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Dissertation
Dissertation Chairs and Committees
A dissertation committee for all doctoral students will be composed of at least three
members, one of whom will serve as the dissertation chair. The dissertation must be a full-
time DCAR faculty member. At least one other committee member must be a full-time
SHSS faculty member. A student may have one or more outside members on the
committee if methodological or a substantive topical issue make such membership
advisable and is approved by the dissertation chair. All members who are not DCAR faculty
must have an earned doctorate degree and must provide copies of their credentials to the
department. Dissertation committee members may not be from among the student’s
family members or personal friends, nor have graduated from SHSS within the past three
academic years.
After students pass the qualifying examination, they then register for CARD 7901
Dissertation Preparation and are considered to be in dissertation status. Students can
register for the exam and 7901 at the same time. At that time they may select the chair
and committee and complete the appropriate forms. These forms are available online in
the Student Resources pages.
Registering for Dissertation
Students are required to complete 12 credits of dissertation.
Dissertation students register
for three credits per term, beginning with CARD 7901, the Dissertation Preparation course.
If a student is still in progress after 12 credits, the student registers for 1 credit per term
until the dissertation defense is approved. If a student receives a NP (No Progress) grade
while registered for Dissertation, that term will not count toward the required 12 credits of
dissertation. If, for some reason, the student cannot continue working on their
dissertation, they must apply in writing for a leave of absence. If they request a leave for
longer than a term, it may not be possible, upon their return, to continue with their
original dissertation chair.
Dissertation Proposal
The dissertation proposal will be defended by the doctoral candidate before their full
dissertation committee. All committee members must agree that the proposal is ready for
defense before the defense can be scheduled. Proposal defenses may be performed using
any appropriate and relevant technology, depending on the location of committee
members, and the student. The student is permitted to defend their proposal by being
present at SHSS in person, or via telephone or video conferencing. Please see the
Dissertation Proposal Guidelines and related forms at
Final Dissertation
When the chair and committee agree that the student is ready, the final dissertation
defense will be scheduled. For the final dissertation defense, students are expected to be
present at SHSS. Students should refer to the Dissertation Guidelines at
for detailed information.
