

If you’ve constantly abbreviated words in your content, define them in a list at the beginning.

7. Glossary:

In highly specialized work, it’s likely that you’ve used words that most people may not understand, so a glossary is where you define these terms.

8. Introduction:

Your introduction sets up the topic, purpose, and relevance. It’s where readers will understand what they expect to gain from your dissertation.

9. Literature Review / Theoretical Framework:

Based on the research you performed to create your own dissertation, you’ll want to summarize and address the gaps in what you researched.

10. Methodology

This is where you define how you conducted your research. It offers credibility for you as a source of information. You should give all the details as to how you’ve conducted your research, including: where and when research took place, how it was conducted, any obstacles you faced, and how you justified your findings.

11. Results:

This is where you share the results that have helped contribute to your findings.

12. Discussion:

In the discussion section, you explain what these findings mean to your research question. Were they in line with your expectations or did something jump out as surprising? You may also want to recommend ways to move forward in researching and addressing the subject matter.

13. Conclusion:

A conclusion ties it all together and summarizes the answer to the research question and leaves your reader clearly understanding your main argument.

14. Reference List:

This is the equivalent to a works cited or bibliography page, which documents all the sources you used to create your dissertation.

15. Appendices:

If you have any information that was ancillary to creating the dissertation, but doesn’t directly fit into its chapters, then you can add it in the appendix.

Drafting and Rewriting

As with any paper, especially one of this size and importance, the writing requires a process. It may begin with outlines and drafts, and even a few rewrites. It’s important to proofread your dissertation for both grammatical mistakes, but also to ensure it can be clearly understood.

It’s always useful to read your writing out loud to catch mistakes. Also, if you have people who you trust to read it over — like a peer, family member, mentor, or professor — it’s very helpful to get a second eye on your work.

How is it Different from an Essay?

There are a few main differences between a dissertation and an essay. For starters, an essay is relatively short in comparison to a dissertation, which includes your own body of research and work. Not only is an essay shorter, but you are also likely given the topic matter of an essay. When it comes to a dissertation, you have the freedom to construct your own argument, conduct your own research, and then prove your findings.

Types of Dissertations

You can choose what type of dissertation you complete. Often, this depends on the subject and doctoral degree, but the two main types are:

This relies on conducting your own research.

Non-empirical:

This relies on studying existing research to support your argument.

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More things you should know.

A dissertation is certainly no easy feat. Here’s a few more things to remember before you get started writing your own:

1. Independent by Nature:

The process of completing a dissertation is self-directed, and therefore can feel overwhelming. However, if you approach it like the new experience that it is with an open-mind and willingness to learn, you will make it through!

2. Seek Support:

There are countless people around to offer support. From professors to peers, you can always ask for help throughout the process.

3. Writing Skills:

The process of writing a dissertation will further hone your writing skills which will follow you throughout your life. These skills are highly transferable on the job, from having the ability to communicate to also developing analytical and critical thinking skills.

4. Time Management:

You can work backwards from the culmination of your program to break down this gargantuan task into smaller pieces. That way, you can manage your time to chip away at the task throughout the length of the program.

5. Topic Flexibility:

It’s okay to change subject matters and rethink the point of your dissertation. Just try as much as possible to do this early in the process so you don’t waste too much time and energy.

The Wrap Up

A dissertation marks the completion of your doctoral program and moves you from being a student to being a scholar. While the process is long and requires a lot of effort and energy, you have the power to lend an entirely new research and findings into your field of expertise.

As always, when in the thick of things, remember why you started. Completing both your dissertation and PhD is a commendable accomplishment.

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• Knowledge Base
• Dissertation

What Is a Dissertation? | Guide, Examples, & Template

A dissertation is a long-form piece of academic writing based on original research conducted by you. It is usually submitted as the final step in order to finish a PhD program.

Your dissertation is probably the longest piece of writing you’ve ever completed. It requires solid research, writing, and analysis skills, and it can be intimidating to know where to begin.

Your department likely has guidelines related to how your dissertation should be structured. When in doubt, consult with your supervisor.

You can also download our full dissertation template in the format of your choice below. The template includes a ready-made table of contents with notes on what to include in each chapter, easily adaptable to your department’s requirements.

Download Word template Download Google Docs template

• In the US, a dissertation generally refers to the collection of research you conducted to obtain a PhD.
• In other countries (such as the UK), a dissertation often refers to the research you conduct to obtain your bachelor’s or master’s degree.

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Table of contents

Dissertation committee and prospectus process, how to write and structure a dissertation, acknowledgements or preface, list of figures and tables, list of abbreviations, introduction, literature review, methodology, reference list, proofreading and editing, defending your dissertation, free checklist and lecture slides.

When you’ve finished your coursework, as well as any comprehensive exams or other requirements, you advance to “ABD” (All But Dissertation) status. This means you’ve completed everything except your dissertation.

Prior to starting to write, you must form your committee and write your prospectus or proposal . Your committee comprises your adviser and a few other faculty members. They can be from your own department, or, if your work is more interdisciplinary, from other departments. Your committee will guide you through the dissertation process, and ultimately decide whether you pass your dissertation defense and receive your PhD.

Your prospectus is a formal document presented to your committee, usually orally in a defense, outlining your research aims and objectives and showing why your topic is relevant . After passing your prospectus defense, you’re ready to start your research and writing.

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The structure of your dissertation depends on a variety of factors, such as your discipline, topic, and approach. Dissertations in the humanities are often structured more like a long essay , building an overall argument to support a central thesis , with chapters organized around different themes or case studies.

However, hard science and social science dissertations typically include a review of existing works, a methodology section, an analysis of your original research, and a presentation of your results , presented in different chapters.

Dissertation examples

We’ve compiled a list of dissertation examples to help you get started.

• Example dissertation #1: Heat, Wildfire and Energy Demand: An Examination of Residential Buildings and Community Equity (a dissertation by C. A. Antonopoulos about the impact of extreme heat and wildfire on residential buildings and occupant exposure risks).
• Example dissertation #2: Exploring Income Volatility and Financial Health Among Middle-Income Households (a dissertation by M. Addo about income volatility and declining economic security among middle-income households).
• Example dissertation #3: The Use of Mindfulness Meditation to Increase the Efficacy of Mirror Visual Feedback for Reducing Phantom Limb Pain in Amputees (a dissertation by N. S. Mills about the effect of mindfulness-based interventions on the relationship between mirror visual feedback and the pain level in amputees with phantom limb pain).

The very first page of your document contains your dissertation title, your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date. Sometimes it also includes your student number, your supervisor’s name, and the university’s logo.

Read more about title pages

The acknowledgements section is usually optional and gives space for you to thank everyone who helped you in writing your dissertation. This might include your supervisors, participants in your research, and friends or family who supported you. In some cases, your acknowledgements are part of a preface.

Read more about acknowledgements Read more about prefaces

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The abstract is a short summary of your dissertation, usually about 150 to 300 words long. Though this may seem very short, it’s one of the most important parts of your dissertation, because it introduces your work to your audience.

Your abstract should:

• State your main topic and the aims of your research
• Describe your methods
• Summarize your main results
• State your conclusions

Read more about abstracts

The table of contents lists all of your chapters, along with corresponding subheadings and page numbers. This gives your reader an overview of your structure and helps them easily navigate your document.

Remember to include all main parts of your dissertation in your table of contents, even the appendices. It’s easy to generate a table automatically in Word if you used heading styles. Generally speaking, you only include level 2 and level 3 headings, not every subheading you included in your finished work.

Read more about tables of contents

While not usually mandatory, it’s nice to include a list of figures and tables to help guide your reader if you have used a lot of these in your dissertation. It’s easy to generate one of these in Word using the Insert Caption feature.

Read more about lists of figures and tables

Similarly, if you have used a lot of abbreviations (especially industry-specific ones) in your dissertation, you can include them in an alphabetized list of abbreviations so that the reader can easily look up their meanings.

Read more about lists of abbreviations

In addition to the list of abbreviations, if you find yourself using a lot of highly specialized terms that you worry will not be familiar to your reader, consider including a glossary. Here, alphabetize the terms and include a brief description or definition.

Read more about glossaries

The introduction serves to set up your dissertation’s topic, purpose, and relevance. It tells the reader what to expect in the rest of your dissertation. The introduction should:

• Establish your research topic , giving the background information needed to contextualize your work
• Narrow down the focus and define the scope of your research
• Discuss the state of existing research on the topic, showing your work’s relevance to a broader problem or debate
• Clearly state your research questions and objectives
• Outline the flow of the rest of your work

Everything in the introduction should be clear, engaging, and relevant. By the end, the reader should understand the what, why, and how of your research.

Read more about introductions

A formative part of your research is your literature review . This helps you gain a thorough understanding of the academic work that already exists on your topic.

Literature reviews encompass:

• Finding relevant sources (e.g., books and journal articles)
• Assessing the credibility of your sources
• Critically analyzing and evaluating each source
• Drawing connections between them (e.g., themes, patterns, conflicts, or gaps) to strengthen your overall point

A literature review is not merely a summary of existing sources. Your literature review should have a coherent structure and argument that leads to a clear justification for your own research. It may aim to:

• Address a gap in the literature or build on existing knowledge
• Take a new theoretical or methodological approach to your topic
• Propose a solution to an unresolved problem or advance one side of a theoretical debate

Read more about literature reviews

Theoretical framework

Your literature review can often form the basis for your theoretical framework. Here, you define and analyze the key theories, concepts, and models that frame your research.

Read more about theoretical frameworks

Your methodology chapter describes how you conducted your research, allowing your reader to critically assess its credibility. Your methodology section should accurately report what you did, as well as convince your reader that this was the best way to answer your research question.

A methodology section should generally include:

• The overall research approach ( quantitative vs. qualitative ) and research methods (e.g., a longitudinal study )
• Your data collection methods (e.g., interviews or a controlled experiment )
• Details of where, when, and with whom the research took place
• Any tools and materials you used (e.g., computer programs, lab equipment)
• Your data analysis methods (e.g., statistical analysis , discourse analysis )
• An evaluation or justification of your methods

Read more about methodology sections

Your results section should highlight what your methodology discovered. You can structure this section around sub-questions, hypotheses , or themes, but avoid including any subjective or speculative interpretation here.

Your results section should:

• Concisely state each relevant result together with relevant descriptive statistics (e.g., mean , standard deviation ) and inferential statistics (e.g., test statistics , p values )
• Briefly state how the result relates to the question or whether the hypothesis was supported
• Report all results that are relevant to your research questions , including any that did not meet your expectations.

Additional data (including raw numbers, full questionnaires, or interview transcripts) can be included as an appendix. You can include tables and figures, but only if they help the reader better understand your results. Read more about results sections

Your discussion section is your opportunity to explore the meaning and implications of your results in relation to your research question. Here, interpret your results in detail, discussing whether they met your expectations and how well they fit with the framework that you built in earlier chapters. Refer back to relevant source material to show how your results fit within existing research in your field.

Some guiding questions include:

• What do your results mean?
• Why do your results matter?
• What limitations do the results have?

If any of the results were unexpected, offer explanations for why this might be. It’s a good idea to consider alternative interpretations of your data.

Read more about discussion sections

Your dissertation’s conclusion should concisely answer your main research question, leaving your reader with a clear understanding of your central argument and emphasizing what your research has contributed to the field.

In some disciplines, the conclusion is just a short section preceding the discussion section, but in other contexts, it is the final chapter of your work. Here, you wrap up your dissertation with a final reflection on what you found, with recommendations for future research and concluding remarks.

It’s important to leave the reader with a clear impression of why your research matters. What have you added to what was already known? Why is your research necessary for the future of your field?

Read more about conclusions

It is crucial to include a reference list or list of works cited with the full details of all the sources that you used, in order to avoid plagiarism. Be sure to choose one citation style and follow it consistently throughout your dissertation. Each style has strict and specific formatting requirements.

Common styles include MLA , Chicago , and APA , but which style you use is often set by your department or your field.

Create APA citations Create MLA citations

Your dissertation should contain only essential information that directly contributes to answering your research question. Documents such as interview transcripts or survey questions can be added as appendices, rather than adding them to the main body.

Read more about appendices

Making sure that all of your sections are in the right place is only the first step to a well-written dissertation. Don’t forget to leave plenty of time for editing and proofreading, as grammar mistakes and sloppy spelling errors can really negatively impact your work.

Dissertations can take up to five years to write, so you will definitely want to make sure that everything is perfect before submitting. You may want to consider using a professional dissertation editing service , AI proofreader or grammar checker to make sure your final project is perfect prior to submitting.

After your written dissertation is approved, your committee will schedule a defense. Similarly to defending your prospectus, dissertation defenses are oral presentations of your work. You’ll present your dissertation, and your committee will ask you questions. Many departments allow family members, friends, and other people who are interested to join as well.

After your defense, your committee will meet, and then inform you whether you have passed. Keep in mind that defenses are usually just a formality; most committees will have resolved any serious issues with your work with you far prior to your defense, giving you ample time to fix any problems.

As you write your dissertation, you can use this simple checklist to make sure you’ve included all the essentials.

Checklist: Dissertation

My title page includes all information required by my university.

I have included acknowledgements thanking those who helped me.

My abstract provides a concise summary of the dissertation, giving the reader a clear idea of my key results or arguments.

I have created a table of contents to help the reader navigate my dissertation. It includes all chapter titles, but excludes the title page, acknowledgements, and abstract.

My introduction leads into my topic in an engaging way and shows the relevance of my research.

My introduction clearly defines the focus of my research, stating my research questions and research objectives .

My introduction includes an overview of the dissertation’s structure (reading guide).

I have conducted a literature review in which I (1) critically engage with sources, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of existing research, (2) discuss patterns, themes, and debates in the literature, and (3) address a gap or show how my research contributes to existing research.

I have clearly outlined the theoretical framework of my research, explaining the theories and models that support my approach.

I have thoroughly described my methodology , explaining how I collected data and analyzed data.

I have concisely and objectively reported all relevant results .

I have (1) evaluated and interpreted the meaning of the results and (2) acknowledged any important limitations of the results in my discussion .

I have clearly stated the answer to my main research question in the conclusion .

I have clearly explained the implications of my conclusion, emphasizing what new insight my research has contributed.

I have provided relevant recommendations for further research or practice.

If relevant, I have included appendices with supplemental information.

I have included an in-text citation every time I use words, ideas, or information from a source.

I have listed every source in a reference list at the end of my dissertation.

I have consistently followed the rules of my chosen citation style .

I have followed all formatting guidelines provided by my university.

Congratulations!

The end is in sight—your dissertation is nearly ready to submit! Make sure it's perfectly polished with the help of a Scribbr editor.

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• FindAMasters
• Researching and Writing a Masters Dissertation

Written by Mark Bennett

All Masters programmes include some form of extended individual project. Research-focussed programmes, such as an MRes , may include multiple independent research components. Taught courses usually culminate with a substantial research task, referred to as the Masters dissertation or thesis.

This article talks about how long a Masters dissertation is and the structure it follows.Before you get started on your dissertation, you'll usually need to write a proposal. Read our full guide to Masters dissertation proposals for more information on what this should include!

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What’s the difference between a masters dissertation and an undergraduate dissertation.

The Masters thesis is a bridge between undergraduate study and higher level postgraduate degrees such as the PhD .

A postgraduate dissertation may not look that different to its undergraduate equivalent. You’ll likely have to produce a longer piece of work but the foundations remain the same.

After all, one of the purposes of an undergraduate dissertation or final year project is to prepare you for more in-depth research work as a postgraduate. That said, there are some important differences between the two levels.

So, how long is a Masters dissertation? A Masters dissertation will be longer than the undergraduate equivalent – usually it’ll be somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 words, but this can vary widely between courses, institutions and countries.

To answer your overall research question comprehensively, you’ll be expected to identify and examine specific areas of your topic. This can be like producing a series of shorter pieces of work, similar to those required by individual modules. However, there’s the additional requirement that they collectively support a broader set of conclusions.

This more involved Masters dissertation structure will:

• Give you the scope to investigate your subject in greater detail than is possible at undergraduate level
• Challenge you to be effective at organising your work so that its individual components function as stages in a coherent and persuasive overall argument
• Allow you to develop and hone a suitable research methodology (for example, choosing between qualitative and quantitative methods)

If the individual topics within your overall project require you to access separate sources or datasets, this may also have an impact on your research process.

As a postgraduate, you’ll be expected to establish and assert your own critical voice as a member of the academic community associated with your field .

During your Masters thesis you’ll need to show that you are not just capable of analysing and critiquing original data or primary source material. You should also demonstrate awareness of the existing body of scholarship relating to your topic .

So, if you’ll excuse the pun, a ‘Masters’ degree really is about achieving ‘mastery’ of your particular specialism and the dissertation is where you’ll demonstrate this: showing off the scholarly expertise and research skills that you’ve developed across your programme.

What’s the difference between a dissertation and a thesis?

A dissertation is a long piece of (usually) written work on the same topic. A thesis is a little more specific: it usually means something that presents an original argument based on the interpretation of data, statistics or content.

So, a thesis is almost always presented as a dissertation, but not all dissertations present a thesis.

Masters dissertation structure

As you can probably imagine, no two dissertations follow the exact same structure, especially given the differences found between Masters programmes from university to university and country to country .

That said, there are several key components that make up the structure of a typical Masters dissertation

How long is a Masters dissertation?

Most dissertations will typically be between 15,000 and 20,000 words long, although this can vary significantly depending on the nature of the programme.

You should also check with your university exactly which sections of the dissertation count towards the final word count (the abstract, bibliography and appendices won’t usually be included in the total).

Usually around 300 words long, the abstract is meant to be a concise summary of your dissertation. It should briefly cover the question(s) you aim to answer, your primary argument and your conclusion.

Introduction

The purpose of the introduction is to provide context for the rest of the dissertation, setting out your aims and the scope of what you want to achieve with your research. The introduction should give a clear overview of the dissertation’s chapters and will usually be around 1,000 words long.

Literature review

This part of the dissertation should examine the scholarship that has already been published in your field, presenting various arguments and counter-arguments while situating your own research within this wider body of work.

You should analyse and evaluate other publications and explain how your dissertation will contribute to the existing literature in your subject area. The literature review sometimes forms part of the introduction or follows immediately on from it. Most literature reviews are up to 1,000 words long.

Research methodology

Not all dissertations will require a section covering research methodology (Arts and Humanities dissertations won’t normally undertake the kind of research that involves a set methodology). However, if you are using a particular method to collect information for your dissertation, you should make sure to explain the rationale behind your choice of methodology. The word count for this part of the dissertation is usually around the 1,500 mark.

Those in the Arts and Humanities will usually outline their theoretical perspectives and approaches as part of the introduction, rather than requiring a detailed explanation of the methodology for their data collection and analysis.

Results / findings

If your research involves some form of survey or experiment, this is where you’ll present the results of your work. Depending on the nature of the study, this might be in the form of graphs, tables or charts – or even just a written description of what the research entailed and what the findings were.

This section forms the bulk of your dissertation and should be carefully structured using a series of related chapters (and sub-chapters). There should be a logical progression from one chapter to the next, with each part building on the arguments of its predecessor.

It can be helpful to think of your Masters dissertation as a series of closely interlinked essays, rather than one overwhelming paper. The size of this section will depend on the overall word count for your dissertation. However, to give you a rough idea for a 15,000-word dissertation, the discussion part will generally be about 12,000 words long.

Here you should draw together the threads of the previous discussion chapters and make your final concluding statements, drawing on evidence and arguments that you’ve already explored over the course of the dissertation. Explain the significance of your findings and point towards directions that future research could follow. This section of the Masters thesis will be around 1,500 words long.

References / bibliography

While planning and writing your dissertation, you should keep an extensive, organised record of any papers, sources or books you’ve quoted (or referred to). This will be a lot easier than leaving all of it until the end and struggling to work out where a particular quotation is from!

Appendices won’t be necessary in many dissertations, but you may need to include supplementary material to support your argument. This could be interview transcripts or questionnaires. If including such content within the body of the dissertation won’t be feasible – i.e. there wouldn’t be enough space or it would break the flow of your writing – you should consult with your supervisor and consider attaching it in an appendix.

It’s worth bearing in mind that these sections won’t always be discretely labelled in every dissertation. For example, everything up to ‘discussion’ might be covered in introductory chapter (rather than as distinct sections). If you’re unsure about the structure of your Masters dissertation, your supervisor will be able to help you map it out.

How does supervision work for a Masters dissertation?

As a Masters student at the dissertation stage you’ll usually be matched with an academic within your institution who will be tasked with guiding your work. This might be someone who has already taught you, or it may be another scholar whose research interests and expertise align well with what you want to do. You may be able to request a particular supervisor, but taught postgraduates are more likely to be assigned them by their department.

Specific arrangements with your supervisor will vary depending on your institution and subject area. They will usually meet with you at the beginning of the dissertation period to discuss your project and agree a suitable schedule for its undertaking. This timetable will probably set dates for:

• Subsequent discussions and progress checks
• The submission of draft chapters or sections
• Feedback appointments

Though your supervisor is there to help and advise you, it is important to remember that your dissertation is a personal research project with associated expectations of you as an independent scholar.

As a rule of thumb, you can expect your supervisor to read each part of your dissertation once at the draft stage and to offer feedback. Most will not have time to look at lots of subsequent revisions, but may respond favourably to polite requests for exceptions (provided their own workload permits it).

Inundating your supervisor with emails or multiple iterations of draft material is best avoided; they will have their own research to manage (as well as other supervision assignments) and will be able to offer better quality feedback if you stick to an agreed schedule.

How is a Masters dissertation assessed and examined?

On most courses your dissertation will be assessed by an external examiner (as well as additional members of faculty within your university who haven’t been responsible for supervising you), but these will read and critique the work you submit without personally questioning and testing you on it.

Though this examination process is not as challenging as the oral defence or ‘ viva voce ’ required for a PhD thesis, the grading of your Masters dissertation is still a fundamental component of your degree.

On some programmes the result awarded to a student’s dissertation may determine the upper grade-band that can be awarded to their degree.

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Postgraduate study is often very flexible, with the option to study a Masters degree or other qualification part-time, online or through blended learning.

How do Bachelors and Masters courses differ? We’ve covered the main differences you’ll encounter when making the transition from undergrad to postgrad study.

Our guide explains how online Masters degree work, what the benefits of online learning are and how to choose what to study online.

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Ph.D. Program Requirements

The Doctor of Philosophy program at the College of Education prepares students for careers of research or scholarly inquiry and teaching at the college/university level. The program consists of: (1) continuous research and faculty discussion inquiry, (2) courses in education and related fields designed to develop a comprehensive academic basis for future work in research and teaching, and (3) teaching and other related experiences tailored to individual needs and career goals.

Enrolling in First & Second Year Courses

Upon admission to the Ph.D. program, you are designated "Post-Master's," meaning that you have been assigned to an adviser, but do not yet have a doctoral Supervisory Committee. The goal of the post-master's phase is to arrange research/inquiry experiences and coursework that will qualify you for Prospective Candidacy. You are assigned a first-year adviser whose research and scholarly activities are in your field of intended specialization. During the first year of study, your adviser will be a central figure, helping you plan academic life.

Working with your adviser, you will: (1) identify a research topic and secure ways and means for participating in the selected project, (2) select first-year courses, and (3) prepare documentation for advancement to Prospective Candidacy. Although the role of faculty advisers is designed to assist you in completing the Ph.D. degree, it is your responsibility to follow all procedures of the Graduate School and College of Education.

In the College of Education's LSHD program, post-bachelor's students may be admitted to work toward a Ph.D. without formally completing a master’s degree program. Post-bachelor's applicants to the Ph.D. track are expected to have research experience and/or research potential, as well as research interests that align with faculty expertise. Post-bachelor's students in the LSHD Ph.D. program may choose to complete an M.Ed. along the way.  Those who would like to complete their M.Ed. along the way must meet the minimum 45 credit Graduate School requirements for the LSHD M.Ed. program. The 45 credits include a minimum of 21 credits in EDPSY coursework, 18 minimum numerically graded credits at the 400 or 500 level, and 18 minimum credits at the 500 level or above.  

If you are a post-bachelor's student working within the prospective Ph.D. track and plan to obtain your M.Ed. along the way in LSHD, you will complete a qualifying paper no later than the quarter in which you complete 45 credits. The qualifying paper is designed to be the equivalent of a master’s final exam or thesis in quality, and must be evaluated by two members of the graduate faculty. This paper must be separate from your R&I paper.

Research & Teacher Preparation

A number of useful methods exist for inquiry into educational problems and issues. You will need to develop an appreciation for the diversity of options available. Initial preparation consists of studying the fundamental differences and similarities among various approaches to inquiry in education through the required Educational Inquiry Seminar Series (EDLPS 525 and 526; see the General Catalog for course details). Please note that these courses are sequential; EDLPS 525 is the prerequisite for EDLPS 526. You should complete this sequence as early in the program as possible, preferably in your first year.

Additionally, before advancing to Prospective Candidacy,  you will be required to complete a minimum of four additional 500-level courses (combined total of no less than 12 credits) relating to methods of educational inquiry; in these four courses, you must earn a grade of at least 3.0 (or written verification that you would have received a 3.0 in courses that are offered C/NC). You are strongly encouraged to select coursework representing at least two broad approaches to inquiry (quantitative, qualitative, philosophical, historical, etc.) offered both inside and outside the College of Education. The final selection of appropriate courses will be made with the advice and consent of your adviser. The required Inquiry series must be completed prior to your advancement to Prospective Candidacy; two of the four additional research courses must be completed prior to your Research and Inquiry Presentation.

Each Supervisory Committee will design experiences to promote excellence for students who will seek teaching positions. The nature of these experiences will vary according to your prior experience. Some students come to programs in education with substantial experience as teachers, and for them, fewer graduate school experiences may be required.

For some students, the annual Research and Inquiry Presentation will be enough to polish their instructional skills and to demonstrate mastery of instructional approaches. Other students may need to serve as teaching assistants, either formally or informally. Your Supervisory Committee will see that you have appropriate, supervised experience as needed to promote effective teaching skills.

Advancing to Prospective Candidacy 

The advancement to Prospective Candidacy process--including the materials and discussions involved in it--is an opportunity for students, advisers, and the broader faculty to evaluate the student’s progress up to that point and to plan for future course taking, committee member selection, and dissertation interests.

You may be considered for advancement to Prospective Candidacy after completing 24 credits of study, including the Inquiry Seminar Series if required (EDLPS 525 and 526) and a minimum of nine credits within your chosen field(s) of study.  Individual programs may require additional coursework, and your adviser will inform you of any additional requirements early in your first quarter of study.  

Once you meet the minimum requirements, your adviser will help you prepare documents for presentation to the faculty. Those documents include (1) a course of study form (including grades received in each course), and (2) a revised goal statement.  You will revisit and revise the goal statement you wrote when you applied for your program to reflect your current thinking and goals.  Your adviser may require other materials, such as a curriculum vita or a paper from a course.  Check with your adviser to see if additional materials are necessary.  Together, the student and the adviser are required to meet to discuss the materials and to make any appropriate changes before the adviser presents the student’s case to the larger faculty for consideration.  Advancement to Prospective Candidacy needs to be completed before you can do your R&I.

The faculty in your program will review your work, judge the adequacy of your progress, offer suggestions about future course taking, and make a recommendation on Advancement to Prospective Candidacy to the Graduate Program Coordinator (the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs).  While we encourage as much faculty input as possible, a minimum of one faculty member besides your advisor will take part in this review. Advisers are then required to meet with the student to provide a summary of the collective input gathered from the larger program faculty meeting. 

Once you have advanced, you should initiate the  Prospective Candidacy Form  to notify the Office of Student Services about completing this milestone.

A summary of the process is below: 1. Meet minimum requirements for advancing to prospective candidacy. 2. Prepare course of study, revised goal statement, and whatever materials your advisor or program requires. 3. Meet with advisor to go over documents and revise as needed. 4. Advisor meets with program faculty and presents the student’s case for consideration. 5. Faculty in program review work, judge adequacy of progress, offer feedback, and make recommendation on advancement. 6. Advisor meets with student to give feedback and decision of the faculty. 7. Student initiates the  Prospective Candidacy Form  online. Once signed by the faculty advior, the completed form is then automatically submitted to the Office of Student Services.

Probationary language: If, after reviewing the student’s case, the program faculty decides that the student will not be Advanced to Prospective Candidacy, the student will be warned or placed on probationary status per the Graduate School's policy on Unsatisfactory Performance and Progress. At that time, the advisor must call a meeting with the student, one other faculty member, and the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs.  This group may require additional materials (i.e. course papers), and the student may offer additional materials as well.  The meeting should take place no later than the second week of the following academic quarter.  At this meeting, the faculty members and student will discuss what is necessary to lift probationary status. Examples might include: improving grades, revising the goal statement further, and requiring certain courses. 

Forming a Supervisory Committee

Once you have been advanced to Prospective Candidacy, you should direct your attention to forming a Supervisory Committee. In concert with your adviser, you should explore which members of the graduate faculty would be willing to serve on your Supervisory Committee. Each member of a Supervisory Committee will devote substantial time to working with you and should formally indicate willingness to serve. The chairperson of the Supervisory Committee, who must be a graduate faculty member from the College of Education, should express the willingness and availability to supervise a dissertation, since this is normally the most time-consuming responsibility.

Supervisory Committees will be formed in accordance with Graduate School policy

• A minimum of four voting faculty (at least three with graduate faculty appointments) must represent, respectively, your (a) specialization within their broad areas of study, (b) first cognate, (c) second cognate, and (d) specialization outside of the College of Education (definitions of broad area, specializations, and cognates can be found ( here ).
• No more than two voting faculty from your broad area may be on the committee.
• An additional graduate faculty member, the Graduate School Representative (GSR), must also serve on the committee. GSRs must be members of the graduate faculty with an endorsement to chair doctoral committees, and must have no conflict of interest (such as budgetary relationships or adjunct appointments) with the College of Education. Members of Supervisory Committees representing students’ specializations outside of the College of Education may also serve as GSRs, provided they are qualified to serve in both roles.

Once you have identified appropriate graduate faculty who are willing to serve, their names should be submitted to the Office of Student Services using the Committee Formation Request Form .  Your faculty adviser must approve the form to indicate their approval.

NOTE: The Graduate School requires each doctoral student who is forming a committee for the first time to submit a Use of Animal and Human Subjects Form to the Office of Student Services.

You should form a Supervisory Committee no later than the quarter prior to your General Exam. It is not imperative that the Supervisory Committee be formed before your Research and Inquiry Presentation. It is necessary, however, for you to have arranged for a group of faculty to evaluate your Research and Inquiry work.

The next task is to meet with your Supervisory Committee to develop a research program for the Research and Inquiry Presentation and to plan a course of study in preparation for the General Exam. Between Supervisory Committee meetings, your chairperson is responsible for serving as your adviser.

The Supervisory Committee may recommend against continuation in the program if your progress toward the degree is unsatisfactory. This may include, but is not limited to, an excessive number of course withdrawals or incompletes, a grade point average of less than 3.0, unsatisfactory performance in field placements, or unsatisfactory performance on the General Exam.

Completing the Research & Inquiry Presentation

Research preparation is the foundation of the Ph.D. program, as research will play a paramount role in students’ professional careers. Training to be an effective researcher requires (a) concentrated focus to learn the various methods of inquiry and practice, and (b) employment of these methods in various research projects while pursuing your degree. You will begin research activities during the first year of the program, and will continue to develop skills by conducting various research projects, culminating with a dissertation. The Research and Inquiry milestone consists of two major components: A major product of your research preparation effort is the R&I paper and presenting at the Research and Inquiry Conference annually during autumn quarter.

The purposes of R&I are to:

• Immerse you in issues of content and method directly pertinent to your chosen specialization.
• Provide you with practical experience in the use of methods and the application of content learned in coursework.
• Convey aspects of substance and method that characterize the topic studied, but are not taught in general method or content courses.
• Afford an opportunity for you to present research to a professional audience and for the audience to learn about the research.

The design, implementation, and presentation of the R&I research shall be under the supervision of your chair and at least two additional faculty members or your Supervisory Committee. At least three faculty members must approve a thoroughly developed research papers prior to taking the General Exam.

In general, your R&I paper should hold substantial promise of contributing to preparation for a dissertation, and at its inception should have a good chance of being publishable in a juried journal. At each meeting, members of the Supervisory Committee will reassess the extent to which your R&I activities are contributing to stated goals, and will provide advice in accordance with their assessment. Between committee meetings, the chairperson will assume primary responsibility for advising and assisting you with preparation of your R&I plan.

After successful completion of the written portion, Students will be required to present at the annual CoE R&I Conference held in autumn quarter. 

Research and Inquiry Conference

The R&I Conference is a half-day event where students will present their research in two types of session formats. All formats provide a means for grouping related papers into sessions, with different opportunities for moderators and audience participation. Students, with the approval of their advisor, determine which format is optimal for future preparation. Successful participation of in the Research ad Inquiry Conference is required prior to defending a dissertation.

The purposes for R&I conference:

• To mentor student research experience.
• To support professional practices toward becoming part of a community of scholars.
• To build community in the College

Session format options: 

Panel presentations  typically group together 2-5 student presenters with similar topics for a shared presentation and discussion opportunity. Each student will present an abbreviated version of her/his R&I paper, followed by summarizing comments from the moderator and then facilitated audience discussion and questions. A typical structure for a session allows approximately 5 minutes for the moderator’s introduction to the session, 10 minutes per presenter, another 5 minutes for moderator comments and summary, and finally 15 minutes for audience discussion. Individual presenters must be attentive to the time allocation for presenting their work in paper sessions.

Structured poster sessions  combine the graphic display of materials with the opportunity for individualized, formal discussion of the research. Depending on how many individuals plan to participate and how many intellectual areas will be presented, there could be anywhere from 1- 4 individuals in a 60 minute session. These sessions begin with attendees viewing poster presentations, then move into brief oral presentations to the audience gathered as a group, followed by direct discussion with poster presenters. Posters are linked conceptually in terms of education research issues, problems, settings, methods, analytic questions, or themes. 

Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in the R&I Presentations, you must meet the following requirements:

1.  You must be registered as a graduate student at the University of Washington during the quarter of the R&I Presentation. 2.  You must have completed the following research course requirements: six credits of the Inquiry series (EDLPS 525 and 526), plus two additional research methodology courses at the 500-level.   3.  You must have been advanced to Prospective Candidate status through your academic area.

4.  You must have identified a group of faculty who have agreed to evaluate your R&I work. In some cases, this group will be your Supervisory Committee; it is not imperative, however, that you formally establish your Supervisory Committee before R&I. As an alternative, a group of three faculty members can agree to evaluate your R&I work. 

5.  Some papers might require might need Human Subjects Form approval. If you and your advisor have determined you need this, you must have a Human Subjects Form approved prior to starting the research if the investigation is conducted with human subjects. See Louise Clauss in 115J Miller hall if you have questions regarding Human Subjects applications.

6.  The final copy should be submitted to the faculty evaluators and the Office of Student Services with the approval of three faculty members (or instructors). Instructions on completing the R&I submission process can be found on the Graduate Student Forms page . Please keep in mind that the faculty members have other time constraints. It is to your benefit to submit your research paper for evaluation as early as possible.

General Exams

When both you and your Supervisory Committee concur that you are prepared and have completed all course requirements (except the dissertation) — including the completion at least 60 credit hours of coursework, per Graduate School requirements (or 30 hours if you already completed a master’s degree that will be less than 10 years old at the time of graduation from the UW) — your Course of Study and research activities will be evaluated through Written and Oral Exams conducted by the Supervisory Committee.

The General Exam is given in two parts. The first part is written and examines content area in your broad area, specialty areas, and cognates. Upon satisfactory completion of the written portion of the General Exam, the oral portion may be scheduled. During the Oral Exam, members of the graduate faculty may ask any questions they choose. By majority vote, the Supervisory Committee will rule on whether you pass.

Completing the Oral General Exam

You are responsible for scheduling the oral portion of the General Exam (locating an adequate room, determining a date and time that is acceptable to all members of the Supervisory Committee, etc.), as well as submitting a Request for General Exam to the Graduate School. You should submit the request after forming your Supervisory Committee (see above) and at least three weeks prior to the date of the General Exam by using the Graduate School’s online process. During the Oral Exam, members of the graduate faculty may ask any questions they choose. By majority vote, the Supervisory Committee will rule on whether you pass. Once you have passed, the Office of Student Services will convey the exam results to the Graduate School. This will result in Candidacy being awarded at the end of the quarter in which you pass your Oral Exam.

After successfully completing the General Exams, you enter the Candidacy stage of your program. The main tasks of this phase include preparing a dissertation proposal, completing dissertation research, writing the dissertation, and conducting your final defense.

Dissertation Credits

When you and your adviser determine that you are completing dissertation-related work, you may register for dissertation credits (EDUC 800).   The Graduate School requires a minimum of 27 dissertation credits for degree completion, and these credits must be taken over a minimum of three quarters. 

Preparing the Dissertation Proposal

Upon successful completion of the oral portion of the General Exam, you and your Supervisory Committee will shift attention to the dissertation proposal. The purpose of the dissertation proposal is to provide you with constructive criticism from the entire Supervisory Committee prior to the execution of your dissertation research. The written dissertation proposal should be approved unanimously by the Supervisory Committee members; approval will be indicated by completing the Dissertation Proposal Form . Approval does not guarantee that the Supervisory Committee will approve the dissertation at the Final Oral Exam, but it does guarantee that the committee may not later disapprove the dissertation on the grounds that the research was poorly conceived. The approved proposal becomes the working paper for conducting your dissertation research.

Once the proposal receives Supervisory Committee approval, you will likely need to submit an application for review and approval by the Human Subjects Division. On its website, the College of Education has summarized some of the most important aspects of the Human Subjects Review Process . You should also consult the website of the UW’s Human Subjects Division .

For additional information about the process, the type of review suitable for a given project, application forms, and general assistance, contact Louise Clauss at [email protected] or 206-616-8291.

Forming the Reading Committee

The Reading Committee will be composed of a minimum of 3 members of your Supervisory Committee members, including the chairperson. It is also advisable to include a member who is knowledgeable in the chosen research methodology. The Reading Committee will read and review your dissertation in detail and make a recommendation to the larger Supervisory Committee about readiness to schedule the Final Exam. Once you identify appropriate graduate faculty who are willing to serve on the Reading Committee, their names should be submitted to the Office of Student Services using the Committee Formation Request Form on the Graduate Student Forms page .

Conforming to Stylistic Standards

It is your responsibility to ensure that your dissertation meets current Graduate School formatting requirements. You may find information about these requirements on the Graduate School Dissertation page .

Completing the Final Exam (Dissertation Defense)

You are expected to pass the Final Exam. The final defense of the dissertation is intended as an opportunity for all involved to celebrate the good results of their work during your career in the College of Education.

You should schedule the Final Exam after submitting your dissertation to the Supervisory Committee. You are responsible for scheduling the Final Exam (locating an adequate room, determining a date and time that is acceptable to all members of the Supervisory Committee, etc.), as well as submitting a Request for Final Exam to the Graduate School. You should submit the request after forming the Reading Committee and at least three weeks prior to the date of the Final Exam by using the Graduate School’s online process. You should also note that you must be enrolled for credit hours during the quarter of the Final Exam. If your Final Exam occurs during a period between academic quarters, then the Final Exam will be considered to have taken place the following quarter, and you must register for that quarter.

The Final Exam will cover your dissertation and related topics, and it may also cover other areas deemed appropriate by the Supervisory Committee. While the committee alone votes on acceptance of the dissertation, any member of the graduate faculty may participate in the Final Exam.

Submitting Your Dissertation to the Graduate School

Once you pass the Final Exam and complete any revisions requested by the Supervisory Committee, the remaining step is to submit your dissertation to the Graduate School.

In preparation for submitting your dissertation, you should keep the following Graduate School policies in mind:

• If you wish to submit your dissertation in the same quarter as your Final Exam, make note of the submission deadlines established by the Graduate School.
• You may submit your dissertation up to two weeks after the end of a quarter without having to register for the following quarter by using the Registration Waiver Fee . The Registration Waiver Fee option is available to a student who has completed all other degree requirements except submission of the dissertation. You will then be permitted to graduate the following quarter by paying a $250 fee in lieu of registering for credit hours.
• Submission of the dissertation is done electronically and involves several steps. You should carefully review the degree completion information  available from the Graduate School. All Reading Committee members must approve the dissertation online and you must also complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates .

Specific questions about the electronic submission of dissertations should be directed to Graduate Enrollment Management Services (GEMS) at 206-685-2630.

Maximum Allowable Time

In planning your program of study and timeline, keep in mind that all requirements for the Ph.D. must be completed within a 10-year time limit.

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Policy 1.1: Graduate Degree Requirements

Policy 1.1 describes general policies on minimum degree requirements and allowable credits for graduate degrees. Degree requirements for specific graduate programs are managed by that program and may be in excess of the minimum requirements described here.

A graduate degree program consists of a coherent body of study beyond the baccalaureate degree that includes a meaningful progression of coursework and, for most programs, includes a final culminating experience or an integrated experience across the curriculum. Examples of culminating experiences include a thesis, dissertation or other creative work, capstone project, comprehensive examination, or supervised field experience. Integrated learning experiences connect concepts and experiences across the curriculum to form a meaningful whole. If included as part of the degree requirements, a program may offer multiple culminating experience options, provided that the overall level of achievement for the degree remains the same. See Policies 1.1.2 , 1.1.3 , 1.1.4 , and 1.1.5 for requirements specific to each degree type.

The Graduate School defines minimum degree requirements for all University of Washington graduate programs. Individual graduate programs may have degree requirements that exceed the Graduate School minimum requirements.

The Graduate Faculty with oversight of a graduate program have primary responsibility for assuring that students recommended for graduation have satisfactorily fulfilled the degree requirements for the program in which they are enrolled.

A student must satisfy the requirements for the degree that are in force at the time the degree is to be awarded. Exceptions may be made for programs that have undergone changes to degree requirements.

1.1.1     Requirements Applying to All Graduate Degree Programs

• Credits applied towards graduate degree requirements must include University of Washington coursework of (1) at least 18 credits at the 500 level and above; and (2) at least 18 numerically graded credits of 400- and 500-level coursework, excluding 499 and transfer credit.
• For CR/NC courses, submission of a CR grade indicates that the student has met course expectations at a level such that the course may be applied towards graduate degree requirements.
• For S/NS courses, an S grade indicates that the student has met course expectations at a level such that the course may be applied towards graduate degree requirements. A graduate program may restrict S courses from counting towards program requirements.
• Graduate degree requirements consist primarily of graduate-level coursework at the 500 level and above. Courses at the 300 level and 400 level may be part of a student’s course of study and applied toward graduate degree requirements when acceptable to the Graduate School and the Graduate Faculty of the student’s graduate program ( Faculty Code Section 23-44 ) .
• Any 300- or 400-level course applied towards graduate degree requirements must be confirmed by the Graduate Faculty of the unit to have a level of rigor and depth appropriate to the graduate program and to have a subject matter closely aligned with the degree program’s outcomes.
• Coursework at the 300 level may not be applied towards the minimum 18 graded credits and may not be applied towards more than one-third of total degree requirements, except as previously approved by the Graduate School.
• A student must be registered for credit the quarter in which any required exam or presentation occurs. A student must maintain registration as a full-time or part-time graduate student for the quarter the degree or certificate is conferred.
• A minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 is required to earn a graduate degree, and a minimum of 2.7 is required in each course that is counted toward graduate degree requirements. The GPA for graduate students is calculated entirely on the basis of numeric grades in 400- and 500-level courses, see Scholastic Regulations 110 .
• With the approval of a student’s graduate program and the Graduate School, up to 6 credits of 400-level or 500-level coursework, taken as a senior while an undergraduate at the University of Washington, may be applied towards graduate degree requirements.
• With the approval of a student’s graduate program, a restricted amount of Graduate Non-Matriculated (GNM) credit may be applied towards degree requirements, as described in Policy 3.3 .
• Credit taken while enrolled as a non-matriculated (NM) student or while matriculated as a post-baccalaureate student at the University of Washington may not be applied towards graduate degree requirements. Credit by independent study or advanced credit examination is not transferable.

1.1.2     The Master’s Degree

In addition to the requirements listed under Policy 1.1.1 that apply to all graduate degree programs:

• Master’s degree requirements must include a minimum of 36 credits. A master’s program may require more than this minimum.
• A student must complete all work for the master’s degree within six years from the time of first enrollment. Periods spent on leave or out of status are included in these limits. Exceptions to time to degree will be made at the program level.
• A master’s program generally should require a final culminating or integrated experience, with the exception of applied professional programs where a coursework-only program can be thoroughly justified in the program proposal (e.g., a coursework-only program is the standard in the field).

1.1.2.1     Coursework that may be applied towards master’s degree requirements

A maximum of 6 quarter credits of graduate-level coursework taken at another recognized academic institution may be transferred and apply to UW master’s degree requirements, when acceptable to the graduate program and the Graduate School.

No more than 12 credits derived from any combination of GNM credits and transfer credits may be applied towards the total degree requirements. Transfer credits may not be applied towards the thesis or culminating experience requirement.

1.1.2.2     Thesis Programs

The master’s thesis provides evidence of the graduate student’s ability to carry out independent investigation and to present the results in clear and systemic form.

The thesis must be written in the English language. If there are circumstances that warrant a dissertation in another language, the program may petition the Graduate School.

A thesis program must include a minimum of 9 thesis credits (700).

Thesis credits (700) will not apply to requirements for a non-thesis master’s degree.

See Policy 4.2.1 for any thesis that will include human or animal subjects.

1.1.2.3     Final Examination

If a master’s program requires a final examination, it may be either oral or written. A majority of the supervisory committee must approve for satisfactory completion, and all members of the supervisory committee must certify examination results. If the examination is not satisfactory, the committee may recommend to the Dean of the Graduate School that the student be allowed to take another examination after a period of further study.

1.1.3     The Educational Specialist Degree

• Educational specialist degree requirements must include a minimum of 54 credits. An educational specialist program may require more than this minimum.
• Degree requirements must include at least 6 credits of capstone experience (course number 750).
• A student must complete all work for the educational specialist degree within six years from the time of first enrollment. Periods spent on leave or out of status are included in these limits. Exceptions to time to degree will be made at the program level.

1.1.3.1     Coursework that may be applied towards educational specialist degree requirements

A maximum of 6 quarter credits of graduate-level coursework taken at another recognized academic institution may be transferred and apply to UW degree requirements, when acceptable to the graduate program and the Graduate School.

No more than 12 credits derived from any combination of GNM credits and transfer credits may be applied towards the total degree requirements. Transfer credits may not be applied towards the capstone experience requirement.

1.1.4     The Doctoral Degree other than Practice Doctorates

In addition to the requirements listed under Policy 1.1.1 that apply to all graduate degree programs, the following requirements apply to all doctoral degrees other than practice doctorates. For practice doctorate requirements, see Policy 1.1.5 . For the composition and responsibility of the doctoral supervisory committee, see Policy 4.2 .

• Doctoral degree requirements must include a minimum of 90 credits beyond the baccalaureate. A doctoral degree program may require more than this minimum.
• Doctoral programs require a culminating experience, with PhD programs requiring original research reflected in the dissertation.
• All work applied to the doctoral degree must be completed within ten years, including credits counted from a master’s degree at UW. Periods spent on leave or out of status are included in these limits. Exceptions to time to degree will be made at the program level.

1.1.4.1     General Examination

The student must successfully pass a general examination.

Prior to the General Examination:

• At least 18 credits of coursework at the 500 level and above must be completed prior to scheduling the general examination.
• At least 18 graded credits of 400- and 500-level coursework, excluding 499, must be completed prior to scheduling the general examination.
• At least 60 credits must be completed before taking the general exam. Some of these credits may be taken the same quarter of the exam.
• All members of the supervisory committee must approve that the student’s background of study and preparation is sufficient to schedule the General Examination.

The General Examination:

• Registration as a graduate student is required the quarter that the General Examination is taken.
• At least four members of the committee (including the Chair(s), GSR, and one additional Graduate Faculty member) must be physically or virtually present at the General Examination.
• If the General Examination is satisfactory, the supervisory committee members who participate at the examination sign the committee signature form.
• If an examination is unsatisfactory, a supervisory committee may recommend that the Dean of the Graduate School permit up to a maximum of two additional reexaminations after a period of additional study.
• Any members of a supervisory committee who do not agree with the majority opinion are encouraged to submit a minority report to the Dean of the Graduate School.

1.1.4.2     Advancement to Candidacy

Advancement to Candidacy indicates successful completion of the general examination and all other requirements for the doctoral degree except satisfactory completion of the dissertation and the final examination. This is recognized for the Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Musical Arts, and Doctor of Education degrees that are not practice doctorates. See also Scholastic Regulations Chapter 114.7.

1.1.4.3     Dissertation

Requirements must include preparation of and acceptance by the Dean of the Graduate School of a dissertation that is a significant contribution to knowledge and clearly indicates training in research.

The dissertation must be written in the English language. If there are circumstances that warrant a dissertation in another language, the program may petition the Graduate School.

The student must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 27 credits of dissertation (800) over a period of at least three quarters, with at least one quarter occurring after the general examination.

With the exception of summer quarter, students are limited to a maximum of 10 credits per quarter of dissertation (800).

See Policy 4.2.3 for any dissertation that will include human or animal subjects.

1.1.4.4     Final Examination

The student must pass a final examination usually devoted to the dissertation and the field with which it is concerned.

• When the reading committee has read a draft of the entire dissertation and the members of the doctoral supervisory committee agree that the Candidate is prepared to take the Final Examination, all members of the doctoral supervisory committee must give the student approval to schedule the Final Examination.
• The General Examination and Final Examination cannot occur during the same quarter.
• At least four members of the committee (including the Chair(s), GSR, and one additional Graduate Faculty member) must be physically or virtually present at the Final Examination.
• At the Final Examination the dissertation is evaluated and, if a majority of the supervisory committee members in attendance agree that the evaluation is positive, the recommendation is made to the Dean of the Graduate School (via the committee signature form) that the degree be awarded.
• If members of the doctoral supervisory committee do not agree with the majority recommendation concerning the examination, the minority report portion of the committee signature form must be used.

1.1.4.5     Coursework that may be applied towards doctoral degree requirements

With the approval of the graduate program and the Graduate School, a master’s degree in a relevant field of study from an accredited institution may substitute for up to 30 of the required 90 credits. No other transfer credits are allowed for doctoral programs. Transfer credits may not be applied towards the dissertation or culminating experience requirement.

With the approval of the graduate program, any number of credits applied to a UW master’s degree in the same program may be counted towards doctoral degree requirements. These credits may not be applied towards the dissertation or culminating experience requirement.

In addition to the other credits indicated in this section, up to 12 GNM credits may be applied towards doctoral degree requirements as indicated in Policy 1.1.1 and Policy 3.3.3 .

1.1.5     The Practice Doctoral Degree

A practice doctorate is intended as preparation for professional practice at the frontiers of existing knowledge (see Policy 1.7.2 ). A practice doctorate involves extensive coursework and a culminating project/capstone that is in lieu of a traditional PhD dissertation. The nature of this project/capstone may be specific to each program (e.g., project, practicum, portfolio, applied dissertation, clinical work, etc.). The project/capstone is not filed with the Graduate School.

In addition to the requirements listed under Policy 1.1.1 that apply to all graduate degree programs, the following requirements apply to all practice doctorates. For the composition and responsibility of the practice doctoral supervisory committee, see Policy 4.2 .

• Practice doctoral degree requirements must include a minimum of 90 credits beyond the baccalaureate.
• The practice doctorate requires successful completion of 12 credits of project or capstone credit (801 Practice Doctorate Project/Capstone).

It is the responsibility of the program to establish appropriate milestones towards the degree. Two milestones are formally recognized by the Graduate School:

• admission to the program
• approval of the final project/capstone (through the committee signature form)

There is no formally recognized candidacy status for practice doctoral students. Requiring a general exam or other milestones is at the discretion of the program and is not reported to the Graduate School.

After the practice doctoral supervisory committee has evaluated the final project/capstone, if a majority of the supervisory committee members agree that the evaluation is positive, the recommendation is made to the Dean of The Graduate School (via the committee signature form) that the degree be awarded. If members of the practice doctoral supervisory committee do not agree with the majority recommendation, the minority report portion of the committee signature form must be used.

1.1.5.1     Coursework that may be applied towards practice doctoral degree requirements

With the approval of the graduate program and the Graduate School, a Ph.D. or a master’s degree in a relevant field of study from an accredited institution may substitute for up to 30 of the required 90 credits.

With the approval of the graduate program, any number of credits applied to a UW master’s degree in the same program may be counted towards doctoral degree requirements.

A maximum of 10 quarter credits of graduate-level coursework taken at another recognized academic institution may be transferred and apply to UW practice doctorate degree requirements, when acceptable to the graduate program and the Graduate School.

No more than 12 credits derived from any combination of GNM credits and transfer credits may be applied towards the total degree requirements.

No more than 30 credits derived from any combination of GNM, transfer, and substituted credits may be applied towards the total degree requirements.

No GNM, transfer, or substituted credits may be applied towards the capstone requirement.

When a Ph.D. and practice doctorate are earned concurrently, departments may petition the Graduate School to count 30 specified credits toward the total minimum credit count of each degree, for a total minimum of 150 credits. Core credits for either degree, as (defined as part of the core curriculum by the graduate program) may not be included in these 30 credits applied to both degrees, and this option may not be used on top of previously waived credits for either degree. It is the responsibility of each unit to assure that the credits applied toward its degree are relevant to that degree. The student must meet Graduate School minimum requirements (18 credits 500 level and above, 18 numerically graded 400/500 level credits) for each degree.

Policy 1.1 revised: October 2021; October 2022; November 2022

Policy 1.1.2.2 and 1.1.4.3 revised March 2023

Policy 1.1.4, 1.1.4.1, and 1.1.4.4 revised March 2023

Policy 1.1.1 revised April 2023

Policy 1.1.1 revised July 2023

Policy 1.1.5 revised October 2023

Policy 1.1.1 revised November 2023

Policy 1.1.4.5 revised March 2024

Policy 1.1.2.2 revised March 2024

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The requirements and deadlines for completing your doctoral degree.

Thesis Guide

On this page:

This page outlines the policies and procedures that doctoral students need to know in order to successfully complete their degree.

Please refer to the Catalog for full policy information regarding graduate degrees.

The main current students page lists resources and services to assist you while at Oregon State.

Use the flow chart to understand the major milestones for your degree.

The degree completion steps and deadlines section on this page provides details and a timeline for completing your degree.

Number of credits

• All doctoral degree programs require a minimum of 108 graduate credits.
• At least 36 graduate credits should be devoted to the preparation of the thesis.
• A minimum of 27 regular, non-blanket credits must be included on program of study. (Courses without a zero in the middle, for example 503). No more than 15 credits of blanket-numbered courses , other than thesis, may be included in the minimum 108-credit program.
• All graduate student programs of study must consist of, at a minimum, 50 percent graduate stand-alone credits.
• The remaining credits may be the 500 component of 400/500 slash courses.
• If a minor is declared, it must consist of at least 18 credits or 15 credits for an integrated minor.

Effective beginning with students matriculating fall term 2016, all work toward a doctoral degree, including coursework, thesis (if required), and all examinations, must be completed within nine years of the indicated start term on the Departmental Action Form. Extensions of this time limit may be requested by submitting a petition to the Graduate School.

Continuous enrollment

Minimum registration.

You must be registered for a minimum of three graduate credits, or on an approved leave of absence, until all degree requirements are completed. To avoid registering for the term following your defense, submit the final corrected and signed thesis or dissertation to the Graduate School before the first day of the term following the term in which you defend . For details on this policy see " Continuous Enrollment: 1. Minimum Registration " in the Catalog.

If you are not using university facilities or faculty time during the summer then you may not have to enroll for the summer session. Please refer to the Continuous Enrollment Policy in the Catalog, and work with your program, to determine if this applies to you. During summer session, a minimum registration of 3 credits is required for graduate assistants.

Leave of absence

A completed (with signatures) Leave of Absence Form must be received by the Graduate School at least 15 working days prior to the first day of the term for which leave is being requested . Unless on an approved leave of absence, all graduate students in degree and certificate programs must register continuously for a minimum of 3 graduate credits, excluding summer session, until their degree or certain certificate is granted or until their status as a credential-seeking graduate student is terminated. If a student is granted a leave of absence during a term, however, they must also withdraw from the term. See the Catalog for more information on Registration Requirements .

GPA requirements

A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 is required for all courses taken at OSU as a graduate student and for courses included in the graduate program. Grades on transfer courses will be included in the calculation of the program GPA, but will not affect the GPA of courses taken at OSU. You must meet the minimum GPA requirement before scheduling the final oral exam.

Grievance procedures

Please visit the grievance procedures page for information.

Concurrent degrees and dual majors

Learn about earning concurrent master's degrees or pursuing a dual major.

Graduate assistantships

An assistantship provides a monthly salary, tuition remission, and an institutional contribution toward mandatory fees and the graduate assistant-only health insurance premium in exchange for service as employment. Learn more about assistantships.

Establishing your committee and Graduate Council Representative

A minimum of five members of the graduate faculty, including two from the major department/program, one from each declared minor field, and a Graduate Council Representative are required. The major professor is one of the two members representing the major department/program. The committee can be completed with graduate faculty from other programs who have been nominated to serve on doctoral committees for the student’s program. Visit the committee page to learn the committee requirements and how to select a GCR.

Exams and meetings

Program of study meeting.

The Graduate School requires doctoral students to hold a program of study meeting with their committee. A program of study meeting form must also be signed and submitted to the Graduate School by the GCR who will attend this meeting. These meetings are not scheduled in advance with the Graduate School. Prior to a program meeting, students need to:

• Be registered in the term of the program meeting
• Select a GCR from a list provided by the Graduate School
• Schedule the meeting with all committee members.
• Make the Doctoral Program Meeting Checklist available to meeting participants. The Graduate Council Representative will complete and sign this form and return it to the Graduate School.

Thesis proposal meeting (program dependent)

A formal thesis proposal meeting is recommended but not required by the Graduate School. It is required for some majors. This meeting should be held with the student’s doctoral committee prior to the start of any substantial doctoral thesis research.

Preliminary examinations

Doctoral students must pass a comprehensive preliminary examination to determine the student’s understanding of their major and minor fields and also to assess the student’s capability for research. Students must enroll for a minimum of 3 credits during the term they take a written or oral preliminary exam.

At least one complete academic term must elapse between the time of the preliminary oral examination and the final oral examination. If more than five years elapse between these two examinations, the candidate will be required to take another preliminary oral examination.

Find the full policies regarding preliminary exams in the Catalog.

• Have a minimum GPA of 3.00 on both your program of study and cumulative graduate transcript.
• Have completed all coursework on the program of study with a minimum grade of "C".
• Contact members of the committee to arrange the date, time and place, then schedule the exam with the Graduate School not less than two weeks before the examination using the Exam Scheduling Form.
• Submit one examination copy of the pretext pages of the thesis to the Graduate School at the time you schedule your exam. Pretext pages are found on the Thesis Guide.

The exam should be scheduled for two hours. The first part is the thesis defense portion and is open to all interested parties. After the thesis defense portion of the exam, the examination committee may exclude all other persons and continue with the examination of your knowledge of your field.

Remote access at committee meetings

It is generally expected that all members of graduate committees should be physically present at all required graduate committee meetings (i.e., program meetings, preliminary examinations, and final examinations). However, it is permissible for the student, and/or committee members to participate from a remote location provided the conditions listed below are met:

• Advance agreement of the student and all committee members has been obtained.
• All participants join in with two-way audio and video connections; audio-only connections must be approved by the major professor if the video connection is not possible. When the student is the remote participant, his or her connection must be an audio and video connection.
• Any visual aids or other materials have been distributed in advance to the remote participants.
• The committee members participate in the complete meeting, discussion, presentation, and evaluation.
• The student is responsible for making arrangements.

Tips for meetings

Check out our tips for scheduling a final exam committee meeting.

Degree completion steps and deadlines

    Watch the degree completion video.

1. Select program committee members. Your committee must include a Graduate Council Representative.

Committee Details

Before completing 5 terms.

2. Develop and submit a Program of Study with your program. This is your plan for completing your degree. Speak with your advisor, department chair, or departmental graduate coordinator for guidance on completing this requirement.

Program of Study Details

3. Hold the Program of Study Meeting with your committee and have the GCR submit the program meeting form to the Graduate School.

Program Meeting Form

4. Schedule your preliminary oral exam. You must have an approved program of study on file with the Graduate School. Exam forms must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the exam date.

Schedule your Oral Prelim

At least 2 weeks before your prelims.

5. Apply to graduate. If you are graduating spring term, you must apply to graduate regardless of whether or not you will attend commencement.

Apply to Graduate

At the start of the term you plan to graduate or sooner if you are participating in commencement. Visit the commencement web page for details.

6. Schedule your final oral examination. Exam forms must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the exam date. This allows time for the Graduate School to conduct a degree audit, and for you to resolve any unexpected issues prior to your exam.

Exam Scheduling Form

At least 2 weeks before your final oral examination.

7. Clear all remaining degree requirements.

8. Distribute a defendable copy of your thesis to your committee.

9. Email the pretext pages of your thesis to the graduate school. Visit the Thesis Guide to find the pre-text pages template and the thesis formatting guide.

10. Successfully complete your final exam.

Pick the date with your committee.

11. Complete your edits and upload your thesis to ScholarsArchive. Uploads are required within six weeks of your final exam. If you don't upload by the start of the next term then registering for a minimum of three graduate credits is required. See below for exact dates.

ScholarsArchive

• To graduate the same term as your final exam: upload by the last day of the term.
• To graduate the following term without having to register, upload before the first day of the following term.

12. Submit the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation approval form to the Graduate School after the final thesis or dissertation is approved by your major professor and uploaded to ScholarsArchive.

Submit ETD Form

As soon as the dissertation is submitted to ScholarsArchive.

Optional. Review the steps and deadlines to be in the commencement ceremony at the end of spring term. Students who complete in the summer term after commencement can also take part in the spring ceremony.

Commencement details and deadlines

Various deadlines

Clear all remaining degree requirements

You must remove or make arrangements to remove all program deficiencies (e.g., courses with Incomplete grades, missing transcripts for recent transfer courses) before taking the final oral or written examination. All program deficiencies must be removed before your degree is certified. All incomplete grades on your Program of Study (with the exception of research/project credit in lieu of thesis) must be removed prior to your final exam. Courses to remove deficiencies cannot be taken on an S/U basis.

Final deadlines

 If you want your diploma for the current term complete the following degree requirements by 5 p.m. on the dates listed first under each term below.

 If you need more time, but do not want to register for the next term, please complete the following degree requirements by 5 p.m. on the dates listed second under each term below. This will result in getting your diploma in the following term.

Degree requirements to complete by dates below:

• Apply for graduation by filling out a diploma application
• Successfully complete your final exam or defense
• Upload final thesis to ScholarsArchive (if applicable)
• Submit final thesis or dissertation documents by 5 p.m. on the dates below

Summer Term 2024

Degree Deadline for Summer Term

September 6, 2024 *    

Degree Deadline Without Registering for Fall Term

September 24, 2024   

Fall Term 2024

Degree Deadline for Fall Term

December 13, 2024   

Degree Deadline Without Registering for Winter Term

January 5, 2025   

Winter Term 2025

Degree Deadline for Winter Term

March 21, 2025   

Degree Deadline Without Registering for Spring Term

March 30, 2025   

Spring Term 2025

Degree Deadline for Spring Term

June 13, 2025 *    

Degree Deadline Without Registering for Summer Term

June 22, 2025   

Summer Term 2025

September 5, 2025 *    

September 23, 2025   

*  If you plan to participate in commencement while finishing spring or summer term, please follow the commencement deadlines.

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Graduate student resources, doctoral dissertation process.

Once a doctoral student reaches candidacy, they are ready to begin the process of writing and defending their doctoral dissertation. Please see below to learn more about each step of the dissertation process.

Enrollment Requirements for Dissertation Hours

Students may not register for dissertation hours until the semester immediately following the semester of formal admission to candidacy. This requirement is strictly enforced at USF. Students who obtain an override and register for dissertation hours will be dis-enrolled by the Office of Graduate Studies. Faculty and staff who override this restriction may have their permitting privileges revoked by the university.

• Students should have already completed all of their program's coursework, or should be finishing any remaining courses in the semester they take the Doctoral Qualifying Exam and apply for candidacy. If students have incomplete (I) or missing (M) grades on their transcript after they take and pass the Qualifying Exam, their admission to doctoral candidacy will be delayed until any incomplete and/or missing grades are cleared. Once students have filed their candidacy application, they may choose to enroll in Directed Research while they wait for official admission to candidacy. Upon written request by the Major Professor to the Graduate Support Office, these Directed Research hours may be applied to reduce the total number of dissertation hours required in your program. Any requests should be sent during the semester in which the Directed Research hours will be taken. No more than 50% of the total number of dissertation hours required may be used in this way.
• Directed Research hours taken during the Qualifying Exam semester, and the semester during which admission to candidacy is awaited, may be applied towards the dissertation as long as they are not being used to fulfill course requirements. You must have already completed all of your program's required coursework; if you take Directed Research as an elective for your program, it cannot be used towards the dissertation.

Students should meet with their Major Professor to determine which course prefix and section of the Directed Research course (xxx 7910) they should register for, as every instructor will have their own specific section. Once formally admitted to candidacy, students must begin to enroll in dissertation hours (xxx 7980) while they conduct research and complete their dissertation. For the specific course prefix and section of dissertation hours to register for, students will need to contact their Major Professor or Department.

• In cases where a student has Co-Major Professors on their committee, or is enrolled in a concurrent major or concentration, the department should establish a section of dissertation hours co-listing both Major Professors as instructors. The dissertation hours should be listed under the major code for the student’s primary concentration/the major they were initially admitted to.

Continuous Enrollment Requirement:

Beginning with the semester immediately following the semester of formal admission to candidacy, all doctoral students must be enrolled for a minimum of two (2) hours of dissertation coursework each semester, including summer semester(s), until the dissertation has been defended successfully. This includes the semester during which the dissertation is defended, the semester in which the dissertation is fully cleared for publication by ETD, and the semester the student applies for graduation.

If students go inactive after being admitted to candidacy due to non-continuous enrollment, they must reapply to both their graduate program and to doctoral candidacy. See the Reinstatement and Readmission page for more information about readmission procedures. Admission for students who reapply/reinstate is at the discretion of the program and is not guaranteed. Students who are admitted after non-continuous enrollment must adhere to the Catalog policies at the time of their new admission and will be required to file a timeline for completion of degree requirements. 

Important Deadlines & Defense Announcements

Important Deadlines

Proposal defenses.

Requests for Proposal Defense should be submitted at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the actual defense date. Proposal defense sessions can be scheduled any time during the academic semester as long as the entire supervisory committee is present. When planning and scheduling a proposal defense session, please note that a student MAY NOT defend their final dissertation in the same semester or within 90 calendar days of the date in which they successfully defended their proposal.

Final Dissertation Defenses

Requests for the Final Dissertation Defense should be submitted at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the actual defense date. All doctoral students are required to follow the dissertation deadlines established by the Electronic Thesis & Dissertation office for the current semester. The "Current Dissertation Deadlines" link below provides the dissertation deadlines for the College of Education as they fit with the university-wide ETD Deadlines . When planning and scheduling a final defense session, please note that a student MAY NOT defend their final dissertation in the same semester or within 90 calendar days of the date in which they successfully defended their proposal.

Current Dissertation Deadlines

Defense Announcements

As students submit their Requests for Defense, the formal defense announcements are posted to GSO's Defense Announcements webpage and the COEDU Advanced Graduate Student Canvas page. Proposal and Final Defense session announcements for students in the College of Education are posted for the current semester. The list of announcements is updated throughout the semester as the Graduate Support Office receives new requests for defense. Check back regularly to see new announcements added.

Proposal Defense

The College of Education requires that doctoral candidates make a formal presentation of their dissertation proposal to their supervisory committee. Candidates will present the first three chapters of their dissertation research to the committee and receive feedback from all committee members. The proposal defense is open to the public, and will be posted on both the COEDU Advanced Graduate Student Canvas page and the GSO Dissertation Announcements webpage. Proposal defense sessions may be held virtually or face-to-face; virtual defenses should be hosted through Microsoft Teams if possible. 

Request for Proposal Defense Forms

• Request for Ph.D./Ed.D. Proposal Defense
• Dissertation Proposal Defense Guidelines Questionnaire

Title Page Formats

Ph.D. Students

• Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction - All Programs (excluding Interdisciplinary Education)
• Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction - Interdisciplinary Education
• Ph.D. in Educational Leadership
• Ph.D. in School Psychology
• Ph.D. in TESLA

Ed.D. Students

• Ed.D. in Educational Program Development - Educational Innovation

Request for Proposal Defense Checklist

The following information should be included on the Request for Ph.D./Ed.D. Proposal Defense form linked above: 

• The name of the student's Outside Chair Person - The Outside (or Defense) Chair is a committee member outside of the student's primary area of study, who will lead the proceedings of both the proposal and final defense sessions.
• Date of the proposal defense
• Time of the proposal defense
• For Face-to-face defenses, please include the building and room number. 
• For virtual defenses, please include the link for the Microsoft Teams meeting for the defense.

IMPORTANT: Microsoft Teams is the only university-supported platform for conducting virtual defenses.

This form should be signed by the full supervisory committee and the student's Department Chair. The following should also be submitted with the request: 

• The Dissertation Proposal Defense Guidelines Questionnaire (also linked above), completed by the student while preparing for the defense.
• A copy of the proposal manuscript with the correct title page for their program. 

Requests for Proposal Defense should be routed through the department Academic Program Specialist for necessary signatures. The Academic Program Specialist will send the signed Request for Proposal Defense and all required documentation to the Graduate Support Office for review. Completed requests for proposal defense should be submitted with all signatures mentioned above to the Graduate Support Office at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the defense date for the COEDU Associate Dean's approval. Once approved by the COEDU Associate Dean, the formal announcement will be sent out via email to College faculty and posted to the website and student Canvas group.

After the Proposal Defense

Once the student has successfully completed their Proposal Defense, their Outside Chairperson will submit the following paperwork to the Graduate Support Office:

• Signed Proposal Title Page
• Signed Outside Chairperson’s Report (including a list of any necessary changes for the student to make)

Final Defense 

Doctoral candidates are required to present their final dissertation research at a public defense session. The final dissertation defense is announced to faculty and staff via email, to COEDU students via the Advanced Graduate Student Canvas group, and to the wider university community via the GSO Dissertation Announcements webpage.

REQUEST FOR Final DEFENSE FORMS

• Request for Final Dissertation Defense Form
• Dissertation Final Defense Guidelines Questionnaire
• Successful Defense of the Ph.D/Ed.D. Dissertation
• Office of Graduate Studies ETD Certificate of Approval

Title Page Formats: 

• Format for Students with One Major Professor
• Format for Students with Co-Major Professors
• Format for Students with One Major Professor
• Format for Students with One Major Professor
• Format for Students with Co-Major Professors

Request for Final Dissertation Defense Checklist

The following information should be included on the Request for Final Dissertation Defense form linked above:

• The name of the student's Outside Chair Person
• Date of the final dissertation defense
• Time of the final dissertation defense
• For Face-to-face defenses, please include the building and room number.
• For virtual defenses, please include the link for the Microsoft Teams meeting for the defense.

This form should be signed by the full supervisory committee and the student's Department Chair. The following should also be submitted with the request:

• The Dissertation Final Defense Guidelines Questionnaire (linked above), completed by the student while preparing for the defense.
• A copy of the final dissertation manuscript with the correct title page for their chosen program.
• The Successful Defense Form, filled out but not signed
• The ETD Certificate of Approval form, filled out but not signed

Students are required to submit their final dissertation to the Office of Graduate Studies in an electronic format (ETD). Registration for electronic dissertation submission on the USF ETD website opens on the first day of each semester. GSO recommends that students complete ETD registration as soon as possible to avoid delays when submitting the final dissertation and Certificate of Approval (COA) packet.

Requests for Final Dissertation Defense should be routed through the department Academic Program Specialist for necessary signatures. The Academic Program Specialist will send the signed Request for Final Defense and all required documentation to the Graduate Support Office for review. Completed requests for final defense should be submitted with all signatures mentioned above to the Graduate Support Office at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the defense date for the COEDU Associate Dean's approval. Once approved by the COEDU Associate Dean, the formal announcement will be sent out via email to College faculty, and posted to the website and student Canvas group.

A minimum of three committee members, including the student's Major Professor and Outside Chair, must be present for the entire final defense session. The final defense should be conducted within a timeline that allows the student to make any necessary corrections following the defense and still meet the final deadline for turning in their dissertation to the Office of Graduate Studies. For specific details about final defense procedures, please see the COEDU Doctoral Student Handbook or the Graduate Catalog.

After the Final Dissertation Defense:

Once the student has successfully completed their Final Dissertation Defense, they will need to submit the following paperwork to the Graduate Support Office:

• Fully signed Successful Defense Form (This is internal to COEDU and does not need to be submitted to ETD)
• Fully signed ETD Certificate of Approval Form
• Page 1 of the Plagiarism Check (Conducted by the Major Professor through Turn-it-in or similar software. Shows the citation match percentages.)
• Certificate of Completion of the Survey of Earned Doctorates

The Office of Graduate Studies requires all doctoral students to submit a Certificate of Approval packet to the Electronic Thesis & Dissertation (ETD) office containing the documents listed above. Students must fill out the ETD Certificate of Approval Form before sending it to their Major Professor and committee members for signatures. Your Major Professor will also complete the Successful Defense Form and the Turn-it-in Plagiarism Check. Once all forms have been signed, the department Academic Program Specialist will send all of the ETD paperwork to the Graduate Support Office for review.

After reviewing and approving the paperwork, the Graduate Support Office will combine the Certificate of Approval form, Plagiarism Check, and the completed Survey of Earned Doctorates into one PDF. Students will receive their paperwork back as one combined Certificate of Approval packet, along with instructions on how to upload their dissertation to ETD. The COA packet must be submitted to the Microsoft Form link on the ETD website (see "Submit COA Packet" section) by the semester deadline, along with submitting the dissertation manuscript to ProQuest. Students who do not clear ETD requirements and fail to submit the final dissertation by the semester deadline will be denied graduation.

• Note: Students should check their email regularly for messages from the ETD office about the status of their dissertation. You will receive emails from USF ETD administrators about any revisions that need to be made, and a final email when the dissertation is fully approved for publication. GSO recommends that students submit their dissertation manuscript to ETD as early as possible (after successfully defending) to allow time for revisions before the final submission deadline.

Doctoral Degree Requirements

1. credit requirements.

The number of courses required prior to a student taking his/her Preliminary Comprehensive Examination is determined by the student's adviser/guidance committee/Graduate Program Director. The Graduate School requires no minimum number of credits for a doctoral program, with the exception of dissertation credits.

2. Residency Requirement

A doctoral candidate must spend the equivalent of at least one continuous academic year of full-time graduate work (nine credits per semester) in residence at the university. The residency year must be either in a Fall/Spring or Spring/Fall sequence. During this year, the student must spend some part of each week physically on campus. Doctoral students enrolled in recognized off-campus programs may satisfy this regulation at their off-campus site.

3. Language Requirement

No foreign language is required by the Graduate School; however, some departments do require language proficiency. Refer to the Graduate School Bulletin and program literature for foreign language requirements and competency levels.

4. Preliminary Comprehensive Examination

The Preliminary Comprehensive Examination is prepared and administered by the candidate's department/program. Notification of the result of the examination should be forwarded to the Graduate Student Service Center.

5. Doctoral Dissertation Committee

As soon as the student has passed the Preliminary Comprehensive Examination, the Doctoral Dissertation Committee is appointed by the Graduate Dean upon nomination and recommendation by the Graduate Program Director or Department Head/Chair. The Committee is composed of at least three (3) graduate faculty members: the chairperson, at least one other member from the candidate's department/program, and one member from outside the candidate's department/program. The committee has been officially constituted when the Graduate Dean sends formal notification of its formation to each committee member, the Graduate Program Director, and to the student. Members of the Dissertation Committee must agree to not only assist in the supervision of the dissertation project, but also conduct the Final Oral Examination. Selection of the committee is a matter of "academic judgement" which should be made by the Graduate Program Director and/or Department Chair and/or Advisor, and approved by the Graduate Dean. Students should be reminded that most faculty are on nine-month contracts and should not necessarily assume that committee members will be available during the summer months.

6. Dissertation Credit Requirement

The total number of dissertation credits required varies, by department/program, from 10 to 18 graduate credits. See course number 899 in the Graduate School Bulletin under the appropriate program for the required minimum number of dissertation credits. There is no maximum number of credits to which a student is limited; however, a student can register for only a maximum of nine (9) credits per semester/session. Doctoral candidates will not be recommended to the Board of Trustees for the doctoral degree unless they have the requisite number of dissertation credits.  These credits will be graded IP (In Progress) until the dissertation has been accepted by the Graduate School at which time these credits will be converted to SAT (Satisfactory).

7. Dissertation Prospectus/Outline

After passing the Preliminary Comprehensive Examination, the graduate degree candidate must prepare a dissertation prospectus/outline describing the research to be conducted, analyzed, and presented in the dissertation. The cover sheet must be signed by each member of the Dissertation Committee to indicate approval of the topic and its plan of execution. The Graduate Program Director or Department Head/Chair signs and forwards the prospectus cover sheet to the Graduate Student Service Center. The signed prospectus cover sheet must be received at least seven (7) months prior to the Final Oral Examination.

8. Announcement of Final Oral Examination

All Final Oral Examinations/Dissertation Defenses must be announced on the  Inside UMass Weekly Bulletin  to allow interested Graduate Faculty and others to attend. The Graduate Student Service Center must receive written notification of the scheduling of a Final Oral Examination at least four weeks prior to the date of the defense. An examination cannot be held unless it has been publicly announced on Inside UMass. The examination must be held on the Amherst campus. All members of the Dissertation Committee must be present at the defense. (Note: All Graduate Faculty are invited to attend and cannot be excluded from a Final Oral Examination. Departments differ in allowing others to attend. Courtesy suggests that the Chair of the Committee, whose name is published on  Inside UMass , be consulted by others attending the Defense, with the stipulation above.)

9. Final Oral Examination Results

The result of a Final Oral Examination is forwarded to the Graduate Student Service Center directly following the examination.

10. Dissertation

The dissertation must be typed in a prescribed style (see the Typing Guidelines for Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations) and submitted electronically through the University of Massachusetts Amherst dissertation submission site at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. The dissertation must be approved and signed by all members of the dissertation committee and the Department Head/Chair. The Graduate School is the final and only arbitrator of what is an acceptable dissertation. Inclusion of a copyright statement is required by the Graduate School, but registration of the copyright is optional. If registration of the copyright is chosen, the copyright registration fee must be paid to the U.S. Copyright Office. The dissertation will be cataloged in the Library of Congress and in the W.E.B. Du Bois Library. Publication by ScholarWorks does not preclude the printing of the dissertation in whole or in part in a journal or as a monograph. As a service for students, we also have a list of binderies available at the Graduate Student Service Center for interested students.

11. Degree Eligibility Form:

The Degree Eligibility Form (available online or at the Graduate Student Service Center) must be completed by all doctoral degree candidates and signed by the Graduate Program Director and the Department Head/Chair. The candidate should verify the accuracy of the information on this form with his/her permanent record. The completed form, along with all materials (see  Checklist for Doctoral Degrees ) must be received at the Graduate Student Service Center by the posted deadline. These deadlines are strictly observed and will not be extended. Degrees cannot and will not be awarded retroactively.

Doctoral Degree Eligibility Form for DNP and AuD degrees

Doctoral Degree Eligibility Form for Ph.D and Ed.D. degrees

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Completing Your Doctoral Degree

This webpage describes steps to completing a PhD degree at UW–Madison, which include:

• Meet the degree requirements
• Complete your preliminary examinations
• Defend and deposit your dissertation

See all doctoral degree completion deadlines >>

Looking for master's degree requirements?

Click here for guidelines for completing your master's degree.

Want to track your academic progress?

Check your academic progress using the Graduate Student Tracking System (GSTS).

Need support completing your dissertation?

We can help. Campus offers dissertator support groups, dissertation writing camps, writing guides, and other resources.

Steps to Completing the Degree

You must meet both the program and the Graduate School requirements for graduation. You should be aware that some programs may have more rigorous requirements than the Graduate School’s minimum requirements. You should visit your program’s website for specific requirements and contact your graduate program coordinator for further information.

Note: The Graduate School does not use honors titles (e.g., Magna Cum Laude, Dean’s List, etc.). Graduate students are not eligible to take courses designated for undergraduate honors students.

Minimum graduate degree credit requirement

51 credits (before or after dissertator status)

A student’s program may decide to accept graduate coursework completed at another institution (earned post-baccalaureate) toward fulfillment of degree credit requirements. To learn more, see Minimum Graduate Degree Credit Requirement and Prior Coursework .

Minimum graduate residence credit requirement

32 credits (completed prior to achieving dissertator status)

The doctoral degree minimum residence credit requirement can be satisfied only with courses numbered 300 and above taken as a graduate student at UW–Madison. To learn more about this requirement, see Minimum Graduate Residence Credit Requirement .

Minimum graduate coursework (50%) requirement

At least 50% of credits applied toward the program’s graduate degree credit requirement must be courses designed for graduate work, including but not limited to online, thesis/research, independent study, and practicum/internship credits. To learn more about this requirement, see Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement .

Breadth requirement

Breadth is a required component of doctoral training at UW–Madison. Given there are multiple paths to breadth, the Graduate School leaves the choice of whether students achieve breadth through a doctoral minor, Graduate/Professional certificate, or other means up to the student’s doctoral major program.

To learn more about meeting this requirement, see  Policy on Breadth Requirement in Doctoral Training .

Grade point average (GPA) requirement

The Graduate School requires that students maintain a GPA of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) for all graduate courses (excluding research) to receive a degree (though many programs impose higher standards). All incomplete grades must be resolved before a degree is granted. To learn more, see Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirement and Probation .

Preliminary examinations assess knowledge of areas within the academic discipline. The student must obtain approval of the minor if the major program requires it and complete all the major courses.

Your program should arrange a preliminary committee and a dissertation committee with appropriate expertise to afford the breadth and depth needed in degree examinations. These committees may be composed of different members. The executive committee (or its equivalent) of a program/department is responsible for approving the composition of the preliminary exam and the dissertation committee. You should consult your advisor and your program’s student handbook for the specific function of degree committees (preliminary exam and dissertation) in your program.

To learn more about the functions and criteria of doctoral dissertation committees, see Committees . Use this online committee requirements tool to help you determine whether your proposed committee would meet the Graduate School’s minimum requirements for committee members.

Preliminary examinations

Your program determines your eligibility to take the prelim examination(s). The program must notifies the Graduate School of a student’s admission to candidacy and requests the preliminary warrant a minimum of three weeks prior to the exam date.

After passing the preliminary examination, students have 5 years to take the final examination (i.e. defend) and deposit their dissertation.  The 5 year clock starts on the first day of instruction of the term (Fall, Spring, or Summer) immediately following the completion of the preliminary examination.  Failure to complete their degree within this period may result in students having to retake the preliminary examination and be re-admitted to candidacy.

Time limit extension for dissertators impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic

To offer flexibility amidst the major disruption that COVID-19 may have had on doctoral candidates’ research and scholarship progress, students who achieved dissertator status by the end of the 2020 summer term have automatically had the 5-year time limit extended by 8 months. Dissertators given this 8-month extension who need more time due to continued COVID-related disruption to their progress may request a further extension from the Graduate School. Decisions to extend the deadline beyond the additional 8 months are made on a case-by-case basis upon request of the student and their advisor. Students requesting an extension need to submit the request, along with a letter of support from their advisor, to [email protected] .

Doctoral Student Experience Survey (DSES)

The Doctoral Student Experience Survey (DSES) collects information at the time students make the transition to dissertator status. The survey covers career aspirations, academic experiences, and academic challenges, among other topics. Complete the Doctoral Student Experience Survey online. The Graduate School will use survey data to help identify strategies to improve student services.

After your program requests the preliminary exam warrant, you will receive an email with the link to the survey. All research doctoral students should complete the survey prior to submitting their signed preliminary examination warrant to the Graduate School.

Dissertator status

Dissertator status is a unique fee status and is effective at the start of the semester following completion of all dissertator requirements for the doctoral degree except for the dissertation. The Graduate School requires all dissertators to maintain continuous enrollment of exactly three credits (exceptions may apply during the summer). In rare circumstances where this is not possible, a degree completion fee is assessed to recognize the inevitable use of university facilities up to and including the successful defense and submission of the dissertation. To learn more, see Dissertator Status and the Degree Completion Fee .

Step 0: Pre-checks (optional)

Pre-checks are used to answer formatting questions (e.g., use of tables, graphs, and charts), embargo/delayed release questions, or questions related to the degree granting process.  See below on this page for specific formatting requirements.

To request a pre-check, you may email a PDF of your entire dissertation to degree coordinator [email protected] . If you would prefer to meet in person, email [email protected] to arrange a time.

Step 1: Request your final warrant and defend your dissertation

Notify your graduate program coordinator to have them request your doctoral degree warrant from the Graduate School at least three weeks before the anticipated date of your final dissertation defense. You must be enrolled during the semester that you defend and deposit; if you want to defend and/or submit your dissertation to the Graduate School in the summer term, you must register for three credits of research for the eight-week summer session.  Be very aware of two deadline options for depositing your dissertation.  Depositing before the first deadline will result in the degree being awarded at the end of that term.  The second deadline, often called the “window period” deadline, provides a little extra time to deposit after a term ends.  Dissertations deposited during the window period will result in the degree being awarded at the end of the following term, but will not require enrollment in that term.  The deadlines for both are very strict and occur at midnight Central Time.  Be aware that failure to submit by the end of the “window” period at the end of each term will require enrollment in the following term in order for a degree to be awarded.

After your graduate program coordinator submits the doctoral degree warrant request, the Graduate School will review this request. The approved warrant will be available in the Grad Portal. If you pass the defense, your program will let you know how and when to collect electronic signatures on the warrant. When signing your warrant electronically, your committee members thereby approve the dissertation.  (Note: Advisors no longer have to sign the abstract separately.)

Once the final warrant has been signed, you must upload an electronic copy in the administrative documents section of the ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator website.  Your graduate coordinator will also submit the warrant to the Graduate School in the Graduate Portal.

Step 2: Pay the dissertation deposit fee

Go to Grad Portal to pay the required $90 dissertation deposit fee, which covers the cost of processing the dissertation and publishing the abstract by ProQuest. The fee must be paid before submitting your dissertation electronically. The fee payment site provides an email confirmation with your fee payment receipt. Save this payment receipt as a PDF for the electronic dissertation deposit process. You also have the option to log in to the fee payment site and download a PDF of the receipt once you have paid. The receipt will be uploaded in the administrative documents section of the ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator website.

Step 3: Complete the doctoral exit surveys

You must complete the following doctoral exit surveys before submitting your dissertation electronically. Each individual survey will provide a certificate of completion once you have submitted the survey. Save the individual certificates of completion as PDF documents to upload in the administrative documents section of the ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator website.

• Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) : To complete the online Survey of Earned Doctorates you will first provide basic information including your email address. You will then receive an e-mail with a unique PIN and password. Access the SED survey site using the URL, PIN, and password sent to you in this email, and complete the survey. You must advance past the certificate of completion screen in order to submit the survey.
• Graduate School’s Doctoral Exit Survey (DES) : The DES obtains information on your academic experience (e.g., program quality, support, advising) in your doctoral program and information about your postdoctoral plans. To complete the Doctoral Exit Survey online , enter your name as it appears in university records and your student ID number (10 digits). At the end of the survey, there is a survey completion screen. If you have problems accessing the survey, contact [email protected] and include your name and student ID number.

Step 4: Electronic deposit of your dissertation

After you complete Steps 1 to 3, you can submit your dissertation electronically to the ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator website.

ATTENTION: Your submission of the dissertation is final and you are not allowed to make changes once it has been approved by the Graduate School Degree Coordinator . Your submission is not completed until you receive the confirmation email from the Graduate School Degree Coordinator.

PLEASE NOTE:  Keep in mind no degree verification is provided and no degrees are posted without a final grade.  If you are enrolled for 990, your final grade should be S for satisfactory (P is not a final grade for grad students).  If rosters are not available yet, your instructor may submit a non-roster grade change.  The instructions can be found here: https://kb.wisc.edu/registrar/page.php?id=116414

Submitting your dissertation electronically has four steps:

• Prepare for submission
• Submit dissertation on ProQuest/UMI ETD
• Submit administrative documents
• Complete the final submit step

Read this section for detailed instructions for each step.

Before you begin the submission steps, decide whether or not you want to delay release of your dissertation. See the Guide to Preparing your Doctoral Dissertation, below, for more information on embargo/delayed release.

Then, be sure you have the following:

• Full text of your dissertation in PDF format. This must be one file. Fonts must be embedded. Security settings must be set to “no security.” Encrypted files cannot be processed for publishing. The maximum file size that can be uploaded is 1000 MB. The PDF file name cannot contain periods (except for the .pdf extension). Instructions for PDF conversion are available at the ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator site under the “Resources and Guidelines” tab.
• UMI abstract text. This abstract, preferably not more than 350 words, must be in English. You will be asked to copy and paste this text during the electronic submission steps.
• Optional supplementary files. These images, data, etc. are an integral part of the dissertation, but not part of the full text.
• Advisor’s and other committee members’ names. These usually are listed as they appear on your approved warrant.
• Subject category. Choose one to three subject categories from the Subject Category list that best describe your dissertation subject area.
• Receipt confirming payment of the dissertation deposit fee. After you have paid the required $90 dissertation deposit fee, you will receive an e-mail receipt confirming payment.
• An electronic copy of the signed final warrant.

Go to the ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator site and choose “Submitting Your Dissertation/Thesis.” Select University of Wisconsin-Madison from the list provided. Create an account or login using an existing account.

The ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator website will walk you through a simple process of accepting the publishing agreement and uploading the files and information about your submission. If you need to finish your submission later, you can save your information and come back to finish.

At the submission step called Dissertation/Thesis Details, you will need to enter the following important information about your dissertation. Accuracy is essential.

• Title: Enter the full title of your dissertation, as it appears on the title page. Only some special characters can be used in this field. The title field does not accept subscript, superscript, or Greek letters; instead, you will need to spell these out. Select the year in which you completed your manuscript.
• Degree/Department Information: Select the year in which your degree will be conferred. If you are depositing during the window period and are uncertain, contact the Graduate School. Select the degree you will receive and your program.
• Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair: Enter your primary advisor’s name exactly as it appears on your warrant. Do not repeat your advisor in the list of committee members.
• Committee Members: Enter your committee members’ names exactly as they appear on your warrant.
• Description of Dissertation/Thesis: Select categories and keywords that identify your work.
• Abstract: Enter the text of your UMI abstract exactly as it was approved by your faculty advisor, preferably no more than 350 words.

At the submission step called Administrative Documents, you will need to upload the following items:

• Dissertation deposit confirmation receipt: Upload a PDF of the email receipt you received from the UW–Madison Graduate School fee payment website.
• The Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) certificate of completion: Upload the survey receipt as a PDF.
• The Graduate School’s Doctoral Exit Survey (DES) certificate of completion: Upload the survey receipt as a PDF.
• Signed PhD warrant: Upload your final signed PhD warrant as a PDF.

At the submission step called Notes to Administrator, indicate if you plan to attend the optional Graduate School final review.

You may choose to order additional copies of your dissertation and register the copyright of your dissertation – both of these items are optional. To learn more, see Copyright Resources .

Be certain to complete the final submit step at the ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator website. You MUST submit your dissertation to the ProQuest/UMI ETD Administrator website by 11:59 pm CST on the degree deadline date in order to receive your degree in a given term. Keep in mind that submissions are reviewed by the Graduate School Degree Coordinator in the order they were received. After you complete the final submit step, you will receive an email confirming the submission. When you submit your dissertation, it will be reviewed by a Graduate School Degree Coordinator to ensure that you have followed all formatting requirements.

The Graduate School Degree Coordinator will approve and deliver your dissertation to ProQuest/UMI Dissertation Publishing for microfilming and binding. The UW–Madison Library will receive a bound copy and an electronic version of your dissertation shortly thereafter. You will receive an official email notification when the Graduate School has approved your dissertation for publication.

Step 5 Graduate School email confirmation

After you have successfully completed steps 1 – 4, please check your email at the address that you entered when you created an account on the ProQuest website. Look for a message from the ETD administrator. If formatting changes are requested, please complete them and re-upload your dissertation as soon as possible, as instructed in the email. If your dissertation has been accepted, the email will confirm this fact. Next please make sure that your instructor has or will submit a final grade, which should be S for satisfactory if you are enrolled for 990. Please be aware that no degrees are posted before the degree deadline and it may take 4-6 weeks for your degree to be posted after the degree deadline.

Commencement – December and May

If you want your name to be printed in the commencement program, you must submit an Apply to Graduate application through your MyUW Student Center. This is in addition to contacting your program to request your degree warrant from the Graduate School. You may attend the ceremony even if your name is not included in the commencement program. August does not have a commencement ceremony. If you plan to graduate in August, you may attend either the May or December ceremony by submitting the Apply to Graduate application through MyUW Student Center. Cap and gown rentals are at University Bookstore. Guests can attend without tickets.

Degree completion letter

The Registrar’s Office handles degree completion letters . If you have completed all degree requirements and deposited your thesis or dissertation and are waiting until the next degree conferral date to receive your degree, you may request and receive a letter indicating that all requirements have been completed. All grades from the semester in which you are depositing your dissertation (and all other outstanding grades) must be reported to the Graduate School before you can receive a completion letter.  Allow five business days for the processing of your degree completion letter request.

The Registrar’s Office will send your diploma to your diploma address approximately 12 to 14 weeks after degree conferral. Update your diploma address via the MyUW Student Center prior to the end of the semester in which you are graduating. Students with holds will not receive their diploma until those holds are cleared.

A student’s name will be printed on the diploma as it appears on the student’s official university record. Changes to legal personal information  including names can be requested online. For a student’s name change to appear on the diploma, the change must be made before the degree deadline in the semester the student will graduate.

Students who graduated after December 2015 may also access a Certified Electronic Diploma at no cost. A Certified Electronic Diploma is an official, portable, secure PDF version of the diploma that can be shared with anyone.

Transcripts

The Registrar’s Office posts degrees on official transcripts approximately four to six weeks after the end of the semester. You can order your official transcripts online .

Students may also request a campus copy of transcripts of their student record from MyUW Student Center. A campus copy student record is not an official transcript but it does indicate all internal university memoranda. The Registrar’s Office also provides more details on how to request a campus copy student record .

Guide to Preparing your Doctoral Dissertation

Formatting requirements.

We encourage you to read through these requirements before you start writing.  These guidelines will help you prepare your dissertation to ensure that it constitutes a permanent document of quality appropriate for a major graduate institution. Your dissertation is required to conform to these standards. It will be fully corrected, complete, and submitted electronically as a single PDF file.

Keep in mind that the formatting must be consistent throughout the dissertation with the exception of the Appendix.  Previously published articles can be placed in the Appendix in their published format.  If previously published work is included in a chapter, its format must conform to the formatting guidelines.

Dissertations must acknowledge contributions from other individuals, including co-authors of published material that appears in the document, such as designing the research, executing the research, analyzing the data, interpreting the research/data, or writing, proofing, copyediting the manuscript.  Contributions can be recognized in an acknowledgements section or at the beginning of a chapter where the contributed material is used.

Electronic and paper copies of approved dissertations are sent to the UW–Madison Memorial Library. They can be found electronically on MadCat and the ProQuest database. ProQuest/UMI Dissertation Publishing archives all accepted dissertations.

View the Formatting Requirements for your Doctoral Dissertation as a PDF checklist.

Dissertation help

In addition to support and feedback that your faculty advisor, mentor, and committee members will provide, be sure to take full advantage of the dissertation support opportunities at UW–Madison.

For more information

Alexandra Walter Doctoral Degree Coordinator [email protected] 608-262-2433

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You may put unusual or supplementary materials (such as questionnaires or photos) into appendices. Number the appendices consecutively with the text of the dissertation. The formatting of the appendices must meet the standards for the rest of the dissertation. However, the text in the appendices can be single-spaced.

Bibliography

The bibliography should meet your major program’s style requirements, which often conform to the leading journals or book series of the field. They may be single-spaced with an additional space between entries.

Equations, superscripts, and subscripts

Equations, superscripts, and subscripts are acceptable in your dissertation provided they are legible when microfilmed. Generally, superscripts and subscripts may be one size smaller than the text. To identify each equation clearly, please isolate it with double spacing.

Footnotes and endnotes

Footnotes and endnotes may be single-spaced with an extra space between notes. The font size can be one size smaller but must be legible. Please follow the preference of your major program when deciding where footnotes or endnotes should be placed in your text.

Figures and graphs must meet the same standards as the rest of the dissertation. Headings, keys, and all other identifying information must be of the same quality and format as the text. The font size can be one size smaller but must be legible. If graphics, tables, or figures are in landscape mode, orient the top of the printed page at the dissertation binding edge (left side of the paper) with the page number in the upper right-hand corner in the portrait page setup. Images may be submitted in black and white or color.

Language use

You may include quotations in languages other than English in your dissertation. However, the dissertation itself must be in English unless your program certifies that one or both of the following conditions have been met: the foreign language is that of the readers to whom the work is addressed; or translation into English would make the study obscure and imprecise. Dissertations submitted by students from a language program are acceptable in the language of that program.

Minimum required

• Use a minimum of 1″ margin on all four sides.
• Page numbers must be in the  upper right-hand corner at least a half inch from the top and one inch from the side of the page.
• Page headers:  Do NOT use page headers (except for page numbers) or decorative borders.

Page numbering

The title page and copyright page (if you are retaining and registering copyright) are not counted in the numbering of pages. The other pages are counted in the numbering of pages.

• Number the preliminary pages (for example, dedication page, acknowledgments page, table of contents, and abstract) that precede the main text with  lower case Roman numerals beginning with i . Put page numbers in the right-hand corner one inch from both top and side of the page. Page numbers half an inch from the top of the page are also acceptable.
• Number the main text consecutively beginning with  Arabic numeral 1  in the upper right-hand corner one inch from both top and side of the page. Check your dissertation to ensure that  all pages are present and in numerical order.
• If you are using Microsoft Word, find directions about how to start page numbering later in your document .
• Number appendices consecutively with the text, continuing the Arabic numeral sequence.
• Landscaped pages must have page numbers in portrait position and the top of the page must be on the left-hand, binding side of the page when it is rotated. If the page is *not* rotated, then the page numbers must be on the bottom, right-hand side of the page and sideways, so that when the pages are rotated, the page numbers are in portrait position. There are a number of ways to do this. For methods using Microsoft Word, such as text boxes, see instructions and examples of rotating page numbers . Note that if you do not rotate the landscaped pages, you want page numbers to appear in the same position as the highlighted number 3 in the second row of examples.

Production of document

• Use 10 to 12 point type.
• Double-space the main text of the dissertation.
• Lengthy quotations, footnotes, and bibliographies may be single-spaced with a double space between entries or paragraphs.
• Maps, charts, etc. are acceptable.

The title page is the very first page of your dissertation. Do not number the title page. At the bottom of the title page, you must indicate the date you passed your final defense (final oral examination) and list your committee members’ names, titles, and programs. Follow this  sample title page  format exactly.

If you are depositing your thesis in the window period then your title page should reflect the year in which your degree will be granted.

Additional guidelines

UMI abstract When you deposit your dissertation electronically, ProQuest/UMI will require you to provide the text of your UMI abstract. Please have this text ready when you begin the online submission process. The abstract must be in English and should preferably be no more than 350 words. When your advisor signs the warrant, they approve the dissertation and the abstract.

Abstract within dissertation Your program may require an abstract to be part of the dissertation. Please follow your program’s style requirements, and number all of these pages as part of the preliminary material (use lower case Roman numerals). This abstract must be included in the table of contents.

Copyright page (optional) You may include a copyright page; if you do, insert it directly after the title page. Do not number the copyright page. View a sample copyright page . Center the text in the bottom third of the page within the dissertation margins.

Registration of copyright (optional) You are automatically protected by copyright law, and you do not have to pay in order to retain copyright.

There is an additional fee of $75 for registering your copyright, which is a public record, and is payable to ProQuest/UMI at the time of electronic submission.  If you register your copyright, ProQuest/UMI will send a digital copy of your dissertation to the Library of Congress. You are not required to register your copyright through ProQuest/UMI; you may choose to do it on your own. More information is available online at www.copyright.gov and from UW Libraries .

Corrections After you submit the PDF of your dissertation electronically, you will not be permitted to make any additional corrections. Therefore, make sure the PDF is completely accurate before you submit.

Reprints and use of copyrighted material You are responsible for appropriate use of copyrighted materials in your thesis. Some material may be available for use without restriction while other material may require written permission from the rights holder. Other material may be appropriately used without written permission under the “fair use” provisions of the copyright law. General guidance regarding use of copyrighted materials is available from ProQuest/ UMI or from the UW–Madison Libraries .

• Fair Use: Read general information regarding how to determine if your use of copyrighted materials constitutes fair use.  Additionally, your own professional or disciplinary societies may have fair use statements to help you negotiate disciplinary specialties.
• Written Permission: If written permission is required, you are responsible for obtaining such permission and maintaining records of the written permission to use the copyrighted material in your thesis. You can usually get permission by sending a letter of request to the copyright holder. Normally, your letter will be returned with an approval stamp or signature. Some copyright holders require a specific form of acknowledgment. A sample permission request letter is offered by ProQuest/UMI .  Note that obtaining written permission can be a lengthy process. Plan ahead and budget ample time to obtain all required permissions.

Producing copies of your dissertation (optional) There are many options available in terms of producing copies of your dissertation. You do NOT have to order copies through the UMI/ProQuest ETD Administrator site but that option is available. Some other ways to produce copies of your dissertation include:

• UMI/ProQuest ETD Administrator site: order copies
• Printing shop (FedEx Office, Bob’s Copy Shop, etc.)
• Local book bindery (Grimm Book Bindery, Mc Ginn Bindery, etc.)

Embargo/delayed release

As a public research university, the University of Wisconsin–Madison considers the commitment to research a central part of its mission. As such, there is an expectation that research conducted by graduate students is made available to the public. Therefore, dissertations are normally open and searchable online shortly after they are deposited with ProQuest.

However, if a publication or a patent is pending, an embargo, or delayed release, may be requested during the submission process, in which case the citation and abstract will be available in ProQuest while the full text is under an embargo.

Please decide whether or not to delay release before you submit your dissertation. All decisions are final. Once your dissertation has been delivered to ProQuest, it is too late to delay release.

The only way to delay release is to make the appropriate selection during the submission process. You will have the option to select “No” to the Publishing Options question: “I want my work to be available in ProQuest as soon as it is published.” Next you will choose a time period of 6 months, 1 year, or 2 years for embargo. If you would like to select 3 years, select “other” and then write a note to the administrator in the text box below your selection, explaining that you would like 3 years. These options do not require special permission, but you should have discussed this with your advisor in advance.

Any request for more than a 3-year embargo or an extension of the original embargo request will be reviewed by the Graduate School Associate Dean. Such a request requires a letter to be signed by the student and the advisor in advance.

In order to qualify for an embargo extension, you are required to contact the degree coordinator prior to the expiration date of your embargo. Again, it is your responsibility to contact the Graduate School before your dissertation is released. Once a dissertation embargo has been lifted, it will not be reinstated.

Steps to prepare for commencement

Once you have met your degree requirements, you may choose to attend a commencement ceremony. Commencement occurs in May and December each year and is coordinated by the Office of the Chancellor. There is no summer commencement ceremony. If you plan to graduate in August, you may attend either the May or the December ceremony. If you want your name to be printed in the commencement program, you must apply to graduate through your MyUW Student Center by the deadline each semester in addition to contacting your major program to request a degree warrant from the Graduate School. The deadline to request your warrant can be found in the Degree Deadlines, below. You may attend the commencement ceremony even if your name is not included in the commencement program. Academic attire is required to participate in the commencement ceremony. Attire can be purchase or rented from the University Book Store . Your school/college or program may also have its own commencement activities.

Doctoral degree deadlines

• November 29 Graduate School Fall 2024: Request for all Master's and Doctoral Degree Warrants 4:00 PM
• December 22 Graduate School Fall 2024: Doctoral degree deadline 11:55 PM

View the Graduate School degree deadlines as a printable PDF >>

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Division of graduate studies menu, division of graduate studies, doctoral graduation checklist, doctoral graduation process overview.

Links are in the checklists below this table. 

Graduation Checklist

• Check your unofficial transcript in DuckWeb for any missing grades from previous quarters. Contact your professors to submit change of grade requests if you see “X” or “N” grades on your transcript. 
• Ensure that you will have completed at least 18 Dissertation credits (course number 603) by the time you graduate. This requirement does not apply to the DMA in music performance - refer to the School of Music and Dance website for details.
• Submit your application for advanced degree in GradWeb  according to the deadlines for the term you plan to graduate.
• Update your diploma address in DuckWeb. Diplomas are mailed by the Office of the Registrar 2-3 months following graduation.
• Review commencement details if you plan to participate in any graduation ceremonies.
• Monitor your UO email after the quarter ends for any time-sensitive requests or questions that might arise during graduation processing.

Dissertation Checklist

• Check with your committee members to make sure no one will be out of town, on sabbatical, etc. on your defense date OR when you might need signatures.
• Review defense and registration requirements for APA Internship students in clinical, counseling, and school psychology .
• Apply for oral defense in GradWeb at least 3-4 weeks before your defense date to ensure submission of an approved application by the deadline. The deadline for receiving your approved application for defense is 2 weeks  prior to the defense date. 
• Create an account in the ProQuest Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD) Administrator . We recommend creating your account before you submit your dissertation. The beginning of the quarter you intend to graduate is a great time to complete this step and familiarize yourself with the site.
• Review Thesis and Dissertation for formatting requirements, including templates and other helpful resources.
• Complete the survey of earned doctorates (SED) .
• Upload and submit your dissertation to the UO ETD Administrator  by 11:59 pm on the quarterly deadline .
• Confirm submission: After a successful submission, the message “Your dissertation/thesis has been submitted” will appear. You will also receive an e-mail from “ETD Administrator” that you have submitted to the University of Oregon.
• Monitor your email after submission for any requests for revisions. You will either receive an email notifying you the ETD was accepted or requesting formatting revisions. If you are asked to make revisions, the email will indicate a new deadline. Upload the revisions by the provided deadline.

• Current Students

Ph.D. Credit Requirements

In their first year in the program, PhD students must register in the 0-credit online course INTD 799 (Responsible Conduct of Research) and receive a Satisfactory grade.

• Ph.D. coursework registration requirements
• Ph.D. students with a recognized Master’s degree or equivalent are required to take four 700-level 3-credit courses (12 credits). 
• Ph.D. students with a recognized Baccalaureate degree are required to take eight 600-level or 700-level 3-credit courses (24 credits) of coursework beyond the Baccalaureate degree as well as four additional 700-level 3-credit courses (12 credits), for a total of twelve 3-credit courses (36 credits). 
• Master’s project (course 700), Master’s thesis (course 701), or more than two independent study courses (courses 725 and 726) cannot be used to satisfy these coursework requirements.
• A Ph.D. student may substitute a 600-level course for a 700-level course only after the academic advisor appeals on behalf of the student to the Office of Graduate Studies and receives approval.
• A Ph.D. program may define an additional set of required courses that must be pre-approved by the academic college (multiple colleges may be involved for interdisciplinary programs).
• Whether or not a program requires additional courses above the aforementioned minimum requirements, a Ph.D. student's dissertation committee may ask the student to take additional courses.
• Ph.D. dissertation registration requirements
• Students who pass the Qualifying Examination (QE) must then register for 3 credits of pre-doctoral research (792B) per semester until they defend successfully the dissertation proposal.
• Students who have successfully completed the required courses, have not passed the QE and are in their second, third or fourth semester of the PhD program may fall into any of these categories:      → Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better are expected to register for at least one 700-level 3-credit course (this course can be 792B).      → Students with a cumulative GPA below 3.5 must register for at least six credits. The academic advisor may appeal to the Office of Graduate Studies in order to count 792B toward this requirement.
• Students who defend the dissertation proposal successfully must then register for the 1-credit dissertation course (790A) each semester until they complete all degree requirements.
• Students may take courses simultaneously with the 790 or 792 course as per Ph.D. program guidelines or dissertation committee recommendation.
• Students who do not meet the following deadlines will be dismissed from the Ph.D. program.      → The required coursework for the Ph.D. program and the (major part of the) QE must be completed successfully by the end of the second year in the program.      → The dissertation proposal must be defended successfully either by the end of the third year in the Ph.D. program or four semesters after registering for the first time in the 792 pre-doctoral research course, whichever occurs earlier.      → The dissertation must be defended successfully by the end of the sixth year in the Ph.D. program.
• Dissertation Advisor(s) and Committee Appointment
• Ph.D. students with a prior M.S. degree must choose their dissertation advisor(s) by the fourth semester in the program at the latest . Students without an M.S. degree must make the decision by the end of the fifth semester.
• The  Dissertation Advisor(s) Designation form  must be submitted to the Graduate Studies Office as per the instructions at /forms.
• The  Dissertation Committee Appointment Report  must be submitted to the Graduate Studies Office,  as per the instructions at /forms ,  for approval before scheduling the dissertation proposal defense.

( Note : The credit requirements for any joint Ph.D. program, for which the names of multiple universities appear on the diploma, follow the explicit requirements of the joint program.)