DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY


Third Year and Onward: The Dissertation Phase

After the student has passed the qualifying examination, he or she begins the dissertation phase of the program.  This involves proposal writing, the proposal hearing, dissertation research and writing, and the dissertation defense.  Although this work is more independent than the earlier phase of the doctoral program, the student is expected to consult frequently with faculty members at every stage of the dissertation phase.  Each stage described below is intended to provide the student with regular and specific feedback regarding his or her progress on the dissertation.

Several committees serve as guides in the student's preparation of the dissertation.  By this stage in the program the student will have become acquainted with all faculty members in the department and requested one faculty member to serve as the dissertation advisor.  Together, the student and advisor choose a dissertation committee.  The Dissertation Committee is involved in every stage of the dissertation research, from proposal writing through oral defense.  The Dissertation Committee is composed of the dissertation advisor and two additional faculty members in the Education Department (who must be tenured or tenure-line faculty members).  It is formed by the student and dissertation advisor when they both agree that the student is prepared to present his/her proposal ideas to a larger audience.  The Proposal Committee is formed only for the proposal hearing.  This committee is composed at minimum of the Dissertation Committee and two full-time faculty members (five total) in the Education Department.  Additional department faculty and faculty from outside the department may be invited to sit on this committee.  The Oral Defense Committee is composed of the Dissertation Committee, and must have on it a minimum of four Education Department faculty members and two faculty members of other departments or programs, five of which must be tenured or tenure-track (six total).


The Proposal

The proposal for the doctoral dissertation is a crucial early step in the process.  The proposal is submitted at a time when the theoretical and methodological foundations for the research being proposed are clear in the student's mind, but before major analysis or writing has been completed.  A proposal may be rejected on its merits even if the data are already collected and the analysis completed.

The proposal should constitute a clear and persuasive argument that: (1) the proposed research will make a contribution to knowledge and/or practice in education; (2) it is appropriate in size and scope; (3) it can be effectively carried out by the student.  A common problem with proposals is their attempt to summarize or describe proposed research without adequately justifying the proposed work.  The quality of argument is key to a successful proposal.  While a proposal must clearly and thoroughly describe the proposed research, it must also justify that research in terms of its value, validity, and feasibility.

The proposal format does not necessarily have any fixed structure and organization; different research methodologies may require different approaches to proposal writing.  However, any proposal should: (1) explicitly state the questions or themes that drive the research; (2) place these themes within the context of relevant theory or prior research; (3) outline, if possible, the answers to the questions that the research might produce--these might be formal hypotheses or they may be tentative and illustrative; (4) describe the research design, methods of data collection, and types of analyses to be used in answering the questions; (5) defend and justify any of these items if their importance or merit is likely to be questioned; (6) include a bibliography of relevant literature.  The study's relevance to education should be self-evident; if it is not, this should be explicitly addressed in the proposal.  Most strong proposals devote the majority of their attention to items 2 and 4; other items provide the connecting framework.  The dissertation proposal should be a maximum of 25 double-spaced pages, exclusive of bibliography.


The Proposal Hearing

The Proposal Hearing is a working session in which the student and attending faculty raise questions about the proposal, exploring whether it can lead to a viable dissertation in education.  Because this is a working session, the department strongly encourages the student to submit the proposal in the early stages of dissertation work.  This allows faculty to contribute to the student's conceptualization of the project, to explore the possibilities for data collection, and to assist with approaches to analyzing the data.  The department expects faculty comments and questions to carry some weight in the student's conception or re-conception of the thesis proposal.  Such participation by faculty is designed to offer students early critical affirmation of their work, thereby reducing the level of uncertainty attending this first major research effort by the student and limiting the likelihood that the student will have to rework the entire dissertation project if significant problems are found in the proposal.  Such participation also affords faculty the opportunity to review the student's provisions for technical aspects of the dissertation, including the need to address the rights of human subjects for some kinds of research, or permissions to cite and quote for documentary research (see Appendix).  After vetting the final draft of the proposal with the advisor, the student is responsible for providing all members of the proposal committee the completed final draft of the proposal two weeks in advance of the hearing.

The Proposal Hearing is a public event in the department, attended by the Proposal Committee and interested members of the department.  For this reason, the session is announced in advance.  Two copies of the proposal should be available two weeks in advance in McMillan 210 to be read by anyone among the faculty and doctoral students who chooses to attend the session.

At the end of the hearing, members of the Proposal Committee discuss the proposal and come to a decision regarding whether and how the student should proceed with dissertation work.  The committee may decide that the student's proposal needs serious revision, or minor revision, or no revision at all.  Committee approval is required before the student can proceed with the dissertation work.  In any case, the proposal must be approved by the student's proposal committee at least two months prior to the date of the dissertation defense.


Dissertation Research and Writing

Dissertation topics vary among doctoral students in the Education Department.  But the department expects that the student's topic will emerge out of the student's courses and other work with faculty in the department and in the rest of the university.  The dissertation format, too, may vary.  The student and her or his advisor and the dissertation committee design the format; the design should adhere to the guidelines for the proposal.  The student may want to examine completed doctoral dissertations in the stacks at Olin Library or those available through University Microfilms.  Dissertations in the department follow either the American Psychological Association guidelines or the Chicago Manual of Style; the student and dissertation advisor decides the choice of style.

For all of these reasons, it is crucial for the student to remain in regular contact with her or his advisor and the Dissertation Committee throughout the process of research and writing.  Students may take from one to four years to complete the dissertation, depending on the topic, availability of data, personal constraints, and other factors.  Regular advising helps the student to stay on track, to follow the appropriate format and stylistic guidelines, and to weather the inevitable problems that accompany completion of a major research project.

Students complete the majority of their work in the department, but the Ph.D. is granted by Washington University in St. Louis.  Please see the Doctoral Dissertation Guide, available through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

All dissertations in the university must comply with these instructions.

Download Committee Compostition Guideline (.phd)


The Dissertation Defense

The oral dissertation defense in the Department of Education satisfies the formal requirements of the Graduate School as well as the intellectual demands of the Department of Education.  When the Dissertation Committee determines that a candidate's dissertation is ready for defense, the Oral Defense is held.  The Oral Defense is a public event in the department, and is attended by the Oral Defense Committee and other interested faculty and doctoral students in the department.

The format for the defense is as follows: The candidate should be prepared to make a twenty-to thirty-minute oral presentation to the committee.  The student and dissertation advisor determine the substance of this presentation .  The presentation is followed by a lengthy question-and-answer period that can take up to an hour or more.  During this time the committee expects the candidate to be prepared to address examiners’ questions regarding the dissertation and its implications for educational research.  Once the questioning period is complete, the candidate and non-committee members leave and the examination committee discusses the merits of both the dissertation and the defense.  The candidate may be asked to make major or minor revisions before receiving final approval by the examination committee.  There is, of course, a possibility that the dissertation is not accepted, in which case the candidate and dissertation committee meet together to decide how to proceed.  Because revisions may well be required, the candidate should leave enough time between the defense date and the final date for submitting the completed draft to the Graduate School.  This date changes each year; the candidate should check the date with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Placement

A student seeking an academic position should inform the dissertation supervisor and the chair of the Doctoral Studies Committee the spring before the final year of study.  Primary responsibility for placement rests with the student, although the department aids in the search for suitable positions.  The student should ensure, in the early stages of dissertation research that a placement file is assembled in the University Career Center and should have it brought up to date from time to time thereafter.  The student should consult the Chronicle of Higher Education, Educational Researcher, Diverse Issues in Higher Education (formerly Black Issues in Higher Education) and other relevant professional publications and should attend professional meetings where preliminary interviews for positions often are held.  The student should seek faculty assistance in preparing for interviews, designing the vita, and presenting work to search committees.

Any student wishing to be considered for college and university teaching positions is advised to bring the dissertation as near to completion as possible.  Search committees prefer applicants with a dissertation that is finished or at least in an advanced draft that they can read.


Proposal and Dissertation Checklist

For additional details, refer to the Doctoral Dissertation Guide issued by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

  • Select a dissertation advisor.
  • Write proposal.
  • Assemble Dissertation Committee and Proposal Committee.
  • Vet final draft of proposal with dissertation advisor.
  • Schedule proposal hearing. (Note that hearing must occur at least two months in advance of the oral dissertation defense.)
  • Provide completed final draft of the dissertation proposal to all members of the Proposal Committee two weeks in advance of the proposal hearing.
  • Make two copies of proposal available in McMillan 210 at least two weeks prior to scheduled hearing.
  • Create presentation for proposal hearing.
  • Before the proposal hearing, obtain “Notice of Title, Scope, and Procedure of Dissertation” form from Dept. Administrative Assistant in McMillan 210.  Bring completed form to the proposal hearing.  Upon successful completion of the proposal hearing, verify that the form has been signed by all members of the Proposal Committee.  Return completed, signed form to Dept. Administrative Assistant.
  • Present and discuss proposal at hearing.
  • Revise proposal, addressing recommendations of the Proposal Committee.
  • Complete “Intent to Graduate” form, available on WebSTAC.  Form must be filed for the semester in which student intends to graduate.  If student does not finish by the time stated in the original “Intent to Graduate” form, student must file a second “Intent to Graduate” form with revised completion date.
  • Track use of copyrighted material in the dissertation.  Guidelines for obtaining permission to use copyrighted material are available here.
  • Any required permissions must be obtained in writing and copies of them provided, along with the dissertation, to University Microfilms International.
  • Provide list of members of the Oral Defense Committee to Dept. Administrative Assistant.  Include members’ names, titles, departments, and campus boxes.  Also, indicate which member will serve as the dissertation advisor.  
  • Consult with Oral Defense Committee members to determine a convenient date and time for the oral dissertation defense.  Communicate this date and time to the Department’s Administrative Assistant.
  • Prepare dissertation abstract (350 words or less) and curriculum vitae.  Abstract and CV must be approved and initialed by student’s dissertation advisor.
  • At least 15 days before the oral dissertation defense, student must deliver ten copies of the approved abstract and ten copies of the approved CV to the Graduate School.
  • Pick up the following forms from the Graduate School: Doctoral Dissertation Agreement Form, Survey of Earned Doctorates, and Academic Job Survey.  (These forms must be completed and returned to the Graduate School along with copies of the finished dissertation.)
  • At least two weeks in advance of the oral dissertation defense: (1) Deliver copies of the dissertation to all members of the Oral Defense Committee; and (2) Provide hard copies of the dissertation, abstract, and CV, along with an electronic copy of the abstract to Dept. Administrative Assistant.
  • Obtain Examination Approval Form from Dept. Administrative Assistant.  Upon successful completion of the oral dissertation defense, verify that Examination Approval Form has been signed by all members of the Oral Defense Committee.  Return signed Examination Approval Form to Dept. Administrative Assistant.

Submit the following documents to the Graduate School by the deadline indicated at: http://artsci.wustl.edu/GSAS/Calendars/eventsdeadlines.html

  • Three copies of the completed dissertation
  • Two additional, loose copies of the dissertation’s title page
  • One additional, loose copy of the abstract
  • Two loose sheets containing short title information (so that the binder knows what to put on the spine of bound copies)
  • Doctoral Dissertation Agreement Form (original + one copy)
  • Survey of Earned Doctorates
  • Academic Job Survey


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