Dissertation proposal

Dissertation Proposal Meeting

After completion of the Preliminary Oral Examination, the student is to prepare a research proposal for the Dissertation Proposal Meeting. Prior to the meeting, the student submits the electronic form to Assign/Update Final Oral Examination Committee so that all members of the student’s final oral examination committee are present at the meeting. The “chair,” a member of the Final Oral Examination committee other than the advisor, is chosen by the student and approved by the Graduate School. The chair conducts the Final Oral Examination and informs the student of the outcome immediately after the examination session.

The purpose of the Dissertation Proposal Meeting is for doctoral candidate to propose their dissertation research study and receive feedback and eventually agreement from committee members on design and methodology.

Additionally, committee members will review the doctoral candidate’s portfolio to evaluate progress and determine whether the student is on track to meet the competencies before defending their dissertation and graduating. If there are concerns, an agreement must be reached and a plan to achieve those competencies prior to setting a date for the final defense must be delineated on the Completion of Dissertation Proposal Meeting Form.

Process: 

The advisor is the chair of this meeting. Students should prepare their proposal in close collaboration with their advisor (see below for format options). Proposals should be submitted to committee members at least two weeks before the proposal meeting is held. The proposal meeting should generally be scheduled for 1.5 hours, however students should check with their advisor to see if they have a preference for length.

At the proposal meeting, the student will present a brief overview of the study. At the end of the proposal meeting, everyone should be in agreement about the depth and content of the dissertation. Additionally, committee members must agree that the student is on track to complete their doctoral portfolio competencies by their anticipated defense date. The Completion of Dissertation Proposal Meeting Form is then signed by all committee members and submitted to the FSoS GPC.

In the case where the proposal is not acceptable to the committee, the student would need to revise it and then obtain the advisor’s approval before re-submitting to the committee. The committee needs to reconvene in order for all persons to receive the same information simultaneously and to make a decision.

Dissertation Format: The student should propose their dissertation format at the time of the proposal meeting. The FSoS graduate faculty allows students two options: the traditional volume-length dissertation, or the multiple (minimum of two) journal article. The agreed-upon format should be indicated on the Completion of Dissertation Proposal Meeting Form.