Steps Toward doctoral Completion
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1. Advisory Committee
2. Nomination to Candidacy for the Ph.D.
3. Nomination of Research Committee
4. Writing the Dissertation
5. Completion and Defense of the Dissertation
6. Time Limits
7. Graduation
1. Advisory Committee
Within one year of admission to the Ph.D. program, doctoral students should select an advisory committee from among the faculty in their field of interest (two members from the major field and one from another, potentially the minor field) and fill out the appropriate form which is available from the graduate secretary. This committee will guide the student until s/he has passed the qualifying exam. Students usually take their qualifying examination during their third or fourth semester in the Ph.D. program. After a student passes the written Ph.D. exams, s/he may apply for Ph.D. candidacy.
2. Nomination to Candidacy for the Ph.D.
Students apply for Ph.D. candidacy by filling out the Nomination to Candidacy Form that they obtain from the graduate secretary. To file for Ph.D candidacy, the student must have completed all course work (65 credit hours) and departmental language requirements, and passed the Ph.D. exams. The student should ask the departments through which he/she fulfills the language and minor requirements to send memos to the FRIT graduate secretary as documentation. For the minor, the memo should list the courses that count towards it, the grades obtained, and the credit hours.
The 25 required thesis hours (F875/M875) need not be completed before candidacy can be granted. That is, F875/M875 thesis hours may be accumulated after candidacy is approved. However, to enroll in G901 thesis hours, for which there is a $150 flat fee, the 25 credit hours of F875/M875 must first be completed. AIs should plan to accumulate their 25 thesis hours of F875/M875 while they still have financial support; otherwise they will have to pay the regular non-resident/ resident tuition fees from their own pocket.
After gathering the signatures of the advisory committee and the Chair, students need to submit the form to the graduate secretary who sends it to the University Graduate School. Once the dean approves the form, the student will be admitted to candidacy and awarded a Certificate of Ph.D. Candidacy. PhD candidates are sometimes referred to as ABD students (meaning that they have finished All requirements But the Dissertation).
Once they have passed the Ph.D. qualifying examination, students must be continually enrolled in thesis credit hours until the completed dissertation is submitted to the Graduate School. See “Continuing Enrollment” and “Thesis Credits” under Registration Policies and Procedures.
3. Nomination of Research Committee
After passing the Ph.D. qualifying exam, the candidate will approach a member of the faculty appropriate to the field in which the student wishes to do his/her dissertation to request that the faculty member act as dissertation director. The dissertation director must be a member of the graduate faculty with endorsement to chair research committees. The candidate will then prepare a dissertation proposal in consultation with the dissertation director. In French linguistics, the proposal should outline in fair detail the project in view, the relevant literature, basic questions to be addressed in the dissertation, the organization of the dissertation, and a timetable for completion; it should be about 40 pages long. For the other programs, the length of the proposal is currently under review. Please contact the Director of Graduate Studies in your area for more details.
Next, in consultation with the dissertation director (chairperson of the committee), the candidate will approach at least three other members of the faculty, two from the major department and one representing the minor, to invite them to serve as the research committee. The candidate will then present them with a copy of the dissertation proposal. (The research committee may or may not be the same as the Ph.D. advisory committee chosen earlier.) However, if the dissertation research does not involve the area(s) of the minor(s) whether outside or inside the department the major department may request, with the consent of the minor-field representative(s), the substitution of a representative or of representatives from some other field(s) more appropriate to the topic of the dissertation.
All members of the research committee must be members of the graduate faculty; at least half must be members of the graduate faculty with endorsement to chair doctoral committees. After the research committee has read the proposal, the candidate will meet with the members to explain and defend the proposal and to receive suggestions as to how to proceed with the dissertation.
The Nomination of Research Committee form should then be completed and submitted to the Graduate School via the graduate secretary, along with a one to two-page summary of the proposed research (NOT the whole dissertation proposal). The Nomination of Research Committee form must be approved by the Graduate School at least six months prior to the defense of the dissertation.
4. Writing the Dissertation.
The student then proceeds to research and write the dissertation. When finishing and formatting the dissertation, students should consult the Guide to the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations published by the Graduate School.
5. Completion and Defense of the Dissertation
Once the dissertation is completed, an oral defense is scheduled. Each member of the research committee must receive a copy of the completed dissertation four weeks before the defense. In addition, an official announcement of the defense must be submitted to the Graduate School, with a copy to the departmental graduate secretary, 30 days before the defense date. The oral defense of the dissertation is the final requirement for the degree, although minor revisions may be required before the dissertation can be submitted to the Graduate School.
6. Time Limits
All course work and language requirements necessary for the PhD degree must be completed within seven years prior to the Ph.D. qualifying exam. This time limit is applicable to any transfer credit as well. Revalidation of course work completed earlier than seven years before the examination is possible in exceptional cases (see the Graduate School Bulletin).
The dissertation must be completed, successfully defended, and submitted to the Graduate School within seven years after passing the Ph.D. qualifying exam. Failure to meet this requirement will result in termination of Ph.D. candidacy. Reinstatement to candidacy is a laborious process requiring a re-take of all or part of the Ph.D. qualifying examination. It is to be avoided at all costs.
7. Graduation
For Ph.D. graduates, the dissertation must be turned in to the University Graduate School by the 10th of the month in which the degree is to be awarded. If the dissertation copies are turned in after the 10th, the degree will be granted the following month. Should the Ph.D. Recorder discover any problems, degree conferral may be postponed. Students must complete all of the requirements of the Graduate School by this date in order to receive the degree within the requested timeframe. For all requirements, please see Guide to Preparation of Theses & Dissertations.
IU holds two commencement ceremonies each year, in May and December. Students who complete their degree requirements in January - August may participate in the May ceremony, while students who complete their degrees in September - December may participate in the December ceremony.
Ph.D. students who wish to participate in commencement ceremonies must apply several months prior to the ceremony. Commencement registration is done with the recorder at the Graduate School and is NOT automatically assumed when the PhD dissertation is received. To participate in the graduation ceremony, please see Ph.D. Application for Advanced Degree.
