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PhD Student Handbook
Degree Requirements - Dissertation
Students pursuing the Ph.D. in Business Administration must present a dissertation on some subject connected with their major field of study. The dissertation must present originality in research, independent thinking, scholarly ability, and technical mastery of a field of study. Its conclusion must be logical, its literary form acceptable, and its contribution to knowledge should merit publication.
Dissertation Committee
The Major Professor and Advisory Committee shall guide the student in planning the dissertation. It is most important that the persons who serve on the Advisory Committee, at the time the dissertation research is undertaken, be faculty members knowledgeable in the areas of the student's research. They should be selected irrespective of their departmental affiliation. Sometimes it will be appropriate for the membership of the Advisory Committee to remain unchanged during the student's entire doctoral program, while at other times changes in the original Advisory Committee will be necessary when a dissertation is undertaken. Any change in the Advisory Committee requires that the student file a revised Advisory Committee form.
Dissertation Proposal
The student is required to prepare a dissertation proposal, which is a detailed description of the specific dissertation project to be undertaken, including a thorough review of the appropriate literature, the specific research questions to be addressed, and the data to be collected and analysis to be performed if appropriate. When the Major Professor certifies that the dissertation proposal is satisfactory, it must be formally considered by the advisory committee in a meeting with the student. The student is responsible for reserving a room and setting up a convenient time for the proposal defense. The Announcement of Dissertation Proposal Seminar form must be submitted to the student's major department at least two weeks prior to the date of the proposal defense. Approval of the dissertation proposal signifies that the members of the committee believe that it proposes a feasible dissertation project, which, if completed as proposed, would satisfy the requirements of a Ph.D. dissertation.
Approval of the dissertation proposal satisfies the dissertation prospectus requirement of the Graduate School. The Prospectus Approval form requires the agreement of at least four of the five members of the Advisory Committee as evidenced by their signing of the appropriate form. However, the approval form must include signatures of all committee members. The signed approval form, along with a four or five page description of the proposal is filed with the student's major department and is retained in the student's file.
Dissertation Approval and Defense
When the student's Advisory Committee is satisfied with the completed dissertation submitted to them, the final oral examination should be scheduled. The Graduate School must receive the Announcement of the Time and Place of the Ph.D. Final Oral Examination and Dissertation Defense form at least two weeks in advance. The department will fax the announcement form to the Graduate School. The student must be enrolled the semester that the dissertation is defended. Results of the final oral defense and approval of the dissertation is indicated on the Approval Form for Doctoral Dissertation and Final Oral Examination. This form should be read carefully for detailed instructions. This form also requires the signatures of all five committee members. Once a dissertation has been approved by the Advisory Committee, and the final oral examination has been passed, the dissertation, along with the Approval Form for Doctoral Dissertation and Final Oral Examination form, must be submitted to the Graduate School for final approval no later than the last day of classes of the following semester. Dissertations which are not submitted by this deadline, will not be accepted by the Graduate School, and the student must re-defend the dissertation.
Submitting the Dissertation
One complete formatted copy of the dissertation must be electronically submitted to the Graduate School for a format check no later than four weeks prior to graduation.
The Graduate School must receive the Final Defense Approval form and an electronic submission of the corrected dissertation no later than two weeks prior to graduation. The Official copy of the dissertation will be electronically submitted by the Graduate School to the main library for archiving.
All requirements for the degree must be completed and reported to the Graduate School no later than one week prior to graduation. A student must enroll for a minimum of three hours of credit the semester in which graduation requirements are completed.
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