doctoral dissertation committee

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Dissertation Committee: Roles, Functions, and How to Choose

The path to a dissertation is filled with choices that determine the quality of your experience as a student as well as the future strength of your professional network. 

Choosing your dissertation committee is one of the most important decisions–and one of the most fraught–that you’ll make as a graduate student. With the stakes being so high, many doctoral students worry about making a misstep and getting it wrong. 

Fear not! Putting together your dissertation committee becomes easier once you know the right questions to ask: of potential committee members, of your dissertation chair, and of yourself. While forming your dissertation committee can be challenging, striking the right balance will lead to a richly rewarding academic experience that will pay dividends throughout your career. Do your homework, and you’ll be just fine. 

Dissertation Committee Questions

• What does a dissertation committee do?
• Who serves on your dissertation committee?
• How do you choose dissertation committee members?
• What can you expect from your dissertation committee? 

What Does a Dissertation Committee Do?

The basic function of your dissertation committee, which typically consists of five members, is to guide you through the process of proposing, writing, and revising your dissertation.  

Dissertation committee members serve in a mentoring capacity, offering constructive feedback on your writing and research, as well as guiding your revision efforts. They are also the gatekeepers of the ivory tower, and the ultimate judges of whether or not your dissertation passes muster. 

The dissertation committee is usually formed once your academic coursework is completed. It is not uncommon in the humanities and social sciences for dissertation committee members to also write and evaluate qualifying exams, and of course serve as faculty. By the time you begin working on your dissertation, you may know the faculty members who will serve on your dissertation committee quite well. 

Who Serves on Your Dissertation Committee? 

To a degree, who serves on your dissertation committee is up to you. Dissertation committees usually consist mostly of faculty members from the doctoral student’s home department, though this can vary due to the rise of interdisciplinary programs. 

Some universities also allow an outside expert–a former professor or academic mentor from another university–to serve on your committee. It’s advisable to choose faculty members who know you and who are familiar with your work. 

While it’s a good idea to have a mix of faculty members, it’s also important to be mindful about the roles they can play. For instance, I always advise graduate students working in quantitative fields to have a statistician on their committee. When there’s big data to crunch, it never hurts to have a stats expert in your corner. You’ll also want at least one faculty member–besides your chair–whose research is in the same relative area as yours, or adjacent to it. 

How to Choose Dissertation Committee Members

Think Carefully. It’s tempting to approach a faculty member who is a superstar in their field (if not, necessarily, in yours) to lend a little extra sparkle to your own academic credentials. Or perhaps the kindly professor you can always count on for an easy A. Or even the faculty member you’d like to be friends with after graduate school. Right? 

Not so fast. Here are some things to keep in mind when building your dissertation committee dream team: 

• Avoid Superstars. Though the prospect of having your department’s most eminent name on your committee sounds exciting, their star power comes with a price. Between guest lectures, books, keynotes, and conference travel, their time is not their own, and it won’t be yours, either. Choose dissertation committee members who have time for you. 
• Choose faculty members you know, like, and can learn from. It’s not a bad idea to approach a professor whose coursework challenged you. One of the professors who served on my committee was such an exacting grader that my term papers for her courses were accepted for publication without revision (academia’s most coveted mythical creature). 
• Keep your eyes on the future. Members of your dissertation committee can be your mentors, co-authors, and research collaborators throughout your career. Choose them wisely. 

Forming Your Dissertation Committee

Reaching out to potential dissertation committee members and formally asking them to serve on your dissertation committee can be a surprisingly taxing process. It takes some planning, and you’ll want to put some thought into it before making the big ask. While being asked to serve on a dissertation committee won’t come as a surprise to most faculty–they know the drill–these are some considerations to know going in:

• Talk to your advisor before approaching anyone to be on your committee. Remember, your advisor knows their colleagues in a way that you don’t, and is also aware of departmental politics, potential personality conflicts, and which faculty members are a good fit on a dissertation committee. Trust your advisor’s judgement. 
• Know what you’re asking. Serving on a dissertation committee is a big time commitment for any faculty member. If they say yes to being on your committee, it means they are invested in you and your research, and they want to play a role in your future. It doesn’t hurt to send a thank-you note. 
• Don’t sweat it if they say no. It does not reflect on you as a student or a scholar. A good faculty member is aware of their limitations, and they probably just don’t have the time or bandwidth to take on another big commitment. Thank them and move on. 

Expectations

Once your dissertation committee is formed, it’s time to get down to business. As a faculty member, I love serving on dissertation committees because doing so gives me the chance to work with grad students one on one as they journey into new frontiers and carve a place for themselves in academia. It is a deep, rich learning experience, and it’s thrilling to watch students transform into scholars. 

Even though researching and writing a dissertation is the most challenging work you’ll ever do, recognize this time for the opportunity it truly represents. In your dissertation committee, you have a panel of experts all to yourself, and they’re eager to help you knock your dissertation out of the park. This is the experience of a lifetime; take advantage of your dissertation committee’s time and talent, and channel that energy and goodwill into your development as a scholar. 

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Courtney Watson, Ph.D.

Courtney Watson, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of English at Radford University Carilion, in Roanoke, Virginia. Her areas of expertise include undergraduate and graduate curriculum development for writing courses in the health sciences and American literature with a focus on literary travel, tourism, and heritage economies. Her writing and academic scholarship has been widely published in places that include  Studies in American Culture ,  Dialogue , and  The Virginia Quarterly Review . Her research on the integration of humanities into STEM education will be published by Routledge in an upcoming collection. Dr. Watson has also been nominated by the State Council for Higher Education of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Rising Star Award, and she is a past winner of the National Society of Arts & Letters Regional Short Story Prize, as well as institutional awards for scholarly research and excellence in teaching. Throughout her career in higher education, Dr. Watson has served in faculty governance and administration as a frequent committee chair and program chair. As a higher education consultant, she has served as a subject matter expert, an evaluator, and a contributor to white papers exploring program development, enrollment research, and educational mergers and acquisitions.

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Forming Your Committee

Students should not schedule the proposal defense prior to their committee being finalized and their appointment form being approved by the Graduate School.

It is necessary to have the form approved in advance of the proposal defense, as there are instances in which committee members are not approved (for example, if someone is listed as the Graduate Faculty Representative who the Graduate School does not deem  qualified to serve in this capacity).

The Graduate School's requirements for everything from committee formation to graduation clearance can be found under the Current Students tab on the Graduate School website. 

Composition of the Doctoral Committee: Roles and Responsibilities

The Graduate School requires that doctoral committees consist of no less than four members. These four members must be regular members of the Graduate Faculty or must be granted an exception by the Dean of the Graduate School.  All committees must include a chair and a Graduate Faculty Representative. Assistant Professors are usually not approved to serve as chair unless they have served as a committee member first. Exceptions are granted on a case-by-case basis. 

Graduate Faculty Representative

The primary role of the Graduate Faculty Representative is to ensure that the student is treated fairly and that Graduate School policies are upheld. Expertise in the student's area of research is not a requirement. The Graduate Faculty Representative's responsibilities are explained in greater detail here . Assistant Professors are not eligible to serve as Graduate Faculty Representative. 

The requirement to include an outside member on all dissertation committees is not uncommon among institutions of higher education and is in keeping with best practices in doctoral support. 

Committee Members

Committee members are often chosen to provide topic or methodological expertise. Even without contributing their expertise, committee members may be chosen based on faculty with whom the student has a good professional relationship or who could offer a helpful outside perspective. Committee members are generally not as involved as the committee chair in the everyday progression of the dissertation.  Typically, they read the dissertation only in its final form before the defense, although they should be available for consultation throughout the process and may be more closely involved in sections or chapters in which they have particular expertise. 

The committee members and Graduate Faculty Representative will:

• Approve of the subject matter and methodology of the thesis or dissertation research
• Review and comment on drafts of the thesis or dissertation prior to submission to The Graduate School
• Verify, to the best of their ability, the quality of the data collection and evidence, data analysis, and logical reasoning or interpretation in light of the proposal aims
• Evaluate whether the student’s thesis or dissertation fulfills the requirements of the degree

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Dissertation advisors and committee.

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The Dissertation Committee

Each program should make clear in its handbook how students go about selecting their dissertation advisors and/or committees, and set a timetable for doing so. Programs should be structured so that each student always has an advisor; leaving a gap between advice from the DGS and advice from the preliminary examination committee and/or dissertation advisor tends to prolong time to degree and increase attrition.

Chairs and DGSs need to be aware of the advising and mentoring relationships in their graduate programs. Monitoring the progress of each student is the responsibility of the program and not simply that of the faculty advisor. The dissertation chair and the other faculty members of a dissertation committee should meet with the student on a regular basis, and certainly a minimum of once a semester.

Policy on Advisors who have left Brown

Subject to the approval of the chair of the department, faculty who leave Brown may continue to serve as dissertation or thesis advisors for students whom they were advising at the time of their departure. Under normal circumstances, when a faculty member leaves, his or her advisees will be required to seek a new advisor. The program must be mindful of the need to provide students with some on-campus supervision and contact in the cases where a non-resident advisor continues service.

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Forming an Interdisciplinary Dissertation Committee

Doctoral students in interdisciplinary programs face unique challenges in forming dissertation committees. Based on our experience as directors of three such programs (Public Health Genetics, Urban Design and Planning, and Astrobiology), we offer the following suggestions.

Your first challenge

Find the optimal set of members — especially the right chair (or two co-chairs) for your committee. Committee members need to:

• be the best match for your intellectual interests
• have the expertise to help you succeed in designing and completing your dissertation
• be able to help you prepare for your career

In planning for a dissertation, you should consult extensively with faculty members in your program for guidance about:

• potential research questions
• planning/timing methodology
• potential committee members

The role of the committee

The final decision about the appropriate content of your project rests with the dissertation supervisory committee. You should work closely with the committee (especially the chair) to determine your project’s scope and content. The committee will guide your research and should meet regularly with you. Being sure you and your committee agree on what is meant by “regular” meetings is also a good idea. You may find it useful to meet individually with the members and obtain their feedback at several stages of your dissertation process. The interdisciplinary nature of your work may require that feedback at an advanced stage of your dissertation will be provided by the committee in an integrated form. You may want to discuss with your chair how the committee could produce a collective memo integrating their shared feedback.

The composition of dissertation committees

The dissertation supervisory committee must have at least four members, including the chair and the Graduate School representative (GSR). At least three committee members (including the chair and the GSR) must be UW graduate faculty members with an endorsement to chair doctoral committees; a majority of your committee members must be graduate faculty members, identifiable through the  Graduate Faculty Locator .

Committee members should include faculty expertise in your dissertation’s core fields. You might consider having five members, especially if your project involves different disciplines requiring advice and guidance in all areas. Four committee members must attend general and final exams — so having five on your committee provides flexibility if one member cannot attend. However, having more than four committee members may make it more difficult for them to find time to work together.

Selecting a Graduate School representative

You must select the Graduate School representative for your committee by consulting with your chair, other committee members, and/or program directors. The GSR votes and represents the interests of the Graduate School. GSR requirements:

• be a graduate faculty member
• have an endorsement to chair doctoral committees
• no conflict of interest with you or your committee chair

Also, the GSR may not have an official faculty appointment within your committee chair’s department(s) or the department in which your program is housed. This can be challenging for students in interdisciplinary programs. Exceptions to this rule can be made, with appropriate justification, by petition to the dean of the Graduate School.

by Professor Emeritus Melissa Austin, Public Health Genetics; Marina Alberti, professor, Urban Design and Planning; and Woody Sullivan, professor, Astrobiology

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• Dissertation Reading Committee

The Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee consists of three faculty members (the principal dissertation advisor and two other readers) who agree to read a student’s dissertation and serve on the orals committee. All members of an approved reading committee are expected to sign the signature page of the completed dissertation. The reading committee normally serves on the oral exam committee, but not always. At the very least, the primary dissertation advisor and one reader from the reading committee serve on the oral exam committee. The student is responsible for obtaining signatures from advisor and readers before submitting the form to the Doctoral Programs Officer for final processing.

The rules governing the composition of the reading committee are as follows: at least one member of the committee must be from the GSE; the principal dissertation advisor must be on the Stanford Academic Council (AC); and any member of the committee that is not a member of the academic council must be approved by the Area Chair and the Associate Dean of Educational Affairs. In the last case, the Petition for Non-Academic Council Member to Serve on Doctoral Committee form (available from the Doctoral Programs Officer) and a current CV of the proposed member are required. This person must be particularly well qualified to consult on the dissertation topic and hold a PhD or an equivalent foreign degree. Non-AC members may not serve as dissertation advisors, but may serve as a co-advisor along with a member of the AC. Students may only have one non-AC member on the reading committee. The only exception to this rule is if you have more than the three members required for a reading committee. At least two members of the reading committee must be members of the Stanford AC. Reading Committee members must sign the Doctoral Reading Committee form (all forms located on the GSE website under current students>forms). Email confirmations or digital signatures will be accepted.

The reading committee formation, and any subsequent changes to the committee composition, are reviewed and approved by the Associate Dean of Educational Affairs. This signature is obtained by the Doctoral Programs Officer, not the student.

The University requires approval of the Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee form prior to advancement to Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status, or before scheduling a University Oral Examination–whichever comes first in the student’s program. Further instructions for form completion are on the GSE Website.

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Henley-Putnam's Doctor of Strategic Security Subject Guide

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Committee Member

Committee chair.

The chair schedules the comprehensive exams, delivers feedback and results of the comprehensive exams, acts as an instructor, oversees the production of the thesis/dissertation, communicates feedback from the subject matter expert and committee member, schedules the dissertation defense, meets monthly via Zoom with the student/candidate throughout the research courses, and reviews work for publication quality.  The chair deals directly with the student on the quality of the paper, the presentation, the flow, the sequence, and the conclusions.  

The role of the committee chair includes the following responsibilities:

• scheduling the comprehensive exams,
• communicating the grades and feedback from the doctoral comprehensive exam,
• overseeing the production of the dissertation,
• managing the timeline and schedule for completion of each phase of the dissertation in the courses.
• acting as an instructor in the courses,
• contacting the student/candidate regarding setting and meeting deadlines in the dissertation process,
• directing the timely and successful completion of each assignment,
• working directly with the SME and committee member to garner added perspective, feedback, and constructive criticism to strengthen the dissertation,
• communicating with the student/candidate to convey feedback, insights, added perspective, and constructive commentary provided by the committee member and SME,
• confirming with the SME that the content of the dissertation is factual and accurate,
• advising the student on formatting, sequencing, and organizing the thesis/dissertation,
• ensuring the academic quality of the thesis/dissertation, including each of the assignments in courses.
• facilitating final approval of the thesis/dissertation by making sure that all committee members sign the approval form, and
• scheduling and leading the thesis/dissertation oral defense and publication.

Subject Matter Expert (SME)

All members of the committee are subject matter experts (SMEs). The title of this particular member of the committee emphasizes and highlights specific responsibilities within the committee dynamic.  The SME should be in constant contact with the student regarding  content  of the dissertation.  This is the person the student turns to in order to test ideas and conclusions and to ensure the appropriateness, relevance, significance, and accuracy of the dissertation’s content in order to meet university and academic standards.

The SME also certifies the accurate reporting of that material to the chair and determines the factual nature of the work.  The SME knows the subject closely and acts as the student’s sounding board.  The SME does not establish timelines, length of the thesis/dissertation, etc.  The role of SME includes the following responsibilities:

• consistently consulting with the student/candidate regarding the relevance and significance of the research content,
• regularly discussing content with the student/candidate to test ideas and conclusions,
• updating the committee chair about discussions with the student/candidate and about any suggestions or recommendations resulting from those discussions, and
• confirming the accuracy, appropriateness, relevance, and significance of the research focus and content with the committee chair.

One additional committee member works for the committee chair.  The committee member advises and assists the committee chair in every aspect of the project.  The committee member interacts directly with the chair, not the student.  This prevents conflicting information from being sent to the student and presents a unified stance during the process.  The chair and the committee member work out all responses presented to the student and resolve any conflicting guidance before the student is contacted.  If conflicts cannot be resolved, the chair makes the ultimate decision.  The chair and the committee member work together constantly, but the chair is the face of the university to the student.  The role of the committee member includes the following responsibilities:

• interacting with the chair to provide added insight, perspective, and feedback to be shared with the student, and
• determining responses, suggestions, and constructive criticism that will be shared with the student through the chair.
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Thesis Committee

The Ph.D. Thesis Committee has the responsibility of advising a student on all aspects of the thesis experience, from the proposal process through the preparation and defense of the final document.

The Committee should be comprised of

• the Thesis Advisor(s),
• the Thesis Committee Chair who presides at all committee meetings (must be a BE faculty member), and
• at least one additional member (unrestricted).

The student and research supervisor should agree upon members of a Thesis Committee, and the student is responsible for inviting faculty to sit on their committee. Beyond administration of the Oral Exam, the Thesis Committee is meant to provide guidance on the various aspects of the student’s project; Thesis Committee members should therefore be selected with this goal in mind.

Forming the Committee

During the summer of the second year, the student must submit the BE PhD Thesis Committee form  to the BE Academic Office ) to request approval of the Thesis Committee membership.

Changing the Committee

The Thesis Committee constituted for the Oral Exam/Thesis Proposal may change over the course of the student’s research, as determined by the student and advisor with approval by the Graduate Program Chair. Students should submit a new PhD Thesis Committee form (above) to the BE Academic Office.

PhD Thesis Guide

This phd thesis guide will guide you step-by-step through the thesis process, from your initial letter of intent to submission of the final document..

All associated forms are conveniently consolidated in the section at the end.

Deadlines & Requirements

Students should register for HST.ThG during any term in which they are conducting research towards their thesis. Regardless of year in program students registered for HST.ThG in a regular term (fall or spring) must meet with their research advisor and complete the  Semi-Annual PhD Student Progress Review Form to receive credit.

Years 1 - 2

• Students participating in lab rotations during year 1, may use the optional MEMP Rotation Registration Form , to formalize the arrangement and can earn academic credit by enrolling in HST.599. 
• A first letter of intent ( LOI-1 ) proposing a general area of thesis research and research advisor is required by April 30th of the second year of registration.
• A second letter of intent ( LOI-2 ) proposing a thesis committee membership and providing a more detailed description of the thesis research is required by April 30th of the third year of registration for approval by the HST-IMES Committee on Academic Programs (HICAP).

Year 4 

• Beginning in year 4, (or after the LOI-2 is approved) the student must meet with their thesis committee at least once per semester.
• Students must formally defend their proposal before the approved thesis committee, and submit their committee approved proposal to HICAP  by April 30 of the forth year of registration.
• Meetings with the thesis committee must be held at least once per semester. 

HST has developed these policies to help keep students on track as they progress through their PhD program. Experience shows that students make more rapid progress towards graduation when they interact regularly with a faculty committee and complete their thesis proposal by the deadline.

Getting Started

Check out these resources  for finding a research lab.

The Thesis Committee: Roles and Responsibilities

Students perform doctoral thesis work under the guidance of a thesis committee consisting of at least three faculty members from Harvard and MIT (including a chair and a research advisor) who will help guide the research. Students are encouraged to form their thesis committee early in the course of the research and in any case by the end of the third year of registration. The HST IMES Committee on Academic Programs (HICAP) approves the composition of the thesis committee via the letter of intent and the thesis proposal (described below). 

Research Advisor

The research advisor is responsible for overseeing the student's thesis project. The research advisor is expected to:

• oversee the research and mentor the student;
• provide a supportive research environment, facilities, and financial support;
• discuss expectations, progress, and milestones with the student and complete the  Semi-Annual PhD Student Progress Review Form each semester;
• assist the student to prepare for the oral qualifying exam;
• guide the student in selecting the other members of the thesis committee;
• help the student prepare for, and attend, meetings of the full thesis committee, to be held at least once per semester;
• help the student prepare for, and attend, the thesis defense;
• evaluate the final thesis document.

The research advisor is chosen by the student and must be a faculty member of MIT* or Harvard University and needs no further approval.  HICAP may approve other individuals as research advisor on a student-by-student basis. Students are advised to request approval of non-faculty research advisors as soon as possible.  In order to avoid conflicts of interest, the research advisor may not also be the student's academic advisor. In the event that an academic advisor becomes the research advisor, a new academic advisor will be assigned.

The student and their research advisor must complete the Semi-Annual PhD Student Progress Review during each regular term in order to receive academic credit for research.  Download Semi Annual Review Form

*MIT Senior Research Staff are considered equivalent to faculty members for the purposes of research advising. No additional approval is required.

Thesis Committee Chair

Each HST PhD thesis committee is headed administratively by a chair, chosen by the student in consultation with the research advisor. The thesis committee chair is expected to:

• provide advice and guidance concerning the thesis research; 
• oversee meetings of the full thesis committee, to be held at least once per semester;
• preside at the thesis defense; 
• review and evaluate the final thesis document.

The thesis committee chair must be well acquainted with the academic policies and procedures of the institution granting the student's degree and be familiar with the student's area of research. The research advisor may not simultaneously serve as thesis committee chair.

For HST PhD students earning degrees through MIT, the thesis committee chair must be an MIT faculty member. A select group of HST program faculty without primary appointments at MIT have been pre-approved by HICAP to chair PhD theses awarded by HST at MIT in cases where the MIT research advisor is an MIT faculty member.**

HST PhD students earning their degree through Harvard follow thesis committee requirements set by the unit granting their degree - either the Biophysics Program or the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).

** List of non-MIT HST faculty approved to chair MIT thesis proposals when the research advisor is an MIT faculty member.

In addition to the research advisor and the thesis committee chair, the thesis committee must include one or more readers. Readers are expected to:

• attend meetings of the full thesis committee, to be held at least once per semester;
• attend the thesis defense; 

Faculty members with relevant expertise from outside of Harvard/MIT may serve as readers, but they may only be counted toward the required three if approved by HICAP.

The members of the thesis committee should have complementary expertise that collectively covers the areas needed to advise a student's thesis research. The committee should also be diverse, so that members are able to offer different perspectives on the student's research. When forming a thesis committee, it is helpful to consider the following questions: 

• Do the individuals on the committee collectively have the appropriate expertise for the project?
• Does the committee include at least one individual who can offer different perspectives on the student's research?  The committee should include at least one person who is not closely affiliated with the student's primary lab. Frequent collaborators are acceptable in this capacity if their work exhibits intellectual independence from the research advisor.
• If the research has a near-term clinical application, does the committee include someone who can add a translational or clinical perspective?  
• Does the committee conform to HST policies in terms of number, academic appointments, and affiliations of the committee members, research advisor, and thesis committee chair as described elsewhere on this page?

[Friendly advice: Although there is no maximum committee size, three or four is considered optimal. Committees of five members are possible, but more than five is unwieldy.]

Thesis Committee Meetings

Students must meet with their thesis committee at least once each semester beginning in the fourth year of registration. It is the student's responsibility to schedule these meetings; students who encounter difficulties in arranging regular committee meetings can contact Julie Greenberg at jgreenbe [at] mit.edu (jgreenbe[at]mit[dot]edu) .

The format of the thesis committee meeting is at the discretion of the thesis committee chair. In some cases, the following sequence may be helpful:

• The thesis committee chair, research advisor, and readers meet briefly without the student in the room;
• The thesis committee chair and readers meet briefly with the student, without the advisor in the room;
• The student presents their research progress, answers questions, and seeks guidance from the members of the thesis committee;

Please note that thesis committee meetings provide an important opportunity for students to present their research and respond to questions. Therefore, it is in the student's best interest for the research advisor to refrain from defending the research in this setting.

Letters of Intent

Students must submit two letters of intent ( LOI-1 and LOI-2 ) with applicable signatures. 

In LOI-1, students identify a research advisor and a general area of thesis research, described in 100 words or less. It should include the area of expertise of the research advisor and indicate whether IRB approval (Institutional Review Board; for research involving human subjects) and/or IACUC approval (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee; for research involving vertebrate animals) will be required and, if so, from which institutions. LOI-1 is due by April 30 of the second year of registration and and should be submitted to HICAP, c/o Traci Anderson in E25-518. 

In LOI-2, students provide a description of the thesis research, describing the Background and Significance of the research and making a preliminary statement of Specific Aims (up to 400 words total). In LOI-2, a student also proposes the membership of their thesis committee. In addition to the research advisor, the proposed thesis committee must include a chair and one or more readers, all selected to meet the specified criteria . LOI-2 is due by April 30th of the third year of registration and should be submitted to HICAP, c/o Traci Anderson in E25-518.

LOI-2 is reviewed by the HST-IMES Committee on Academic Programs (HICAP) to determine if the proposed committee meets the specified criteria and if the committee members collectively have the complementary expertise needed to advise the student in executing the proposed research. If HICAP requests any changes to the proposed committee, the student must submit a revised LOI-2 for HICAP review by September 30th of the fourth year of registration. HICAP must approve LOI-2 before the student can proceed to presenting and submitting their thesis proposal. Any changes to the thesis committee membership following HICAP approval of LOI-2 and prior to defense of the thesis proposal must be reported by submitting a revised LOI-2 form to HICAP, c/o tanderso [at] mit.edu (Traci Anderson) . After final HICAP approval of LOI-2, which confirms the thesis committee membership, the student may proceed to present their thesis proposal to the approved thesis committee, as described in the next section.

Students are strongly encouraged to identify tentative thesis committee members and begin meeting with them as early as possible to inform the direction of their research. Following submission of LOI-2, students are required to hold at least one thesis committee meeting per semester. Students must document these meetings via the Semi- Annual PhD Student Progress Review form in order to receive a grade reflecting satisfactory progress in HST.ThG.

Thesis Proposal and Proposal Presentation

For MEMP students receiving their degrees through MIT, successful completion of the Oral Qualifying Exam is a prerequisite for the thesis proposal presentation. For MEMP students receiving their degrees through Harvard, the oral qualifying exam satisfies the proposal presentation requirement.

Proposal Document

Each student must present a thesis proposal to a thesis committee that has been approved by HICAP via the LOI-2 and then submit a full proposal package to HICAP by April 30th of the fourth year of registration. The only exception is for students who substantially change their research focus after the fall term of their third year; in those cases the thesis proposal must be submitted within three semesters of joining a new lab. Students registering for thesis research (HST.THG) who have not met this deadline may be administratively assigned a grade of "U" (unsatisfactory) and receive an academic warning.

The written proposal should be no longer than 4500 words, excluding references. This is intended to help students develop their proposal-writing skills by gaining experience composing a practical proposal; the length is comparable to that required for proposals to the NIH R03 Small Research Grant Program. The proposal should clearly define the research problem, describe the proposed research plan, and defend the significance of the work. Preliminary results are not required. If the proposal consists of multiple aims, with the accomplishment of later aims based on the success of earlier ones, then the proposal should describe a contingency plan in case the early results are not as expected.

Proposal Presentation

The student must formally defend the thesis proposal before the full thesis committee that has been approved by HICAP.

Students should schedule the meeting and reserve a conference room and any audio visual equipment they may require for their presentation. To book a conference room in E25, please contact Joseph Stein ( jrstein [at] mit.edu (jrstein[at]mit[dot]edu) ).

Following the proposal presentation, students should make any requested modifications to the proposal for the committee members to review. Once the committee approves the proposal, the student should obtain the signatures of the committee members on the forms described below as part of the proposal submission package.

[Friendly advice: As a professional courtesy, be sure your committee members have a complete version of your thesis proposal at least one week in advance of the proposal presentation.]

Submission of Proposal Package

When the thesis committee has approved the proposal, the student submits the proposal package to HICAP, c/o Traci Anderson in E25-518, for final approval. HICAP may reject a thesis proposal if it has been defended before a committee that was not previously approved via the LOI-2.

The proposal package includes the following: 

• the proposal document
• a brief description of the project background and significance that explains why the work is important;
• the specific aims of the proposal, including a contingency plan if needed; and
• an indication of the methods to be used to accomplish the specific aims.
• signed research advisor agreement form(s);
• signed chair agreement form (which confirms a successful proposal defense);
• signed reader agreement form(s).

Thesis Proposal Forms

• SAMPLE Title Page (doc)
• Research Advisor Agreement Form (pdf)
• Chair Agreement Form (pdf)
• Reader Agreement Form (pdf)

Thesis Defense and Final Thesis Document

When the thesis is substantially complete and fully acceptable to the thesis committee, a public thesis defense is scheduled for the student to present his/her work to the thesis committee and other members of the community. The thesis defense is the last formal examination required for receipt of a doctoral degree. To be considered "public", a defense must be announced to the community at least five working days in advance. At the defense, the thesis committee determines if the research presented is sufficient for granting a doctoral degree. Following a satisfactory thesis defense, the student submits the final thesis document, approved by the research advisor, to Traci Anderson via email (see instructions below).

[Friendly advice: Contact jrstein [at] mit.edu (Joseph Stein) at least two weeks before your scheduled date to arrange for advertising via email and posters. A defense can be canceled for insufficient public notice.]

Before the Thesis Defense 

Committee Approves Student to Defend: The thesis committee, working with the student and reviewing thesis drafts, concludes that the doctoral work is complete. The student should discuss the structure of the defense (general guidelines below) with the thesis committee chair and the research advisor. 

Schedule the Defense: The student schedules a defense at a time when all members of the thesis committee will be physical present. Any exceptions must be approved in advance by the IMES/HST Academic Office.

Reserve Room: It is the student's responsibility to reserve a room and any necessary equipment. Please contact imes-reservation [at] mit.edu (subject: E25%20Room%20Reservation) (IMES Reservation) to  reserve rooms E25-140, E25-141, E25-119/121, E25-521. 

Final Draft: A complete draft of the thesis document is due to the thesis committee two weeks prior to the thesis defense to allow time for review.  The thesis should be written as a single cohesive document; it may include content from published papers (see libraries website on " Use of Previously Published Material in a Thesis ") but it may not be a simple compilation of previously published materials.

Publicize the Defense:   The IMES/HST Academic Office invites the community to attend the defense via email and a notice on the HST website. This requires that the student email a thesis abstract and supplemental information to  jrstein [at] mit.edu (Joseph Stein)  two weeks prior to the thesis defense. The following information should be included: Date and time, Location, (Zoom invitation with password, if offering a hybrid option), Thesis Title, Names of committee members, with academic and professional titles and institutional affiliations. The abstract is limited to 250 words for the poster, but students may optionally submit a second, longer abstract for the email announcement.

Thesis Defense Guidelines

Public Defense: The student should prepare a presentation of 45-60 minutes in length, to be followed by a public question and answer period of 15–30 minutes at discretion of the chair.

Committee Discussion:  Immediately following the public thesis presentation, the student meets privately with the thesis committee and any other faculty members present to explore additional questions at the discretion of the faculty. Then the thesis committee meets in executive session and determines whether the thesis defense was satisfactory. The committee may suggest additions or editorial changes to the thesis document at this point.

Chair Confirms Pass: After the defense, the thesis committee chair should inform Traci Anderson of the outcome via email to tanderso [at] mit.edu (tanderso[at]mit[dot]edu) .

Submitting the Final Thesis Document

Please refer to the MIT libraries  thesis formatting guidelines .

Title page notes. Sample title page  from the MIT Libraries.

Program line : should read, "Submitted to the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, in partial fulfillment of the the requirements for the degree of ... "

Copyright : Starting with the June 2023 degree period and as reflected in the  MIT Thesis Specifications , all students retain the copyright of their thesis.  Please review this section for how to list on your title page Signature Page: On the "signed" version, only the student and research advisor should sign. Thesis committee members are not required to sign. On the " Accepted by " line, please list: Collin M. Stultz, MD, PhD/Director, Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology/ Nina T. and Robert H. Rubin Professor in Medical Engineering and Science/Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

The Academic Office will obtain Professor Stultz's signature.

Thesis Submission Components.  As of 4/2021, the MIT libraries have changed their thesis submissions guidelines and are no longer accepting hard copy theses submissions. For most recent guidance from the libraries:  https://libguides.mit.edu/mit-thesis-faq/instructions  

Submit to the Academic Office, via email ( tanderso [at] mit.edu (tanderso[at]mit[dot]edu) )

pdf/A-1 of the final thesis should include an UNSIGNED title page

A separate file with a SIGNED title page by the student and advisor, the Academic Office will get Dr. Collin Stultz's signature.

For the MIT Library thesis processing, fill out the "Thesis Information" here:  https://thesis-submit.mit.edu/

File Naming Information:  https://libguides.mit.edu/

Survey of Earned Doctorates.  The University Provost’s Office will contact all doctoral candidates via email with instructions for completing this survey.

Links to All Forms in This Guide

• MEMP Rotation Form (optional)
• Semi-Annual Progress Review Form
• Letter of Intent One
• Letter of Intent Two

Final Thesis

• HST Sample thesis title page  (signed and unsigned)
• Sample thesis title page  (MIT Libraries)

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The latest COVID-19 news and information is available at  Penn State's Coronavirus Information website . 

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Update

On March 11 th  the University announced that beginning March 16 th  instruction for all students will be moving to a remote delivery format. Graduate students enrolled in resident courses should plan on participating remotely, and not coming to campus specifically for face-to-face instruction. Learn more at gradschool.psu.edu/covid19 .

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Guidelines and Best Practices for Doctoral Committees

•  /  Graduate Program Resources
•  /  Faculty and Staff
•  /  Guidelines and Best Practices for Doctoral Committees

GCAC-602 Ph.D. Committee Formation, Composition, and Review - Research Doctorate

GCAC-603 Ph.D. Committee Responsibilities - Research Doctorate

GCAC-702 Professional Doctoral Committee Composition - Professional Doctorate

GCAC-703 Professional Doctoral Committee Responsibilities - Professional Doctorate

Guidelines and Best Practices

Committee appointment.

The policies guiding committee appointments are GCAC-602 for the research doctorate and GCAC-702 for professional doctorates. As stated in both policies, doctoral committees should be formed in the best interest of the student .

The graduate program head 1 nominates members of the doctoral committee to the Graduate School and is expected to ensure that the committee composition is appropriate. When forming the committee, the student should consult with their adviser to identify committee members who will be able to provide valuable input to the student’s research and represent a diversity of thought and independent opinions. To ensure that committees function appropriately, program heads should take the following into account when evaluating the appointment of proposed committee members.

• All members or a majority of members are current collaborators on a research project.
• All members have a recent (within 5 years) history of professional collaboration.
• The chair and/or adviser is a senior faculty member, and all other members are pre-tenured faculty members.
• Members have personal relationships that might affect committee functioning (e.g. spouses, family members).
• Each committee member should be available to serve as a resource for the student, independent of the chair and/or the adviser. Every committee member should be able to provide valuable insight and advice to students on their project.
• The dissertation adviser does not have to be the committee chair. There can be benefits to separating out these two roles. Refer to GCAC-602 and GCAC-702 for descriptions of these roles and their responsibilities.
• The Outside Unit Member be a tenured professor at the rank of associate professor or above.
• The Outside Unit Member should not have an established budgetary or collaborative relationship with other members of the committee.
• There should be at most one Special Member on a doctoral committee. The Special Member does not necessarily need to hold a Ph.D. degree and may have other expertise that brings a unique perspective to the committee.

Changes to Committee Membership

According to policies GCAC-602 and GCAC-702 , program heads should review committee membership annually to ensure that all members continue to qualify for service in their designated roles. It is recommended that program heads also review committee membership at least 3-6 months prior to benchmark examinations to ensure that any necessary changes can be made to the committee membership in advance. Last minute changes to doctoral committee membership are not in the student’s best interest. Refer to GCAC-602 and GCAC-702 for the procedures to follow when committee members retire or leave the university.

In cases where there are problems involving doctoral committees, program heads have unilateral authority to make changes to the committee to improve committee functioning and in the best interests of the student . Reasons program heads may need to do so include:

• Personal conflicts among committee members that are not resolvable and that hinder the student’s progress.
• Scholarly or academic disagreements among the committee members. The committee’s opinion in assessing the student does not need to be unanimous and committee members can disagree. However, the program head should consider replacing committee members if scholarly disagreements within the committee reach a point where they are interfering with the student’s progress.

Committee Responsibilities

The policies guiding committee responsibilities are GCAC-603 for the research doctorate and GCAC-703 for professional doctorates.

Annual meetings with the student and the full doctoral committee to review the student’s progress are strongly encouraged. If that is not possible, each member of the committee is strongly encouraged to meet individually with the student at least once per academic year to review and give the student feedback on their progress. Students should feel free to contact all members of the doctoral committee for advice, guidance, and input.

Note that according to policy, committee members must alert the committee chair at least one week in advance of the final oral examination date if there are concerns about proceeding with the examination . Thus, to avoid problems with the final oral examination, doctoral committee members should review the dissertation or written component of the professional doctoral culminating experience at least one week before the exam will be held to assess whether there are serious concerns with the written document that would preclude continuing with the oral examination. GCAC-607 Dissertation and GCAC-707 Professional Doctoral Culminating Experience - Professional Doctorate outline the Process to follow in these cases.

Conflicts of Interest

Anyone concerned about conflicts of interest in the functioning of a doctoral committee is encouraged to report their concerns to the graduate program head; this includes the student, the adviser, and any doctoral committee member. In cases where the conflict of interest involves the graduate program head, these issues should be reported to the Associate Dean for graduate education in the college.

1 If the program head has appointed a Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), then that person is delegated authority to sign on behalf of the program head wherever the program head’s signature is necessary; see GCAC-101 P2 - Graduate Program Roles and Responsibilities .

Further Information

Revision history.

• Added Conflicts of Interest section. Updated references to professional doctorate policies with the new policy numbers and links. Added a reference to GCAC-101 P2 - Graduate Program Roles and Responsibilities.
• New guidelines.

• Doctoral Writing Center
• Ed.D Dissertation Process

Dissertation Committee

Committee makeup.

Dissertation Chair

Role: Primary project manager of the committee. The Chair will have both subject matter and general methodology expertise and will guide the student through the dissertation process. Duration: Begin in year 3 and continue until completion of the dissertation Time Commitment: 24 hours per session with student Selection: Doctoral students will select/approve their Chairs (see below for how to select a Chair)

Committee Member One

Role: Advise students on possible dissertation topics by narrowing down research interests. This committee member will have both subject matter and general methodology expertise. Duration: Begin in year 1 and continue in this role until completion of year 2. In year 3 the Advisor continues to support the dissertation committee in the role of Committee Member # 1 until completion of the dissertation Time Commitment: 2 hours per session in year 1, and 2 and 4 hours per dissertation course in year 3 with student Selection: The Dissertation Director will assign this committee member after matching expertise with student focus.

Committee Member Two

Role: Review dissertation document in preparation for preliminary and final defense. This committee member will have both support subject matter/and general methodology expertise. Duration: Begin in year 3, for courses 3 and 4 (BUS 902 & BUS 903) Time Commitment: 2 hours per course with student Selection: The Dissertation Director/Program Chair will assign this committee member after matching expertise with student focus.

Responsibilities by Roles

The responsibilities of the Chair include:

• Staying current with dissertation policies and procedures
• Implementing any changes
• Advising the candidate from the first dissertation course until the completion of the dissertation and graduation (BUS 901 – BUS 903)
• Guiding the candidate to complete a work plan for completion of the dissertation in each dissertation course
• Guiding the candidate toward achieving a high level of technical and ethical quality in the dissertation research
• Assisting the candidate completing the CITI and in navigating the IRB approval process
• Assisting the candidate to complete their proposal
• Providing guidance on the dissertation structure, formatting, content
• Referring candidate to support functions when necessary – Doctoral Writing Center, Methodology Specialists
• Guiding the candidate in the selection of methods/procedures for data collection and analysis
• Preparing the candidate for the defense process

Dissertation Committee Members - Advisor/Reader

All members of the candidate’s committee share responsibility in ensuring that the candidate produces high-quality scholarship. The responsibilities of the Committee Members include:

• Providing subject matter expertise and guidance
• Reading drafts and provide meaningful feedback at each defense stage
• Providing guidance on correct usage of APA
• Directing student to editors list

Doctoral Candidate

The responsibilities of you as a doctoral candidate include:

• Proposing a viable project that has collectible data to support conclusions.
• Managing the doctoral research process, including initiation and continuation of communications with the Dissertation Chair and the Dissertation Committee Members.
• Completing weekly work plans and contact form in GAP and bi-weekly meetings with the Dissertation Chair.
• Meeting and abiding by the deadlines in the written and approved work plan and contact form.
• Completing a successful preliminary defense.
• Conducting ethical research that adheres to the approved written methodology received by the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
• Completion of CITI certification
• Completing a successful final defense.
• Incorporating any feedback and recommendations from the Dissertation Chair and the Dissertation Committee Members.
• Having a deliverable, scholarly written, edited, and properly formatted final draft of the dissertation research meets the university’s content and quality standards. (This is the completed Dissertation that must be successfully defended.)
• Keeping the Dissertation Chair and the Dissertation Committee Members informed of developments as the research study is conceptualized, designed, conducted, and written. A Doctoral Candidate may consult with an additional statistician, Methodologist, or editor, but in no case should any person other than the Doctoral Candidate conduct the work associated with the dissertation research.

Note: If an event occurs that prohibits the dissertation research’s progression and completion; the Doctoral Candidate must communicate with the Dissertation Chair to obtain advice, service, or assistance. If any significant modifications need to be made to the timeline, the Doctoral Candidate must seek approval from the Dissertation Chair and the Dissertation Director.

Selecting Your Dissertation Chair

At the end of the second year, after successful completion of RES 751, doctoral students will select their Dissertation Chair. The Dissertation Chair serves as the committee lead, providing expert support structure in content, methodology and guidance throughout the dissertation process.

After successful completion of RES 751, students will receive an email from Student Services with a link to the Dissertation Committee Selection Form. Students will use this form to identify their first and second choice for Dissertation Chair.

Considerations for Selection

Selecting your Dissertation Chair is a crucial step in the dissertation process and should be done so with careful consideration. For advice on what to consider prior to selection, please see here .

To see a list of the available Dissertation Chairs and their subject matter expertise and qualifications, please see here .

Additional Support

While the students’ Committee Members and Chair will be able to provide substantial support throughout the dissertation process, additional dissertation support is available.

Doctoral Writing Center Specialists

Doctoral Writing Center Specialists are available to assist students from the time they begin their prospectus until the end of your dissertation. The specialists are able to guide the process of writing, organization and revising the dissertation.

The responsibilities of the Doctoral Writing Center Specialists include:

• Provide suggestions and considerations for the author on organization, mechanics, cohesion, or flow.
• Focus on the areas that the author has specified the need for.
• Discuss aspects related to writing, not content.

How to Get in Touch: Book an appointment easily here!

Methodology Specialists

Methodology Specialists provide support to dissertation students if it is determined that a proposed dissertation is sufficiently complex to require more in-depth guidance. Individuals in this role guide dissertation students in selecting the best approach to data collection and analysis.

Roles and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Providing in-depth guidance into both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
• Meeting students for 2-hour consultancy sessions (days/times may vary)
• Proposing the most appropriate research design fit to address a problem statement and research questions or for testing stated hypotheses
• Data collection and analysis
• Presentation of the data
• Conclusions drawn from analyses

How to Get in Touch: Please send an email to [email protected] for a current list of methodologists available.

Common Questions

For a list of responses to common questions regarding the chair selection process, please see here .

Contact Options If you have questions regarding any element of this process, please reach out to:

Dr. Geraldine Goodstone, Dissertation Director – [email protected] Dr. Alex Sherm, Program Chair – [email protected]

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Proposal and Dissertation Policies and Guidelines

Doctoral studies, phd students, edd students, dissertation policies and guidelines for phd students, appointment of a dissertation committee.

In order to officially request the appointment of a dissertation committee, you should  file the appropriate form  with the Office of Doctoral Studies. Please note that all forms to request the appointment of dissertation committees require the approval signature of the department chairperson and are subject to the approval of the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs.

Faculty Regulations Governing Appointment of PhD Dissertation Committees

The following regulations apply to dissertation committee appointments for all PhD candidates in NYU Steinhardt.

The dissertation committee chairperson and at least one committee member must be full-time members of the faculty of New York University, holding the rank of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor with an earned doctorate. The chairperson is to come from the student's program of specialization. Further, in order to ensure a diversity of perspectives during the proposal and dissertation development process, at least one member of the committee must hold professorial appointment in a program different from the student's program.

Part-time adjunct faculty, clinical assistant professors, and persons with an affiliation other than New York University may serve as committee members with the approval of the department chairperson and the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs. Students requesting the appointment of such a member will be required to submit a copy of the proposed member's curriculum vitae or faculty bio along with the required dissertation committee appointment form to the Office of Doctoral Studies. All committee members must have earned doctorates.

Students may request, by exception, the appointment of a two-member committee. This request must be made in writing and must be countersigned by the dissertation committee chairperson. Three-member committees that have been officially appointed may only be reduced to two-member committees by exception and with the approval of the department chairperson and the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs. A two-member committee, at the written request of the student and the chairperson, may be increased to a three-member committee.

Students may request, by exception, the appointment of a four-member committee. As is the case with three-member committees, the chair and at least one member must be full-time members of the faculty of New York University, holding the rank of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor with an earned doctorate. Students requesting a four-member committee should submit an additional "Request for Appointment of Dissertation Committee" form with the signature of the committee chair, the fourth member, and the department chair.

Students may request the appointment of a dissertation committee chairperson without simultaneously requesting the appointment of the remaining members of the committee by following the instructions on the committee appointment form. Students who elect to request the advance appointment of a chairperson will have one year from the date of the approval of the chairperson's appointment to request the appointment of the remaining member(s) of the complete dissertation committee.

The Role of the Committee

The development of the proposal and the dissertation is an effort that requires a great deal of collaboration involving the candidate and his or her dissertation committee. There is no single model or formula for writing a proposal or dissertation, nor is there a single model governing the relationship of a doctoral candidate and his or her dissertation committee; however, the recommendations that follow should be applicable to most students.

It is important to confer with your chairperson and committee members as you proceed and to avoid long periods without making contact. It is recommended that you ask your chairperson and members for their preferences regarding how often and at what point your work should be presented. It is also a good idea to get a sense of turnaround times for drafts of your proposal and dissertation from your committee chair and members. You should have a work plan and a timetable that has been discussed with your chair and communicated to your members. It is the responsibility of your committee to read drafts and provide appropriate and timely written and oral feedback. You should be aware of University breaks and peak periods (such as final exams and midterms) when response times will often be longer for most faculty members.

Dissertation Proposal

The following procedures for submission of dissertation proposals apply to all candidates for PhD degrees in NYU Steinhardt. Please note that the dissertation committee must be officially appointed and on file with the Office of Doctoral Studies prior to submission of the dissertation proposal. After filing the Request for Appointment of Dissertation Committee form with the Office of Doctoral Studies, you will receive a letter confirming that the dissertation committee has been officially approved. Dissertation proposals to be submitted to the Office of Doctoral Studies must be accompanied by the Dissertation Proposal Cover Sheet obtainable in the Office of Doctoral Studies. The cover sheet must be signed by all members of the dissertation committee, indicating that they have met at least once with the candidate and that they approve the proposal for review. The committee chairperson's signature on this form also indicates approval of the research course requirements which the student has completed (or will complete). Two copies of the proposal (or one copy electronically) are to be submitted to the Office of Doctoral Studies. The remaining copies must be submitted to the proposal review panel coordinator for your program or department. You should be aware that different departments require that different numbers of copies be submitted for review. Please consult the proposal review panel coordinator for the correct number of copies for the specific department or program. All copies of the proposal must include a copy of the signed Dissertation Proposal Cover Sheet. The faculty of NYU Steinhardt recommends that the proposal be no longer than 40 pages in length (exclusive of appendices and bibliography). Information on the scheduling of proposal reviews and deadlines should be obtained from the proposal review panel coordinator for the department. Please note that some departments do not review proposals during the summer session.

Steinhardt students proposing to do research involving human subjects for an independent study, a graduate thesis, or a doctoral dissertation require approval from the  NYU IRB . If your proposed research involves interviews, surveys, questionnaires, participant observation, ethnography, or other methods involving human subjects, NYU IRB approval is required.  Approval from NYU IRB must be granted before work on the research or data collection has begun, including all pilot studies, trial runs, pretests, and preliminary sampling or surveys . 

Prior to submission to NYU IRB, students must complete the online training program through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI).

The student must work with a faculty mentor while preparing a NYU IRB application. This mentor is usually a dissertation chair or adviser.

Follow the instructions on the  NYU IRB  website to submit your application. 

The Dissertation Proposal Review

The procedures for reviewing dissertation proposals vary among the different departments; however, the following School policies apply to all departments and programs:

• The committee chairperson and both committee members must sign the Dissertation Proposal Cover Sheet indicating their approval of the proposal for review by the panel.
• The dissertation committee must meet as a group at least once with the candidate prior to the filing of the proposal for review.
• Both the candidate and the dissertation committee chairperson are required to attend the review.
• Attendance by a minimum of two reviewers (external to the dissertation committee) is required.
• Attendance by the committee members is optional.
• The recommendations of the proposal review panel are advisory.

After the proposal review, the proposal review panel coordinator will notify you of the outcome in writing (with copies to the dissertation committee chairperson and members and to the Office of Doctoral Studies). The proposal review panel will recommend that you proceed in one of the following ways:

• If the panel vote results in a "pass," the panel will recommend that you carry out the research and dissertation writing as proposed (there may be minor revisions suggested that are not officially noted).
• If the panel vote results in a "deferred pass" or "pass with conditions," the panel will recommend that you address the concerns of the panel in writing (with copies to the committee chairperson and members and to the Office of Doctoral Studies). In some cases the proposal review panel or the dissertation committee may recommend that you submit a revised proposal reflecting the revisions suggested by the panel. Two copies of the revised proposal must also be submitted to the Office of Doctoral Studies.
• If the panel does not approve the proposal, you will be asked to rewrite the proposal and submit it for a second proposal review.

Because the proposal review panel is an advisory committee, your dissertation committee may choose not to incorporate some or all of the proposal review panel's recommendations. In the event that the panel's suggestions are not incorporated, you will be expected to provide a written rationale explaining this decision. This rationale should bear the signature of the dissertation committee chairperson. As is the case with all correspondence regarding the proposal review, copies should be distributed to the committee members and to the Office of Doctoral Studies.

If requested, a copy of the proposal, the review panel's outcome and notes, and your response to the panel's notes are given to each of the two faculty members who serve as outside readers on the final oral examination of the dissertation.

MPhil Degree Conferral

The MPhil may be awarded to students in the PhD programs listed below who have completed all course requirements, have an approved dissertation proposal, and intend to complete their doctoral studies. 

If you are in one of the approved programs and your dissertation proposal has been approved, the Office of Doctoral Studies will ask your department to review your record and confirm that you have completed your course requirements. The Office of Doctoral Studies will then ask you to confirm that you would like to receive the MPhil en route to the PhD. 

Finally, the Office of Doctoral Studies will submit your name to the Office of the Registrar as an applicant for the next available degree conferral date.

Students in the PhD programs listed below are eligible for the MPhil.

Department of Administration, Leadership, and Technology 

• Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
• Educational Communication and Technology
• Higher and Postsecondary Education

Department of Applied Psychology

• Counseling Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Psychology and Social Intervention

Department of Applied Statistics, Social Science, and Humanities

• History of Education
• International Education
• Sociology of Education

Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders

• Communicative Sciences and Disorders

Department of Media, Culture, and Communication

• Media, Culture, and Communication

Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions

• Educational Theatre
• Music Education
• Music Performance and Composition
• Music Technology

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

• Food Studies
• Nutrition and Dietetics

Department of Teaching and Learning

• Bilingual Education
• English Education
• Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages
• Teaching and Learning

Journal Article Format Dissertations

While most Steinhardt students follow the traditional dissertation format, students also may have the option of completing a journal article format dissertation.

Consult your program faculty to determine whether or not the journal article format is appropriate for your discipline and your proposed study. If allowed, your program will likely have specific guidelines outlining the requirements of the journal article format dissertation.

Below are general guidelines for journal article format dissertations, but be sure to obtain specific guidelines from your program if available.

• The dissertation should include an introduction and a conclusion as first and last “chapters” in addition to the stand-alone articles.
• The dissertation will contain two to four articles suitable for submission to refereed journals for publication (the number of articles will be determined by program guidelines).
• The student must be the sole or first author of each paper.
• At the final oral examination stage, some programs may allow one or two articles to be published (or submitted for publication), but at least one article must remain unpublished (and not yet submitted for publication) until after the successful dissertation defense.

Students writing journal article format dissertations follow the same proposal review and final oral examination procedures required of all PhD students.

Editors and Consultants

You are the sole author of your dissertation and are responsible for understanding, discussing, and defending all aspects of your work, including the methodologies employed. While some students may seek guidance with analyzing data, the use of consultants to conduct statistical work is discouraged.

You are responsible for making sure that proposal and dissertation drafts submitted to your faculty committee are free of errors in form, style, diction, spelling, and grammar. Your dissertation committee chair and members may alert you to such problems, but it is not their responsibility to do so. Your committee chair or a member may recommend that you use a professional editor, or you may feel that your work would benefit from editorial assistance. If you do employ a professional editor, make sure you shop around and use someone who has been recommended to you by a faculty member, another student, or the Office of Doctoral Studies. Again, you and only you are ultimately responsible for your own writing and for making sure that it conforms to the standards of written English and conventions of scholarly writing set forth by your dissertation committee.

Dissertation Deadline Information

See detailed deadline information for the current academic year .

Instructions for Filing for Orals

In order to schedule your final oral examination, you must submit simultaneously to the Office of Doctoral Studies the following forms and materials in accordance with the dissertation filing deadlines noted above:

In order to schedule your final oral examination, you must submit the following to the Office of Doctoral Studies in accordance with the filing deadlines on our website.

1.   The Approval Form for Final Oral Examination signed by the dissertation committee indicating a date and time for the final oral examination. The date must be agreed upon by the final oral commission (the committee chair, committee members, and outside readers) and must be within the final oral examination period for your anticipated month of graduation (January, September or May). 

2.   A dissertation abstract not more than 350 words in length which has been approved by the dissertation chairperson.  The title page of the abstract is the same as the dissertation title page except that the words "An Abstract of" are inserted above the title of the study.  

3.  The following Copyright Disclaimer Statement typed in the first person, signed and dated:

"I hereby guarantee that no part of the dissertation which I have submitted for publication has been heretofore published and/or copyrighted in the United States of America, except in the case of passages quoted from other published sources; that I am the sole author and proprietor of said dissertation; that the dissertation contains no matter which, if published, will be libelous or otherwise injurious, or infringe in any way the copyright of any other party; and that I will defend, indemnify and hold harmless New York University against all suits and proceedings which may be brought and against all claims which may be made against New York University by reason of the publication of said dissertation."

Note that if parts of your dissertation have been published (for example, if your dissertation follows the scholarly paper format), please edit the above statement accordingly.

4. The Dissertation, approved by your dissertation chairperson and members, will be submitted no less than four weeks before the agreed upon final oral examination date indicated on the Approval Form for Final Oral Examination . You will be required to submit the dissertation to the Office of Doctoral Studies electronically, and copies for each of the two outside readers either electronically or in hard copy according to their preference. NOTE: In the event that the dissertation is not prepared to the satisfaction of the dissertation committee within four weeks of the tentatively scheduled final oral examination date, it is understood that the committee will withdraw approval of your request for final oral exam. You may then resubmit the approval form for a later deadline.

All forms referred to above can be found on the Forms and Checklists page .

The Final Oral Examination

The final oral examination is a two-hour examination scheduled according to the guidelines outlined above. Attendance by the candidate and all members of the final oral commission, which consists of the dissertation committee and the two outside readers, is required. Outside readers must be approved by the dissertation committee chair and must be full-time tenured or tenure-track members of the NYU faculty (exceptions must be approved by the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs in advance of their appointment). 

Please also note that attendance at the final oral examination is restricted to the candidate and members of the final oral commission. Other members of the University community may attend as observers with the permission of the Dissertation Committee Chairperson, however, the Office of Doctoral Studies must be notified in advance. 

All course and matriculation maintenance requirements must be satisfied in advance of the final oral examination date.

The following policies pertain to the voting procedures for the final oral examination.

One vote is to be taken with three and only three possible outcomes (all members of the final oral commission vote). These outcomes (pass, fail, or deferred pass with conditions) result according to the following rules:

Rules Which Determines a Pass Outcome

If the candidate has an official three-member dissertation committee, then the candidate must secure at least four pass votes (out of five) to pass.

If the candidate has an official two-member dissertation committee, then the candidate must secure at least three pass votes (out of four) to pass.

If the candidate has an official four-member dissertation committee, then the candidate must secure at least five pass votes (out of six) to pass.

Procedures to Follow in the Event of a Pass Outcome

The Final Oral Examination Report (obtained by the dissertation committee chairperson from the Office of Doctoral Studies) is completed and returned to the Office of Doctoral Studies no later than 24 hours after the final oral examination has been completed. This form should be accompanied by a copy of the candidate's dissertation (to be reviewed for format by the Office of Doctoral Studies), unless the candidate is keeping the document to make minor changes and corrections required or noted by the final oral commission.

Rule Which Determines a Fail Outcome

If there are two or more fail votes, a fail outcome must be recorded.

Procedures to Follow in the Event of a Fail Outcome

The Final Oral Examination Report is completed and returned to the Office of Doctoral Studies no later than 24 hours after the final oral examination has been completed.

This form must be accompanied by a separate statement indicating the reasons for the fail outcome.

The candidate may request permission for a second final oral examination from the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs. If approved, the examination must be held with the same final oral commission  no sooner than six months from the first final oral examination . If the candidate fails the second final oral examination, matriculation is automatically and irrevocably terminated.

Rule Which Determines a Deferred Pass Outcome

Any combination of votes which does not result in a pass or fail as specified above must result in a deferred pass with conditions. This outcome implies that although the candidate's performance is acceptable in many respects, substantive revision of the dissertation and/or additional requirements of consequence are deemed necessary.

Procedures to Follow in the Event of a Deferred Pass Outcome

The Final Oral Examination Report is completed and returned to the Office of Doctoral Studies no later than 24 hours after the final oral examination has been completed.

Within three days after the final oral examination, the candidate and the Office of Doctoral Studies must receive from the final oral commission a written statement which indicates what further work the candidate must complete in order to secure a pass outcome. This statement should include both revisions of the dissertation requested by the final oral commission and also any other requirements which the commission feels the candidate must complete to secure a pass outcome. Furthermore, this written statement of necessary revisions and/or requirements must be agreed to by at least four members of the final oral commission, and this agreement must be indicated by the signatures of these members on the written statement. Finally, this written statement must also include a projected timetable which the candidate should follow in completing all revisions and/or requirements designated by the final oral commission.

The candidate must complete all designated revisions and requirements within one semester following that in which the final oral examination is held (exclusive of Summer semesters). When the candidate has completed all necessary revisions and requirements, the Deferred Pass with Conditions Final Report Form (obtained by the dissertation committee chairperson from the Office of Doctoral Studies) must be circulated among and signed by all original members of the final oral commission, and then returned to the Office of Doctoral Studies with a copy of the candidate's document to be reviewed for format. In order for the candidate's outcome to be recorded as pass, at least four out of the five (or three out of four if the final oral commission consisted of four members, or five out of six if the final oral commission consisted of six members) members of the final oral commission must indicate a pass vote on the above-mentioned form.

Voting in the Event of the Absence of a Commission Member

If any member of the five-member final oral commission is absent, the dissertation committee chairperson must secure permission from the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs to proceed with the final oral examination. Assuming permission to proceed is granted, the information below applies to the voting procedures.

If a dissertation committee member is absent, the following rules apply:

• If there are three or more pass votes, the outcome is recorded as a pass.
• If there are two or more fail votes, the outcome is recorded as a fail.
• Any combination of votes which does not result in a pass or fail must result in a deferred pass with conditions.

If an outside reader is absent, the following rules apply:

• In order for a pass outcome to be recorded, a unanimous pass vote is required.
• If there are one or more fail votes, the outcome is recorded as a fail.

Final Dissertation Approval

You are required to submit a copy of the dissertation to be reviewed by the Office of Doctoral Studies for format. You will receive a list of format changes shortly after your final oral examination. The format changes will be combined with the changes required by the final oral commission.  If the final oral examination results in a deferred pass outcome, you may submit the dissertation for format review only after the signed Deferred Pass with Conditions Final Report Form has been received by the Office of Doctoral Studies. Final approval of the dissertation will take place only after the edited dissertation has been reviewed by the Office of Doctoral Studies. The deadline for the filing of the final edited dissertation is approximately three weeks prior to your anticipated date of graduation (the exact date will be emailed to candidates and is posted each semester in the Office of Doctoral Studies). In order to be eligible for graduation, your final edited dissertation must be uploaded to ProQuest UMI and approved by the Office of Doctoral Studies by the designated deadline date. All candidates for the degrees of PhD and EdD are required to publish the dissertation through ProQuest UMI Dissertation Publishing and must upload a final dissertation electronically for this purpose. This upload will take place through the Office of Doctoral Studies only after the dissertation has been approved in its final form. A final copy of the dissertation will also be submitted to NYU Libraries for our institutional repository.

Guidelines for EdD Doctoral Committees and Culminating Projects 

Committee Composition

A doctoral committee will consist of at least three members. The chair should be a full-time tenured, tenure-track, or appropriate clinical faculty member in the candidate’s program of study. The committee should include a practice-active faculty member. A practicing professional from outside the University, who is a leader in the relevant field of practice, may be appointed as a third committee member either in place of or in addition to the practice-active faculty member.

Culminating Project

The culminating project should be an inquiry-based project of value for informing practice and contributing to the advancement of knowledge. Guidelines must be academically appropriate and reasonable to the medium of practice. Each program will have its own discipline-specific guidelines.

Prospectus or Culminating Project Proposal Reviews

The following procedures for submission of the prospectus or culminating project proposal apply to candidates for EdD degrees in NYU Steinhardt.

Please note that the doctoral committee must be officially appointed and on file with the Office of Doctoral Studies prior to submission of the prospectus or culminating project proposal to your department for review. After filing the EdD Request for Appointment of Doctoral Committee form with the Office of Doctoral Studies, you will receive a letter confirming that the doctoral committee has been officially approved.

Information on the scheduling of prospectus and culminating project reviews and deadlines should be obtained from the Department Administrator or the Doctoral Committee Chairperson.

The EdD prospectus and culminating project proposal review panel consists of the candidate’s officially appointed three-member Doctoral Committee. Two additional reviewers may be appointed to the review panel at the discretion of the program faculty.

After the review, the review panel coordinator (usually, the chair of your doctoral committee) will notify you of the outcome in writing using the EdD Proposal Review Outcome form with copies to the committee members and to the Office of Doctoral Studies. The review panel will recommend that you proceed in one of the following ways:

• If the panel vote results in a "pass," the panel will recommend that you carry out the project as proposed (there may be minor revisions suggested that are not officially noted).
• If the panel vote results in a "deferred pass" or "pass with conditions," the panel will recommend that you address the concerns of the panel in writing (with copies to the committee chairperson and members and to the Office of Doctoral Studies). In some cases the review panel or the doctoral committee may recommend that you submit a revised prospectus or culminating project proposal reflecting the revisions suggested by the panel. A copy of the revised proposal must also be submitted to the Office of Doctoral Studies.
• If the panel does not approve, you will be asked to rewrite the prospectus or culminating project proposal and submit it for a second review.

Prior to submission to NYU IRB, students must complete the  online training program through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative  (CITI).

In order to schedule your final oral examination, you must submit the following to the Office of Doctoral Studies in accordance with the filing deadlines on our website. See detailed deadline information for the current academic year .

1.   The Approval Form for Final Oral Examination  signed by the doctoral committee indicating a date and time for the final oral examination. The date must be agreed upon by the final oral commission and must be within the final oral examination period for your anticipated month of graduation (January, September or May). 

2.   An abstract  not more than 350 words in length which has been approved by the doctoral committee chairperson.  

3.  The following  Copyright Disclaimer Statement  typed in the first person, signed and dated:

"I hereby guarantee that no part of the document which I have submitted for publication has been heretofore published and/or copyrighted in the United States of America, except in the case of passages quoted from other published sources; that I am the sole author and proprietor of said dissertation; that the dissertation contains no matter which, if published, will be libelous or otherwise injurious, or infringe in any way the copyright of any other party; and that I will defend, indemnify and hold harmless New York University against all suits and proceedings which may be brought and against all claims which may be made against New York University by reason of the publication of said dissertation."

Note that if parts of your document have been published (for example, if your culminating project follows the scholarly paper format), please edit the above statement accordingly.

4.  The Culminating Project,  approved by your doctoral committee chairperson and members, will be submitted to the Office of Doctoral Studies no less than four weeks before the agreed upon final oral examination date indicated on the  Approval Form for Final Oral Examination . The document will then be distributed to the Final Oral Commission and the Final Oral Examination date and time will be confirmed. NOTE: In the event that the document is not prepared to the satisfaction of the doctoral committee within four weeks of the tentatively scheduled final oral examination date, it is understood that the committee will withdraw approval of your request for final oral exam. You may then resubmit the Approval Form for Final Oral Examination for a later deadline.

All forms referred to above can be found on the  Forms and Checklists page  or can be picked up in the Office of Doctoral Studies, Pless Hall, 2nd Floor.

The Final Oral Examination procedures outlined above for PhD candidates also apply to EdD candidates unless otherwise specified by your program.

Final Culminating Project Approval

After the final oral examination, the document will be reviewed by Office of Doctoral Studies for format. Format changes, along with changes required by the Final Oral Commission as a result of the Final Oral Examination will be combined and the final document will be uploaded to Proquest for publication.

If the final oral examination results in a deferred pass outcome, you will upload the final document only after the signed Deferred Pass with Conditions Final Report Form has been received by the Office of Doctoral Studies.

The deadline for the filing of the final edited document is approximately three weeks prior to your anticipated date of graduation (the exact date will be emailed to candidates and is posted each semester in the Office of Doctoral Studies). In order to be eligible for graduation, your final edited document must be uploaded to ProQuest by the designated deadline date.

All candidates for the degrees of PhD and EdD are required to publish the dissertation or culminating project through ProQuest Dissertation Publishing and must upload the final document electronically for this purpose. This electronic upload will take place through the Office of Doctoral Studies only after the document has been approved in its final form. A final copy of the document will also be submitted to NYU Libraries for our institutional repository.

Dissertation Formatting Guidelines

This section describes the dissertation format that all Steinhardt doctoral candidates are required to follow. Dissertations must adhere to these requirements in order to be accepted by the Office of Doctoral Studies for the scheduling of the final oral examination. Please read this section carefully and contact the Office of Doctoral Studies if you have any questions.

Choice of Style Manual

Faculty policy leaves the choice of a style manual to the doctoral candidate with the advice and consent of his or her committee. Generally, candidates are urged to learn and use the manual most often required for scholarly writing by journals within their disciplines. Typically, the following style manuals are used by NYU Steinhardt students:

• American Psychological Association,  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
• Gibaldi, J., & Achtert, W. S.,  MLA Handbook for writers of research papers
• Turabian, K.,  A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses and Dissertations
• The University of Chicago Press,  The Chicago Manual of Style

The most recent editions of the chosen style manuals should be used.

Print and Copy Quality

Your printer must produce consistently black letters and consistent margins. Sufficient darkness is also necessary for any supporting materials, such as tables, figures, drawings, pictures, etc., –  either as originals or as copies –  that you may need to append or insert in your manuscript. Your dissertation will be published by ProQuest UMI which requires clear, high-contrast characters and images. As a guide to the quality that will be obtained, you can photocopy a sample page at 75% reduction to evaluate the readability and clarity of the print.

The School and ProQuest UMI allow students to use typefaces that are between 10 and 12 points; however, because 10 point can appear too small in most typefaces, 12 point is generally preferred. A smaller or condensed typeface can be used for tables that otherwise might not fit across a page within the correct margins, however, mixing typefaces is otherwise not recommended.

Underlining or italics may be used for statistical symbols, book titles, or definitions (but use either one or the other consistently throughout your manuscript, including tables). Headings should be underlined when appropriate and not italicized. Bold type should not be used in the manuscript.

Do not justify the right margin of your text; keep it left aligned like the text shown here.

To assure proper binding and for ease of reading, the following margins are required:

• Left margin : one and one-half inches for  all pages .
• Right margin : one and one-half inches for  all pages , with  no intrusion  of letters or anything else into the right margin.
• Top margin : one-and-one-quarter inches for all pages  except the first page  of the Acknowledgments, Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures, each chapter, Bibliography, and Appendices which should begin two inches from the top edge of the page.
• Bottom margin : one-and-one-quarter inches for all pages.
• Page numbers for all pages preceding page 1 of Chapter I (lower case roman numerals for Acknowledgments, Table of Contents, etc.) should be placed three-quarters of an inch from the bottom of the page, centered between the left and right margins.
• Page numbers from page 1 of Chapter I through the last page of the last appendix should be placed three-quarters of an inch from the top or bottom, centered between the left and right margins.

See the next section for sample dissertation pages.

White Space

Avoid leaving more than two inches of white space without type. This applies to tables and figures as well as to text. A table or figure should be inserted in the text as soon after it is first referred to where it will fit in its entirety on one page. Leave three blank lines between a table and text or text and a table; the same for figures. Continue your text if you can fit at least four lines after it. You may have more than one table on a page and you may have a table, discussion, and a table. The same procedure applies to all illustrative material.

Line Spacing

Double space the entire manuscript with these exceptions (which should be single-spaced):

• chapter titles, appendix titles, headings, and subheadings of more than one line
• block quotations
• column headings and lines that run on in tables
• bibliography or references entries – double space between entries
• figure captions
• explanatory material for figures, tables, and illustrations
• appendices – the spacing will vary depending on the source and content.

APA style requires writers to double space all typed material, including the exceptions noted above. If you are using APA, the above rules supersede APA rules in most cases. You have the option, however, of double spacing your references and block quotations; MLA style users also have this option.

The title page is counted as page one and the copyright page as page two, but numbers do not appear on them. Lower case roman numerals (iii, iv, v, vi, etc.) are used for all subsequent pages up to the first page of the text (page 1 of Chapter I) and should be placed three quarters of an inch from the bottom edge of the paper, centered between the margins.

Beginning with page 1 of Chapter I, Arabic numbers are used and are continuous through the last page including all appendices. Page numbers for all pages in the chapter, including the first page of each chapter or major section, should be placed three quarters of an inch from the top or bottom edge of the paper centered between the margins.

Order of Sections

The material of your manuscript should be ordered as follows:

• copyright page
• acknowledgments
• table of contents
• list(s) of tables, figures, charts, graphs, musical examples, illustrations, etc., if used
• preface or forward, if used
• bibliography
• appendices (if any)

Title Page of Dissertation

Please see the sample title page below. You are required to follow that format exactly.

Copyright Page

Your dissertation will be automatically copyrighted by UMI when it is published. You should include a copyright page with your name and copyright date in the middle of the page, centered left to right (between the margins) and top to bottom. Please note that the copyright date is the year of your degree conferral. Follow this format:

The copyright page is page ii of the pages preceding the text (the title page is understood to be page i), but no number should appear on either the title page or the copyright page.

Because a dissertation does not have an index, your Table of Contents should be as comprehensive as possible. Include all headings and subheadings, exactly as they appear in the text, up to and including Level 2. Including lower level headings is optional. (See sample Table of Contents in the next section.) Note that the indentation of a heading used in the Table of Contents corresponds to the level of the heading. The following illustrates this:

You should supply the reader with lists of tables, figures, and any other illustrative material used in your dissertation. See the sample lists in the next section. Lists of musical examples or reproductions of art, or information about films, follow the same form as that used for lists of tables and figures.

Chapter Titles and Headings

Chapter headings and titles appear centered between the margins as follows, beginning two inches from the top of the page:

Headings within the chapter should indicate the weight you assign to particular ideas by the form of headings suggested in the style manual you have selected or the form suggested below.

Leave three blank lines (i.e., begin typing after two double spaces) before each heading and after each major section and chapter title. If one heading immediately follows another, leave only one blank line (a double space) between the two. Leave one blank line (a double space) after each heading. Capitalize the first letter of each word of headings except for articles, conjunctions, and prepositions.

The following is one way in which to order headings and to type them. Students following APA style may use the format in the APA Style Guide, however, the format below is preferred for NYU Steinhardt dissertations.

See the sample page one in the below section for an example of heading placement.

Be sure that no heading appears at the bottom of a page without at least two lines of text beneath it. The Table of Contents will contain all Level 1 and Level 2 headings exactly as they appear in the text. It is not necessary to include Level 3 or lower-level headings in the Table of Contents, but you may if it provides the reader with more useful information.

Numbering Conventions

Chapter numbers are upper case roman numerals (with no period), e.g., CHAPTER IV, to differentiate them from any other numbers in the text. All other items requiring numbers should have Arabic numbers. Appendices, should be designated by capital letters, e.g., APPENDIX A, APPENDIX B, etc.

Use numbers or letters for other items only when necessary. Use 1) in the text and 1. in a set-off list; a) in the text and a. in a set-off list –  not (1) or 1). or a.), etc. If items in a numbered list run onto two or more lines, you may let the additional lines begin at the margin or indent the entire paragraph to the right of the numbers.

Numbers beginning a sentence, as well as numbers below 10 (or, if you prefer, 12) should be spelled out when they appear within the text.

Reduction of Tables and Other Materials

If a table, appendix, illustration, or graph is too wide or long, or both, to fit within the specified margins, have it reduced, or if textual material, type it using a smaller font. Whenever possible, avoid inserting tables which must be read by turning the book sideways. If such a table is necessary, be sure to insert it with the heading to the spine or binding. You may also use a condensed typeface.

Bibliographic Entries

For style guides other than APA, if you have more than one work by the same author, do not repeat his or her name over and over. Use 10 underscore characters, ending with a period if the author is exactly the same as the previous one, or with a comma if the author is the first of a series of new authors, as shown below. Single space the entry; double space between entries. Indent the second and subsequent lines one-half inch.

Note that authors with two initials have a space after the period between each initial, e.g., Smith, A. B., & Jones, M. J. Do not allow initials to break between lines; keep them together on one line or the other.

Regardless of the style guide you use, avoid having one or two lines of an entry on one page and the rest of the citation on the next page. The entry should be cited in its entirety on one page or the other.

Citations in Text

The way you cite an author in your manuscript is based on the context. If you are attributing an idea that you paraphrased to someone, use the name and date (according to APA style) such as (Jones, 2002), or as shown in the first sentence below. If you are using a direct quotation, use the same format, but you must include the page number where you found it, as shown in the second sentence below. Also, specific information or ideas need a page number even if paraphrased. For example, the following brief passage refers to the same publication by a hypothetical author:

Review the whole manuscript to be sure that every work referred to in the manuscript is cited in the text (or footnotes) and included in the bibliography.

Block (Indented) Quotations

Four or more lines of a quotation should be set off from the main text with a double space, typed single spaced with no quotation marks, and the entire block indented one-half inch. Quotations within these block (or indented) quotations may use double quotations. The first line of the quotation is not indented; however, the first lines of new paragraphs within the quotation should begin with an additional indent of one-half inch. Students using APA or MLA style may double space block quotations.

Each appendix should have the proper designation at the top of the first page. A title page does not need to be inserted before each one. Use the following format, centered between the left and right margins, beginning two inches from the top of the page: 

PARTICIPANT CONSENT FORMS

If you have material that, because of its format, needs to have a title page (because the title doesn't fit on the same page as the material), you need to consistently use title pages for all appendices. Avoid it if you can. Again, all material in an appendix must fit within the overall page margins.

Letters of Permission

It is necessary to obtain letters of permission for the reproduction of any copyrighted material which exceeds the Federal law pertaining to "Fair Use." Copies of those letters will be submitted to Proquest UMI when you upload your final dissertation. Copies of the letters do not need to be included in the dissertation.

The Abstract

The abstract is a brief summary of the contents of the dissertation. Begin typing the abstract two inches from the top of a blank page with no heading. The abstract should be typed double-spaced with the same typeface and margins as the dissertation. The length of the abstract should be limited to 350 words.

The abstract title page is identical to the dissertation title page with one exception: the abstract title page has the words An Abstract of directly above the title (see Sample Title Page in the next section). Each abstract is stapled in the upper left corner and kept separate from the dissertation. The chairperson of the dissertation committee should sign one copy of the abstract title page.

Sample Pages

The following section includes sample dissertation pages which should be followed carefully. Refer to the preceding section for more detailed information on format requirements. Students should follow the instructions on these sample pages rather than using a dissertation from the library (or elsewhere) as a guide. Format requirements differ from year to year and from school to school.

• Sample Title Page for Doctoral Dissertation (with Annotations)
• Sample Copyright Page for Doctoral Dissertation
• Sample Acknowledgement Section for Doctoral Dissertation
• Sample Table of Contents for Doctoral Dissertation (with Annotations)
• Sample List of Tables for Doctoral Dissertation
• Sample List of Figures for Doctoral Dissertation
• Sample First Page for Doctoral Dissertation

Forms and Checklists

Forms and checklists for NYU Steinhardt Phd and EdD students.

Past Dissertations

Past winners of the Outstanding Dissertation Award from across NYU Steinhardt.

Doctoral Orientation, Events, and Deadlines

Information on Doctoral Studies orientation, upcoming events, and important filing deadlines.

4.8.1 Doctoral Degrees, Dissertations & Dissertation Reading Committees: Policy

Main navigation.

• 1. Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee
• 2. Dissertation Preparation and Submission
• 3. Certificate of Final Reading
• 4. Deadlines

Related Content

Last updated on: Monday, March 7, 2022

Completion of a satisfactory dissertation is a university requirement for conferral of a doctoral degree. Policy and procedures for presentation, review and approval of the dissertation are included here.

Submission of an approved doctoral dissertation to the degree program and the Committee on Graduate Studies is required for the PhD and JSD degrees. The doctoral dissertation is expected to be an original contribution to scholarship or scientific knowledge, to exemplify the highest standards of the discipline, and to be of lasting value to the intellectual community. Every doctoral dissertation is read and approved by members of the Stanford faculty to ensure that standards for programmtic and university quality are met. Standards for professional presentation of doctoral work have been established by the Committee on Graduate Studies.

An approved doctoral dissertation is required for the PhD and JSD degrees. Every doctoral dissertation is read and approved by the three members of the student’s doctoral dissertation reading committee.

Authority: 

• Committee on Graduate Studies (policy)
• Office of the Registrar  via Stanford Services & Support (implementation)
• Degree Program Office (implementation)
• Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education  (exceptions)

Applicability: 

PhD & JSD students and programs.

Related Pages: 

4.8.2 Doctoral Degrees, Dissertations & Dissertation Reading Committees: Implementation

1. Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee

The doctoral dissertation reading committee consists of the principal dissertation advisor and, typically, two other readers. The doctoral dissertation reading committee must have three members and may not have more than five members. At least one member must be from the student’s degree program. Normally, all committee members are members of the Stanford University Academic Council or are emeritus Academic Council members; the principal dissertation advisor must be an Academic Council member. Professors who have recently become emeritus and have been recalled to active duty may serve as principal dissertation advisors, though they are no longer current members of the Academic Council.

A non-Academic Council member (including former Academic Council members) may replace only one of three required members of dissertation reading committees. However, emeritus faculty, whether recalled to active duty or not, count as an Academic Council member on dissertation reading and oral defense committees (clarified by the Committee on Graduate Studies in 2011; see SenD#6535).

The reading committee, as proposed by the student and agreed to by the prospective members, is endorsed by the chair of the major department on the  Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee form . This form must be submitted before approval of Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status or before scheduling a university oral examination that is a defense of the dissertation. The reading committee may be appointed earlier, according to the degree program timetable for doctoral programs. All subsequent changes to the reading committee must be approved by the chair of the major department. The reading committee must conform to university requirements at the time of degree conferral.

Principal Dissertation Advisors and Co-Advisors

Any member of the Academic Council may serve as the principal dissertation advisor. A non-Academic Council member, former Academic Council member, or emeritus Academic Council member may serve as co-advisor with the appointment of a principal dissertation advisor who is currently on the Academic Council. This is to ensure representation for the student in the degree program by someone playing a major advisor role in completion of the dissertation. Professors who became emeritus within two years of the student’s anticipated degree completion and who have been recalled to active duty may serve as principal dissertation advisors, though they are no longer current members of the Academic Council. The reading committee must conform to university requirements at the time of degree conferral.

Requests for further exceptions to the requirement that the principal dissertation advisor be a current member of the Academic Council, for example for recently retired emeritus professors who are still actively engaged on campus, but not recalled to active duty, will be reviewed by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education.

At their discretion, students may request the appointment of co-advisors who are both members of the Academic Council.

Non-Academic Council Dissertation Reading Committee Membership

The student's department chair or faculty director of graduate studies may, in some cases, approve the appointment of a reader who is not a current or emeritus member of the Academic Council, if that person is particularly well qualified to consult on the dissertation topic and holds a PhD or equivalent foreign degree, via the  Petition for Non-Academic Council Doctoral Committee Members . Former Stanford Academic Council members and non-Academic Council members may thus, on occasion, serve on a reading committee. However, the majority of the examiners must be current or emeritus Academic Council members. More specifically: 

• If the dissertation reading committee has three or four members, only one non-Academic Council member (including former Academic Council members) may be appointed to the dissertation reading committee. 
• If the reading committee has five members, up to two non-Academic Council members may be appointed to the dissertation reading committee.

Emeritus Stanford faculty, though no longer current members of the Academic Council, count as Academic Council members on dissertation reading committees (see SenD#6535, 2011).

Prospective committee members in the following categories may be approved without submission of a curriculum vitae: former Academic Council member, visiting professor, visiting associate professor, visiting assistant professor, and senior Stanford University officer who holds a PhD but does not have an academic appointment. 

A curriculum vita is required for prospective committee members in the following categories: senior research associate, senior lecturer, consulting professor, consulting associate professor, consulting assistant professor, acting professor, acting associate professor, acting assistant professor, senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, members of the professoriate at other universities, and distinguished scholars who may currently hold no academic title. The curriculum vita should include a summary of education, professional experience, publications, and academic or other honors.

Exceptions for individuals whose terminal degree is not the PhD or equivalent foreign degree may be granted by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education (VPGE). Requests for this exception must be approved and submitted to VPGE by the student’s department chair or faculty director of graduate studies. The prospective committee member’s curriculum vitae and a brief description of their contributions to the student's research should be submitted  via email  to the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education.

Changing Membership

Students may petition to add or remove members of the reading committee or change principal dissertation advisors. The resulting committee must conform to university requirements at the time of degree conferral.

In the rare case where a student’s dissertation research on an approved project is in an advanced stage and the principal dissertation advisor is no longer available, every reasonable effort must be made to appoint a new advisor, usually from the student’s reading committee. This may also require that a new member be added to the reading committee before the draft dissertation is evaluated, to keep the reconstituted committee in compliance with the university requirements for its composition. Advisor changes are made with the  Change of Dissertation Adviser or Reading Committee Member form  (see  GAP 3.3 Academic Advising ).

In the event that a student’s principal dissertation advisor leaves Stanford University or becomes emeritus and has not been recalled to active duty, that advisor may continue to work with the graduate student as a co-advisor and serve on the oral and dissertation reading committees, with the appointment of a principal dissertation advisor who is currently a member of the Academic Council. Professors who have recently become emeritus and have been recalled to active duty may serve as principal dissertation advisor, though they are no longer members of the Academic Council. Requests for further exceptions to the requirement that the principal dissertation advisor be a current member of the Academic Council (for example for recently retired emeritus professors who are still actively engaged on campus) will be reviewed by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education.

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2. Dissertation Preparation and Submission

The doctoral dissertation must be an original contribution to scholarship or scientific knowledge and must exemplify the highest standards of the discipline. If it is judged to meet this standard, the dissertation is approved for the degree program by the doctoral dissertation reading committee. Information about dissertation format, references, use of published and co-authored work, as well as copyright is on the Registrar's Office website on Format Requirements for eDissertation .

Approvals should be obtained through the electronic signature process (students may submit email confirmations of dissertation approvals from each member of their committee).

Dissertations should be submitted electronically, following the guidelines in:

• Directions for Preparing Doctoral Dissertations for Electronic Submission
• Directions for Preparing Engineer Theses for Electronic Submission

Previously published dissertations should not be used as a guide for preparation of the manuscript. The signed dissertation copies and accompanying documents must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar on or before the quarterly deadline indicated in the university’s academic calendar. A fee is charged for the microfilming and binding of the dissertation copies. 

Students are required to either be enrolled full-time or on Graduation Quarter in the term they submit the dissertation (see  GAP 3.1 Registration, Enrollment, and Academic Progress ). The period between the last day of final exams of one term and the first day of the subsequent term is considered an extension of the earlier term. At the time the dissertation is submitted, an Application to Graduate must be on file (filed in Axess), all of the degree program requirements must be complete, and candidacy must be valid through the term of degree conferral.

Dissertations in a Language Other than English 

Dissertations must be in English. Exceptions to permit dissertations in a language other than English are granted by the school dean upon a written request from the chair of the student’s major department.  The student is required to submit directly to the Student Services Center a paper copy of the approval letter (or email message chain) from the school dean.  Approval for writing a dissertation in another language is normally granted only in cases where the other language or literature in that language is also the subject of the discipline. Approval is routinely granted for dissertations in the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, within degree program specifications. Dissertations written in another language must include an extended summary in English (usually 15-20 pages in length). 

When submitting electronically a dissertation in a language other than English, the student should upload the English summary as a supplemental file.  When submitting such a dissertation on paper, the student is required to submit the abstract for ProQuest in English.

3. Certificate of Final Reading

One reading committee member, who must be a current member of the Academic Council, reads the dissertation in its final form and certifies on the  Certificate of Final Reading  that degree program and university specifications, described below, have been met. Typically, the principal dissertation advisor serves as final reader though another member of the committee who is a current Academic Council member may provide the final signature.

• All suggested changes have been taken into account and incorporated into the manuscript where appropriate. 
• If the manuscript includes joint group research, the student's contribution is clearly explained in an introduction.
• Format complies with university requirements.
• If previously published materials are included in the dissertation, publication sources are indicated, written permission has been obtained for copyrighted materials, and all of the dissertation format requirements have been met.
• The dissertation is ready-for-publication in appearance and ready for microfilming and binding.

4. Deadlines

The deadline for submission of dissertations for degree conferral in each term is specified by the  university academic calendar . The final dissertation must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar on or before the quarterly deadlines if degree conferral is desired. 

Some degree programs may set earlier deadlines for the submission of dissertations.

Dissertation deadlines are strictly enforced and no exceptions are made. Students are strongly encouraged to submit their dissertations at least two weeks prior to the deadline to ensure that all requirements can be met in time for the conferral of the degree.

Related Policies

• GAP 3.1 Registration, Enrollment, and Academic Progress
• GAP 3.3 Academic Advising
• GAP 4.7 Doctoral Degrees, University Oral Examinations & Committees

Related Student Services Sections

• Doctor of Philosophy: Dissertation

Related Information and Forms

• Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee form
• Petition for Non-Academic Council Doctoral Committee Members
• General Information on Dissertation and Thesis Submission
• Directions for Preparing Engineer Theses for Electronic Submission
• Certificate of Final Reading of Dissertation
• Doctoral Dissertation Agreement Form - UMI/ProQuest
• Change of Dissertation Adviser or Reading Committee Member
• Application to Graduate  (in  Axess )
• Request for Statement of Completion
• Format Requirements for eDissertation

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Academic Policies & Procedures

Doctoral students, dissertation research committee.

Upon successful completion of the qualifying examination, and admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree, the responsibilities of the advisory committee have been discharged, and that committee is technically disbanded.

A new committee—the Research Committee—must be appointed for the purpose of guiding the candidate's dissertation research. In many instances the members of the advisory committee become members of the research committee. However, the actual makeup of the research committee will be determined by the nature of the research to be pursued and the interests and qualifications of faculty.

To initiate research for the dissertation, the student chooses a professor who will agree to direct the dissertation and serve as the Chair of the student’s Research Committee. 

The committee should be selected from the members of the graduate faculty who are best qualified to assist the student in conducting the research for the dissertation. The committee has the responsibility of supervising the research, reading the dissertation, and conducting the final examination (i.e., the dissertation defense).

All members of a research committee must be members of the graduate faculty. At least half of the members of the committee (which include the Chair and if applicable, Co-Chair) must be members of Graduate Faculty with the Endorsement to direct doctoral dissertations; others may be regular members of Graduate Faculty.

Information regarding the eligibility of faculty to serve on the dissertation research committee may be found on the Graduate School-IU Bloomington’s website at   https://graduate.indiana.edu/faculty-staff-intranet/membership.html

Students are eligible to defend their final dissertation defense no earlier than six (6) months after the approval of the Nomination of Research Committee eDoc.

The Research Committee must be composed of at least Four (4) members of Indiana University Graduate Faculty, within the following stipulations:

• The chosen chair or co-chairs must be from the major department.
• All chairpersons of research committees must be members of the graduate faculty with the endorsement to direct doctoral dissertations. The endorsement is reserved for tenure-track faculty with a regular appointment at Indiana University and is granted separately from graduate faculty status.
• If, however, special expertise in an area is held by a member of the graduate faculty who does not have the endorsement, the departmental chairperson may request that the dean of the Graduate School-Bloomington approve such an individual as research committee chairperson.
• Two or more additional faculty members from the major department
• SPH-B has been approved for a permanent exception, such that in cases where it would be in the best interest of the student’s dissertation research, one additional member can be from outside the major department within SPH-B.
• A representative of each minor
• In the event that the dissertation research does not involve the area(s) of the minor(s) whether outside or inside the department, the major department may request, with the consent of the minor-field representative(s), the substitution of a representative or of representatives within Indiana University from some other field(s) more appropriate to the topic of the dissertation.

  Additional Faculty Members from Universities outside of Indiana University:

Faculty members from universities outside of IU are permitted to serve on the research committee, but the composition of the committee must still have four (4) members from Graduate Faculty from IU as stated above.

The outside faculty member’s current Curriculum Vitae (CV) must be attached to the Nomination of Research Committee eDoc.

It is strongly encouraged (although not required), for SPH doctoral candidates to invite a 5th faculty member, from an outside university, to serve on their Research Committee, with both SPH and Graduate School of IU Bloomington   approval (please see below).

Outside-of-IU Members (External Examiners) on Doctoral Research Committees:

In most European universities, it is common that an additional faculty member from outside the university participates in a student’s Doctoral Research Committee.  The degree of ceremony and rigor in examining doctoral students in their defenses can be much greater when an additional outside faculty member is included.

This may also make the ceremony more memorable and meaningful for the doctoral candidate and may also serve as a way to connect to extraordinary senior scholars from around the world.

How to include an Outside-of-IU External Examiner on your Research Committee:

• Students and their advisors should discuss the benefits of including an external examiner and work together to identify a suitable individual if desired.
• Students may apply for a $500 award to support their dissertation research by articulating the benefit of having an external examiner as a part of their dissertation committee.
• The participating examiner will receive a $500 honorarium.
• Not all students who apply will receive funding and support. Applications will be judged based on the quality and rigor of the research and the academic reputation of the chosen external examiner and their institution. 
• The external examiner will be allowed to attend the defense virtually if they wish. However, if the examiner wishes to come to campus, the benefits of in-person attendance must be outlined in the doctoral student’s application. Travel costs for their in-person attendance will be covered by SPH.

Full procedure to apply for the $500 award:

• Students can apply for the $500 award to support their dissertation research by articulating in a brief proposal the benefit of having an external person on their dissertation committee.
• The proposal should be sent by email to the Assistant Dean for Graduate Education ( [email protected] ).
• If approved, the external person will receive a $500 honorarium (in addition to the student’s $500 award).
• If the external person wishes to come to campus for the defense, the benefits of in-person attendance must be outlined in the doctoral student’s proposal. For example, the person could give a departmental talk on a topic of interest while they are here.
• When the student completes the Nomination of Research Committee (NORC) eDoc (detailed on this page: https://bulletins.iu.edu/iub/phb/2023-2024/policies/doctoral/nomination-of-research-committee.shtml ), they will attach the CV to the eDoc and include the external examiner’s full name in the “Outside Committee Members” section of the eDoc.

IU Faculty Members who are not members of IU Graduate Faculty:

When applicable , in addition to the four (4) IU faculty who are Graduate Faculty/endorsed, students may also nominate other IU faculty who are not on the Graduate Faculty list, to serve as an extra faculty member on the Doctoral Research Committee with Graduate School of IU Bloomington approval.  A faculty member in this category would not be considered an external examiner , thus students would not be eligible for the financial support of an external examiner for including this type of faculty member.

Any extra faculty members who work at IU , (who are not members of IU Graduate Faculty) should be included in the “Outside Committee Members” section of the Nomination of Research Committee (NORC) eDoc, and their most recent Curriculum Vitae (CV) should be attached to the eDoc.

Nomination of Research Committee eDoc:

Following official admission to candidacy, the doctoral candidate completes the Nomination of Research Committee eDoc with the University Graduate School (UGS) at  https://one.iu.edu/task/iupui/phd-nomination-of-research-committee .

•  A summary of the proposed dissertation (as a prospectus) must be attached to the eDoc prior to submitting it.
• IRB approval (if the research involves human or animal subjects) should be attached if it has already been obtained at the time of turning in this eDoc as well.
• Here is a link to IUB’s Research Compliance information: https://research.iu.edu/compliance/human- subjects/index.html
• It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that their research is in compliance with IU’s Research Compliance requirements, and research must not begin until compliance is verified by the IRB.

Academic Bulletins

• Indiana University
• IU Bloomington

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Advancing to Doctoral Candidacy

When you’re ready to advance to doctoral candidacy, consult with your department regarding policies related to your program of work and to ensure you’ve completed any steps that must be taken prior to candidacy.

Forming the Dissertation Committee

All doctoral students, in consultation with the committee supervisor(s), must secure the agreement of a minimum of four people to serve on their dissertation or treatise committee.

The supervisor and at least two other committee members must be members of your program's Graduate Studies Committee (GSC).

At least one committee member must be from outside your gsc., some departments may require that more than four individuals serve on the dissertation or treatise committee..

Retired faculty who have been nominated or granted emeritus status and who were members of the GSC upon retirement may request continued membership on the GSC with approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies. Such requests should be accompanied by the recommendation of the appropriate GSC, and be submitted to the graduate school by the GSC chair. If approved, the continued membership will be reviewed annually.

Such faculty may serve on student committees as a GSC member or as a co-supervisor, but may not serve as a sole supervisor. In the event that a GSC member of a dissertation committee terminates employment with the university, except as discussed above, an additional current GSC member must be added to the committee. A former faculty member may remain on the dissertation committee, but will assume status as an outside committee member.

CVs/Resumes for Non-GSC Committee Members

The Graduate School requires a CV/resume for committee members who are not on the program’s Graduate Studies Committee. Degree plan evaluators will search for them, but in cases where a CV/resume cannot easily be found online, it is the student’s responsibility to provide this information. One of the degree plan evaluators will contact the student should a CV/resume be required.

Applying for Candidacy

Update your contact information.

After your committee is formed, visit All My Addresses at the link above to update your name, address and phone number.

Complete the Degree Candidacy Application form

Students must have registered and paid tuition during the term in which the candidacy application is submitted.

As part of the application, you will be required to include a brief (60 lines or less) description of your dissertation or treatise proposal approved by your committee supervisor. This should be prepared in advance; the application will time out after 30 minutes of inactivity and you will lose any changes not yet submitted or saved.

Request for Change in Doctoral Committee

Changes to committee membership require special approval, so students should be certain the membership is complete and correct before initiating the application.

Petition to Write Dissertation in a Language other than English

Those who wish to write a thesis, report, dissertation or treatise in a language other than English must petition to do so.

Certifying Academic Credentials

The program of work for the Doctor of Philosophy includes the courses taken toward fulfillment of the degree requirements, as established by the Graduate Studies Committee and the Graduate School.

The program of work must:

Have a minimum of 30 semester hours of advanced coursework, including a minimum of 6 hours of dissertation;

Include only courses taken within the past six years;, include coursework that is sufficient in academic breadth/depth..

Contact your Graduate Adviser to determine the specific requirements for your degree.

Completing Registration Requirements

Continuous registration.

Once the Dean of Graduate Studies approves your application and you have been admitted to candidacy, you are required to continuously register for the dissertation course (_99W) or treatise course beginning the next long term. (Music majors and treatise option students should check with their graduate adviser for registration requirements.)

The Graduate School regularly reviews and approves candidacy applications during the first half of terms, but applications submitted after the halfway point may not be reviewed immediately or in time for pre-registration.

If you will be applying for candidacy later in the term and want to sign up for the required _99W course the following term, it is suggested you pre-register for a placeholder course of the equivalent hours until your application is reviewed and approved.

If you advance to candidacy after the 12th class day you are not required to enroll in the _99W course until the next long term, after which point you must remain continuously enrolled in dissertation hours until graduation.

If you have questions about advancing to candidacy or completing the application, contact your departmental graduate office.

How to find resources by format

Why use a dissertation or a thesis.

A dissertation is the final large research paper, based on original research, for many disciplines to be able to complete a PhD degree. The thesis is the same idea but for a masters degree.

They are often considered scholarly sources since they are closely supervised by a committee, are directed at an academic audience, are extensively researched, follow research methodology, and are cited in other scholarly work. Often the research is newer or answering questions that are more recent, and can help push scholarship in new directions. 

Search for dissertations and theses

Locating dissertations and theses.

The Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global database includes doctoral dissertations and selected masters theses from major universities worldwide.

• Searchable by subject, author, advisor, title, school, date, etc.
• More information about full text access and requesting through Interlibrary Loan

NDLTD – Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations provides free online access to a over a million theses and dissertations from all over the world.

WorldCat Dissertations and Theses searches library catalogs from across the U.S. and worldwide.

Locating University of Minnesota Dissertations and Theses

Use  Libraries search  and search by title or author and add the word "thesis" in the search box. Write down the library and call number and find it on the shelf. They can be checked out.

Check the  University Digital Conservancy  for online access to dissertations and theses from 2007 to present as well as historic, scanned theses from 1887-1923.

Other Sources for Dissertations and Theses

• Center for Research Libraries
• DART-Europe E-Thesis Portal
• Theses Canada
• Ethos (Great Britain)
• Australasian Digital Theses in Trove
• DiVA (Sweden)
• E-Thesis at the University of Helsinki
• DissOnline (Germany)
• List of libraries worldwide - to search for a thesis when you know the institution and cannot find in the larger collections

University of Minnesota Dissertations and Theses FAQs

What dissertations and theses are available.

With minor exceptions, all doctoral dissertations and all "Plan A" master's theses accepted by the University of Minnesota are available in the University Libraries system. In some cases (see below) only a non-circulating copy in University Archives exists, but for doctoral dissertations from 1940 to date, and for master's theses from 1925 to date, a circulating copy should almost always be available.

"Plan B" papers, accepted in the place of a thesis in many master's degree programs, are not received by the University Libraries and are generally not available. (The only real exceptions are a number of old library school Plan B papers on publishing history, which have been separately cataloged.) In a few cases individual departments may have maintained files of such papers.

In what libraries are U of M dissertations and theses located?

Circulating copies of doctoral dissertations:.

• Use Libraries Search to look for the author or title of the work desired to determine location and call number of a specific dissertation. Circulating copies of U of M doctoral dissertations can be in one of several locations in the library system, depending upon the date and the department for which the dissertation was done. The following are the general rules:
• Dissertations prior to 1940 Circulating copies of U of M dissertations prior to 1940 do not exist (with rare exceptions): for these, only the archival copy (see below) is available. Also, most dissertations prior to 1940 are not cataloged in MNCAT and can only be identified by the departmental listings described below.  
• Dissertations from 1940-1979 Circulating copies of U of M dissertations from 1940 to 1979 will in most cases be held within the Elmer L. Andersen Library, with three major classes of exceptions: dissertations accepted by biological, medical, and related departments are housed in the Health Science Library; science/engineering dissertations from 1970 to date will be located in the Science and Engineering Library (in Walter); and dissertations accepted by agricultural and related departments are available at the Magrath Library or one of the other libraries on the St. Paul campus (the Magrath Library maintains records of locations for such dissertations).  
• Dissertations from 1980-date Circulating copies of U of M dissertations from 1980 to date at present may be located either in Wilson Library (see below) or in storage; consult Libraries Search for location of specific items. Again, exceptions noted above apply here also; dissertations in their respective departments will instead be in Health Science Library or in one of the St. Paul campus libraries.

Circulating copies of master's theses:

• Theses prior to 1925 Circulating copies of U of M master's theses prior to 1925 do not exist (with rare exceptions); for these, only the archival copy (see below) is available.  
• Theses from 1925-1996 Circulating copies of U of M master's theses from 1925 to 1996 may be held in storage; consult Libraries search in specific instances. Once again, there are exceptions and theses in their respective departments will be housed in the Health Science Library or in one of the St. Paul campus libraries.  
• Theses from 1997-date Circulating copies of U of M master's theses from 1997 to date will be located in Wilson Library (see below), except for the same exceptions for Health Science  and St. Paul theses. There is also an exception to the exception: MHA (Masters in Health Administration) theses through 1998 are in the Health Science Library, but those from 1999 on are in Wilson Library.

Archival copies (non-circulating)

Archival (non-circulating) copies of virtually all U of M doctoral dissertations from 1888-1952, and of U of M master's theses from all years up to the present, are maintained by University Archives (located in the Elmer L. Andersen Library). These copies must be consulted on the premises, and it is highly recommended for the present that users make an appointment in advance to ensure that the desired works can be retrieved for them from storage. For dissertations accepted prior to 1940 and for master's theses accepted prior to 1925, University Archives is generally the only option (e.g., there usually will be no circulating copy). Archival copies of U of M doctoral dissertations from 1953 to the present are maintained by Bell and Howell Corporation (formerly University Microfilms Inc.), which produces print or filmed copies from our originals upon request. (There are a very few post-1952 U of M dissertations not available from Bell and Howell; these include such things as music manuscripts and works with color illustrations or extremely large pages that will not photocopy well; in these few cases, our archival copy is retained in University Archives.)

Where is a specific dissertation of thesis located?

To locate a specific dissertation or thesis it is necessary to have its call number. Use Libraries Search for the author or title of the item, just as you would for any other book. Depending on date of acceptance and cataloging, a typical call number for such materials should look something like one of the following:

Dissertations: Plan"A" Theses MnU-D or 378.7M66 MnU-M or 378.7M66 78-342 ODR7617 83-67 OL6156 Libraries Search will also tell the library location (MLAC, Health Science Library, Magrath or another St. Paul campus library, Science and Engineering, Business Reference, Wilson Annex or Wilson Library). Those doctoral dissertations still in Wilson Library (which in all cases should be 1980 or later and will have "MnU-D" numbers) are located in the central section of the third floor. Those master's theses in Wilson (which in all cases will be 1997 or later and will have "MnU-M" numbers) are also located in the central section of the third floor. Both dissertations and theses circulate and can be checked out, like any other books, at the Wilson Circulation desk on the first floor.

How can dissertations and theses accepted by a specific department be located?

Wilson Library contains a series of bound and loose-leaf notebooks, arranged by department and within each department by date, listing dissertations and theses. Information given for each entry includes name of author, title, and date (but not call number, which must be looked up individually). These notebooks are no longer current, but they do cover listings by department from the nineteenth century up to approximately 1992. Many pre-1940 U of M dissertations and pre-1925 U of M master's theses are not cataloged (and exist only as archival copies). Such dissertations can be identified only with these volumes. The books and notebooks are shelved in the general collection under these call numbers: Wilson Ref LD3337 .A5 and Wilson Ref quarto LD3337 .U9x. Major departments of individual degree candidates are also listed under their names in the GRADUATE SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT programs of the U of M, available in University Archives and (for recent years) also in Wilson stacks (LD3361 .U55x).

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Theses and dissertations

The library holds a large number of Bristol theses and dissertations, including many PhD and doctoral theses. Read our advice about how to locate theses from other institutions, both in the UK and internationally .

University of Bristol theses and dissertations

To find a University of Bristol thesis:

• If the thesis is held in the Research Reserve, it can be requested using the 'reserve a copy' button.
• If the thesis is held in the Research Reserve, use the online request form to request it.
• See below for details of how to access theses held in our other library sites.
• Recently submitted theses may be listed on Explore Bristol Research  though information about these is regularly added to Library Search.

Arts and Social Sciences

The collection includes theses from Arts Faculty, Social Sciences and Law Faculty, Physics, Mathematics, Biological Sciences, Geographical Sciences, Agricultural Science and the School for Policy Studies.

MA, MSc, MPhil and MLitts do not have to be deposited with the library under the Regulations, so our collections of these are incomplete. 

How to consult a thesis

• Arts and Social Sciences theses are now held in the Library's Research Reserve.  See 'to find a University of Bristol thesis' section above for details of how to request.
• We will notify you when the thesis arrives at the library.
• Thesis loans are for use in the Arts and Social Sciences Library only.

School of Chemistry PhD, MSc and DSc theses from 1910 to date.

Thesis loans are for use in the Chemistry Library only, though postgraduates with seats may keep a thesis at their desk. You may ask if a particular thesis can be kept behind the Issue desk if you will be using it repeatedly for a period of time. Other theses are kept in a Library Staff room and are not available during the evenings.

School of Education EdD, PhD, MPhil, and a selection of Masters theses. Many theses written before 2005 are located in the Research Reserve.

• The MSc and Masters theses are located in the Quiet Study Area;
• The MPhil, PhD and EdDs are located in Research Reserve.  See 'to find a University of Bristol thesis' section above for details of how to request.

The thesis collection from the Medical Library has been relocated to the library's Research Reserve. The collection includes: PhD, MD, MSc, ChM and DSc theses of staff and postgraduate students of the Health Sciences Faculty, from 1910 to date.

A card catalogue in the Medical Library contains details of the earlier theses, or you may check the  Card Catalogue Online .

• See 'to find a University of Bristol thesis' section above for details of how to request.
• We will notify you when the thesis arrives at the library;
• Theses are for use in the Medical Library only and you will be asked to sign a register.

School of Physics PhD, MSc and DSc theses from 1950 to date, with a few earlier ones. BSc and MSci projects are also held.

A card catalogue in the Physics Library contains details of the earlier ones.

• Ask at the Issue Desk to borrow a thesis, quoting author, year and category;
• Theses may be borrowed by staff and postgraduates as standard loans;
• Undergraduates may use theses in the library only;
• BSc and MSci projects may be borrowed by undergraduates: for the standard loan period.

Queens (Engineering, Mathematics, Computer science)

Engineering and Mathematics PhD theses are held in the Research Reserve, including Computer Science theses before the Department transferred to the Faculty of Engineering.  See 'to find a University of Bristol thesis' section above for details of how to request these.

A card catalogue, on the right beyond the Issue desk, contains details of pre-1978 theses.

• It can take 2-3 working days for a thesis to arrive and you will be notified when they are available;
• PhD theses may not be borrowed by undergraduates; taught postgraduates or external members but may be consulted in the library.

MSc Projects

• Some early Engineering MSc projects (1914-1950) are available from the Research Reserve - please contact your  Subject Librarian

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• Individual and group projects from 2015/16 - 2019/20 academic years for Civil and Mechanical Engineering are available on the open shelves in the Gallery.
• Early projects from 1920 to 1949 have been moved to  Special Collections  in the  Arts and Social Sciences Library

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MSc Meat Science theses from 1979 to date and a small number of PhD theses. The majority of veterinary sciences PhD theses are housed in the Research Reserve.  See 'to find a University of Bristol thesis' section above for details of how to request.

Theses are shelved in the Computer Room and are for use in the library only.

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Collections of both Law and Earth Sciences theses.

Theses are confined to the library; please ask at the information desk if you wish to borrow one.

UK and international theses

Information about many UK and international theses can be found via  Library Search . If the thesis you are interested in is not available online, you can use our  inter-Library Loan service . Non-UK theses can be difficult to obtain: in some countries, universities are working together to make full text electronic collections available:

• Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS)  - a service provided by the British Library
• DART - Europe e-theses Portal
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD)
• PQDT Open  - open access dissertations and theses
• PQDT Global  -  a collection of dissertations and theses from around the world

Submit a thesis

Advice on how to submit a thesis for a higher degree can be found on the  Presenting and submitting your dissertation for examination  page. Information on how to submit a thesis to the library can be found on the Library's own Thesis Guidance  pages.

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Mechanical Engineering Graduate Office (meGRAD)

Upcoming thesis defense: sidney molnar.

Author:  Sidney Molnar

Title of dissertation:  Metareasoning Strategies to Correct Navigation Failures of Autonomous Ground Robots

Date/time:  April 8th, 2024 at 10:00am

Zoom: https://umd.zoom.us/j/9892794999?omn=94673990602

Location:  2164 DeWALT Conference Room, Glenn L. Martin Hall.

Committee members:

• Dr. Jeffrey Herrmann, Advisor and Chair
• Dr. Michael Otte
• Dr. Shapour Azarm

Abstract: Due to the complexity of autonomous systems, theoretically perfect path planning algorithms sometimes fail because of unexpected behaviors that occur when these systems interact with various sub-processes like perception, mapping, and goal planning. These failures can prevent the success of a mission, especially in complex and unexplored environments. Metareasoning, or “thinking about thinking,” is one approach to mitigate these planning failures. This project introduces a novel metareasoning approach that employs various methods of monitoring and control to identify and address path planning irregularities that lead to failures. All methods were integrated into the ARL ground autonomy stack, which utilizes both global and local path planning ROS nodes. The monitoring methods proposed include listening to messages from the planning algorithms, assessing the environmental context of the robot, expected progress methods that evaluate the robot’s progress based on its movement capabilities from a milestone checkpoint, and fixed radius methods that use parameters selected based on mission objectives to assess progress from a milestone checkpoint. The control policies introduced are metric-based sequential policies which select new planner combinations based on benchmark robot performance metrics, context-based pairs policies that assess the effects of switching between two planner combinations, and a restart policy that relaunches a new instance of the same planner combination. The study evaluated which combinations of monitoring and control policies improved or degraded navigation performance by assessing how close the robot could get to the final mission goal. Additionally, this thesis suggests areas for further research to determine the conditions under which metareasoning can improve navigation.

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