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Graduate School Dissertation information
Dissertation Proposal Meeting Report (DocuSign) - submit on day of Dissertation Proposal
Office of Research Support & Compliance (IRB Info)
Ph.D. students are expected to complete the dissertation within two years of admission to candidacy.
If not completed within two years, the Graduate School will request a recommendation from the Graduate Studies Committee (GSC), which may:
Extend candidacy for one additional year, or
Recommend termination for lack of academic progress
Final decisions are made by the UT Graduate Dean.
You and your dissertation supervisor will choose one of two formats for your dissertation:
Traditional format: follows the standard structure with full chapters, and a single study or set of studies. Students are encouraged to submit the completed dissertation as a journal article or book manuscript after the defense.
Article format:
Designed to resemble a journal-length article or series of articles
Still focuses on a single cohesive project or set of studies
Follows formatting and length guidelines of a target journal
Not intended for brief reports
Important Notes for Article Format: The proposal document should include a full literature review and methods section, just as in the traditional format. For the final dissertation, you’ll work with your supervisor (and possibly committee) to determine what goes into the article, and what supplementary materials should be placed in appendices for committee review (e.g. extended literature review, detailed methods, or results).
Once your dissertation proposal is approved, switching formats requires full committee approval.
With your supervisor’s guidance, you’ll write a dissertation proposal and schedule a proposal meeting with your committee.
This meeting:
Serves as an evaluation of your study plan and collaborative work session
Provides a chance for feedback before the dissertation defense
Often results in approval with revisions
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.
Most dissertation proposals include the first three chapters of the dissertation, written in APA format:
Introduction (~10 pages): Explains the purpose and significance of your study
Literature Review (~20-40 pages): Reviews the research relevant to your topic
Method (~10-20 pages): Details your methodology
For writing support, consider Dissertations and Theses from Start to Finish by Cone & Foster (APA, 1996), available at www.apa.org
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 advance
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.
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.
Once you are admitted to candidacy, the Graduate School requires you continuously register for dissertation hours (EDP 399W, 699W, or 999W) every 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.
If your dissertation involves human subjects, you must obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board (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. You should not test hypotheses before the proposal meeting.
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). If your study needs Full Board review, plan 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, email the Office of Research Support and Compliance.
TIP: See the IRB’s tips for completing the application
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.