Overview of the Dissertation Process

Students should consult the most recent version of the Graduate Office's description of D.A. Procedures and Forms for writing the "research essay." Here at the English program, we call it a dissertation. According to the current guidelines (last updated in July 2002), students begin the process of writing a dissertation by drawing up a 5-10 page prospectus with a bibliography. The student chooses an advisor and two readers to supervise the project, and submits their signatures on Form 1 to the Graduate Office. The student then has permission to begin writing the dissertation.

Several years pass. Births and Deaths. Psychiatrists consulted. In the words of St. John of the Cross, "the dark night of the soul." Students should stay in touch with their advisors. Sometimes it helps to propose a schedule for individual chapters. Some people say that small amounts of work each help push the process along. 

When the advisor agrees the draft is ready for readers, the student sends copies to the readers and gets their signatures for Form 2, "The Receipt of Reader's Copies." Present guidelines request that students submit this form at least 4 months before they would like to graduate. (This allows time for the readers to respond to the draft, revisions to be made, and appropriate papers shuffled, as will become clearer by reading further.) Students need to give their readers copies of Form 3 with the drafts.

When the readers approve of the draft, and think the student is ready to defend, they sign Form 3 "Professor's Report to the Dean on Reader's Copy," which states that they have read the draft and approve it for the defense.

Scheduling the Defense
The defense is a two-hour question-and-answer session. Traditionally, defenses are open to the entire university community, but in practice they are usually attended by only the readers and advisor. Doctoral candidates are asked questions about the philosophy, structure, and execution of their projects. 

When everyone is ready for the defense, students need to contact their readers and advisor to find a two-hour period when everyone can meet for the defense. A group email to the faculty involved helps to negotiate a meeting time more efficiently than 10 phone calls. Once the day and time has been agreed upon, the advisor submits Form 5 with the signatures/emails from the readers, scheduling the defense.

After receiving Form 4, the Dean sends Form 5 (ballots) and Form 6 (cover sheet) directly to the advisor. These forms are filled out after the defense.

Passing the Defense
There are three outcomes for the defense 1) pass 2) pass with revisions 3) fail. If readers require revisions, Form 7 must be submitted with the revisions.

Depositing the Dissertation  
After the dissertation is successfully defended and readers are satisfied with the text, one copy is submitted to the Dean's office to be edited by an outside editor. The student must pay for this service. Once the edited copy is returned, the student finalizes the changes and submits the edited version, Form 9, and at least two final copies to the Dean on 25% rag paper for binding (the school keeps one copy and the student gets the other). Please note formatting requirements in Dean's Guidelines.