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Occasionally, the committee may request a second meeting if major revisions are needed. Once approved, all decisions made in the proposal meeting (e.g. sample size, measures) are binding. If you need to make changes later, you must notify the full committee and get their consent.
Dissertation Proposal Document Content
Most dissertation proposals include the first three chapters of the dissertation, written in APA format:
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Once your supervisor and committee agree your proposal is ready:
Schedule your meeting and send the full proposal document to your committee members - at least 2 weeks in advanceSend the full proposal to all committee members at that time
Reserve a meeting room through the EDP Department (note: Friday afternoons require prior approval from the Department Chair).
All committee members should attend the proposal meeting. If someone cannot be present, you and your supervisor are responsible for ensuring their feedback is included and documented. TIP: Start the scheduling process early!
Submitting the Proposal Meeting Report
On the day of your proposal meeting, submit the Dissertation Proposal Meeting Report via Docusign.
Your dissertation supervisor and co-supervisor will use this form to report the meeting outcome to the Department. You’ll receive a copy from DocuSign once all signatures are complete - be sure to save it for your records. The report will include next steps and any required revisions and feedback.
Dissertation Enrollment Requirement
Once you are admitted to candidacy, the Graduate School requires you continuously register for the dissertation course hours (EDP 399W, 699W, or 999W) in each long semester (Spring/Fall) until you graduateevery Fall and Spring semester until graduation. Summer registration in dissertation is required if your faculty adviser believes it necessary, if you will hold your proposal meeting in the Summer, or if you will graduate during the summer.
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IRB & Human Subjects Research
If your dissertation involves human subjects, you must obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board
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After approval from your committee at the Dissertation Proposal meeting, you are ready to carry through with original data collection and analyses for your dissertation. It is expected that you will continue to do so under the close supervision of your dissertation supervisor. Under most circumstances, students are not allowed to begin original data collection in connection with their dissertation until they have conducted a successful dissertation proposal meeting.
If you are using existing data for which you have IRB approval, you are welcome to conduct preliminary data analysis on your expected topic of research prior to holding your proposal meeting. Indeed, such familiarity with your data should allow you to discuss your dissertation plans more completely and confidently. Examples of acceptable preliminary data analyses include, but are not necessarily limited to, descriptive statistics (e.g., means, standard deviations(IRB) before collecting data.
Before Your Dissertation Proposal Meeting:
You may conduct preliminary analyses using existing data if IRB approval is already in place. Acceptable pre-proposal analyses include: descriptive statistics (means, SDs, ranges, graphical displays, correlations), outlier diagnostics, missing data diagnostics, and assumption checking. Students You should not test proposed hypotheses prior to before the proposal meeting. Additionally, students should be prepared to modify their data analysis work should weaknesses be found during the proposal meeting.
Researchers should become familiar with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Policies and Procedures Manual and complete the online training.
All dissertations that involve data from human participants require filing an application with The University’s IRB, so you should discuss this with your dissertation supervisor early. If you are using existing data, you may contact the IRB directly to find out how to proceed. Approval to be excluded from the application process is done on a case-by-case basis only by the IRB. Note that a faculty member must be designated as the PI of the IRB proposal. This is likely your dissertation supervisor. This faculty member may designate you as a PI proxy by following the instructions provided by UT Research Management Suite.
All research projects will fall into one of three categories:
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Exempt (Minimal Risk – subject to expedited IRB review procedures)
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Expedited (Minimal Risk – subject to expedited IRB review procedures)
After Dissertation Proposal Approval:
You may begin data collection and full analyses only after IRB approval. Work closely with your supervisor to ensure compliance.
All human subjects research requires IRB application - even when using existing data. To get started:
Review the IRB Policies & Procedures Manual
Complete required online training
Designate your faculty supervisor as Principal Investigator (PI) on your IRB application (they may list you as PI proxy using the Research Management Suite)
Projects Fall under one of three IRB categories: Exempt (Minimal Risk), Expedited (Minimal Risk), Full Board (More than Minimal Risk
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Tips for completing the application are available to help you complete the application. If your project must receive study needs Full Board review, other deadlines apply. The University’s IRB meets monthly for Full Board reviews, and the deadline for submission of materials is very strict and well in advance of the meetingplan ahead - deadlines are strict and the board meets monthly. If revisions are necessary, a second IRB review will take place, according to a set meeting schedule. For questions about deadlines, email the Office of Research Support and Compliance.
Departmental Subject Pool
In conducting original research and/or completing the dissertation, student researchers may request the use of the department’s Subject Pool.
TIP: See the IRB’s tips for completing the application
Using the Department Subject Pool
If you plan to recruit participants from the Department’s Subject Pool, you may request access as part of your dissertation or other research. Discuss this option with your supervisor during the planning stage.