Ph.D. Dissertation
After successfully passing the comprehensive exam (8890), students enroll in ENGL 8891 Dissertation I to write and submit an acceptable dissertation proposal. The Proposal is due no later than the first week of November (1st semester) or April (2nd semester). Advisers have ONE week to read the proposal and return it to the student for revisions. Students have ONE week to revise the returned proposal which will then be submitted to the other readers and a date for the defense established.
Guidelines for Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal
In all subsequent semesters, while working on the dissertation, the student enrolls in ENGL 8892 – Dissertation II. (Please note that all requirements for the Ph.D. must be completed within eight (8) sequential calendar years from the date of first admission/enrollment as a Ph.D. student.) Once the student has successfully defended the dissertation proposal, the Registrar will officially certify the student as ABD (all but dissertation).
The dissertation is the final requirement for the Ph.D. as well as an initiation in professional academic scholarship. It permits Ph.D. candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of the theories and research methodologies of the field as well as their mastery of style and form and coherent analytical discourse. The dissertation should represent an original and significant contribution to the knowledge of the field.
No specific limitations are placed on the scope and length of the Ph.D. dissertation. However, it is assumed that the study will be highly focused, involve research or analysis not previously recorded in published form, and achieve a depth of vision not usually possible in less than 200 double-spaced pages of text. For more information on the dissertation proposal, the selection of the dissertation adviser and committee members, turning in the completed dissertation before the defense, the defense itself, and the submission of official copies after the dissertation defense, please refer to the Department of English Graduate Student Handbook [LINK] as well as the dissertation guidelines below.