PhD Program: Thesis Process
Changes to Thesis Process
On September 26, 2005 the Graduate Council voted to no longer include faculty signatures as part of the official thesis pages. Faculty committee members will still sign an official document indicating their approval of the thesis and abstract, but it will not be included as a page in the thesis. The signed approval page will become part of the student’s Graduate School file. This change will become effective for all May 06 grades and beyond. Approval pages within the thesis will simply list the committee member/mentor names. Based on this decision, the Style and Policy Manual for Theses and Dissertations has been rewritten to reflect the change and the format for the new approval pages.
Changes to note:
- new “Statement of Approval of the Thesis” form with signatures of all committee members;
- revision to the format and signature component of the approval page of the thesis, also now dated by the Graduate School upon submission;
- revision to the signature component of the abstract page of the thesis.
Process
The new Thesis specifications can be found on-line at http://www.uchsc.edu/gs/gs/student_services.htm. The link to the thesis specifications can be found below the MS Graduation packet table and also below the PhD Thesis Defense packet table.
The student grant written (in a NIH-like format) in the CLSC 7102 "Grant Writing II" course should be the basis for each student's comprehensive exam. Based on the changes made at the comprehensive examination committee, the modified grant should be the basis for the student thesis work. Therefore, there is a natural synergy planned between the CLSC course requirements, CLSC exams, and student thesis project. Please reference the thesis chapter content requirements for more information. Following the successful completion of all coursework, preliminary exam, and comprehensive exam, then the CLSC doctoral student will advance to candidacy upon approval from the Graduate School. Following Graduate School approval, the first dissertation committee meeting will be held typically in the following semester.
The first CLSC dissertation committee meeting is called the "colloquium", which represents the student's presentation of his/her thesis plan and the review/approval of the first two (i.e., background and introduction) chapters/sections for the thesis proposal. The doctoral student should forward nominations for his/her thesis committee and dissertation chairperson to the CLSC Program Director's office for consideration at least 60 days in advance of the planned colloquium.
As noted in the Graduate School handbook, the dissertation committee must consist of a minimum of five members of the Graduate Faculty, three of whom must be from the CLSC Program, and at least one member must be outside of the CLSC Program. Final approval by the Graduate School for the CLSC Program Director’s appointments to the dissertation committee is also required.
The final date for the colloquium will not be set until all theses committee members have been appointed by the Graduate School and their availability to attend the colloquium confirmed by the CLSC Program Director's office. The colloquium will be an open public meeting, where all CLSC Program faculty and students will be invited to attend.
The goal of the colloquium is to have all dissertation committee members officially sign off on the student's plan for research. At this meeting, the student's dissertation committee members will identify the changes/additions needed to both the proposed research plan as well as the first chapters/sections of the written work received. Pending the incorporation of the changes requested and approval of all dissertation committee members, the student will have successfully passed his/her colloquium and may proceed to initiate the dissertation research work. As determined by schedule established by the dissertation chair and coordinated through the CLSC Program Director's office, the dissertation committee meetings will then be held at least annually with the full thesis committee. These interim dissertation committee meetings will not be opened to non-Committee members, except by invitation. As required by the Graduate School rules, a progress report written by the dissertation committee chairperson will be sent to the Graduate School following each committee meeting. This progress report will be coordinated by the CLSC Program Director's office.
Following completion of the dissertation research, the student will draft his/her thesis and circulate it among committee members informally. The goal is for the student to incorporate all changes/revisions required into the draft thesis document PRIOR to the thesis defense meeting with the committee. Upon the request of the student and approval of the dissertation committee chairperson, a student thesis defense will be scheduled. The final draft of the thesis proposal must be submitted to the CLSC Program Director's office at least 30 days in advance of the planned defense date. The thesis defense will be an open public meeting, where all CLSC Program faculty and students will again be invited to attend.
At the defense, a majority vote of the dissertation committee members is required. The dissertation committee will evaluate both the oral defense and written thesis. Following deliberations, the dissertation committee will vote to pass, conditionally pass (with modifications generally required to the written thesis draft), or fail a student for his/her thesis defense. Pending final review and approval by the dissertation committee chair (who will determine that the dissertation committee’s stipulated modifications have been completed successfully) and approval by the Program Director, the final thesis will be submitted appropriately to the Graduate School with all revisions incorporated. Following submission and approval of the final thesis document, the student will have successfully completed the Clinical Science Ph.D. Program degree requirements.
For reference, the Graduate School requires students to submit the final copy of their thesis to the Graduate School within 60 days of thesis defense or re-defend. Where appropriate for a specific graduation date, students may have less than the 60 days -- as they must submit the thesis by the deadlines for that graduation (2 weeks before the graduation date).
Approved 4 April 2002