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Dissertation Writing FAQ

Thesis Proposal form

1. The Graduate School suggests that students file a Thesis Proposal Transmittal form the semester following the oral exam. You should file it as soon as you can. It is a three-page form. The front page lists your final exam committee, the second one includes the title of your dissertation, and the third page has space for a 250-word abstract of the dissertation.

2. Following a policy change beginning July 1, 1999, your committee should have three internal (major field) examiners, two of whom must be dissertation reviewers, and one external (minor or supporting program) member, who must be a reviewer. If you have a formal minor, the external examiner must have Graduate Faculty status in that minor. If you have a five-person committees under the old system you may keep the committee as it is, or you may drop an outside member. To do this, or to make any other changes to your committee, contact the Graduate Office secretary.

3. You must choose a chair for your final defense, who cannot be your advisor. The examination chair must be a Full Member of the Graduate Faculty; he or she may be from outside the English department.

Petitions

A petition form is used to make changes in your degree program, to change your language requirement if you declared a language but ended up studying another, or to ask for a time extension to complete your degree. You can pick up a petition in the Graduate School or in the English Graduate Office. Both your advisor and the DGS must sign the form.

Finishing the degree

1. At least two weeks before your final oral, pick up a packet for the Graduate School which includes the Thesis Reviewer's Report, Survey of Earned Doctorates, Microfilm Agreement, Application for Degree, and graduation information. Note: due to a policy change, you do not need to register your thesis title with the Graduate School. You may request a graduation packet over the web here.

2. Collect your reviewers' signatures on the report form. You may fax a Xerox of the reviewers' form to any reviewer who is out of town at this time. Note: this is not true of the final exam report form, where a signature is needed on the original form.

3. Turn in the Thesis Reviewer's Report at the Graduate School at least one week before the exam. At this point you can schedule the final oral. You must be able to tell the Graduate School where the exam will be held. Exams are usually scheduled in 207a Lind, in the Wright Room, or in the Center for Medieval Studies, if appropriate. If one of your committee members has to attend the exam via speakerphone, inform the Graduate Office secretary as soon as possible so she can make arrangements for this, as it narrows the scheduling possibilities.

4. Tell the Graduate Office secretary the date, time and place of the exam, and the title of your dissertation.

5. The chair of your exam will receive the exam report form in the mail. The Graduate School will review your file and check that all necessary forms have been filed, including the forms for language certification. If there is a problem, they will call you. In case there is no time for them to mail the form after clearing up any problem, they will ask you to pick up the exam report form and deliver it to the exam.

6. After the exam, you should walk the final exam report form over to the Graduate School within 24 hours. If a committee member has attended via speakerphone the form must be sent via express mail to that person. You should inform the Graduate School of this fact so they know that the report form will be arriving in their office a few days late.

7. The chair of your committee should also sign a departmental final oral exam report form and turn it in to the Graduate Office.

8. To qualify for graduation in a given month, you must pay the graduation fee and submit the application to Student Relations, 150 Williamson, on or before the first work day of that month. You must turn in one unbound copy of your dissertation (a policy change - previously it was two copies), and the dissertation abstract (signed by your advisor), by the last working day of the month, to graduate that month.

9. In order to attend commencement ceremony in December and May, you must obtain the signatures of your advisor and the DGS on the Commencement Attendance Approval Form, and submit it to the Graduate School by the deadline date published in the current Class Schedule. This form is available in the Graduate Office as well as outside 316 Johnston.

  • Graduate Office = 204 Lind
  • Graduate School = 316 Johnston (for purposes of these instructions)